NUVIEW, a 3D Earth imaging company based in Orlando, Florida has selected the Space Flight Laboratory (SFL) to develop a bus for its small satellite, Mr. SPoC, that will include a LiDAR.
Mr. SPoC is meant to be a “pathfinder small satellite” that would demonstrate the companies technology ahead of building a LiDAR constellation which they claim would be the worlds first such constellation.
NUVIEW said in its news release that the LiDAR constellation “will provide continually updated 3D elevation data for the entire Earth’s land surface using the company’s onboard laser scanning technology known as LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging).” They also said that their “Space-based LiDAR will capture 3D surface measurements more efficiently and cost effectively than traditional airborne methods, especially in remote areas, for applications related to environment, agriculture, infrastructure, forestry, cartography, and archaeology.”
“NUVIEW is proud to announce our collaboration with Space Flight Laboratory,” said NUVIEW CEO and Co-Founder Clint Graumann. “We have been working closely with Dr. Zee and the SFL team, and we are delighted to report significant progress on the Mr. SPoC mission.”
“SFL is excited to support the pioneering Mr. SPoC mission by providing a high-quality, reliable small satellite platform,” said SFL Director Dr. Robert E. Zee. “This mission will serve as a technology demonstration for NUVIEW’s first-of-its-kind operational constellation that will perform global high-resolution 3D mapping with frequent revisits and updates.”
SFL already has already developed seven small satellites platforms for a variety of mission types and is known for innovating in small satellite busses. Returning customers include GHGSat which recently ordered two more microsatellites from SFL for its greenhouse gas monitoring satellite constellation.