The World´s First Commercial Hyperspectral Data Service from Earth Observation Satellite

ITOCHU Corporation and its partners have secured very strong support by the Japanese government ministry METI, to the tune of about US$ 85 million towards the cost of developing a new advanced spectral imager. Although the METI original plan was to refine the current ASTER multispectral mission to meet the market needs related to a Landsat-class instrument, ITOCHU and its partners proposed to use a more modern sensor-suite that combines a hyperspectral imager, and wider swath and a high resolution multi-spectral sensor in this satellite mission. The hyperspectral imager to target a set of key markets considered to be the best early adopters of the technology: (1) Defense & security, (2) Environmental & mine-site environment auditing, and (3) Precision coastal/agriculture mapping. The requirement below was studied in 2006 market survey. Subject to a PPP framework to be discussed and agreed between METI and ITOCHU and its partners, our industry participation may cover commercial distribution worldwide of both multispectral and hyperspectral imageries, potentially servicing both private and government users. To implement this commercial role, ITOCHU and its partners have begun to seek a international partner, in particular from the US and Europe.