Spire Global


Spire Global, Inc. is a space-to-cloud data and analytics company that specializes in the tracking of global data sets powered by a large constellation of nanosatellites, such as the tracking of maritime, aviation and weather patterns.
The company currently operates a fleet of more than 80 CubeSats, the second largest commercial constellation by number of satellites, and the largest by number of sensors. Its satellites are integrally designed and built in-house. It has launched more than 100 satellites to orbit since its creation.
The company has offices in San Francisco, Boulder, Washington DC, Glasgow, Luxembourg, Singapore.

History

Early Years

Spire was originally known as NanoSatisfi Inc.. NanoSatisfi was founded in June 2012 in San Francisco by International Space University graduates Peter Platzer, Jeroen Cappaert and Joel Spark as part of ArduSat, a project aiming to “democratize access to space”. Tests for early prototypes were conducted over the summer and the fall through a high-altitude balloon. This effort was partly financed through crowdfunding, with a KickStarter that raised Spire $106,330. In November the company signed an agreement with NanoRacks for the deployment of two satellites in what was to become “the first U.S. Commercial Satellite Deployment from the International Space Station”.
In order to raise the capital required for the manufacturing of those satellites, the company incubated with Lemnos Labs. It raised investments totaling $1.5M in a seed round by Shasta Ventures, , E-merge, Grishin Robotics, and in February 2013. A year after signing with NanoRacks, on November 19, 2013 both ArduSat-1 and ArduSat-X were successfully released from the Kibo Experiment Module of the International Space Station and quickly started transmitting data to Spire servers.
Following this experimentation, Spire engineers opted to focus on 3U nanosatellites to start porting more complex payloads, launching the first iteration of its standard satellite format, Lemur-1, with the Dnepr rocket in June 2014, transiting from 1U to 3U in only seven months, and launching its first prototype just two years after incorporation.
On the basis of this early success, Spire announced in July a follow-up $25M Series A funding round led by from and backed by Emerge, Mitsui & Co. Global Investment, and Mousse Partners Capital. The following month, the company announced that ArduSat would be spun-off of the company and would focus exclusively on educational technology in partnership with U.S. high schools. Shortly after, Spire opened its Singapore office in late 2014 and started steadily increasing its network of ground stations.

Growth

On June 30, 2015, the company announced a $40 Million Series B led by with participation from Bessemer Venture Partners and Jump Capital. in order to help finance the first batches of Lemur satellites. The first Lemur-2 were launched in September 2015 through the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-XL, making Spire the first US-based operator to launch from India. This launch inaugurated the Spire tradition to leave the naming of each satellite to employees, with the first 3 Lemurs christened respectively Joel, Peter and Jeroen after the company’s co-founders.
Facing increasing pressure to mass produce satellites and constrained by the limited space in its San Francisco office, Spire opened an office in Glasgow in February 2015, initially leveraging Clyde Space’s facilities, before opening its own full-fledged cleanroom for satellite manufacturing in December 2015. The city was chosen to leverage the local know-how of what is widely considered the leading European ecosystem in small satellite production and establish a first foothold in Europe. These facilities enabled Spire to quickly produce a first batch of four nanosatellites before manufacturing a full eight Lemur satellites ahead of an Atlas V launch in March 2016. This launch saw Spire cross the line of 10 simultaneously operating satellites in June of that year, following deployment from the ISS. Two additional launches were conducted that year, putting the total satellites sent to space by the company that year at sixteen, confirming its ability to industrialize the manufacturing process of its nanosatellites.
Concomitantly, Spire opened a second U.S campus in Boulder, Colorado in January 2016. The company hired Dave Ector – the former program manager for NASA’s COSMIC satellites – and Alexander MacDonald - former director of NOAA’s Earth System Research Laboratory - and started drawing on the resources of the local weather ecosystem to kickstart its weather program in the city. To this effect, the team started working on Spire’s own GNSS Radio Occultation payload, enabling the company to constantly collect highly accurate data on local atmospheric properties which greatly enhance the forecasting abilities of weather models. This program quickly enabled Spire to participate in the inaugural Commercial Weather Data Pilot program of the U.S National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration in September 2016. Spire’s participation was confirmed and broadened in September 2018 for the second round of the CWDP program. This program aims to enable weather-focused administrations to procure data created by private entities in order to improve the precision of the publicly available weather models.
Over 2017, the company launched 6 missions, yielding an additional 36 operated satellites despite the critical failure of a Soyuz vehicle carrying 10 Lemurs in November. Spire closed the year by completing a $70m Series C led by the Government of Luxembourg, and opened its second European campus in the city, enabling the company’s access to regional talent and facilities. This round put the total amount of capital raised by Spire at $140.5m.
In early 2018, Spire participated in the first flight of Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket, and was selected for Arianespace’s Vega Proof of Concept, further broadening its launch portfolio. It participated in a total of 7 launch missions - yielding 28 new operated satellites – and developed its own ADS-B payload able to track the movement of equipped airplanes across areas that conventional ground radars can not cover, and that is quickly becoming a standard following the MH370 disappearance.
In 2019, the company formalized its first business unit as , based in Luxembourg, and launched its 100th Lemur satellite on April 1st.

