The National Reconnaissance Office awarded study contracts to six companies offering — or planning to offer — satellite images of Earth in multiple wavelengths, including Redmond, Wash.-based Xplore.
Other companies receiving contracts under NRO’s multi-stage Strategic Commercial Enhancements Broad Agency Announcement Framework include BlackSky Technology, which is based in Virginia but traces its corporate roots to Seattle, plus HyperSat, Orbital Sidekick, Pixxel and Planet.
“We are operating the largest, most diverse, most capable overhead constellation in NRO’s history as we face increasingly complex threats in space and on the ground,” NRO Director Chris Scolese said today in a news release. “Through these newest contracts, we are very excited to explore the potential of commercial hyperspectral imagery and what it may be able to contribute to our world-class intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities.”
Hyperspectral images combine light from hundreds of wavelengths across the electromagnetic spectrum. Analysts can analyze each pixel in such images to identify objects and materials. The technology can provide insights for agriculture, mining and geology as well as intelligence and surveillance.
Xplore is developing satellites for remote imaging from low Earth orbit, or LEO, as well as for farther-out applications in lunar orbit and beyond. Its first LEO satellite is due for launch later this year on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rideshare mission.
“This contract will eventually make use of our first mission, which includes novel hyperspectral imaging capabilities in addition to a range of other sensors,” Russell Hannigan, Xplore’s chief innovation officer and project manager for the NRO contract, said in an emailed statement. “Our multi-sensor platform provides a unique capability, including advanced data fusion not possible with single-sensor spacecraft.”
Lisa Rich, Xplore’s co-founder and chief operating officer, said in a news release that her company is “honored to be selected for this new and important national capability.”
The contracts are part of NRO’s multi-stage effort to learn more about the current and expected availability, quality and utility of hyperspectral imagery. The first stage focuses on analytical studies to provide estimates of system capabilities at both the individual sensor and constellation levels, as well as business and cybersecurity planning. The second stage focuses on assessing on-orbit capabilities and procuring data products.
“Designed with low barriers to entry to accommodate emerging providers, we anticipate the initial value of each contract to be about $300,000,” an NRO spokesperson told GeekWire in an email. “They can quickly be scaled to much higher values as mission value, customer requirements and on-orbit provider capabilities are confirmed.,”
BlackSky won an earlier study contract from the NRO that focused on commercial satellite imagery. That led to a significantly larger contract that was awarded in 2022 and could carry a maximum value of $1.021 billion over the course of 10 years if all options are exercised.
In a news release, BlackSky CEO Brian O’Toole said the hyperspectral imaging study contract “further expands BlackSky’s long-term relationship with the U.S. government as an innovation partner for leveraging advanced commercial capabilities to meet emerging intelligence challenges.”
