Elodie Viau, Director of Telecommunications and Integrated Applications at ESA, said: “ESA is proud to enable small and medium-sized enterprises in Europe to become space mission providers and enter the space industry through programmes such as Pioneer.

“Pioneer provides innovators and entrepreneurs with the means to access space through cost-effective processes, creating jobs and boosting prosperity, and supporting the success of the European and Canadian space industry in the highly competitive global telecommunications market.”

Amanda Solloway, UK Science Minister, said: “As we get ready to host COP26, the UK is leading the way in using space to tackle climate change. These satellites will provide important data to monitor our environment as we build back greener.

“This technology will also provide exciting innovation in remote sensing and tracking, kickstarting UK industry to offer new services that will improve lives not just in the UK but around the world.”

Theresa Condor, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Spire Space Services, said: “At a critical time for our planet, and with COP26 taking place later this year, we need to be able to map out and report on rapidly changing phenomena on Earth. That is the core purpose of Spire’s constellation, because enhanced data and better predictive analytics help us to further understand our environment and the impact we have on it.”

Doug Liddle, CEO at In-Space Missions, said: “The team here at In-Space is incredibly proud to be launching our highly capable and innovative satellite which has come together in less than a year. We’re particularly excited to be flying on a Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral - a location with such an amazing history.”