Intuition-1

Quick facts

Overview

Summary

Mission Capabilities

Intuition-1 carries a single instrument, the Eagle hyperspectral camera. The instrument is a hyperspectral imager that images in the visual (VIS) and near-infrared (NIR) spectral bands. Collected data is applicable for a range of fields including agriculture, forestry, environmental monitoring and climate studies.

Performance Specifications

The Eagle hyperspectral camera has a swath width of 40 km, and can achieve a spatial resolution of 25 m/pixel, with a spectral range of 470 nm - 900 nm. It will image in up to 192 channels, producing 7 GB of data for each 40 km x 40 km scene.
The satellite operates in a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) with an altitude of 535 km, an inclination of 97.5° and an orbital period of 95 minutes.

Space and Hardware Components

Intuition-1 uses a 6U CubeSat bus, measuring 10 cm x 20 cm x 30 cm, with a weight of 12 kg. The spacecraft also carries a Starbuck-Nano power unit, which has an operating temperature of -40°C to 85°C, and a maximum battery voltage of 8.2 V.
 

Overview

Intuition-1 is a commercial nanosatellite mission of KP Labs, a Polish Aerospace company. It aims to demonstrate an advanced hyperspectral imager and novel onboard processing unit which aims to reduce the amount of data transmitted to ground stations by a factor of 100. Intuition-1 hyperspectral imaging data is applicable for a range of fields including agriculture, forestry, environmental monitoring and climate studies. A key aim of Intuition-1 is the collection of high quantities of this data, using a 192-channel hyperspectral instrument, obtaining more data from a single pass than typical 40-channel instruments, and using an onboard data processing system to reach extreme data efficiency, while retaining critical data.

Spacecraft

Intuition-1 uses a 6U CubeSat bus, measuring 10 cm x 20 cm x 30 cm, with a weight of 12 kg. The spacecraft bus also houses its novel onboard data processing system, which consists of the Leopard Data Processing Unit (DPU) and ‘The Herd’- a series of AI-powered algorithms. The Leopard DPU is capable of completing up to three trillion operations per second, and combined with ‘The Herd’, aims to reduce the data volume of each 40 km x 40 km image from 7 GB to only 70 MB. This reduction in data volume will streamline the transmission process, aiming to reduce daily transmission volume from 100 GB to just 300 MB, and enhance the rate at which processed data products reach end-users. Collected multispectral scenes will be divided into multiple frames, where each frame captures a different spectral band, to be stored in the Leopard DPU’s non-volatile memory system, which can retain stored information through a loss of power to the unit. The spacecraft also carries a Starbuck-Nano power unit, designed for 3U - 12U CubeSat buses. This power system has an operating temperature of -40°C to 85°C, with a maximum battery voltage of 8.2 V.

The intended onboard operations for the Intuition-1 DPU will be a two-step process. The first step is  a preprocessing phase, consisting of the correction of geometric errors arising from light refraction in Earth’s atmosphere, optics vibrations, radial distortion, parallax errors, sunspots and solar irradiance. The second stage consists of applying a convolutional neural network to collected imagery to detect targeted events and materials. This neural network can be updated from ground stations to update targeted datasets.

Launch

Intuition-1 was launched on November 9, 2023, at 7:47 pm CET aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket from the American Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The satellite operates in a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) with an altitude of 535 km, an inclination of 97.5°, and an orbital period of 95 minutes

Sensor Complement

Intuition-1 carries a single instrument, the Eagle hyperspectral camera. The instrument is a hyperspectral imager that images in up to 192 channels in the VIS-NIR spectral bands. It has a swath width of 40 km, and can achieve a spatial resolution of 25 m/pixel, with a spectral range of 470 nm - 900 nm. The Eagle Hyperspectral Camera will capture segmented imagery, with each frame representing a different spectral band.

Ground Segment

The Intuition-1 ground segment consists of three elements: the KP Labs mission operations centre and the KP Labs ground station, both of which are in Gliwice, Poland; alongside a number of ground network stations. The KP Labs ground station enables near real-time communication with Intuition-1 through two specialised antennae. Tracking, Telemetry and Command (TT&C) are transmitted in the ultra-high frequency (UHF) band, stabilising connections at a rate of 9.6 kb/s, while software modifications to ‘The Herd’ neural network occur in S-band at a rate of 256 kb/s. Satellite data is transmitted in X-band, at a highly efficient data rate of 50 Mb/s.

References  

1) “THE CEOS DATABASE : MISSION, INSTRUMENTS AND MEASUREMENTS - HSI (Intuition-1).” CEOS Database, URL: https://database.eohandbook.com/database/instrumentsummary.aspx?instrumentID=1944

2) “ESA - Intuition-1 mission patch.” European Space Agency, URL: https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2023/11/Intuition-1_mission_patch

3) “Intuition-1.” Orbital Transports, URL: https://catalog.orbitaltransports.com/content/brands/kplabs/SmallSat_Catalog_KP_Labs_whitepaper_2021.pdf

4)“Intuition-1.” KP Labs, URL:  https://kplabs.space/intuition-1/

5) “Intuition-1: A Synthesis of Knowledge and Vision.” KP Labs, URL: https://kplabs.space/blog/intuition-1-a-synthesis-of-knowledge-and-vision/

6) “Intuition-1 Satellite Mission Summary.” CEOS Database, URL: https://database.eohandbook.com/database/missionsummary.aspx?missionID=977

7) “The KP Labs Pioneering AI Powered Intuition-1 Satellite has Successfully Launched Abord the SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket.” AAC Clyde Space, 13 November 2023, URL: https://www.aac-clyde.space/articles/the-kp-labs-pioneering-ai-powered-intuition-1-satellite-has-successfully-launched-abord-the-spacex-falcon-9-rocket

8) Kulu, Erik. “Intuition-1.” Nanosats Database, URL:  https://www.nanosats.eu/sat/intuition-1

9) “PCDU - CubeSat EPS - STARBUCK-Nano.” AAC Clyde Space, URL: https://www.aac-clyde.space/what-we-do/space-products-components/pcdu/cubesat-eps-starbuck-nano

10) Radomska, Aleksandra. “Polish Intuition–1 satellite launched into orbit by SpaceX.” Alioth Foundation, 11 November 2023, URL: https://foundation.alioth.group/en/polish-intuition-1-satellite-launched-into-orbit-by-spacex/

11) “Stworzony w Gliwicach satelita Intuition-1 bliżej Kosmosu.” RMF24, 8 November 2023, URL: https://www.rmf24.pl/nauka/news-stworzony-w-gliwicach-satelita-intuition-1-blizej-kosmosu,nId,7136381#crp_state=1