Orbital Sidekick (OSK) has announced the upcoming launch of its newest and most powerful hyperspectral imaging satellite, Aurora, which is set to expand contracts and pilot program opportunities for, among other things, sustainable mining practices.

Aurora leverages OSK’s previous experience collecting and analysing hyperspectral data to provide action-oriented insights, with a broad focus on sustainability, OSK says. The Aurora satellite will serve OSK’s customers in the energy, mining, and defence sectors, including expanding contracts and pilot program opportunities for oil and gas pipeline monitoring & methane mapping, clean energy resource exploration, sustainable mining practices and wildfire risk mitigation.

The Orbital Sidekick Aurora Satellite is a 30 kg precursor to the six 100 kg ESPA class GHOSt satellites scheduled for launch in 2022. Seattle-based launch services provider, Spaceflight, will be coordinating the launch with a total of 36 payloads onboard the SpaceX Transporter-2 rideshare mission, taking place June 25, 2021, at Cape Canaveral Air Force Base in Florida, USA.

Aurora will capture more than 450 spectral bands in the visible to shortwave infrared light spectrum (400 to 2,500 nm), OSK says, with a pixel size of approximately 30 m, making it the highest resolution commercial hyperspectral imagery available to date, the company claims.

“We’re excited to be launching Aurora to help provide consistent monitoring services across all of our clients as well as further the exploration for clean energy sources globally,” Dan Katz, CEO & Co-Founder of Orbital Sidekick, said. “Working with Astro Digital, OSK will be able to focus on the payload and extract information from our unique and proprietary hyperspectral data with the utmost precision.”