Boeing announces first customer of 502 Phoenix small satellite

An artist’s rendering showing two Boeing 502 Phoenix satellites in orbit. Image Credit: Boeing

Rae Botsford End

On Wednesday, September 10, Boeing announced at the World Satellite Business Week conference that it received its first commercial order for the 502 Phoenix, a small satellite based on their Phantom Phoenix prototype.

The satellites were ordered by HySpecIQ, a year-and-a-half-old startup based in Washington, D.C. If all goes according to the current plan, the two satellites will be ready for launch in 2018, and will carry the first high-resolution hyperspectral payload in the commercial remote sensing industry. The launch vehicle has not been chosen at this stage.

Boeing’s contract for the satellites includes command and control operations, image processing, and data storage of the imagery, as well as options for long-term operations and maintenance.

“This combines a flexible satellite system design with an innovative business model, demonstrating our commitment to evolve our satellite portfolio into adjacent markets,” said Craig Cooning, president of Boeing’s Network & Space Systems, in a press release. “Our 502 Phoenix is well-suited for a range of missions that includes electro-optical imaging and remote sensing, space situational awareness and satellite communications.”

Hyperspectral imaging is a type of spectral imaging technology that captures electromagnetic radiation (EMR) and processes it, separating the different EMR wavelength bands (or “spectral bands”) so users can identify not only objects, but also the materials that comprise those objects. According to the press release, “More than 200 spectral colors in the visible and shortwave infrared spectrum are collected to uncover diagnostic spectral patterns not visible to the naked eye.”

Hyperspectral imaging has applications in markets like agriculture, environment monitoring, astronomy, surveillance, mining, and global oil, as materials can be identified based on the “spectral signatures” they leave behind. U.S. government agencies also take advantage of the information gathered by such imaging, as do partner countries.

The 502 Phoenix satellite was developed by Boeing Phantom Works, which is the research arm of Boeing’s defense business, and was shown at the Satellite 2014 Conference and Exhibition back in March.

“Boeing’s in-depth experience in hosting electro-optical payloads, coupled with its unmatched record in the delivery of commercial space systems, was the deciding factor in this award,” said William R. Sullivan, HySpecIQ founder and executive chairman, in the press release. “Working closely with Boeing’s team will allow us to bring forward a technical design with unparalleled remote sensing capability that will set a new standard in this industry.”

Currently, Boeing plans to manage the sales, processing and distribution of the hyperspectral imagery products to the U.S. Government intelligence community, Department of Defense and international partner customers, while HySpecIQ plans to manage these aspects for the global civil and commercial market.

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