Data from Edmonton’s Wyvern will support research at NASA after the company was selected to join the Commercial Satellite Data Acquisition (CSDA) program.
The news: Wyvern is among the 14 companies that were selected to participate in the CSDA program last week. Under the CSDA, NASA purchases Earth observation data from commercial satellite companies and uses it to fuel research and contribute to the wider earth sciences field. Wyvern’s admittance to the CSDA marks the first time a pre-Series A company has been accepted.
From the source: “What makes this milestone matter to us is where we sit on the list,” Wyvern wrote in a LinkedIn post celebrating the admission. “Earning a place this early says less about how much we’ve raised and more about the pipeline and the business we’ve built to get good data into customer hands.”
Following the thread: Wyvern is the second Canadian-headquartered company in the cohort, joining emissions-monitoring satellite company GHG Sat Inc., which has offices in Calgary, Ottawa, and Montreal, as well as Houston and the UK.
RELATED: Wyvern launches international partnerships in Agtech, oil and gas
Under the agreement, Wyvern’s hyperspectral imagery, which is capable of capturing details and patterns invisible to traditional satellite sensors, will be among the sources of data trusted by NASA and used to inform environmental intelligence, disaster response, and public safety.
Final thought: Wyvern is among Alberta’s biggest startup success stories. Since launching its first satellites in 2023, the company has signed investment deals with Canadian aerospace companies like NordSpace and received support under Canada’s Defence Industrial Strategy. The company has also attracted significant interest south of the border and abroad, inking partnerships with foreign governments and investors.
BetaKit’s Prairies reporting is funded in part by YEGAF, a not-for-profit dedicated to amplifying business stories in Alberta.
Feature image courtesy Wyvern.