Purchased nanosatellite provides data on climate change, hidden resources, agricultural improvement and other valuable processes on Earth

COLUMBIA, Ill., June 23, 2022 (NanoAvionics PR) – Mission integrator and smallsat bus manufacturer NanoAvionics has sold, for the first time, one of its operational satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) including ongoing mission operations. Launched last year, NanoAvionics’s shared 6U satellite mission “D2 / Atlacom-1” includes one of the world’s first 1U-sized hyperspectral imager for remote sensing, which will be used by a yet unnamed Earth observation company to provide orbital imagery services. Prior to selling the satellite, all indented missions, none of which included the buyer, had been accomplished and fulfilled.

SILVER SPRING, Md. (NOAA PR) — NOAA plans to release three Broad Agency Announcements, or BAAs, that may lead to a review of advanced technologies for its future satellite and ground architecture, products and services.   The BAAs – and the studies that will result – are part of NOAA’s Office of System Architecture and Advanced Planning (OSAAP) Joint Venture Program. Joint Venture examines the feasibility of partnering with other federal […]

Hyperspectral satellite technologies enable environmentally responsible decision-making

FINLAND (Kuva Space PR) — Humankind faces tough challenges: we need to improve food security and productivity while reducing the associated climate risks. This is possible with the right adaptations, but the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) highlights a gap between regional needs and actions taken – partly due to a lack of reliable information. Finnish space tech startup Kuva Space aims to bridge that gap with its constellation of satellites and Green DataⓇ platform so industries, governments and research institutions can make financially smarter and environmentally responsible decisions. 

EDINBURGH (ConstellR PR) — German thermal remote sensing specialist, Constellr, has acquired Belgian hyperspectral firm ScanWorld, in a first for Europe’s emerging agricultural Earth Observation (EO) sector. The transaction will enable an unprecedented planetary health monitoring service and represents a pioneering step for fusing technological capabilities in the sector.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado (LatConnect 60 PR) – LatConnect 60 (LC60), an Earth observation and data fusion company based in Perth, Australia, has signed an agreement to work with Gilmour Space Technologies in Queensland to build and launch the first microsatellite in a planned high-resolution hyperspectral imaging constellation. The smart satellites will be placed in 30-degree inclined orbits for frequent revisit data capture over the Earth’s equatorial and mid-latitude regions.

• At 18:24 CEST on 1 April (12:24 local time), the first German-developed hyperspectral satellite (EnMAP) successfully launched on board a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida.
• The mission is being managed by the German Space Agency at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Bonn on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK).
• OHB-System AG was commissioned to develop and build the satellite and the hyperspectral instrument. Meanwhile, the ground segment has been developed and will be operated by DLR in Oberpfaffenhofen. The German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) in Potsdam is the scientific coordinator for the mission.
• Focus: Space, Earth observation, climate change, environmental protection and nature conservation

COLOGNE, Germany (DLR PR) — It all began in 2003 with a competition announced by the German Space Agency at the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) as part of the National Space Programme. The task was to design and build a new type of hyperspectral instrument and a satellite to carry it, and to test both the instrument and its satellite for several years in the harsh conditions of space. At the same time, an (inter)national community of scientists was formed to define the user requirements and objectives for the first German hyperspectral mission, which was also to be the first of its kind in Europe. What data about Earth should be collected with EnMAP, and for what purpose? This is how the special environmental satellite – the abbreviation stands for Environmental Mapping and Analysis Program – was created.

by David Bullock
Staff Writer

CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION, Fla., April 1, 2022 — A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched 40 payloads as part of the company’s Transporter-4 dedicated smallsat rideshare mission.

The rocket launched into a sun-synchronous orbit at 12:24 p.m. EDT. The mission manifest included the first satellite orbited by Pixxel of India, Kleos Space’s Patrol Mission, and 12 Spacebee communications satellites. A list of payloads is below.

Wyvern raises USD $4.5M and enters Y Combinator, paving the way for access to affordable hyperspectral imagery from space

EDMONTON, Alberta, January 17, 2022 (Wyvern PR) — Wyvern, a space data company making hyperspectral imagery accessible and affordable, announced today its acceptance into the Y Combinator accelerator after closing an oversubscribed USD $2.25M seed round led by MaC Venture Capital, with an additional USD $2.25M raised through earlier pre-seed funding and support from the Government of Canada. Soma Capital, Liquid 2 Ventures, Gaingels, Unpopular Ventures, and Matt Mickiewicz invested alongside lead MaC Venture Capital.

The world has been waiting for hyperspectral imaging to become commercially accessible. An advanced spectral imaging technique that collects hundreds of images at different wavelengths to form 3D data blocks, hyperspectral imaging has the power to detect incredible details invisible to conventional imaging standards.

HERNDON, Va. (HySpecIQ PR) –– HySpecIQ, a company that is positioned to become the world’s leading provider of hyperspectral imagery––recently confirmed York Space Systems as it’s choice partner to manufacture its spacecraft bus and integrate the payloads with it.

William Schuster, Co-Founder of HySpecIQ weighed in: “York’s approach of having a standardized bus offers a best value solution that benefits cost, schedule and reliability. The simple fact that this bus meets all HySpecIQ’s needs with little/no adaptation demonstrates how well they understand the missions it supports and what it takes to do it. York’s long record of success ultimately guided our decision in selecting them as the right partner to meet our needs.”

SAN FRANCISCO, April 13, 2021 (Orbital Sidekick PR) — Orbital Sidekick (OSK), the first US commercial company to deploy hyperspectral sensors in space, has announced a $16 Million Series A funding round led by Temasek, an investment company headquartered in Singapore, to expand its innovative product offerings, new strategic partnerships, and introduce its advanced monitoring technology to new industries. The round also includes Energy Innovation Capital, existing investors Allied Minds and 11.2 Capital, and Syndicate 708.

“Paired with our recent $16M United States Air Force contract award in October 2020, the close of this Series A round allows us to focus on the deployment of the GHOSt constellation and the commercial release of our monitoring services platform SIGMA™,” Tushar Prabhakar, COO and Co-Founder of Orbital Sidekick, said. “With our growing list of commercial and government partners, OSK is primed to become a global leader in providing targeted solutions for customer pain points.”