In an Australian first, South Australian owned and manufactured satellite Kanyini was successfully launched today onboard a SpaceX rocket from the United States.
Kanyini is the first State Government-funded satellite in the nation and was built by a local team of South Australian-based companies – SmartSat CRC, Inovor and Myriota.
The $6.5 million mission is helping to create hi tech jobs in the state's space sector and develop vital space capabilities in the State.
Now that Kanyini is in orbit, the next milestone for the project is to establish stable communications through an operations centre located at Inovor Technologies in Lot Fourteen, Adelaide.
Once fully commissioned, Kanyini will deliver critical space data for use by government and research institutions, particularly in the areas of sustainability and climate impacts.
The research initiatives to be undertaken by Kanyini include early bushfire detection – with technology that can detect fires from space 500 times faster than traditional processing.
The satellite will also support a program – led by South Australian Department for Environment and Water and Greening Adelaide – to sense urban heat islands in the state.
Data collected by Kanyini will also be used to develop robust and trustworthy predictive AI capabilities that can accurately predict natural disaster events such as landslides and flooding, being led by Queensland University of Technology and European Space Agency Phi-Lab.
Follow Kanyini's journey online.
As put by Stephen Mullighan
The launch of Kanyini is a significant milestone and pivotal step forward for South Australia's space sector, setting us up for further success on a global stage.
We are excited for Kanyini to unlock more opportunities for research and development of innovative, sovereign Australian space technologies.
This project will also inspire talented Australians to pursue a career in the space industry as engineers and future space leaders.
As put by SmartSat CRC chief executive officer Andy Koronios
The State's small satellite, Kanyini, has taken a giant leap for South Australia's space sector. The Kanyini mission is not just about sending a satellite into space; it's about building South Australia's capabilities and contributing valuable data for applications that enhance our lives here in South Australia.
We have now realised our mission of seeing homegrown South Australian space technologies launched into low Earth orbit. The coming months will be crucial as the team works to fully operationalise Kanyini and begin reaping the benefits of its data-gathering capabilities.
As put by Inovor chief executive officer Dr Matt Tetlow
Putting anything into space is an extraordinary feat, and the success of this launch of the Kanyini satellite is an excellent achievement, not only for the Kanyini team, including Inovor, but also for the South Australian space sector as a whole.
The collaborative effort from the whole mission team, including SmartSat CRC and Myriota, as well as the support from the South Australian Government, has been critical for the success of Kanyini.
As put by Myriota CTO and co-founder Dr David Haley
We are thrilled to announce the successful launch of Kanyini, marking another major milestone as we continue to deliver IoT connectivity globally.
This launch is a testament to the collaborative efforts of the Kanyini team in preparing the 6U CubeSat and our onboard IoT payload to withstand the harsh conditions of space.
As part of Myriota's commercial IoT constellation, Kanyini will be instrumental in delivering critical field data to users across a range of key industries.
