As its name suggests, Orbital Sidekick is creating technology that acts as a buddy in outer space, keeping an eye on the globe using satellites to help keep it safe and sustainable.
The San Francisco-based startup, a member of the NVIDIA Inception program, enables commercial and government users to optimize sustainable operations and security with hyperspectral intelligence - information collected from across the electromagnetic spectrum.
Space-based hyperspectral intelligence basically breaks up the spectrum of light so it's possible to see what's happening at a chemical level without needing an aircraft, said Kaushik Bangalore, vice president of payload engineering at Orbital Sidekick, or OSK.
Founded in 2016, OSK is among the first to use hyperspectral intelligence to detect hydrocarbon or gas leaks. These are some of the world's most pressing energy issues - 6,000 U.S. pipeline incidents from 2002-2021 resulted in over $11 billion in damages.
Previous industry-standard ways of detecting such issues were unreliable as they used small aircraft and pilots looking out the window for leaks, depending on the trained eye rather than sensors or other technologies, said Bangalore.
OSK operates a constellation of satellites that collect hyperspectral imagery from space. That data is processed and analyzed in real time using the NVIDIA Jetson edge AI platform. Then, insights - like the type of leak at a GPS point, its size and its urgency - can be viewed on a screen by users of OSK's SIGMA Monitor platform.
The technology accomplishes what a pilot would, but much more quickly, objectively and with higher accuracy, Bangalore said.
A methane leak detected by OSK technology. Sustainable Operations OSK technologies have so far monitored more than 20,000 kilometers of pipelines for various customers, according to Tushar Prabhakar, its founder and chief operating officer.
The platform has detected nearly 100 suspected methane leaks, 200 suspected liquid hydrocarbon leaks or contamination issues, and more than 300 intrusive events related to digging or construction activities, Prabhakar added. OSK helped eliminate the potential for these events to become serious energy crises.
OSK's SIGMA Monitor platform dashboard. We're taking hyperspectral intelligence to the finest commercial resolution that the world has ever seen to make the Earth a more sustainable place, Bangalore said. The biggest challenge with hyperspectral imagery is dealing with huge amounts of data, which can be up to 400x the size of 2D visual data. NVIDIA technology helps process this data in real time.
OSK uses the NVIDIA Jetson AGX Xavier module as an AI engine at the satellites' edge to process the hyperspectral data collected from various sensors and crunch algorithms for leak detection.
The module, along with the NVIDIA CV-CUDA and CUDA Python software toolkits, have sped up OSK's analysis by 5x, according to Bangalore. This acceleration enhances the platform's ability to detect and recognize anomalies from space - then project the data back to Earth.
There are around 15 sun-synchronous orbits per day, Bangalore said. With NVIDIA Jetson AGX Xavier, we can process all the data taken onboard a satellite in an orbit within that same orbit, enabling continuous data capture.
In 2018, OSK's previous-generation system was launched on the International Space Station. Its data was analyzed using the NVIDIA Jetson TX2 module.
In addition, OSK uses the next-generation NVIDIA Jetson AGX Orin module for an aerial version of the platform that collects hyperspectral imagery from airplanes. Compared to the previous-generation module, the Jetson AGX Orin - with upgraded memory and speed - can run larger amounts of map data streamed in real time to pilots, Bangalore said.
We chose the NVIDIA Jetson platform because it offers off-the-shelf products for industrial applications with extended shock, vibration and temperature, and software that has been optimized for the NVIDIA GPU architecture, Bangalore said.
And as a member of NVIDIA Inception, a free, global program for cutting-edge startups, OSK received technical support to optimize the team's use of such safety features and SDK acceleration.
Versatile Use Cases Hyperspectral intelligence offers a multitude of applications. For this reason, the OSK platform is deployed across a broad range of customers, including the U.S. Department of Defense and energy sector.
OSK's GHOSt constellation of satellites. Energy Transfer, a major pipeline operator, will use OSK's GHOSt constellation for asset monitoring.
