Korean Private Satellite Launches Full-Scale Service Exports in Global Earth Observation Market

Setrec Eye Subsidiary Signs Additional Contract
Business Viability of Satellite Leasing Service Model Confirmed
Full-Scale Entry Into the Global Earth Observation Market

Setrec Eye, a domestic private satellite company, has once again secured a major contract in the overseas Earth observation market, leveraging its self-developed ultra-high-resolution optical satellite.

This contract is considered significant in that it departs from the traditional model of manufacturing and selling satellites, instead offering a new business model where customers can access observation rights for specific regions and ultra-high-resolution imagery as a service.

A panoramic view of Marina Bay Sands Hotel in Singapore captured by SpaceEye-T. Photo by Setrecai

On June 19, Setrec Eye announced that its subsidiary SI Imaging Services (SIIS) has signed a multi-million-dollar Satellite-as-a-Service (Sat-aaS) agreement with an overseas institution, based on its 25cm-class ultra-high-resolution optical satellite, SpaceEye-T.

This achievement follows the company's first major order in September of last year, marking an additional contract in less than a year. SI Imaging Services has further solidified its growth base by once again demonstrating its capabilities in supplying ultra-high-resolution satellite imagery and proving the business viability of its satellite leasing service model.

The core of this contract, the satellite leasing service, enables customers to secure exclusive operational rights over specific regions without the need to develop or own satellites themselves. This allows them to receive 25cm-class ultra-high-resolution optical images of those regions in near real-time, thereby operating their own Earth observation capabilities faster and more efficiently.

This contract is seen as an example of the spread of a new market paradigm, moving away from simply selling satellites to providing customers with the observation capabilities they need in the form of a service.

SpaceEye-T is South Korea's first private optical satellite, developed independently by Setrec Eye with its own capital and technology. Since its launch in March of last year, it has been operating stably. It provides ultra-high-resolution 25cm-class imagery, the highest level among commercial Earth observation satellites, and is recognized for its value in areas that require high precision and rapid information acquisition, such as national security, map making, key infrastructure monitoring, and disaster response.

Moonkyu Kim, CEO of SI Imaging Services, stated, "This additional contract is a meaningful achievement that demonstrates the private sector-led satellite imagery service market has entered a full-fledged growth phase," adding, "We will continue to expand our business in the global Earth observation market and provide customers with even more differentiated ultra-high-resolution data."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.