Korea Aerospace Industries said Tuesday it had acquired a 20 percent stake in Meissa, a South Korean satellite footage analysis firm, to make a foray into the global space services market estimated to be valued at 300 trillion won ($255.4 billion).

Together with Meissa, which developed the nation’s first “reconstruction engine” that can convert a 2D footage into 3D, KAI aims to provide advanced satellite footage analysis services using artificial intelligence and big data instead of simply selling the raw footage.

The 3D reconstruction technology is widely applied to drones at construction sites to monitor work progress and accuracy. If applied to satellites, the technology can analyze and predict crop harvests, for instance, and help food companies to purchase the crop when price is low.

“With the satellite footage analysis service, KAI will create synergies with existing businesses such as metaverse-based simulators,” a company official said.