Esper Satellite Imagery and Spiral Blue space qualify the first hyperspectral smart sensor with integrated onboard computer
Esper is ready for space! Esper Satellite Imagery has reached a significant technical milestone with its hyperspectral imagers now space-certified.
Spiral Blue, and Esper Satellite Imagery are pleased to report that they have completed thermal vacuum chamber testing of Esper’s ‘Esperesso’ hyperspectral imager. The test provides more evidence for the space readiness of Esper’s and Spiral Blue’s technology as it simulates space conditions by evacuating air and cycling extreme temperatures.
Esperesso will capture geospatial data of the earth from space consisting of hundreds of individual wavelength bands ranging from 400 to 1000 nm. The imagery data looks deeper into the spectrum of light to detect unseen chemical compositions. This will give a clearer, more accurate, and more detailed picture of the earth’s surface.
Esperesso incorporates Spiral Blue’s Space Edge One - Hyperspectral (SE-1H) for control and processing. This payload is being developed as part of Project Rainbow Python.
Developed specifically for this mission, SE-1H supports:
Interfacing directly with an imager for power and communication
Flexible power supply options
Various interfaces for satellite communication
Standard Space Edge One features:
Jetson Xavier NX System On Module
Large onboard storage options
Esper is one step closer to providing affordable data to support organisations working towards sustainable development. Esper aims to build a network of hyperspectral sensors that will capture real-time data worldwide.
“Both the Esper and Spiral Blue teams have been hard at work building towards this milestone. By qualifying our imaging system for flight, we’ve further proven the efficacy of our imaging technology and are only a few steps away from delivering imagery captured of the earth from space to a number of our customers awaiting our launch into orbit. Our technical teams have shown extreme grit and worked through a number of challenges to get here, which further proves the excellency of both teams.” said Shoaib Iqbal, CEO of Esper Satellite Imagery
Spiral Blue is also developing custom software to support interfacing with the Esper computer. It won't be long before Esper captures and delivers high-quality data from space, achieving technological readiness level 6 according to NASA’s standards. Esper is now ready for launch.
Spiral Blue media contact
media@spiralblue.space
Esper Satellite Imagery media contact
hi@espersatellites.co
About Spiral Blue
Spiral Blue is a Sydney-based SME focused on building the next generation of Earth observation services with artificial intelligence and Space Edge Computing. Spiral Blue technology has applications in defence, city planning, utilities, and other industries. Founded in 2018, the company has recently launched its first Space Edge Zero prototypes to orbit, and is now continuing to gather further in orbit performance data. Spiral Blue is a member of the Wolfpack Space Hub.
About Esper Satellite Imagery
Esper, founded in 2019, is a Melbourne-based startup building space-based hyperspectral sensors for Earth observation to track climate metrics such as carbon emissions and carbon sinks for Oil and Gas, Agriculture, Mining and many other industries utilising their proprietary sensor technology. Esper, with a mission to track 5B tons of carbon emissions annually, will launch their first pair of sensors in May of 2023, dubbed the "Over The Rainbow" mission, which will then be followed by a larger sensor network of 18 sensors in orbit.