Nikkei Asia reports that $ 27 million was raised during the share trading; iQPS plans to set up a constellation of 24 SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) satellites with increased production capacity. Currently, three of the company’s satellites are in orbit.
The company’s SAR satellites are designed to be small, light, and low-cost. One of the satellites weighs around 170 kg, with competitors from the U.S. and Finland working on lighter ones. Each satellite is roughly in the “a few million dollars” range.
A significant advantage of SAR satellites is that SAR sensing technology is virtually unobstructed visual disturbances like clouds, unlike electro-optical sensing. iQPS aims to have satellites to check for structural deformations in buildings, electricity transmission lines, and railways. This comes naturally as Japan, an island country, frequently experiences earthquakes.
Japanese iQPS Satellite Startup to Expand Production