For the commercial oil and gas industry, OSK technology helps detect gas and hydrocarbon leaks, allowing pipeline operators to quickly halt work and fix issues.
To accelerate the energy transition, the platform can enhance exploration of lithium, cobalt and more, display a hyperspectral index of areas on a map that have signals of the elements, and differentiate between these materials and soil.
Creating sustainable supply chains for battery materials like lithium is key to advancing the global energy transition and scaling electric vehicle adoption, as lithium-ion batteries power the majority of EVs. The EV battery market is projected to reach over $218 billion in 2027, and EV sales are estimated to reach up to 50 million units by 2030.
Our tech can help discover lithium, and prevent methane or greenhouse gasses from being let out into the atmosphere, Bangalore said. It's a very direct impact, and it's what the planet needs.
Read more about innovative energy startups, including MinervaCQ, which is using speech AI to coach contact-center agents in retail energy, and Skycatch, which is building digital twins to make mining and construction sites safer, more efficient and sustainable.
Learn more about NV
Most recent headlines
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
30/08/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has adopted its FY 2025 Regulatory Fees Order that establishes the regulatory fee rates for the broadcast stati...
29/08/2025
Australian Red Cross and SBS launch training to help workplaces in the fight aga...
29/08/2025
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
29/08/2025
L3Harris Technologies has concentrated decades of expertise across the entire enterprise to develop affordable and reliable best-of-breed solutions to rapidly c...
29/08/2025
BURBANK, Calif. The CW Network and the Pac-12 Conference have announced a new media rights deal that will extend their broadcast partnership beginning with the ...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK Gracenote has released a new analysis of its global video dataset showing that the number of FAST channels grew nearly 14% from Q1 2025 and 76% since 2...
29/08/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. Harmonic has announced a series of improvements to its live sports streaming solution that the company said will improve fan engagement, protec...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK and LOS ANGELES Fox Corp. and YouTube TV last night announced a renewal of the full portfolio of Fox networks, including Fox News Channel, Fox Business...
29/08/2025
Budapest, Hungary, August 2025 - The integration of Microsoft Teams Rooms (MTR) with Lightware's Taurus universal matrix switchers delivers a new level of f...
29/08/2025
Frequency, the engine behind many of the world's best-known streaming television channels, today announced it will launch Studio Live, a next-generation uni...
29/08/2025
In an era when AI and cyber resilience are essential, Scality will mark the 10th anniversary of Scality Day on October 16, 2025 in Paris. This flagship global e...
29/08/2025
Disguise's In-House Creative and Technical Teams Pre-Visualised, Programmed and Delivered Content for the Experience, All Powered by EX 3+
Technology solu...
29/08/2025
Disguise will be demonstrating the latest workflows for TV, film and live events on a number of partner booths at the show
Disguise, the industry-leading tech...
29/08/2025
STOCKHOLM, Sweden Accedo will showcase Accedo Compose, its AI agent-powered modular orchestration layer that assists streaming providers in transitioning client...
29/08/2025
LOS ANGELES Cineverse has announced that it is working with Xperi to bring four of its streaming channels to automobiles for the first time as part of the DTS A...
29/08/2025
DALLAS & ATLANTA Gray Media has announced an agreement with the sports streaming service Victory+ to simulcast 17 Dallas Stars NHL games in 15 television market...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK AND CULVER CITY Comcast NBCUniversal and Amazon have announced new and extended distribution agreements that will expand the content available on their...
29/08/2025
FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif. RED Digital Cinema will feature its Cine-Broadcast Module supporting live broadcast workflows during IBC2025, Sept. 12-15, at the RAI Ams...
29/08/2025
29 Aug 2025
Kyivstar Rings Opening Bell at Nasdaq Marking Landmark Listing and ...
29/08/2025
More than half of all NFL games live on Sky for the first timeFriday 29 August 2025
Sky Sports has announced a new three-year deal with the NFL, extending its ...
29/08/2025
Back to All News
RIV4LRIES: The Trailer of the New Series With Samuele Carrino ...
29/08/2025
Get ready for an inspiring and emotional insight into the world of competitive Irish dancing with My Story: Tomi Champion of the World airing on RT 2 this monda...
