KT SAT, Full-Scale Entry into Space Data Business

An analysis of the real estate at Tysons Corner Center in Virginia using the Orbital Insight platform, partnered with KT SAT.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-seon] KT SAT announced on the 22nd that it is officially entering the ‘Space Data’ business, which includes satellite image collection, preprocessing, analysis, and utilization. Space Data is a term that collectively refers to various information transmitted through space, such as Earth observation videos and images captured by satellites.

KT SAT plans to expand its business scope globally by focusing on high value-added fields such as data analysis and utilization, which have high future growth potential.

Space Data is a new growth engine in the aerospace industry, often called the ‘rice of the space data industry.’ By utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) and big data for analysis, it is expected to create added value across all sectors of private industries such as agriculture, finance, real estate, logistics, and environment, as well as public sectors including national land and resource management and disaster response. According to global market research firm MarketsandMarkets, the satellite image data market size is expected to grow from approximately $5.9 billion last year to $16.7 billion by 2026.

KT SAT provides satellite image data services to domestic public and private companies through partnerships with leading global companies. In February, KT SAT signed a partnership with BlackSky, a U.S.-based satellite image provision and analysis company, enabling the supply of high-resolution satellite images. In April, KT SAT agreed to provide Orbital Insight’s AI-based spatial information analysis services to the Korean market for the first time.

Through its partnership with BlackSky, KT SAT captures and supplies high-resolution Earth observation satellite images in near real-time upon user request. BlackSky currently operates 14 optical satellites, minimizing the re-imaging cycle to overcome the physical limitations of satellite imaging, and plans to operate a total of 30 satellites eventually.

At the same time, KT SAT is introducing Orbital Insight’s services domestically. Orbital Insight is characterized by providing precise spatial information analysis services with AI and big data technology in the form of PaaS (Platform-as-a-Service). Using this platform, customers can detect specific objects within a desired area and monitor changes with just a few clicks by utilizing various analysis functions provided by Orbital Insight. The leading U.S. interior chain company ‘Lowe’s’ used this service to integrate demographic analysis and select optimal store locations, surpassing its competitor Home Depot in 15 regions and increasing its market share.

The satellite operated by BlackSky, which has partnered with KT SAT.