Umbra

Based in Santa Barbara, California, Umbra offers satellite intelligence data as a service to commercial and government customers. It operates a constellation of high-resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites that can capture images in the day or night and through clouds, smoke, and rain through its imaging moods, Dwell and Spotlight. In August 2023, Umbra successfully produced a 16-cm resolution SAR image, the highest-resolution commercial satellite image ever released.

Umbra regularly captures and shares high-resolution SAR data through its Open Data Program, monitoring over 20 global locations. It offers spotlight mode imagery at resolutions ranging from 25 cm to 1 m and multi-looked spotlight modes in various formats. Umbra's satellites can identify and monitor changes for applications like wildlife habitat protection, pollution tracking, oil spill detection, and military intelligence.

As of May 2024, Umbra had eight satellites in orbit and was licensed to operate 32 satellites. It aimed to deploy the remaining in strategically designed pairs to facilitate multi-static collection and other integrated operations. In August 2024, Umbra launched the Umbra-09 and Umbra-10 SAR satellites aboard SpaceX's Transporter-11 Rideshare mission.

Umbra also offers satellite mission solutions that help clients enhance their missions by utilizing its infrastructure, vertical integration, and systems engineering expertise. These solutions include mission management software, design, and manufacturing facilities for space payloads that ensure spacecraft are delivered on time and within budget.

Key customers and partnerships

In February 2024, Umbra signed an agreement with Maxar Technologies to provide direct access to Umbra’s SAR imaging satellites. In September 2023, Umbra also partnered with EUSI to offer its SAR imagery to European remote sensing projects, allowing customers to purchase Umbra's data directly through EUSI.

In October 2023, NASA selected Umbra as a commercial provider for its Commercial Satellite Data Acquisition (CSDA) Program, enabling NASA to access Umbra's all-weather, day, or night intelligence collection capabilities to support its Earth science research and application activities.