German thermal remote sensing startup ConstellR has acquired Belgian hyperspectral startup ScanWorld to offer better agricultural insights for end users. According to ConstellR, ScanWorld’s hyperspectral product development know-how will complement its own thermal infrared and data processing capabilities.
- Both companies were founded in 2020 with the aim of offering Earth observation (EO) data to the agricultural industry
- In October 2021, the companies signed a memorandum of understanding to combine EO expertise
- This week, ConstellR acquired ScanWorld
With the acquisition closed, ConstellR expects to launch its first public-facing product within a month. It will offer a harmonized data stream integrating observations from Landsat, Copernicus, and the company’s own proprietary data, with a focus on water monitoring.
The ConstellR constellation
Currently, the company has a single asset in orbit, launched to the ISS via a Northrop Cygnus cargo spacecraft in February. But ConstellR has a roadmap to launch a pair of constellations that will offer proprietary thermal and hyperspectral observations:
- The first independent thermal system will be launched towards the end of 2023.
- That first system will be joined by three more, enabling daily revisit capabilities.
- The first hyperspectral systems will be launched starting from 2024.
In the future: Despite its disciplined ag focus in the near term, ConstellR hasn’t ruled out expansions into other verticals down the road.
