Pixxel’s Firefly Satellites Achieve Successful First Light, Beaming Down the World’s Highest-Resolution Hyperspectral Images

LOS ANGELES & BENGALURU, India--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar 18, 2025--

Pixxel, a space technology company building the world's highest-resolution hyperspectral satellite constellation, today announced that its three Firefly satellites have successfully captured and downlinked their ‘First Light’ images - setting a new benchmark as the world’s highest-resolution hyperspectral images!

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250318411214/en/

With all three satellites having completed commissioning successfully and in perfect working condition, this marks a significant milestone in the company’s aim to deliver cutting-edge Earth observation capabilities. Launched in January 2025 aboard SpaceX’s Transporter-12, the three Firefly satellites are beaming down images at an unprecedented 5-meter resolution across 150+ spectral bands with 40 km swath width. The released images highlight unseen details of three areas, one from each satellite.

The newly-released First Light images highlight three ecologically and economically significant regions, each captured by a different Firefly satellite:

By capturing far more detail than traditional satellites and spanning a comprehensive range of spectral bands, Pixxel’s Firefly satellites unlock transformative new applications. Agriculture operators can pinpoint nutrient deficiencies, detect early signs of crop stress, and minimize water usage by monitoring evapotranspiration rates. Climate monitoring agencies can observe shifts in carbon capture by forests, detect emissions hotspots like methane leaks, and track deforestation in near real time. Mining companies can use spectral signatures to locate mineral-rich deposits or monitor tailing ponds for environmental compliance. And disaster response teams can rapidly assess flood- or fire-damaged areas, enabling swifter, better-targeted relief efforts.

"We’re proud to unveil these pioneering images from Firefly, each pixel a vital clue in our quest to decode the Earth’s complexities," said Awais Ahmed, Founder and CEO, Pixxel. "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. These images are proof that the future of Earth observation, and our planet's wellbeing, is brilliantly within reach.”

Pixxel’s recent partnerships span diverse sectors, with leading organizations such as NASA and the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) collaborating on the company’s next-generation Earth observation technology. This solidifies Pixxel’s broader mission to create a “health monitor for the planet” by equipping stakeholders with high-fidelity, real-time insights into Earth’s surface and atmosphere.

The success of the first three Firefly satellites accelerates Pixxel’s roadmap toward deploying a full-scale hyperspectral constellation by 2026. Three additional Firefly satellites are scheduled to launch before mid 2025. High-fidelity images from these satellites will spectrally fingerprint the Earth and set a new standard in hyperspectral intelligence, reinforcing Pixxel’s mission of building a health monitor for the planet and transforming critical decision-making.

About Pixxel

Pixxel is a space data company and spacecraft manufacturer redefining Earth observation with hyperspectral imaging. With the successful launch of its first three commercial hyperspectral satellites ‘Fireflies,’ Pixxel is building a constellation of a total of 18-24 satellites designed for a daily revisit frequency anywhere on Earth. This constellation will deliver the world’s highest-resolution hyperspectral imagery, enabling industries to detect, monitor, and predict critical global phenomena across agriculture, oil and gas, mining, environment, and other sectors with 5m resolution and 50x richer detail compared to conventional satellites.

Beyond Earth observation, Pixxel is also manufacturing satellites, advancing cutting-edge spacecraft technology for various applications. Its in-house Earth Observation Studio, Aurora, is helping users seamlessly analyze satellite imagery, making hyperspectral data more accessible and actionable.

Pixxel has raised $95 million from M&G Catalyst, Glade Brook Capital Partners, Aditya Birla Ventures, Google, Lightspeed, Radical Ventures and others. For more information, visit www.pixxel.space or follow Pixxel on Twitter and LinkedIn.

FF1 | Sundarbans, India

THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — A woman was killed early Saturday in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki when a bomb she was carrying exploded in her hands, police said.

The 38-year-old woman apparently was carrying the bomb to place it outside a nearby bank around 5 a.m., police said.

Several storefronts and vehicles were damaged by the explosion.

The woman was known to authorities after taking part in several past robberies, according to police, who said they are investigating her possible ties to extreme leftist groups.

A Greek police forensic expert searches for evidence at the area where a 38-year-old woman was killed early Saturday when a bomb she was carrying exploded in her hands outside a bank branch, local police said, in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, May 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)

Greek policemen and forensic experts are seen at the area where a 38-year-old woman was killed early Saturday when a bomb she was carrying exploded in her hands outside a bank branch, local police said, in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, May 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)

A Greek police forensic expert searches for evidence at the area where a 38-year-old woman was killed early Saturday when a bomb she was carrying exploded in her hands outside a bank branch, local police said, in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, May 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)

Greek police forensic experts search the area where a 38-year-old woman was killed early Saturday when a bomb she was carrying exploded in her hands outside a bank branch, local police said, in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, May 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)

Greek police forensic experts search the area where a 38-year-old woman was killed early Saturday when a bomb she was carrying exploded in her hands outside a bank branch, local police said, in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, May 3, 2025. On the fence of the bank branch reads : "Justice is to resist. Take stones". (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)

Greek police forensic experts search the area where a 38-year-old woman was killed early Saturday when a bomb she was carrying exploded in her hands outside a bank branch, local police said, in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, Saturday, May 3, 2025. On the fence of the bank branch reads : "Justice is to resist. Take stones". (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)

Greek police forensic experts search the spot where a 38-year-old woman was killed early Saturday when a bomb she was carrying exploded in her hands, local police said, in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, May 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)