Case Study
Hyperspectral Sensors for Global Monitoring
ISSInternational Space Station Testing Advances Sensor to Detect Pipeline Leaks, Assess Crop Health, and Identify Wildfire Risk
iss national lab opportunity
The ISS provides a stable platform with data downlink capabilities to test hyperspectral sensor technology in space.
Startup company Orbital Sidekick developed new hyperspectral sensor technology that can detect light beyond what the human eye can see. The company’s goal was to deploy a constellation of commercial satellites equipped with its sensor to provide customers with global monitoring services. However, first the sensor needed to be tested in space. By utilizing infrastructure available through the ISS National Lab, Orbital Sidekick could focus on advancing its sensor technology and building an analytics engine to analyze sensor data—both critical steps to commercialization.
Industries:
Oil and Gas,
Agriculture, Mining
Strategic Focus Area:
Technology Development
Research Area:
Remote Sensing
Institution:
Orbital Sidekick
IMPACTFUL OUTCOME
Orbital Sidekick used a platform on the ISS exterior to successfully validate its sensor technology, which the company now uses in its constellation of commercial satellites.
During the 15-week project, Orbital Sidekick’s sensor captured more than 30 square kilometers of hyperspectral imaging, which amounts to more than 20 terabytes of data. The company demonstrated its ability to capture, retrieve, and analyze data and extract valuable insights for several use cases. Since project completion, Orbital Sidekick has launched five commercial satellites for its GHOST™ constellation, each with an upgraded sensor. Orbital Sidekick plans to expand GHOST to 14 satellites, allowing the company to scan the entire globe weekly—a significant commercial opportunity. Since the project, Orbital Sidekick has raised nearly $50 million in investment, obtained several grants and contracts, and signed more than a dozen large energy companies for pipeline monitoring services.
INVESTIGATOR
Dan Katz
CEO and Co-founder, Orbital Sidekick
Fields in the Aube Department, near the villages Herbisse and Villiers-Herbisse
Media Credit: ESA/NASA
Our ISS National Lab mission was an amazing launch point for our company—it was the enabling instrument that unlocked so much for us. The mission was wildly successful and really set the table for everything we’re doing today with our commercial satellites.
– Dan Katz, Orbital Sidekick
APPLICATION
Orbital Sidekick’s global monitoring services help customers find leaks in pipelines, identify areas at risk for wildfire, detect materials for mining, and assess crop health.
Hyperspectral sensors allow scientists to identify specific chemicals and materials in an imaged area that cannot be seen with the naked eye. These sensors can detect electromagnetic radiation beyond the visible light captured by typical cameras. Detecting the presence of certain chemicals and materials in an area can indicate different things, such as whether crops are healthy. Orbital Sidekick’s global monitoring services have valuable applications in the energy sector, agriculture, fire risk assessment, mining, and more.
Note: This content is abridged from an article originally published in Upward,
the official magazine of the ISS National Lab.
