SkyWatch is once again in the news. After getting its Series A round of funding closed early in 2020, the company has been relatively quiet. However, over the past few weeks the company has had several announcements including its Series B round of funding. Now comes news of a new Canadian partner in Wyvern for hyperspectral data.
For over a year now SkyWatch has been quietly building its TerraStream integrated data management solution. Recently they announced that SatRevolution (Poland) would be using TerraStream in their 14 small satellite constellation. The first of those satellites are currently scheduled to launch tomorrow on a Virgin Orbit launch.
Then came news that Space JLTZ would be using TerraStream on the D2 / Atlacom-1 nanosatellite which is scheduled to launch today on the SpaceX Transporter-2 mission.
Listen to our recent podcast with SkyWatch CEO, James Slifierz.
Now SkyWatch is announcing that Wyvern will also be using TerraStream for their constellation of small satellites equipped with new a hyperspectral sensor.
Wyvern won’t go into details about their new hyperspectral sensor other than to say it’s a “novel unfolding camera technology” and which can be equipped on a small 6U satellite bus. The new camera is much cheaper to build according to Wyvern and will capture light across hundreds of bands “allowing the capture of high-quality, information-rich imagery at an affordable price.”
Wyvern is an Edmonton based startup that’s been developing a new hyperspectral sensor that would be used to collected data targeting the “agriculture, forestry, energy, water quality, environmental monitoring, and other areas.” They recently signed a deal with satellite maker ACC Clyde Space to essentially lease three satellites to start with. ACC Clyde Space will build and own the satellites while Wyvern will sell the hyperspectral data. That data will now flow through the SkyWatch TerraStream service. From Wyvern’s perspective, they are singularly focused on the hyperspectral technology and don’t need to worry about designing or building the satellites. Nor do they have to worry about how to get data to clients now. This emerging type of business model allows a startup like Wyvern to get technology in use at a much lower cost and generate revenue quickly.