Tag: Xplore
-
Xplore shows off a hyperspectral view of North Korea, captured by XCUBE-1 imaging satellite
Xplore’s satellite captured this color-coded image in visible and near-infrared wavelengths over North Korea. ©2025 Xplore Inc. Nine months after the launch of its first satellite, Bellevue, Wash.-based Xplore is sharing a hyperspectral view of North Korean territory as seen from orbit. The image, captured in visible and near-infrared wavelengths by Xplore’s XCUBE-1 satellite, was…
-
Xplore reveals colorful hyperspectral views captured by its planet-watching satellite
An image from the XCUBE-1 satellite shows the Salt River in Arizona. ©2025 Xplore Inc. All rights reserved. Bellevue, Wash.-based Xplore has released the first hyperspectral images from its XCUBE-1 satellite, six months after the shoebox-sized spacecraft was sent into orbit. The pictures, captured with a resolution of 5 meters (16 feet) per pixel, show…
-
How power is blazing a trail for America’s space effort — and for nuclear startups
An artist’s conception shows a nuclear thermal propulsion system at work in orbit (USNC-Tech Illustration) As more and more hardware goes into Earth orbit, and eventually to the moon and Mars, where will the power to run all those machines come from? That’s one of the questions under consideration at a State of the Space…
-
Microsoft and Xplore team up with NOAA to demonstrate cloud-based satellite operations
An artist’s rendition shows the NOAA-18 satellite in orbit. (NOAA Illustration) What do you do with an aging weather satellite? If you’re the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, you turn to Microsoft Azure and a Seattle-area startup called Xplore to find out if there’s a cheaper way to keep it going. After a yearlong demonstration…
-
Xplore acquires assets of Kubos flight software company as it ramps up for first space mission
An artist’s conception shows Xplore’s satellite platform in low Earth orbit. (Xplore Illustration) Redmond, Wash.-based Xplore says it’s acquired the assets of Kubos Corp., the creator of cloud-based mission and flight control software for satellites. Xplore’s co-founder and CEO, Jeff Rich, said in a news release that Kubos’ Major Tom software platform would be used…
-
Xplore says it’s brought in $16.2M so far for ‘Space as a Service’ satellite program
An artist’s conception shows the Xplore’s satellite platform in low Earth orbit. (Xplore Illustration) In a recap of its first five years of existence, Redmond, Wash.-based Xplore reports that it’s received $16.2 million in venture funding and contracts to support its satellite-based drive to offer “Space as a Service.” “Xplore employs around 20 people and…
-
Xplore makes a deal to use OrbAstro’s satellite platforms for space missions
An artist’s conception shows Xplore’s first satellite, which will use Orbital Astronautics’ ORB-6 platform for Earth observation and astronomical research. (OrbAstro Illustration) Redmond, Wash.-based Xplore has signed a contract with Orbital Astronautics Ltd. to use its standardized satellite platform for a variety of missions, starting with a space imaging mission that’s due for launch as…
-
Xplore wins $2M contract from Pentagon initiative to speed up satellite development
An artist’s conception shows the Xcraft spacecraft platform in orbit. (Xplore Illustration) Redmond, Wash.-based Xplore says it has received a $2 million contract from National Security Innovation Capital, a hardware development accelerator within the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit, to speed up work on Xplore’s Xcraft platform. The payload-hosting spacecraft is due for its first launch…
-
Xplore reveals its plans to open satellite manufacturing facility in Seattle area
Xplore’s new satellite manufacturing facility is in the Redmond complex that once housed Planetary Resources. (Xplore Photo) Xplore, a Seattle-area startup that aims to build satellites for interplanetary missions, has a new address in Redmond, Wash. — in the same office complex that once housed the Planetary Resources asteroid-mining venture. “Xplore’s 22,000-square-foot facility is tailor-made…
-
NOAA awards Xplore $670,000 to study the options for space weather observatory
Artwork shows Xplore’s Xcraft probe observing the sun in different spectral bands. (Xplore Illustration) Seattle-based Xplore has won a $670,111 award from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to look into the feasibility of sending a solar observatory to a gravitational balance point that’s a million miles from Earth. From that spot, known as the…