Indian space data company Pixxel says it is about to launch three of its six hyperspectral imaging satellites in a first for the private satellite market.

The satellites, part of the first network of its type in India’s private space sector, will take off aboard a SpaceX rocket from California today. The other three satellites are due to be deployed in the second quarter of 2025.

Reuters says that Pixxel’s founder and chief executive Awais Ahmed told the news service that it plans to add 18 more spacecraft to the six it has already developed.

Pixxel is a space data company, backed by Google, building a constellation of hyperspectral earth imaging satellites and the analytical tools to mine insights from that data. The constellation is designed to provide global coverage every 24 hours, with the aim of detecting, monitoring and predicting global phenomena. 

Pixxel aims to use hyperspectral imaging – a technology that captures highly detailed data across hundreds of light bands – to serve a number of industries.

Its satellites can apparently deliver insights to improve crop yields, track resources, and monitor oil spills and country borders in much better detail than current technology allows.

The satellite imaging market is projected to reach US$19 billion by 2029. Pixxel hopes hyperspectral imaging could claim US$500 million to US$1 billion of this, plus additional revenue from analysis.

The company can already boast about 65 clients, some of which are paying for data from its demonstration satellites. Contracts are also in place for future data from the Firefly constellation, as it is known.

The global commercial space market is a very competitive market already, and one in which India holds only a 2% share. The hope, however, is that private players can increase this share.

As Reuters points out, Pixxel hopes to overcome these challenges with its Firefly constellation, which boasts a five-metre resolution and a 40-kilometre swathe, more, apparently, than many competitors.