IACTEC-Space is the project within IACTEC that drives innovation and development related to the use of small satellite payloads and satellite instrumentation.

The IACTEC-Space team has successfully completed the development of two compact high-resolution cameras for Earth observation: DRAGO-1 and DRAGO-2. These cameras operate in the short wave infrared (SWIR) wavelength range, between 1.0 and 1.7 microns. DRAGO-1 has a field of view of 190 km and a resolution of 300 m per pixel, for an orbit of 500 km. On the other hand, DRAGO-2 has a smaller field of view, of 32 km, but a higher resolution: 50 m per pixel, for the same orbit. Therefore, these two cameras are complementary in field of view and resolution, and among their possible uses are fire monitoring, volcanic activity monitoring, oil spills detection, desertification analysis, water stress monitoring in crops, etc.

After the success of DRAGO-1 and DRAGO-2, the team is working on the development of a new instrument for Earth observation: VINIS. In this case, this is a much more sophisticated instrument, which will combine observations in the visible and infrared wavelengths. It will also have a much higher resolution, of 5 m per pixel, which will allow the observation of the Earth's surface with a very high level of detail.

In addition to these instruments, the IACTEC-Space team is working on two own space projects. On one hand, the launch of ALISIO-1, the first Canary Islands satellite for Earth observations, which will host a DRAGO-2 camera and a laser optical communications module for the transmission of data to the ground. And, on the other hand, the development of IACSAT-1, the first space astronomical observatory of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, which will be used for the confirmation of new Earth-like exoplanets and the study and monitorization of near-Earth asteroids.