Capella Space

Capella Space is a space tech company specializing in data and satellite solutions for government and commercial applications. It is the first US company to own a constellation of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellites, delivering high-quality, high-resolution SAR imagery. The company's satellites can penetrate clouds, darkness, and other weather, providing 24/7 all-weather imaging capabilities. Capella Space's SAR satellites are paired with robust data infrastructure to provide reliable global insights that aid decision-making in sectors like defense, intelligence, supply chain, insurance, and maritime for various applications such as Geospatial Intelligence (GEOINT), maritime domain awareness, and infrastructure monitoring.

Capella Space's product offerings include several imaging modes such as Stripmap, Sliding Spotlight, and Spotlight, with coverage exceeding 100 km and resolutions better than 0.5 meters. The company's satellites collect data in three imaging modes: Single Look Complex (SLC), Geocoded Ellipsoid Corrected (GEC), and Geocoded Terrain Corrected (GEO) and two file formats - GeoTIFF and SICD - that are cloud-optimized and can be integrated into popular GIS or ELT geospatial software applications. The company's satellites operate at an X-band center frequency of 9.65 GHz, offering a single polarization (HH or VV) product.

The platform also offers features, including the following:

1) Capella Analytics, a suite of automated analysis tools that enhance SAR imagery by detecting and highlighting critical changes and trends on the Earth's surface

2) Capella's Constellation Tasking, an SAR satellite tasking service that allows customers to directly submit imagery requests through an automated, self-service system

3) Capella's Console & API, which is a cloud-native platform that provides customers with an easy-to-use web-based data portal (Capella Console) and API for accessing SAR imagery

In August 2022, Capella Space introduced Acadia, its next-generation SAR satellites with improved radar bandwidth, higher resolution, increased imaging quality, and faster order-to-delivery times. The Acadia satellites also feature optical communication terminals, making Capella Space the first commercial SAR company to demonstrate optical inter-satellite links.

Key customers and partnerships

Capella Space has established agreements with various government agencies, including the US National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), the US Navy, NASA, and the US Space Systems Command. In January 2023, the company secured contracts from the NRO and the US Navy to integrate its commercial radar imagery into government-owned surveillance satellites and the US Air Force's virtual reality software. Capella Space also partnered with Pacific Geomatics in 2023, making its imagery available to government offices across Canada through Canada's National Master Standing Offers.

In May 2023, the company collaborated with LiveEO as one of its first Certified Analytics Partners, incorporating Capella's SAR data into LiveEO's Rapid Response Insights solution for effective storm response. In January 2024, Capella Space announced a strategic partnership with Floodbase, a leading data provider of parametric flood insurance as part of its Capella Space Analytics Partner Program. The collaboration aimed to integrate Capella's high-resolution SAR satellite data into Floodbase's end-to-end parametric flood insurance solution, enhancing payout trigger certification and capturing flood magnitudes with accuracy, regardless of cloud cover.

In September 2024, Capella Space secured a USD 15 million AFWERX Strategic Funding Increase (STRATFI) contract from the US Air Force to support its capabilities, missions, and commercial applications in various defense, agriculture, environment, and disaster response fields.