Satellite

Spire’s Lemur satellites are flexible platforms built to operate a variety of in-house or hosted payloads. It currently commercializes its platform on a “Space-as-a-Service” offering with aerospace and defence customers.
Spire designs, builds, tests, and operates all its satellites in-house at its Glasgow offices. The company uses minimally adapted COTS electronics to reduce cost. The satellites are placed in low-Earth orbit and are scheduled to be retired and replaced every two to three years.
Spire adheres to internationally recognized guidelines for disposal of old satellites.
The company’s satellites are multi-sensor. Data types such as Automatic Identification System service are used for tracking sea vessels. This data is valuable for use in illegal fishing, trade monitoring, maritime domain awareness, insurance, asset tracking, search and rescue, and prevention of piracy, among others. Spire’s Sense product leveraging the company’s AIS data set was officially launched on February 2019.
The GNSS-RO weather payload measure temperature, pressure, among other key characteristics across a “slice” of the atmosphere, or "profile". These characteristics are highly valuable for public and private weather forecasters across the world as they strongly increase the forecasting capabilities of weather models.
ADS-B sensors were launched in 2018 to permanently track aircraft across all skies. This data is getting increasingly regarded as the new standard for modern aviation as it enables air controllers and companies to constantly monitor aircraft across isolated areas and oceans which ground-based radars are not able to cover.
NORAD CAT IDSatellite NameLaunch DateLaunch VehicleSiteDe-Orbit Date
40044LEMUR 12014-06-19DneprOREN
40932LEMUR 2 JOEL2015-09-28PSLV-XLSRI
40933LEMUR 2 CHRIS2015-09-28PSLV-XLSRI
40934LEMUR 2 JEROEN2015-09-28PSLV-XLSRI
40935LEMUR 2 PETER2015-09-28PSLV-XLSRI
41485LEMUR 2 THERESACONDOR2015-03-22Atlas-5TTMTR2017-03-30
41488LEMUR 2 NICK-ALLAIN2015-03-22Atlas-5TTMTR2017-04-05
41489LEMUR 2 KANE2015-03-22Atlas-5TTMTR2017-04-07
41490LEMUR 2 JEFF2015-03-22Atlas-5TTMTR2017-03-24
41595LEMUR 2 DRMUZZ2016-03-23Atlas-5AFETR2017-06-25
41596LEMUR 2 BRIDGEMAN2016-03-23Atlas-5AFETR2017-03-08
