SaraniaSat, one of six companies that took part in the first phase of a Colorado Springs-based defense and national security accelerator, has been awarded a $5.1 million contract over three years from NASA for its hyperspectral remote-sensing technology.

Catalyst Accelerator launched in January at the Catalyst Campus for Technology & Innovation with a focus on weather data and the military. The intensive, 12-week program wrapped up in April with a Demo Day during which the six startups made pitches to government and commercial investors.

California-based SaraniaSat is the first of the companies to win a government contract. The accelerator’s first cohort included two Colorado Springs companies — Aerolynk (formerly XplotraX) and Adaptive Systems.

A second cohort, focused on GPS alternative technologies, is scheduled to arrive at the Catalyst Campus in September.

Bill Radford, The Gazette