Objectives of the Product

A significant gap exists in current EO data availability. Most infrared imagers in space offer images with a resolution of 60 to 100 meters per pixel, capturing images of specific areas only every two weeks. Our objective is to address this gap by providing high-resolution (~10 meters per pixel) thermal imaging with rapid global coverage. This combination has enormous potential to monitor progress and inform decision-making to combat climate change. By directly measuring heat emissions in the built environment, our frequent high-resolution thermal imaging precisely identifies where and when significant energy inefficiencies occur. This empowers governments, businesses, and individuals to take targeted actions to improve energy efficiency, crucial for transitioning to a net-zero society and meeting sustainability targets.

Additionally, our thermal imaging helps identify heat-stressed zones and indoor overheating during heatwaves, reducing cooling energy demands. Previous services like this were costly due to the need for large telescopes, but recent advancements in telescope technology and the rise of low-cost nanosatellites make our solution affordable and commercially viable as we transition to a net-zero economy.

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Customers and their Needs

Our space telescope will help EO satellite operators who want to capture high- resolution thermal infrared satellite images by reducing development costs and enabling large satellite network.

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Targeted customer/users countries

Main Locations: UK, Europe and US
Interested and prospective customer companies include: OpenCosmos, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Carbon Laces.
Prospective Customers in the Space sector: Planet (USA), Maxar (USA), Airbus (EU), Blacksky (USA), Satellite Vu (UK), ConstellR (Germany).

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Product description

We are developing a powerful thermal infra-red (TIR) telescope. It has very high resolution (6.5 metres per pixel), a very large swath (33 km) and it can collect data in a push-broom mode at a very high rate (940,000 square kilometers per hour). Its low unit cost means that large constellations are feasible, which offer daily revisit rates. The customer will buy the product and integrate it into a satellite platform. The satellite will capture EO data which will be sold to the end users.

The product includes an Image Following System (IFS), which removes the blurring caused by the ground motion (~7 km/sec).

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Added Value

Our resolution in the TIR band is much better than current or planned offerings. For example, the resolution of LandSat is about 60 m per pixel. SatVu (HotSat) offer a similar resolution to ours, in the MWIR, but they do not offer a large swath, so their data collection rate per satellite is lower..

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Current Status

SuperSharp has been developing TIR space telescopes for several years. Part of this development is the use of uncooled micro-bolometer arrays (UMBAs), which are relatively unused for space applications. SuperSharp now has expertise in this area.

The optical design of SPIRIT has been completed. It is innovative because it has a very large field of view (5 degrees), a large aperture (55 cm) and is very compact and lightweight. We have also already started developing an image following system, which enables strip-mapping (push-broom) data collection.