41597LEMUR 2 CUBECHEESE2016-03-23Atlas-5AFETR2017-03-06
41598LEMUR 2 NATE2016-03-23Atlas-5AFETR2017-02-27
41871LEMUR 2 XIAOQING2016-10-17Antares-230WLPIS
41872LEMUR 2 SOKOLSKY2016-10-17Antares-230WLPIS
41873LEMUR 2 ANUBHAVTHAKUR2016-10-17Antares-230WLPIS
41874LEMUR 2 WINGO2016-10-17Antares-230WLPIS
41991LEMUR 2 SATCHMO2017-02-15PSLVSRI
41992LEMUR 2 MIA-GRACE2017-02-15PSLVSRI
41993LEMUR 2 SMITA-SHARAD2017-02-15PSLVSRI
41994LEMUR 2 SPIRE-MINIONS2017-02-15PSLVSRI
41995LEMUR 2 RDEATON2017-02-15PSLVSRI
41996LEMUR 2 NOGUECORREIG2017-02-15PSLVSRI
41997LEMUR 2 JOBANPUTRA2017-02-15PSLVSRI
41998LEMUR 2 TACHIKOMA2017-02-15PSLVSRI
42059LEMUR 2 REDFERN-GOES2016-12-09H-2BTTMTR2018-12-05
42067LEMUR 2 TRUTNA2016-12-09H-2BTTMTR2018-04-15
42068LEMUR 2 AUSTINTACIOUS2016-12-09H-2BTTMTR2018-10-04
42069LEMUR 2 TRUTNAHD2016-12-09H-2BTTMTR2018-11-13
42752LEMUR 2 ANGELA2017-04-18Atlas-5AFETR
42753LEMUR 2 JENNYBARNA2017-04-18Atlas-5AFETR
42754LEMUR 2 ROBMOORE2017-04-18Atlas-5AFETR
42755LEMUR 2 SPIROVISION2017-04-18Atlas-5AFETR
42771LEMUR 2 SHAINAJOHL2017-06-23PSLVSRI
42772LEMUR 2 XUENITERENCE2017-06-23PSLVSRI
42773LEMUR 2 LUCYBRYCE2017-06-23PSLVSRI
42774LEMUR 2 KUNGFOO2017-06-23PSLVSRI
42779LEMUR 2 LYNSEY-SYMO2017-06-23PSLVSRI
42780LEMUR 2 LISASAURUS2017-06-23PSLVSRI
42781LEMUR 2 SAM-AMELIA2017-06-23PSLVSRI
42782LEMUR 2 MCPEAKE2017-06-23PSLVSRI
42837LEMUR 2 GREENBERG2017-07-14SoyuzTTMTR
42838LEMUR 2 ANDIS2017-07-14SoyuzTTMTR
42839LEMUR 2 MONSON2017-07-14SoyuzTTMTR
42840LEMUR 2 FURIAUS2017-07-14SoyuzTTMTR
42841LEMUR 2 PETERG2017-07-14SoyuzTTMTR
42842LEMUR 2 DEMBITZ2017-07-14SoyuzTTMTR
42845LEMUR 2 ZACHARY2017-07-14SoyuzTTMTR
42881LEMUR 2 ARTFISCHER2017-07-14SoyuzTTMTR
43041LEMUR 2 ROCKETJONAH2017-11-12Antares-230WLPIS
43045LEMUR 2 YONGLIN2017-11-12Antares-230WLPIS
43046LEMUR 2 KEVIN2017-11-12Antares-230WLPIS
43047LEMUR 2 BRIANDAVIE2017-11-12Antares-230WLPIS
43048LEMUR 2 ROMACOSTE2017-11-12Antares-230WLPIS
43051LEMUR 2 MCCULLAGH2017-11-12Antares-230WLPIS
43053LEMUR 2 DUNLOP2017-11-12Antares-230WLPIS
43054LEMUR 2 LIU-POU-CHUN2017-11-12Antares-230WLPIS
43123LEMUR 2 MCCAFFERTY2018-01-12PSLVSRI
43124LEMUR 2 PETERWEBSTER2018-01-12PSLVSRI
43125LEMUR 2 BROWNCOW2018-01-12PSLVSRI
43126LEMUR 2 DAVEWILSON2018-01-12PSLVSRI
43165LEMUR 2 MARSHALL2018-01-21Electron KSRLLC
