North Star Earth & Space

NorthStar Earth & Space, based in Canada, specializes in providing space-based Space Situational Awareness (SSA) services through a constellation of satellites with dedicated optical sensors. Founded in 2015 by Telesystem and KinetX, the company launched the first four satellites of its SSA constellation called Skylark in January 2024​. These 16U cubesats are designed to track objects as small as five centimeters in low Earth orbit and 40 centimeters in geostationary orbit. This launch marks the beginning of an initial 12-satellite constellation, with options for up to 18 more.

The key offerings of NorthStar Earth & Space include its (1) satellite management and space-based data services and (2) earth data services and platform through its Skylark constellation.

NorthStar Earth & Space’s satellite management and space-based data services include navigation assistance, collision avoidance, space object tracking, change detection, and event monitoring. It offers subscription and pay-per-use models for its data services. Its data fusion and curation services support space traffic management and sustainable space operations.

NorthStar Earth & Space’s earth data platform includes advanced diagnostic information on environmental and ecosystem health, using hyperspectral and infrared data. Its platform integrates multiple data sources, facilitating environmental monitoring for applications including forestry management, sustainable agriculture, and greenhouse gas monitoring, supporting pollution detection, ecosystem health assessment, and climate change adaptation strategies.

Key customers and partnerships

Notable clients include the US Commerce Department, Saudi Space Agency and the Government of Luxembourg.

A key partner of NorthStar Earth & Space is Spire Global, which built its initial block of four satellites. It also signed a Letter of Intent with the Luxembourg Government to create a Centre of Excellence for Clean Space in Luxembourg (December 2019).

It also partnered with SES to create custom SSA solutions designed to optimize SES’s satellite operations and fleet management (March 2022), as well as with Astroscale to integrate NorthStar’s space-based tracking of resident space objects with Astroscale’s advanced spacecraft navigation and capture capabilities for on-orbit servicing (September 2022).

The company also collaborated with Rocket Lab for satellite launches and Axelspace to develop the world’s first integrated Ground & Space SSA services by using Axelspace’s operational AxelGlobe constellation of five Earth Observation LEO satellites (January 2023).