Abstract Developed by the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) to support research in atmospheric science and remote sensing, KAUSTSat represented Saudi Arabia's (and the Middle East's) first research‐focused hyperspectral CubeSat mission for Earth observation. The primary payload consisted of the Simera HyperScape50, a miniaturized hyperspectral sensor operating in the visible to near‐infrared range. The sensor was equipped with a custom continuous variable filter that collected imagery at 30 m spatial resolution with a 120 km swath. The HyperScape50 allowed for up to 32 user‐defined spectral bands to be selected per acquisition from a total of 442 programmable channels between 442 and 884 nm, including a panchromatic band. These capabilities enable detailed observations of vegetation, soil, coastal zones, and other surface features relevant to applications in agriculture, biodiversity, resource management, and disaster response. In this paper, we provide an overview of the mission architecture, sensor design, acquisition strategy, and data structure. The hyperspectral data sets acquired over the 14‐month mission lifetime will also be presented, with a particular focus on the Arabian Peninsula and RadCalNet calibration sites. The KAUSTSat mission serves as a demonstration case of the viability of academic‐driven CubeSat platforms for delivering targeted, high‐quality environmental data, and represents a valuable reference for future small satellite Earth observation programs.
Angulo et al. (Sun,) studied this question.