Dauria Aerospace, a multinational aerospace company providing global satellite-based remote sensing information services, has delivered two Perseus-M spacecraft into low Earth orbit.
The maritime segment of the Perseus constellation will track and monitor vessels in open seas and navigable waterways in the United States, Canada, Northern Europe and Russia.
“The launch of the Perseus-M satellites marks a significant achievement for Dauria,” said Mike Kokorich, founder and president at Dauria Aerospace.
“Once established, the maritime segment of the constellation will provide valuable vessel traffic information to a range of users from captains and ship-owners to coast guard and search and rescue services in the Northern Hemisphere.”
These satellites will be combined with Dauria’s DX1 spacecraft and eight Perseus-O imaging satellites to form the Perseus space monitoring and remote sensing constellation.
Canopus Systems, a Mountain View, CA based affiliate of Dauria, developed these satellites which feature a proprietary microsatellite platform and are equipped with commercially oriented experimental Automatic Identification System (AIS) payloads.
The next segment of the constellation involves launching a DX1 small satellite, which is awaiting launch aboard a Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket from Baikonur in early July.
The Perseus constellation will be the first commercial space monitoring and remote sensing satellite constellation with a Russian private component.
The DX1 platform permits future utilization of the satellite for Earth remote sensing and various scientific purposes.
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Press Release, June 25, 2014