Earth observation

Nicole Robinson named president of Ursa Space Systems
After 14 years at satellite communications fleet operator SES, Nicole Robinson is taking on a new role: president of Ursa Space Systems, the geospatial analytics firm based in Ithaca, New York.

Maxar remains focused on multiyear diversification strategy
Maxar Technologies is continuing to diversify its business but remains in the “early innings” in attracting expanding defense and intelligence work, said Dan Jablonsky, Maxar president and CEO.

Iceye releases images from latest SAR satellites
Iceye published the first images Feb. 25 from three synthetic aperture radar satellites the Finnish company launched in January on a SpaceX rideshare mission.

Former Capella Space and Planet executive joins Hydrosat
Scott Soenen, who held key engineering jobs at Capella Space and Planet, is the new chief technology officer of Hydrosat, a data analytics company building a satellite constellation to produce a thermal infrared map of Earth.

Alpha Insights reveals plans for dual-band SAR satellites
Entrepreneur Scott Larson, who co-founded Urthecast and Helios Wire, is leading Alpha Insights, a Toronto company that acquired the SAR assets of Urthecast, which filed for protection from creditors in 2020 to avoid bankruptcy.

Former Tomnod CEO joins Spire Global to lead aviation unit
Shay Har-Noy, former Tomnod CEO, has joined Spire Global as the company’s general manager of the aviation systems business unit.

Satellite imagery is not yet flowing like water from a tap
SAN FRANCISCO – Companies are collecting more Earth imagery from satellites than ever before, but for some customers the data remains too expensive and too difficult to consume.

MDA announces Radarsat-2 Continuity Mission
MDA is designing the follow-on to Radarsat-2, the C-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite the Canadian firm built through a public-private partnership with the Canadian government.

Umbra raises $32 million for radar satellite constellation
Earth observation startup Umbra raised $32 million in its latest investment round.

Startup Albedo focuses on 10-centimeter Earth imagery
Albedo, the latest space company to join the Y Combinator startup accelerator, plans to establish a satellite constellation offering Earth imagery with a resolution of 10 centimeters per pixel.

Hanwha Aerospace claims 30% stake in Satrec Initiative
Hanwha Aerospace, South Korea’s largest defense company, announced plans Jan. 14 to invest approximately $100 million to purchase 30% of the shares of satellite manufacturer Satrec Initiative.

Iceye to launch three SAR satellites on SpaceX rideshare flight
Iceye is preparing to send three Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellites into orbit on the SpaceX Falcon 9 small satellite rideshare mission scheduled for launch Jan. 21.

Spacety shares first images from small C-band SAR satellite
Chinese startup Spacety released the first images from Hisea-1, a C-band Synthetic Aperture Radar, launched Dec. 22 on China’s new Long March 8 medium-lift rocket.

Capella Space releases high-resolution Spotlight imagery
Capella Space released radar satellite images with a resolution of 50 centimeters by 50 centimeters, which the San Francisco startup says is the highest resolution available from a commercial Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite operator.

Satellite sensors could supply data for emissions trading systems
Satellite data could play a role in monitoring, reporting and verifying compliance with emissions trading systems also known as cap and trade.