Pixxel Imagery 101

  • Atmospheric Correction - ISOFIT model

    Isofit is the model we use to process Pixxel's hyperspectral imagery. It corrects for atmospheric effects and sensor characteristics, helping us retrieve accurate surface information from raw satellite data.

    By modeling how light travels through the atmosphere and is captured by the sensor, Isofit ensures the imagery reflects real ground conditions, essential for reliable analysis in agriculture, environment, and more.

    It works on both individual pixels and full images, and supports different atmospheric models and sensor types for flexibility.

    For more technical details, visit the Isofit documentation.

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  • Requesting a Custom Bandset

    If your project requires a unique combination of spectral bands that isn't covered by our Default Firefly bandsets, you can request a custom bandset tailored to your needs.

    How to Request

    To get started, simply reach out to your Customer Success Manager (CSM) or contact us at support@pixxel.space with the following information:

    • A brief description of your use case

    • Any specific bands or wavelengths you’re looking to include (if known)

    • Why the standard bandsets don’t meet your needs

    Our team will review your request and guide you through the next steps.

    Note

    Custom bandset availability may be subject to technical constraints. We’ll work with you to find the best solution for your goals.

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  • Bandsets: Use cases

    Pixxel's Firefly constellation offers specialized bandsets optimized for VNIR specific industries and applications.

    Each bandset is carefully designed with selected spectral bands that enhance detection capabilities for targeted use cases, from mineral exploration to marine ecosystem monitoring.

     

    Bandset Name Number of Bands Brief Description Best Suited Use Cases
    All Bands* 135 Complete spectral coverage providing maximum resolution across the entire VNIR range for comprehensive analysis and research applications. Scientific research, algorithm development, full-spectrum diagnostics, spectral library creation
    Rare Earth Elements 45 Optimized to detect characteristic VNIR spectral features of rare earth minerals and their distinctive absorption signatures. Geological surveys, mining exploration, REE deposit mapping, geochemical analysis
    Transition Metals 45 Targets critical wavelengths for detecting transition metals (iron, copper, manganese) that exhibit diagnostic features in the VNIR spectrum. Ore exploration, mining operations, environmental monitoring, industrial mineral identification
    Urban 45 Designed to distinguish man-made surfaces including asphalt, concrete, roofing materials, and solar panels through enhanced material differentiation. Urban planning, infrastructure assessment, land use analysis, smart city applications
    Water 45 Emphasizes bands sensitive to water quality indicators, suspended matter, and biological activity for comprehensive aquatic monitoring. Water quality assessment, algae detection, pollution monitoring, reservoir management
    Vegetation 45 Captures red-edge and NIR regions essential for monitoring plant health, chlorophyll content, and phenological changes. Precision agriculture, forest management, crop monitoring, biodiversity studies
    Sentinel-2 MSI 45 Simulates Sentinel-2 MultiSpectral Instrument bands enabling cross-sensor compatibility and integration with existing datasets. Land cover classification, vegetation tracking, multi-temporal analysis, Sentinel-2 validation
    Landsat-9 OLI-2 45 Aligns with Landsat-9 Operational Land Imager bands to maintain consistency with historical Landsat archive data. Agricultural monitoring, land cover change detection, long-term trend analysis, historical continuity
    Intervals 45 Uniformly spaced bands across visible to NIR range providing balanced spectral coverage for general-purpose applications. Multi-purpose imaging, spectral experiments, educational research, method development
    Seagrass 45 Specialized for shallow water and marine vegetation with enhanced capability for underwater spectral differentiation. Coastal zone mapping, seagrass monitoring, marine habitat assessment, benthic classification

    *This bandset (All Bands) requires 3 separate captures that are non-contemporaneous. Variation between each capture is based on constellation capacity. 

    For more questions, please reach out to support@pixxel.space

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  • Tasking Products We Offer

    When ordering satellite imagery through Aurora, you can choose from several tasking options based on your timeline and requirements:

     

    Tasking Type Timeline Price Uplift Delivery Notes
    Flexible (Standard) ≥7 days 0% 36 hours from capture Default option
    Expedited (Priority) ≤6 days 25% 36 hours from capture For time-sensitive needs
    Critical (Urgent) ≤2 days 40% 36 hours from capture Charged regardless of cloud cover
    Assured Specific date (≥7 days from today) 50% 36 hours from capture Guaranteed collection on specific date
    Recurring Weekly, Bi-weekly, Monthly, Quarterly 0% 36 hours from capture Requires tokens 2 days before each occurrence

     

    For all tasking options, our standard delivery timeline is 36 hours from the time of capture.

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  • Minimum Order Size Requirements

    This article will help understanding Pixxel's minimum order requirements. This will help plan your satellite imagery purchases effectively.

    Tasking Orders (New Collection)

    Parameter Details
    Minimum Size 100 square kilometers
    Pricing $8 per square kilometers (VNIR)
    Ordering Units Charged in units of 100 sq km, even if area is smaller

    Important Note: If your area of interest is smaller than 100 sq km, you will still be charged for the 100 square kilometers minimum.

    Archive Orders

    Parameter Details
    Minimum Size Entire strip (entire image)
    Pricing $6 per sq km (VNIR)
    Special Requirements Complete image strip must be purchased, no partial strips

    Important Note: When ordering from our archive, you cannot select partial strips - the complete captured image strip must be ordered.

    These requirements help us maintain operational efficiency while providing you with the highest quality imagery possible.

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  • File naming convention for Pixxel Imagery

     

    Screenshot 2025-04-17 at 16.49.46.png

     

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  • Pixxel Imagery Overview

    Product Bundles:

    1. L1C: Map Projected TOA Reflectance Image (available on demand)
    2. L2A: Level 1C and Map Projected BOA Reflectance Image (default option unless otherwise specified)

    Product Processing:

    NAME  DESCRIPTION PRODUCT LEVEL
    Bottom of Atmosphere (BOA) reflectance

    This is radiometric, geometric, and atmospheric (aerosol and water vapour) corrected BOA reflectance data. The image is orthorectified and projected to WGS84 projection. The data is available in a geoTIFF file format (accompanied by additional metadata).

    The pixel reflectance values are linearly scaled between 0 - 50000. Thus to convert the image to 0-1 reflectance range, all the pixel values must be divided by 50000.

    		 L2A
    Top of Atmosphere (TOA) reflectance

    This is radiometric, and geometric corrected TOA reflectance data. The image is orthorectified and projected to WGS84 projection. The data is available in a geoTIFF file format (accompanied by additional metadata).

    The pixel reflectance values are linearly scaled between 0 - 50000. Thus to convert the image to 0-1 reflectance range, all the pixel values must be divided by 50000.

    		 L1C (available upon request)

     

    Product Metadata:

    Each of the image products contains an image file in GeoTIFF format, an RGB composite thumbnail of the image in JPEG format, a footprint, and a bounding box in GeoJSON format.

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