Space may be the final frontier, but innovation in the sector certainly is far from over. In fact, Fast Company’s annual list of the World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies contains several companies involved in the exploration and conquest of space. Here’s a look at their top three choices.
No. 1: Orbital Insight
Both government organizations and companies mine data of all types, right? And there’s no reason to limit that data to what you can see on Earth. Satellites take images of the Earth every day.
Fast Company’s Number 1 choice in the space sector, Orbital Insight, is a company that develops algorithms to let organizations use the eye of space in their business strategy and other calculations.
How does the corn crop look in the Midwest, for example? A sky-eye view will tell you over a great expanse of geography than a strolling farmer. How many cars are driving to the mall? It matters to the economy. How are lakes, streams, and rivers looking in terms of water volume? These and other questions are answered by culling and analyzing data from space-taken, earth-centric images.
No. 2: Spire
The Number 2 company, Spire, is innovative enough to have started its life as a Kickstarter campaign. Not only that but late last year it won a contract from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for its commercial weather satellite.
NOAA is interested because the weather is a hot topic (no pun intended). It affects food supplies, available water, and habitats, all essential to life on earth. The operations of hundreds of organizations, from government agencies to businesses, are impacted by the weather. So, more accurately measuring weather is something NOAA wants to do.
Spire’s space satellites are small cubes that track GPS signals that bounce off the atmosphere of the Earth. This allows the company to more accurately measure temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure. This is called GPS Radio Occultation.
The extent of NOAA’s interest is indicated by Spire’s hiring of the past director of NOAA’s biggest research center about a year ago.
Spire has garnered more than $66 million in funding since its inception and issues 100,000 models about the weather every day.
Mars, anyone?
No. 3: SpaceX
SpaceX has also garnered contracts from a U.S. government agency, in this case, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). They are worth more than $2.5 billion for the International Space Station.
It’s on Fast Company’s list partly because of its innovations in space technology at low cost.
It’s also on the list because SpaceX has committed itself to make the fantasies of science fiction fans come true. Last fall, founder Elon Musk announced that SpaceX was going to develop an “Interplanetary Transport System.” His goal? Get humans to Mars, just like they made it to the moon in the 1960s.
The plan could include colonization of Earth’s nearest solar system neighbor within the next half to full century.
From weather conditions to global shopping to Mars exploration, space is one of the most innovative sectors of the economy. These three are leading the charge.