Urthecast

UrtheCast is a Vancouver-based Canadian earth observation company. It is well known for putting two cameras on the International Space Station. One of these is a medium resolution camera and the other is the first ultra-high definition video camera in space. The company went public on the Toronto Stock Exchange in June 2013[2] but was delisted in October 2020 after it filed for creditor protection.[3]

UrtheCast Corp.
TypePublic
TSX: UR
IndustryInternet
HeadquartersVancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Don Osborne (CEO)
(Chair of the Board)
Dr. George Tyc (CTO)
Sai Chu (CFO)
Wade Larson and Scott Larson (Co-Founders)
ProductsRemote sensing
Geospatial information
Revenue$15.6 million (2018) [1]
WebsiteUrtheCast.com

On June 22, 2015 UrtheCast announced plans to place a 16 satellite constellation in orbit called "OptiSar" to image the earth with proprietary cutting edge synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and optical cameras in order to provide earth observation day or night, rain or shine.

On June 23, 2015 UrtheCast announced it had reached an agreement to buy Spanish based earth observation company Deimos Imaging and its two satellites. On March 31, 2016 Urthecast announced plans to place an additional 8 satellite constellation in orbit called "UrtheDaily" to monitor the entire earth every day.

Urthecast has asked the UK manufacturer SSTL to make the satellites, and the Spanish organization Elecnor Deimos to design the ground control functions. The goal is to make large amounts of earth observation imagery from multiple sensors, and to place the data in a user-friendly, cloud-based platform available to people to process the data. "OptiSar" is still pending financing and its launch date is still TBD. "UrtheDaily" is in the final stages of financing and is scheduled to launch in 2020.

Other constellation announcements are Airbus (which owns SSTL) plans to build a 900 spacecraft for OneWeb, which aims to cover the Earth with broadband connectivity.[4]

UrtheCast announced[5] that Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada’s Industrial Technologies Office will grant the company approximately CA$17.6 million ($13.08 million) in funding as part of its Strategic Aerospace & Defense Initiative (SADI) program. This funding will provide financial support for the ongoing development of UrtheCast’s planned "OptiSAR" constellation.

For the development and delivery of a dual-frequency stand-alone Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) operational-class satellite, UrtheCast has signed a contract[6] with a confidential customer for the "OptiSAR" Constellation.The contract value has not been disclosed for confidentiality and competitive reasons, but the company has confirmed that it is a substantial contract worth in excess of one hundred million Canadian dollars.

In 2018, UrtheCast acquired Geosys from Land O'Lakes, Inc.[7] Geosys is a global digital agriculture company founded by agronomists in 1987 in Toulouse, France. Geosys provides data, analysis and insights for services ranging from worldwide risk management and monitoring agricultural commodities, to input sales and precision farming support by using the latest research in agronomics, information technologies and remote sensing. Geosys also develops highly customized business solutions for large, multinational agricultural companies. Geosys has offices in the United States, Europe, Australia, and Brazil.

References
  1. http://spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=53876. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. UrtheCast Announces the Completion of Reverse Takeover Transaction and Private Placement, Newswire Canada, 24 June 2013.
  3. "Vancouver satellite-imaging company UrtheCast becomes latest tech firm to seek creditor protection during pandemic". The Kingston Whig-Standard. October 8, 2020.
  4. "Urthecast video cameras to circle globe - BBC News". Retrieved 2015-06-22.
  5. "UrtheCast raises CA$17.6 million to support OptiSAR constellation - Geospatial World". Geospatial World. Retrieved 2017-09-21.
  6. "UrtheCast signs contract to deliver SAR-XL satellite". Geospatial World. Retrieved 2017-09-21.
  7. "Land O'Lakes to Sell Geosys for $20 Million". Successful Farming. 2018-08-23. Retrieved 2019-04-08..


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