Sanzar Group wins the Aeronautics Innovation Award 2023

We are pleased to announce that Sanzar Group has won the 2023 Aeronautical Innovation Award, given every year by the Official College of Aeronautical Engineers of Spain (COIAE), for its patented control and guidance system designed to improve the efficiency of space operations. The system reduces the weight of the satellite, improves its performance by more than 75% and reduces life cycle costs by 43%.

The SANZAR AIA aerospace inertial actuator, presented for the award by the founder and president of Sanzar Group, Marco Ruano, can be integrated into satellites of any size, as reported by specialised aerospace media such as Flynews, Actualidad Aeroespacial and Infoespacial.

Cost savings

The development will drastically reduce the weight of current control systems. For example, it can produce the same torque as a 100 kg device while weighing only 12 kg, a saving of €23.4 million, assuming a space weight cost of €300,000/kg (Jones, 2015).

It also increases control and manoeuvrability by more than 75% over existing control systems. Assuming that operating costs of a space station can reach 51% of total lifetime costs, this means operating cost savings of €78 million on a €100 million space system (design, development, evaluation, test and launch costs).

Commercialisation in 2025

The Madrid-based company has developed a first technology demonstrator (MVP1) that will be tested in an airborne environment in 2022. It now has a second version (MVP2) that will be tested in a space environment, with the first test in space next year and the aim of starting commercialisation in 2025.

The company’s R&D strategy is to keep this technological development going in the coming years, implementing the AIA together with its control software on different space platforms: agile satellites, observation satellites, communication satellites and mini-satellites. The AIA is a plug-and-play device that adapts easily to any platform through simple scaling, supporting technologies with a significant impact on the growth of space operations and applications.

Sanzar Group will market its technology through a B2B business model with the support of the European Space Agency (ESA) and collaborations with other technology companies. Its aim is to enter a global gyroscope market expected to reach 4.98 billion by 2028, which supports its commercial strategy.

With a young international team of 9 engineers and a clear international focus, the company has offices in Spain, India, Paraguay and Tunisia. It expects to generate knock-on benefits by making access to space data and communications easier and cheaper around the world.

We will keep you posted on new milestones.