How Kuva Space is Building Tunable Hyperspectral Satellite Constellations

This week I talk to Jarkko Antila. Jarkko is the CEO of Kuva Space, a hyperspectral imaging company from Finland.
Satellite imagery senses the reflections of Electromagnetic radiation from objects on Earth. But satellites can image the Earth in a few different ways. Most people associate satellite imagery with what you see in Satellite view on Google Maps. This is a Multispectral image.
Hyperspectral imaging goes a step further and captures data across hundreds of wavelengths in narrow spectral bands, in the visible and infrared ranges of light. The more bands we capture the image in, the more information we can extract about the target area imaged by the satellite. This enables precise identification of materials, vegetation health and even tank vessels in the open ocean.
Every hyperspectral company we’ve had on the show takes a unique approach to their technology stack.
The folks at Kuva Space are taking this bet: tunable optics. Tunable optics on satellites are essentially guitar strings that can be tuned.. In SPACE!. A tunable optical filter enables satellites to filter for specific wavelength signatures. Each material has its own unique wavelength signature. So whether we want to identify a ship or gas leak, we can tune into those specific wavelength signatures.
On this episode, we also cover:
The evolution of Finland's space industry and how Kuva Space emerged from it.
Kuva's innovative "divide and conquer" approach with their satellite constellations.
I really enjoyed this chat with Jarkko. If you are enjoying these episodes, make sure you hit like and subscribe to the show.
Now, onto the conversation with Jarkko Antila.