Sundarbans, India Photo: Pixxel

Sundarbans, India Photo: Pixxel

Pixxel’s three Firefly hyperspectral satellites have successfully captured and downlinked their ‘first light’ images, the company announced on March 18.

Launched in January 2025 on SpaceX’s Transporter-12 mission, the three Firefly satellites produced images with 5-meter resolution across more than 150 spectral bands.

The images show three regions: the River Ganga in India, the Saloum River Delta in Senegal, and the Sundarbans in India. 

Firefly 3 captured images of River Ganga’s braided channels, floodplains, and surrounding farmland, revealing variations in soil moisture and vegetation that are crucial for farmers and water resource managers. The Saloum River Delta images, captured by Firefly 2, highlight the waterways and wetlands of the region, providing data that can be used to monitor changing coastlines, track salinity levels, and protect fishery resources. The Firefly 1 satellite focuses on the Sundarbans using imagery to help researchers track forest health, detect mangrove stress, and plan conservation strategies.

Pixxel founder and CEO Awais Ahmed commented: “With each new hyperspectral satellite, we are making the invisible visible, bringing planetary-scale intelligence to industries that need it most. By illuminating invisible signals — whether it’s detecting pollutants in the atmosphere or providing early warning of crop diseases in far-flung fields — we can now act with foresight and precision.”

Pixxel has partnerships with organizations like NASA and the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), and the company’s mission is to create a “health monitor for the planet” through Earth observation data.

The company plans to deploy a full hyperspectral constellation by 2026, with three additional Firefly satellites scheduled for launch before mid-2025.

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