Telepix, a satellite total solution corporation, successfully launched the world’s first blue carbon monitoring satellite, 'BlueBON.'
Telepix noted on the 5th that BlueBON was loaded onto the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Jan. 14. BlueBON successfully ejected on Jan. 22 and achieved communication with the ground station, successfully entering its mission orbit.
BlueBON is a satellite developed to observe blue carbon, including Sargassum. Blue carbon refers to carbon absorption sources in marine and coastal ecosystems. It is equipped with a multispectral camera developed by Telepix, which can efficiently verify the amount and distribution of floating algae. Monitoring information on blue carbon confirmed by BlueBON can be utilized in the carbon emission rights market.
The BlueBON satellite is also equipped with a high-performance artificial intelligence (AI) processor called 'Tetraflex.' Tetraflex is a graphics processing unit (GPU)-based edge computing solution that can perform AI model inference and image processing directly on satellites in space. The GPU included in Tetraflex is the same product used in the latest 200 kg class satellite of a U.S. global space corporation, which is ten times the size of BlueBON.
Park Young-jae, head of the Future Innovation Technology Research Institute at Telepix, who led the core algorithm development team for blue carbon monitoring, said, 'The launched BlueBON is a satellite that can observe the distribution of seaweed habitats around the world without directly accessing the ocean. Everything from satellite system components to loaded software and satellite information analysis solutions has been developed by Telepix.' He added, 'This project is meaningful as it demonstrates Telepix's development capabilities as a satellite specialized corporation, encompassing both upstream and downstream processes, and it will contribute to various aspects such as entry into the global carbon emission rights market and satellite exports.'