
ÅAC Microtec AB’s subsidiary, Clyde Space, has been selected by KP Labs to deliver a 6U satellite for the mission Intuition-1. The order value is 500,000 British Pounds Sterling (U.S.$656,000).
Clyde Space will be responsible for the design and manufacture of the satellite platform. Launch is currently scheduled for the fourth quarter 2022.
“This mission for KP Labs and the Polish FP Space Consortium is a perfect example of ground-breaking applications that are being enabled by highly capable, very small satellites. We are thrilled to be selected by KP Labs to deliver their mission. The spacecraft will be the highest performance 6U CubeSat platform we have produced to date, driven by the main payload which is an advanced hyperspectral imager which will demonstrate next generation imaging technology from space. There are a wide range of applications that will benefit from this new technology including agriculture, mineral mapping and urban planning,” said Iraklis Hatziathanasiou, VP of Business Development.
The mission aims to demonstrate an advanced hyperspectral imager and novel on-board processor developed by KP Labs and integrated by Clyde Space in the latest generation of the 6U satellite platform. Using neural network techniques, the mission aims to become the first satellite with processing capability to segment hyperspectral images in orbit. Traditionally used in the mining industry, hyperspectral imaging is increasingly being used in a variety of applications and KP Labs envisage future use for its technology in applications ranging from agriculture, forestry and mining, to environmental protection and defence.
KP Labs is part of the Polish FP Space consortium aiming to develop machine learning and big data applications for use in space. The software development company Future Processing and the electronics company FP Instruments are also part of the consortium alongside KP Labs.