Ororatech sends small satellites into space

The Munich-based start-up Ororatech is planning to send small satellites into orbit. The first one is to be launched in just a few months.

Ororatech is moving into new territory. In early 2022, the start-up plans to send small satellites into space. At least a second satellite is to follow in the same year. This is reported by the website Munich Startup.

Ororatech is working on an early warning system for extreme weather conditions. Until now, these can often only be noticed and reported after hours or days. Ororatech wants to use satellites to detect the sources of fires much earlier and precisely track their development. This should help in fighting the fires on site. A rocket from a space transportation company will be used to launch the small satellites into space.

The start-up has already developed a warning app that can be used all over the world. It merges heat measurements from satellite data with local weather data or camera images, searches for causes of fires and can send warning notifications. In Canada, Australia, Chile and Brazil, the technology is already being used by officials and private citizens. Insurance companies and non-government organizations are also using the tool.

So far, however, the technology has a weak point: it relies on data supplied by huge satellites from ESA, NASA and the like. However, due to the position of the satellites, there is a time gap in the afternoons - at the time when there is a particularly high risk of forest fires. The company's new small satellites, which move at other levels of the orbit, are now intended to close the temporal gaps.

Ororatech was already able to secure 5.8 million euros in capital for its project in a Series A round in the summer. At that time, the money came from investment firms Apex Ventures, Fondues Ventures, Bayern Kapital and Ananada Impact Ventures, among others.