# Kuva Space
*commercial . companies*

Kuva Space Oy is a Finnish commercial hyperspectral Earth observation company operating the Hyperfield smallsat constellation from Espoo, Finland. The company uses a patented piezo-actuated Fabry-Perot interferometer payload on 6U CubeSat platforms, providing tunable VNIR hyperspectral data (475-950 nm, up to 160 bands, 25 m GSD) as processed insights via an annual subscription model. Founded in 2016 as Reaktor Space Lab (Reaktor/Aalto University spin-off), rebranded 2021. Two Gen-1 satellites operational (2024, 2025); Gen-2 microsatellites with SWIR and onboard processing planned for H2 2026. ESA Copernicus Contributing Mission contract holder (EUR 5M, 2023-2028).

## Specifications
- **country**: Finland
- **website**: https://kuvaspace.com
- **operator domains**: ["kuvaspace.com"]
- **founded year**: 2016
- **last verified date**: 2026-05-24
- **verified by**: sw
- **claim status**: unclaimed

## Editorial
Kuva Space (legal name: Kuva Space Oy) is a Finnish commercial hyperspectral Earth observation company headquartered in Espoo, Finland. Founded in 2016 as Reaktor Space Lab, a spin-off from software consultancy Reaktor in collaboration with Aalto University satellite researchers, the company rebranded as Kuva Space in September 2021 after pivoting from hardware contracting to a data-driven insights-as-a-service model.[^kuva-home][^kuva-16-6m]

Kuva operates the Hyperfield constellation, a commercial hyperspectral smallsat programme. The constellation's first generation comprises 6U XL CubeSats (12 kg) carrying a patented piezo-actuated Fabry-Perot interferometer (PFPI) hyperspectral imager co-developed with VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland.[^eoportal-hyperfield] The instrument operates as a tunable bandpass filter across 475-950 nm (VNIR), acquiring up to 160 spectral bands at 25 m GSD and 50 km swath.[^eoportal-hyperfield] The tunable acquisition mode concentrates imaging exposure on a narrower spectral slice per step, improving per-band SNR compared to simultaneous pushbroom architectures, at the cost of requiring multiple acquisition passes to cover the full spectral range.

Hyperfield-1A launched August 16, 2024 on SpaceX Transporter-11, and Hyperfield-1B launched June 23, 2025 on SpaceX Transporter-14, both from Vandenberg Space Force Base.[^eoportal-hyperfield][^kuva-1b-launch] Both satellites are operational as of mid-2026. A second generation of 70 kg microsatellites (Hyperfield-2) is planned for H2 2026, adding SWIR coverage (400-1650 nm), 15 m GSD, onboard GPU processing, AIS receivers, and propulsion capability for 2-6 satellites in the first tranche.[^kuva-satellites-page]

The constellation targets 100 satellites by 2030 for sub-daily global monitoring. Kuva's business model is annual subscription or licensing for processed insights (agriculture, aquaculture, environmental monitoring, maritime domain awareness, security/defense) delivered within minutes of acquisition via the Kuva Sense analytics platform. The company does not sell raw imagery.

Kuva holds a EUR 5M, five-year Copernicus Contributing Mission contract from ESA (June 2023), making it the designated commercial hyperspectral data provider to the Copernicus programme.[^esa-ccm] The company has raised approximately EUR 22.5M in total funding from Voima Ventures, Nordic Foodtech VC, Earth VC, Springvest, VTT, ESA InCubed, and Business Finland as of early 2024.[^kuva-16-6m] Kuva established a Fairfax, Virginia office in early 2024 to pursue US government and commercial customers, with board member Jerry Welsh (former ICEYE US CEO) leading the effort.[^breaking-defense-us]

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Source: https://eo-atlas.org/companies/kuva-space
Maintainer: SpectraWorks B.V. (CC-BY 4.0)