43167LEMUR 2 TALLHAMN-ATC2018-01-21Electron KSRLLC
43182LEMUR 2 JIN-LUEN2018-02-01SoyuzVOSTO
43183LEMUR 2 URAMCHANSOL2018-02-01SoyuzVOSTO
43184LEMUR 2 KADI2018-02-01SoyuzVOSTO
43185LEMUR 2 THENICKMOLO2018-02-01SoyuzVOSTO
43558LEMUR 2 VU2018-05-21Antares-230WLPIS
43559LEMUR 2 ALEXANDER2018-05-21Antares-230WLPIS
43560LEMUR 2 YUASA2018-05-21Antares-230WLPIS
43561LEMUR 2 TOMHENDERSON2018-05-21Antares-230WLPIS
43695LEMUR 2 ZUPANSKI2018-11-11Electron KSRLLC
43697LEMUR 2 CHANUSIAK2018-11-11Electron KSRLLC
43731LEMUR 2 ORZULAK2018-11-29PSLVSRI
43732LEMUR 2 KOBYSZCZE2018-11-29PSLVSRI
43745LEMUR 2 DULY2018-11-29PSLVSRI
43746LEMUR 2 VLADIMIR2018-11-29PSLVSRI
43882LEMUR 2 CHRISTINAHOLT2018-12-27SoyuzVOSTO
43883LEMUR 2 TINYKEV2018-12-27SoyuzVOSTO
43884LEMUR 2 REMY-COLTON2018-12-27SoyuzVOSTO
43885LEMUR 2 GUSTAVO2018-12-27SoyuzVOSTO
43886LEMUR 2 ZO2018-12-27SoyuzVOSTO
43887LEMUR 2 NATALIEMURRAY2018-12-27SoyuzVOSTO
43888LEMUR 2 SARAHBETTYBOO2018-12-27SoyuzVOSTO
43889LEMUR 2 DAISY-HARPER2018-12-27SoyuzVOSTO
44084LEMUR-2 JOHANLORAN2019-04-01PSLVSRI
44085LEMUR-2 BEAUDACIOUS2019-04-01PSLVSRI
44086LEMUR-2 ELHAM2019-04-01PSLVSRI
44087LEMUR-2 VICTOR-ANDREW2019-04-01PSLVSRI
44402LEMUR 2 WANLI2019-07-05SoyuzVOSTO
44396LEMUR 2 LILLYJO2019-07-05SoyuzVOSTO
44405LEMUR 2 DUSTINTHEWIND2019-07-05SoyuzVOSTO
44409LEMUR 2 EJATTA2019-07-05SoyuzVOSTO
44403LEMUR 2 MORAG2019-07-05SoyuzVOSTO
44411LEMUR 2 GREGROBINSON2019-07-05SoyuzVOSTO
44413LEMUR 2 YNDRD2019-07-05SoyuzVOSTO
44407LEMUR 2 ALEX-MADDY2019-07-05SoyuzVOSTO
44861LEMUR 2 PAPPY2019-12-11PSLVSHAR
44860LEMUR 2 HIMOMANDDAD2019-12-11PSLVSHAR
44855LEMUR 2 JPGSQUARED2019-12-11PSLVSHAR
44863LEMUR 2 THEODOSIA2019-12-11PSLVSHAR
LEMUR-2 BECCADEWEY2016-03-23Atlas-5AFETRDeploy Failure
LEMUR-2 MCGARVEY2017-11-28SoyuzTTMTRLaunch Failure
LEMUR-2 BENYEOH2017-11-28SoyuzTTMTRLaunch Failure
LEMUR-2 HARVEY2017-11-28SoyuzTTMTRLaunch Failure
LEMUR-2 MATTHEW2017-11-28SoyuzTTMTRLaunch Failure
LEMUR-2 MAXIMILLIE2017-11-28SoyuzTTMTRLaunch Failure
LEMUR-2 SMILLIE-FACE2017-11-28SoyuzTTMTRLaunch Failure
LEMUR-2 NRE-METTS2017-11-28SoyuzTTMTRLaunch Failure
LEMUR-2 CYLONRAIDER2017-11-28SoyuzTTMTRLaunch Failure
LEMUR-2 ECTOR2017-11-28SoyuzTTMTRLaunch Failure
LEMUR-2 CRAIG2017-11-28SoyuzTTMTRLaunch Failure