Nine months after its first satellite, Bellevue, Wash.- based Xplore is sharing a hyperspectral view of North Korean territory as seen from orbit.
The visible and near-infrared wavelength image from the Xplore Xcube-1 satellite was unveiled at the Seattle Space Supremacy Summit at the Museum of Flight. Lisa Rich, Xplore co-founder and chief operating officer, said the image shows “partially submerged farms that are likely rice paddies,” as well as fish farms and salt flats.
“That’s a big revelation for us today,” Rich said.
Xcube-1 was sent into low-Earth orbit last December as part of SpaceX’s Bandwagon-2 satellite launch mission. In the area, Xplore began sharing images from the satellite in June.
Xcube-1 images have a resolution of 5 meters (16 feet) per pixel and are typically displayed in false colors to emphasize differences in terrain. For example, shades of red are used to indicate vegetation. “We’re seeing more than we expected to see,” Rich said.
During repeated flights, such images can track the construction of new facilities or other changes in surface features. This can provide valuable insights for intelligence agencies.
Xplore is one of six companies providing hyperspectral satellite data to the National Reconnaissance Office under five-year contracts awarded in 2023.
The contracts are part of NRO’s multi-phased effort to learn more about the utility of hyperspectral imagery. The first phase focuses on analytical studies to provide estimates of system capabilities at both the individual sensor and constellation levels, as well as for business and cybersecurity planning. The second phase focuses on evaluating orbital capabilities and acquiring data products.
Providing data for national security purposes is just one of the applications that Xplore is targeting with its “space-as-a-service” business model. The company, which was founded in 2017, also develops satellites and orbital platforms for commercial remote sensing.
