Hyperspectral and Thermal: the New Sensors
Are hyperspectral and thermal satellites ready to become large markets, or will they stay niches?
Chapter summary
Both are early commercial markets with clear uses and few paying customers so far.
Key takeaways
- 1
Hyperspectral sensors split light into hundreds of bands and can identify minerals, crop stress, plastics and gases; commercial fleets include Pixxel (India), Planet and Carbon Mapper's Tanager (2 in orbit on Setcoin's count), Wyvern (Canada) and government missions such as Germany's EnMAP and Italy's PRISMA.
- 2
Thermal sensors measure surface temperature for water use, urban heat, industrial activity and fires; start-ups include Hydrosat (US), constellr (Germany) and Satellite Vu (UK, whose first satellite failed in 2023), while Landsat provides free 100 m thermal.
- 3
Demand depends on regulation (methane, water) and on analytics that turn spectra into answers.
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