29/08/2025
RT has today announced that David McCullagh is to be the new presenter of RT Radio 1's flagship Today programme, which airs every weekday at 10am, replaci...
28/08/2025
By Kristin Feeley, Director, Documentary Film & Artist Programs
If you want to tell untold stories, if you want to give voice to the voiceless, you've got ...
28/08/2025
Directed by Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, Sundance Institute-supported Amer...
28/08/2025
Corridos have been a cornerstone of M sica Mexicana for generations, telling stories rooted in everyday life. Now, a new chapter is taking shape: motivational c...
28/08/2025
Los corridos han sido un pilar de la M sica Mexicana durante generaciones, contando historias enraizadas en la vida cotidiana. Ahora, un nuevo cap tulo est tom...
28/08/2025
Earlier this month, we promised our Verano Forever party would bring the heat, a...
28/08/2025
L3Harris will provide the Polish F-16V fleet with the Viper Shield electronic warfare system as part of an upgrade program....
28/08/2025
Bilbao, August 26, 2025 - AgileTV, an international television and video technol...
28/08/2025
Ken Wilkinson is an Emmy Awards nominated New York audio engineer who specialises in production sound mixing for film, commercial, episodic and documentary work...
28/08/2025
NEW YORK FuboTV today announced that it will launch Fubo Sports, a skinny bundle that focuses on sports with a subscription price of $56 monthly....
28/08/2025
NEVADA City, Calif. At IBC2025, Sept. 12-15 at the RAI Amsterdam, Telestream will debut its new Global Ingest strategy, introducing a next-generation ingest arc...
28/08/2025
Dr. Rhoda Bernard Releases Groundbreaking Debut Book on Accessible Arts Educatio...
28/08/2025
TAG Video Systems, the leader in software-based IP end-to-end workflow monitoring, deep probing, and real-time visualization, has named Oliver Gappa as Sales Di...
28/08/2025
AI-based voice enhancement will be among a series of innovations making their IBC 2025 debut on the DHD stand B46 in Hall 8 at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Cent...
28/08/2025
Telef nica Servicios Audiovisuales (TSA), the leading system integrator and service provider in the media sector in Spain, with the support of Appear, the globa...
28/08/2025
To fully immerse sailing fans in the world's biggest offshore yacht race, production company, Optical Media turned to LiveU's On-site Production solutio...
28/08/2025
Working with Calrec on its most recent overhaul, radio and television broadcaster, WNED has migrated to a fully IP infrastructure with multiple Type R consoles,...
28/08/2025
Cleeng, the Subscriber Retention Management (SRM ) inventor, has unveiled Cleeng Pro, the first-ever direct-to-consumer (D2C) subscription management platform t...
28/08/2025
Zixi, the industry leader in live broadcast-quality video over IP, today announced that French media distribution platform OKAST has selected Zixi to enable rel...
28/08/2025
Solution offers a streamlined, speaker-free architecture to optimize integration with premium external loudspeakers and advanced loudness metering
Nixer Pro Au...
28/08/2025
Cinegy, the premier provider of software-defined television technology, has announced a strategic partnership with Vision One Touch Film Production Services L.L...
28/08/2025
Telestream, a global leader in media workflow technologies, will debut its new Global Ingest strategy at IBC2025, introducing a next-generation ingest architect...
28/08/2025
Tier 1 operator selects Broadpeak to power high-performance, unified CDN solution across Norway, Sweden and Finland
Broadpeak, a leader in streaming and moneti...
28/08/2025
Leading video software provider, Synamedia, today announced that 24 Frames Digital, one of India's leading live event streaming service providers, has chose...
28/08/2025
Meet VisualOn at IBC2025: See What's Next in AI-Powered Video Streaming Join VisualOn at IBC2025 and discover how our AI-driven Optimizer and advanced media...
As its name suggests, Orbital Sidekick is creating technology that acts as a buddy in outer space, keeping an eye on the globe using satellites to help keep it safe and sustainable.
