Hyper-Spectral Imaging Satellite and its Key Features

The Hyper-Spectral Imaging Satellite (HySIS) is designed to study Earth’s surface, natural resources, and environment by capturing detailed spectral signatures for research and applications.

Table of Contents

Context: 3 hyperspectral satellites developed by Indian startup Pixxel were recently launched by SpaceX Falcon-9. With this, Pixxel has completed Phase 1 of its Firefly Constellation, placing a total of six satellites in orbit.

What is Meant by Hyper-Spectral Imaging Satellite

A hyperspectral imaging (HSI) satellite is an Earth observation satellite that captures images across dozens to hundreds of narrow spectral bands (from visible to short-wave infrared), instead of just a few bands (as in RGB or multispectral imaging).
It provides a detailed spectral signature for every pixel on Earth’s surface, enabling precise detection of materials, gases, crops, or minerals.

Key Features

Spectral Bands: Captures data in 37 to 100+ bands (vs 3 in RGB, 4–12 in multispectral).
High Resolution: Up to 5-metre resolution (Pixxel’s Firefly).
Spectral Range: Covers visible (400 nm) to short-wave infrared (~2500 nm).
Data Richness: Each pixel contains a continuous reflectance spectrum, enabling chemical & physical property analysis.
Constellation Advantage: Multiple satellites provide frequent global coverage (Pixxel → 24 hrs with 6 satellites).

Multispectral Imaging

Multispectral Imaging is a remote sensing technique where images are captured in a limited number of discrete spectral bands (usually 4–12 bands) across the electromagnetic spectrum.
These bands include visible light (RGB) and often extend into near-infrared (NIR) and sometimes short-wave infrared.

About Firefly Constellation

Firefly is Pixxel’s flagship hyperspectral imaging satellite constellation, featuring six of the highest-resolution commercial hyperspectral satellites.
Satellites are designed to deliver critical climate and Earth insights with unmatched precision.
A satellite constellation is a network of identical artificial satellites with the same purpose and shared control, designed to work as a system.

Related Information

A consortium led by Pixxel has secured an Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) bid to establish India’s first fully indigenous commercial Earth observation satellite constellation in partnership with the government.
A satellite bus is the standardised structural and functional platform of a satellite that provides essential subsystems (power, propulsion, communication, etc.) on which mission-specific payloads are mounted.
The same Falcon-9 mission also launched the payloads based on the P-30 satellite bus developed by the Indian startup Dhruva Space.