© Kuva Space
The Finnish hyperspectral microsatellite and artificial intelligence-powered insights company has successfully launched Hyperfield-1B on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 smallsat rideshare mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, United States. First contact has been made with the satellite on 24 June.
Hyperfield-1B, like its predecessor, Hyperfield-1A launched in August 2024, is a 6U CubeSat equipped with a patented hyperspectral camera capable of capturing data across hundreds of spectral bands. This technology enables the acquisition of high-quality data based on the applications’ needs in agriculture, aquaculture, environmental monitoring, security intelligence and maritime domain awareness.
Kuva Space's AI-powered analytics platform transforms raw hyperspectral data into decision-ready information in less than three minutes of acquisition, expediting and simplifying the data-to-insights workflow for its customers. For example, detecting the unique fingerprint of illicit crop species allows for their identification, making it nearly impossible to hide them among other crops.
“Hyperfield-1B, our second first-generation satellite, will expand our capability to serve a wider geography and customers. We are looking to expand in South East Asia and Australia in the coming months," said Jarkko Antila, chief executive officer of Kuva Space, in a press release. "With this second satellite, we expect to work with many more customers to realize the value of hyperspectral insights for their business. Our efforts to support the defense sector with change and anomaly detection, complementing other sensor modalities, will be accelerated with the launch of Hyperfield-1B, too.”
Benefits for aquaculture
In the aquaculture sector, Hyperfield-1B will provide valuable data for assessing water quality, bathymetry, biomass and biodiversity. Continuous, high-resolution data improve the modelling of water quality trends and help predict when and where harmful blooms are likely to occur - a growing concern for aquaculture operators facing rising impacts from harmful algal blooms. By filling gaps left by traditional sampling, hyperspectral monitoring strengthens regulatory reporting, supports ecosystem management and guides smarter policy decisions.
“Hyperfield-1B begins to fill one of Asia’s most costly information gaps: timely, field-level climate and ocean signals. We believe Kuva is opening a rapid window into ASEAN’s 100 million smallholder farmers and its $800 billion agri-blue economy. By distilling over 100 spectral bands into actionable insights in under 15 minutes from data acquisition, it could shrink reaction times from weeks to hours, helping farmers, insurers, and coast-guard teams tackle crop stress, illegal fishing and coastal hazards before they escalate,” added Tien Nguyen, founding partner of Earth Venture Capital.
In 2026, two to six second-generation Hyperfield satellites will launch with significantly upgraded capabilities. The company is developing 60-kilogram satellites outfitted with powerful onboard processing, an AIS receiver, VHR RGB camera and Shortwave Infrared hyperspectral camera designed to extend the wavelength range coverage and spectral resolution, enabling rapid analysis and delivery of actionable insights and unlocking more advanced applications such as soil moisture and vessel rediscovery. The company is also opening its Series A round in autumn 2025.
