Orbital Sidekick: Bringing Hyperspectral Imaging from the Garage to the Pentagon – Breaking Defense

All Domain, Space

Hyperspectral satellite imagery can provide detailed information about the composition of terrestrial objects. (European Space Agency)

WASHINGTON The first space-based hyperspectral imaging sensor built by San Francisco-based startup Orbital Sidekick, founded in 2016, literally flew from CEO and co-founder Dan Katz’s garage to the International Space Station as an experiment for the Air Force Research Laboratory.

That was a great little sensor that we integrated in my garage in San Francisco, and then handed it over to SpaceX, which launched it. And then NASA, the astronauts, took it from the Dragon capsule and installed it, Katz told Breaking Defense in an interview.

Hyperspectral cameras divide pixels into hundreds of frequency bands and therefore can detect minute differences in colors that cannot be seen by the human eye or detected by other types of imaging cameras such as infrared. Thus, hyperspectral sensors can see what materials a surface is made of and identify individual elements in the surrounding atmosphere. For national security reasons, hyperspectral images could, for example, detect evidence of the production and/or use of chemical weapons.

The hyperspectral imaging and associated analyzes we provide allow us to chemically fingerprint anything on Earth, Katz said. For defense and intelligence, it might be looking at the difference between what’s camouflaged and what’s real, being able to chemically detect that; looking at hypersonic bearing; examining the detection of rocket launchers; examining the detection of chemical weapons; and nuclear non-proliferation.

He explained that Orbital Sidekick’s first sensor, capable of capturing images in 150 spectral bands, was developed from one tested aboard an aircraft under an AFRL Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase 1 grant. ) in 2018, which then moved on to a phase 2 SBIR for space-testing. The data collected by AFRL was provided to the Air Forces National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC), he added.

NASIC, based at Wright Patterson AFB in Ohio, characterizes threats from adversary air and space capabilities and seeks to prevent the Department of Defense from technological surprises.

Four years later, Orbital Sidekick was recently awarded one of six study contracts to commercial providers of hyperspectral imaging by the National Reconnaissance Office; inked a deal with the Intelligence Community’s non-profit investment group IQ-Tel (which also contributed a $10 million investment fund to the company in January); and is working under an ongoing multi-year contract worth $16 million from the Strategic Financing Program (STRATFI) managed by AF Ventures, the innovation investment arm of the Department of the Air Force.

The STRAFI investment, which also has support from AFRL and the Space Force, has enabled the company to accelerate deployment of its GHOSt satellite constellation, but also aims to integrate satellite data into Air Force Advanced Battle Management System (AMBS) .

ABMS is the services’ contribution to the Pentagon’s high-priority Joint All Domain Command and Control (JADC2) concept, designed to enable all sensors to rapidly connect to all sensors in all domains.

That said, defense and intelligence aren’t the primary market for Orbital Sidekick, Katz said. The company’s main focus is instead on the government and commercial energy market, mainly providing pipeline monitoring services. The trade balance companies are hoping for is around 60% trade and 40% national security.

Orbital Sidekick launched its third GHOSt satellite last month on a SpaceX Falcon 9. The GHOSt satellites carry a much more capable hyperspectral sensor than the first generation model with 512 spectral bands in the visible and shortwave infrared regions, according to the company. It has three more satellites in the assembly line, with plans to launch them later this year or early next year, Katz said. Additionally, the company is planning to beef up the constellation to 14 by around 2025.

GHOSt birds are small satellites, weighing about 100 kilograms, and operate in low Earth orbit about 535 kilometers above the Earth.

Hyperspectral is starting to have its moment of glory, so to speak, Katz said with a smile.