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Capella Space

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Capella Space
Company typePrivate
IndustryEarth Observation
FoundedMarch 2016;8 years ago(March 2016)
Founders
  • Payam Banazadeh
  • Will Woods
HeadquartersSan Francisco,California,U.S.
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Frank Backes (CEO)
ProductsHigh-Resolution (sub-0.5m)SARsatellite
Imagery andgeospatialsolutions
Websitecapellaspace.com

Capella Spaceis an American space company with satellite and declassified SAR data solutions for government and commercial use. It offersspace-based radarEarth observation satellitesequipped withsynthetic-aperture radarthat can collect imagery through clouds and at night.[1]The company is based inSan Francisco, Californiawith offices inWashington, D.C.,andLouisville, Colorado.It was founded by Payam Banazadeh, a former engineer atJet Propulsion LaboratoryofNASA,and William Walter Woods.[2]

The company was founded in 2016, has more than 200 employees (January 2024), and raised venture capital from investors such asCanaan Partners,Data Collective, Pear VC andSpark Capital.[3]

Capella designs, manufactures and operates a fleet of synthetic aperture radar satellites to provide high-resolution, all-weather imagery to theU.S. governmentand commercial customers. Capella is launching its third-generation Acadia satellites. Sequoia, the first-generation satellite, launched in August 2020. Six second-generation Whitney satellites were launched between January 2021 and January 2022 on SpaceX Transporterridesharemissions into apolar Sun-synchronousorbit.[4]In 2023, Capella began launching its third-generation, Acadia satellites. Capella is launch agnostic, leveraging diverse launch providers to place its satellites in a variety of orbits, both mid-inclination and sun-synchronous.

As of January 2024, Capella Space had four operational satellites. It has raised about $250 million in total equity and debt financing since its founding in 2016.[5]

Contracts[edit]

In 2019, theNational Reconnaissance Office(NRO) awarded Capella a contract to study the integration of Capella's commercial radar imagery with the NRO's government-owned surveillance satellites. TheU.S. Air Forceawarded Capella a contract in November 2019 to incorporate the company's imagery into the Air Force's virtual reality software. Capella also has a contract with theNavy,and theNational Geospatial-Intelligence Agencysigned aCooperative Research and Development Agreement(CRADA), earlier in 2020 to allow researchers from theU.S. government's intelligence community to assist Capella. An inter-satellite link withInmarsat's network of geostationary communications satellites enables real-time tasking of Capella's satellites. Customers can use a self-service electronic portal and API to task a Capella satellite for a radar image.[6]In 2021, Capella received a $3 million research contract in support of the Space Development Agency's National Defense Space Architecture. Capella was chosen through abroad agency announcement.[7]In 2023, Capella was awarded aProliferated Low Earth Orbit Satellite-Based Services(PLEO) contract through the U.S. Space Systems Command (SSC) to support SSC and theU.S. Space Forcewith access to SAR imagery for key missions. Capella was also awarded two Commercial Satellite Data Acquisition (CSDA) contracts withNASAto determine the suitability of Capella’s data to advance NASA’s Earth science missions: amulti-year blanket purchase agreementand an indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity, multiple-award contract.This enables NASA research evaluators from across the country with easy access to Capella’s high-resolution data archive and automated tasking capabilities as they find novel new ways to monitor the Earth and the environment.

In partnership withPacific Geomatics,Capella imagery is also now available to government offices acrossCanadathrough Canada’sNational Master Standing Offers.Canadian officials have easy access to Capella’s high-quality imagery and automated tasking capabilities for a variety of use cases including monitoring natural resources, mining operations, ice flows, maritime activity and more.

Satellites[edit]

Sequoia satellite[edit]

The SequoiaEarth-imaging satellitewas originally supposed to launch as asecondary payloadon the Indian rocketPolar Satellite Launch Vehicle(PSLV) in late 2019, but the mission was postponed, prompting Capella to move the satellite to aFalcon 9rocketofSpaceX,according to Payam Banazadeh. It was booked to fly as a rideshare passenger on the Falcon 9 launch with Argentina'sSAOCOM 1Bradar observation satellitein late March 2020. But that launch was also delayed at the request of Argentine's space agency (CONAE) as travel and work restrictions were implemented at the onset of theCOVID-19 pandemic.That left Capella looking for another ride for Sequoia.[8]

Capella had previously signed a contract withRocket Labfor a dedicated launch for a future satellite, and Banazadeh said the company decided instead to put Sequoia on theRocket Labmission. Rocket Lab encountered delays after an Electron launch failed on 4 July 2020. Meanwhile, SAOCOM 1B launch preparations resumed and the Argentina satellite lifted off earlier on 30 August 2020 at 23:18:00 UTC, hours before the Rocket Lab mission with Sequoia, on 31 August 2020 at 03:05:47 UTC.[8]The Electron launcher delivered Sequoia to a 525 km orbit, inclined 45.0°. Sequoia has a launch weight of 100 kg.

Whitney satellites[edit]

Six Whitney satellites were originally planned. The first two (Capella-3 and Capella-4) were launched on theFalcon 9Transporter-1 rideshare mission to aSun-synchronous orbiton 24 January 2021.[4]

Capella-6 (Whitney-4) was launched as a rideshare on Starlink V1.0 L26 on 15 May 2021.[9]

Capella-5 (Whitney-3) was launched as a rideshare on the mission Transporter-2 on 30 June 2021.[10]

Capella-7 and Capella-8 were launched as a rideshare on the mission Transporter-3 on 13 January 2022.

