SpaceTech Startup Pixxel To Launch Its Third Hyperspectral Satellite On Nov 26

Bengaluru-headquartered spacetech startup on Monday announced that it will be launching its third hyperspectral satellite on Nov. 26.

Called ‘Anand’, the hyperspectral satellite will be launched through an ISRO PSLV rocket from the Sriharikota Launch Complex in Andhra Pradesh.

The imagery from Pixxel’s satellite can be used to detect pest infestation, map forest fires, identify soil stress and oil slicks amongst other things.

The satellite weighs approximately 15 kilograms and has a total of over 150 wavelengths, which will enable it to see earth in a lot more detail than today’s non-hyperspectral satellites. 

Pixxel's hyperspectral satellites are unique in their ability to provide hundreds of bands of information with global coverage at a very high frequency, making them ideal for disaster relief, agricultural monitoring, energy monitoring and urban planning applications. They are equipped to beam down up to 50x more information with unprecedented detail, compared to other conventional satellites in orbit.

The company has already inked partnerships with the likes of Rio Tinto and Data Farming, who will use hyperspectral datasets to identify mineral resources and monitoring active and determining crop issues respectively. The imagery from this will provide the team targeted inputs to improve the form factor and imaging capabilities of the next batch of commercial-grade satellites.

Earlier this year, Pixxel became the first Indian company ever to launch a commercial satellite to space when it launched its satellite Shakuntala in April through a SpaceX rocket.