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Spire Global Announces Space Services Deal to Scale Constellation for HANCOM inSPACE with Second Satellite

August 04, 2022

Spire Global, Inc. announced an agreement with HANCOM inSPACE (“Hancom”), initially a spin-off by Korea Aerospace Research Institute and now a part of HANCOM Group, for a second mission with Spire Space Services. Hancom will host an optical payload on a second Spire 6U satellite, named HANCOM-2, and Spire will manage the payload integration, satellite launch and mission operations.

HANCOM-1, a Spire 6U satellite carrying an optical payload for Hancom, launched in May 2022 on the SpaceX Transporter-5 Mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. It was the first commercial satellite deployed for a private South Korean company.

Hancom specializes in commercial and government applications of image analysis, including detection of vehicles, aircraft and ships, changes in roads and buildings, and pine tree death detection. The HANCOM-1 and HANCOM-2 missions are focused on collecting optical imagery for applications in the agriculture sector, including landscaping applications and the expansion of its existing image analysis portfolio offerings. Hancom plans to launch and operate a constellation of up to 50 satellites.

“Hancom is a pioneer in the South Korean space industry as the first private company to deploy satellites, and we’re thrilled to work with them to further build out their constellation,” said Joel Spark, Co-Founder and General Manager, Space Services, Spire. “I’m extremely proud of the dedication and ingenuity of our Space Services team for delivering an unparalleled experience to our customers that allows us to continue earning their business.”

"The satellite data business has been mainly used in areas such as defense, military, disaster and disaster control due to its characteristics, but now it is expanding to the civilian market," said Choi Myungjin, CEO of HANCOM inSPACE. “HANCOM inSPACE plans to provide solutions that observe crops and predict output through satellite observations; initial target countries are in Asia and the Middle East, where demand for satellite image data is high. The company’s ultimate goal is to build an image data service belt that covers all space, aviation, and ground. HANCOM inSPACE plans to continue its cooperative relationship with Spire.”

Spire Space Services offers fast and scalable access to space through a subscription model that eliminates the high upfront cost of building and maintaining infrastructure in space. Commercial and government organizations can deploy and operate a constellation of satellites, a hosted payload, or a software application in space with Spire’s established space, ground, and web infrastructure. Spire handles the end-to-end management, from manufacturing to launch to satellite operations, and the customer operates the system through a web API.