Capella-9 (Whitney-7) and Capella-10 (Whitney-8), two additional satellites in this series, to be launched no earlier than 10 January 2023.[11]

Acadia satellites[edit]

In August 2022 the company announced the development of a new generation ofSARsatellites, called "Acadia". These new satellites represent an improvement from Capella's previous satellite generations with increased radar bandwidth from 500 MHz to 700 MHz, and will be able to provide better resolution, higher imaging quality and shorter times between customer orders and delivery. They are equipped with optical communication terminals (OCTs) making Capella Space the first commercial SAR company to demonstrate Optical Inter-Satellite Links.[12]In early 2023, Capella announced a multi-launch agreement withRocket Labfor four dedicated launches, including a launch of Capella's first Acadia satellite.[13]The launch of the first satellite took place on 23 August 2023 at 23:45 UTC.[14]

List of satellites[15][16][17]
Name Capella-1 Capella-2 Capella-3 Capella-4 Capella-5 Capella-6 Capella-7 Capella-8 Capella-9 Capella-10
Denali Sequoia Whitney-1 Whitney-2 Whitney-3 Whitney-4 Whitney-5 Whitney-6 Whitney-7 Whitney-8
Launch date 3 Dec 2018 31 Aug 2020 24 Jan 2021 24 Jan 2021 30 Jun 2021 15 May 2021 13 Jan 2022 13 Jan 2022 16 Mar 2023 16 Mar 2023
Launch Vehicle Falcon 9 B5 Electron Falcon 9 B5 Falcon 9 B5 Falcon 9 B5 Falcon 9 B5 Falcon 9 B5 Falcon 9 B5 Electron Electron
Inclination(degrees) 97.7 45.1 97.5 97.4 97.5 53.0 97.5 97.5 44.0 44.0
Decay date 25 Jan 2023 28 Feb 2023 26 Feb 2023 8 Apr 2023 23 Feb 2023 29 Mar 2024 26 Aug 2023 6 Sept 2023
List of satellites[18][19]
Name Capella-11 Capella-12 Capella-13 Capella-14 Capella-15 Capella-16
Acadia-1 Acadia-2 Acadia-3 Acadia-4 Acadia-5 Acadia-6
Launch date 23 Aug 2023 19 Sep 2023 2024 7 April 2024 2024 2024
Launch Vehicle Electron Electron Electron Falcon 9 Falcon 9 Falcon 9
Inclination(degrees) 53.0 Launch failure 53.0 45.4 97.0 97.0
Decay date

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^"DIUx, the Defense Department unit that funds Silicon Valley's space industry to help detect a North Korean attack — Quartz".qz.com.Retrieved3 November2017.
  2. ^"Capella Space plans to launch imaging satellites that can see through clouds using orbital radar — Quartz".qz.com.Retrieved3 November2017.
  3. ^"Capella Space Corp".forbes.com.Retrieved3 November2017.
  4. ^ab"Capella 2,..., 7 (Sequoia, Whitney)".Retrieved13 May2021.
  5. ^Michael Sheetz (10 January 2023)."Capella Space raises $60 million from fund run by billionaire entertainment exec Thomas Tull".cnbc.com.Retrieved10 July2023.
  6. ^"Rocket Lab returns to service with successful launch for Capella".Spaceflight Now. 31 August 2020.Retrieved1 September2020.
  7. ^"Capella Space wins research contract from U.S. Space Development Agency".SpaceNews.17 June 2021.Retrieved7 October2021.
  8. ^ab"Mission Status Center: Rocket launches Capella's first commercial radar satellite".Spaceflight Now. 30 August 2020.Retrieved31 August2020.
  9. ^"Starlink V1 L26 & Rideshares".Retrieved13 May2021.
  10. ^Lentz, Danny (29 June 2021)."SpaceX successfully launches Transporter 2 mission with 88 satellites".NASASpaceFlight.Retrieved30 June2021.
  11. ^"FCC LIcense Application SAT-MOD-20220919-00111".FCC.19 September 2022.Retrieved20 September2022.
  12. ^"Capella Space Unveils Next Generation Satellite with Enhanced Imagery Capabilities and Communication Features".Capella Space(Press release). 22 August 2022.Retrieved23 August2023.
  13. ^"Rocket Lab Signs Multi-Launch Deal to Deploy Satellite Constellation for Capella Space".Capella Space.Retrieved15 July2024.
  14. ^Foust, Jeff (23 August 2023)."Rocket Lab reuses engine on Electron launch".SpaceNews.com.Retrieved23 August2023.
  15. ^"Satellite Catalog".CelesTrak.
  16. ^Krebs, Gunter Dirk."Capella 1 (Capella Denali)".Gunter's Space Page.
  17. ^Krebs, Gunter Dirk."Capella 2,..., 9 (Sequoia, Whitney)".Gunter's Space Page.
  18. ^"Satellite Catalog".CelesTrak.
  19. ^Krebs, Gunter Dirk (5 December 2023)."Capella 11,..., TBD (Acadia)".Gunter's Space Page.Retrieved6 December2023.

External links[edit]

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