SIGMA Data

SIGMA Data is Orbital Sidekick's (OSK) hyperspectral imagery offering for users who analyse raw data themselves. Most optical satellites record only a few colour bands and cannot tell what a surface is made of; hyperspectral imagery records a detailed spectral signature for every pixel, which can be matched to specific materials and chemicals.

The imagery comes from OSK's own GHOSt (Global Hyperspectral Observation Satellite) constellation. Its sensors cover the visible to shortwave-infrared range (400-2500 nm) in several hundred narrow, contiguous bands (OSK cites figures from 468 to more than 500) at a ground sampling distance of about 8 m, and each satellite also carries a panchromatic sensor of about 3 m. Buyers can task the fleet to collect over chosen areas at routine or custom cadences, or search OSK's growing archive of hyperspectral imagery to compare a site over time. OSK georectifies and calibrates the data before delivery. The data is ordered through OSK's SIGMA (Spectral Intelligence Global Monitoring Application) platform, which OSK describes as API-driven and which also serves its analytics product, SIGMA Monitor.

OSK positions SIGMA Data for environmental and emergency monitoring and for defence and security. Its published analyses of GHOSt data include vegetation-stress and burn-severity mapping of the Eaton and Palisades fires in California, detection of sulphur and ammonium salts at industrial sites, and material identification for damage assessment. OSK describes itself as the first US-based commercial company to launch a fleet of satellites carrying hyperspectral sensors.