NanoAvionics has captured the world’s first 4K satellite selfie in space using a basic consumer camera, mounted on a selfie stick above the Great Barrier Reef, complete with an immersive view of Earth. More specifically, a GoPro Hero 7 was used to take 12-megapixel photos and 4K video clips of the company’s MP42 microsatellite flying 550 km above the Coral Sea.
The GoPro Hero 7 was also used to test and verify satellite operations of their new payload controller, which was designed to optimize downlink for applications that require onboard processing of huge data packages. NanoAvionics anticipates more future usages of real satellite footage, live and recorded, for tasks such as deployment confirmation, fault detection, micro-meteorite impacts as well as educational purposes. To see through extreme weather however, you’ll need the Capella Space Satellite.
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The reason for taking the photo and video clip with the Great Barrier Reef in the background was partly symbolic. We wanted to highlight the vulnerability of our planet and the importance of Earth observation by satellites, especially for monitoring environment and climate changes. In our increasingly visual culture, it is important for investors, students, customers and the general public to see in order to believe,” said Vytenis J. Buzas, co-founder and CEO of NanoAvionics.