Earth observation

SATLANTIS, a Space Technology for Earth Observation & Universe Exploration Company, have announced a commercial partnership with Dotphoton, an Earth Observation company known for its Very High-Resolution optical technology and solutions. Dotphoton also brings Jetraw to this collaboration, a state-of-the-art raw image compressor. Furthermore, Jetraw increases onboard data throughput by a factor of 4 and accelerates data transfer from space to ground. This will enable SATLANTIS satellites to collect and transmit raw images at high speed while maintaining the metrological accuracy needed for advanced AI/ML applications.

Spire Global, Inc., a provider of space-based data, analytics, and space services, have announced that Estuaire, a data firm empowering the aviation industry to reduce its environmental impact, selected the company to supply global aviation insights. Furthermore, Spire will provide its detailed aircraft positional data, as well as its Flight-Report, which aggregates hundreds of millions of daily satellite and terrestrial ADS-B positions into an easily accessible one-row-per-flight information enriched with all the flight and aircraft data for post-flight analytics and reporting needs.

GHGSat has completed its Series C1 funding round for a total of US$44 million in equity and debt, which consequently puts the Company's total raised funds to more than US$126 million since its inception in 2011. Equity participants in the funding round included Fonds de solidarité FTQ, BDC Capital, the investment arm of the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), the Government of Québec through Investissement Québec, Climate Investment, and the Japan Energy Fund.

Space Flight Laboratory (SFL) announced on the 7th of September that the SFL-built GHGSat greenhouse gas monitoring microsatellites have achieved sustained detection and measurement of methane emissions at double the design capacity of the satellite. SFL developed all nine operational 15 kg GHGSat spacecraft on its NEMO microsatellite bus. 

ReOrbit, a Helsinki-based provider of software-enabled satellites, has completed an oversubscribed Seed funding round for US $7.4M, led by Inventure VC alongside participation from 10xFounders, Icebreaker.vc, Expansion, and YesVC. ReOrbit provides real-time data flow in space and provides Earth Observation and SatCom operators with flight software, satellite platforms, and complete systems.

Space in Africa, a media, consulting, and analytics company, has published the 2023 edition of its African Space Industry Report. The report projects the African space economy to grow by 16.16% to USD 22.64 billion by 2026, and with the remarkable spurt in the economy in 2022, the industry is on track to reach this target.

SatSure has closed a Series A round of $15 million in equity capital and venture debt, with Baring Private Equity Partners (BPEP) and India and Promus Ventures leading the round. The round also saw participation from Omidyar Network India and xto10X. With this investment, SatSure’s plans of launching a fleet of four high-resolution optical and multispectral satellites continue to be on track for Q4 2025.

LeoStella and Hera Systems have signed a strategic manufacturing alliance to mitigate supply chain risks, increase the reliability of production and delivery schedules and maintain competitive pricing for small satellite constellations. The parties introduced the collaboration through a common manufacturing proposal for the Space Development Agency’s Tranche 2 Transport Layer.

HEO, formerly known as HEO Robotics, has announced the successful completion of its Series A funding round, securing $12 million AUD in investment. Airtree Ventures, an Australian venture capital firm popular for its strategic investments in high-growth technology companies, led the round. Additional and returning investors include Salus VC, Y Combinator, In-Q-Tel, David Harding and Steve Baxter.

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. has launched a dedicated Electron mission for Capella Space.. The mission demonstrated several significant milestones for Rocket Lab’s reusability program, including an ocean splashdown of the Electron rocket’s first stage and the successful flight of a previously flown Rutherford engine. The mission was also Rocket Lab’s 40th Electron launch since the Company began launches in 2017, further cementing Electron’s position as a competitive commercial small launch vehicle globally.