Six companies, including BlackSky Technology, HyperSat, Orbital Sidekick, Pixxel, Planet, and Xplore, were awarded study contracts by the NRO for commercial hyperspectral imagery. The NRO’s Strategic Commercial Enhancement’s Broad Agency Announcement Framework aims to acquire new phenomenologies in commercial imagery and sensing data. The first stage of the two-stage effort will focus on analytical studies to estimate capabilities at the individual sensor and constellation levels, business and cybersecurity planning, while the second stage will assess on-orbit capabilities and procure data products. Hyperspectral images can be used for various applications, including agriculture, mining, geology, intelligence, and surveillance. The study contracts demonstrate the NRO’s commitment to agile acquisition and its dedication to exploring the potential of commercial hyperspectral imagery. Planet and Pixxel are two companies awarded study contracts. Planet will work with the NRO to explore how its hyperspectral capabilities align with the agency’s national space security architecture, while Pixxel’s award is its first publicly announced government customer.
BlackSky, Planet, Pixxel, and Others Win NRO Hyperspectral Study Contracts
The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) has awarded study contracts to six commercial hyperspectral imagery companies – BlackSky Technology, HyperSat, Orbital Sidekick, Pixxel, Planet, and Xplore. The NRO’s Strategic Commercial Enhancement’s (SCE) Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) Framework aims to acquire new phenomenologies in commercial imagery and sensing data.
The study contracts are a two-stage effort, with the first stage focused on analytical studies to estimate capabilities at the individual sensor and constellation levels, business and cybersecurity planning. The second stage involves assessing on-orbit capabilities and procuring data products.
Hyperspectral images, consisting of light from hundreds of colors across the electromagnetic spectrum, have numerous applications, including agriculture, mining, geology, intelligence, and surveillance.
The NRO Director, Dr. Chris Scolese, stated that the agency would use these study contracts to explore the potential of commercial hyperspectral imagery.
Pete Muend, the Director of the NRO’s Commercial Systems Program Office, emphasized the agency’s commitment to agile acquisition and the importance of speed to take advantage of innovation and emerging technologies such as HSI and the potential to address intelligence challenges.
The NRO previously awarded contracts for synthetic aperture radar and radio frequency under the BAA to commercial companies in January 2022 and September 2022, respectively. The hyperspectral contracts were issued just four months after the request for proposals was released in November.
Pixxel, Planet, and NRO Win Hyperspectral Study Contracts
Pixxel, a hyperspectral startup, has won its first publicly announced government customer as one of the six companies to be awarded study contracts by the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). The company recently unveiled its first set of images from its hyperspectral pathfinder satellites, and with plans for a 24-satellite constellation, it is excited about the opportunity to offer its imaging capabilities to the NRO, its partners, and the U.S. geospatial intelligence community.
Planet, another company awarded a study contract, will work directly with the NRO to explore how its hyperspectral capabilities align with the agency’s national space security architecture. Planet is pursuing a hyperspectral constellation called Tanager, in partnership with the Carbon Mapper Coalition, to detect greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental applications.
Dr. Jeremy Banik, the deputy director of Commercial Systems Program Office, stated that the NRO is taking deliberate steps to integrate emerging hyperspectral capabilities into the U.S. government architecture through partnerships with the commercial remote sensing industry. The NRO is not interested in buying just a large swath of a single discrete band such as thermal infrared imagery but wants to buy many individual bands.
Jon Powers, the General Manager of Planet Federal, is honored to continue working as a commercial provider for the NRO, enabling the agency to better analyze and integrate commercial capabilities into their emerging hybrid space system architecture.
The NRO awarded study contracts to six companies for commercial hyperspectral imagery as part of its Strategic Commercial Enhancement’s Broad Agency Announcement Framework. The first stage of the two-stage effort will focus on analytical studies to estimate capabilities at the individual sensor and constellation levels, business and cybersecurity planning, while the second stage will assess on-orbit capabilities and procure data products.
The study contracts demonstrate the NRO’s commitment to agile acquisition and its dedication to exploring the potential of commercial hyperspectral imagery. The hyperspectral market is expanding, and competition is growing, with companies innovating at an incredible pace. The NRO acknowledges the value of commercial data and considers it necessary to satisfy its mission.
Don’t miss interesting posts on Famousbio
