Esper imaging system qualified ahead of planned May launch

Esper Satellite Imagery and Spiral Blue have qualified a payload containing a hyperspectral imager and an onboard computer ahead of a planned launch in May next year.

In a statement on Tuesday, Esper said that a test in a thermal vacuum chamber simulating space conditions provided “more evidence for the space readiness” of the two companies’ technologies.

Esper’s sensor is intended to collect earth data from space in the form of “hundreds of individual wavelength bands” in the range of 400 to 1000 nanometres. Spiral Blue’s (SE-1H) edge computing unit is being used for control and processing.

“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,” said Shoaib Iqbal, CEO of Esper Satellite Imagery. 

“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.” 

(Iqbal was a recent guest on the @AuManufacturing Conversations podcast, with the episode available here.)

Picture: credit Esper Space Technologies

Further reading

SATELLITE MAKER HYPED ABOUT UPCOMING RAINBOW MISSION

SPIRAL BLUE DELIVERS SATELLITE EDGE COMPUTER FOR PROJECT RAINBOW PYTHON

AUSTRALIA’S PLACE IN THE SEMICONDUCTOR WORLD: WE NEED TO AIM FOR THE STARS