SAR

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.

ESA signs a trio of Copernicus contracts worth 1.3 billion euros
The European Space Agency (ESA) signed contracts for three pairs of satellites for the agency's Earth-observing Copernicus program on Nov. 13 with a total award value of more than 1.3 billion euros ($1.54 billion).

Governments continue to dominate radar satellite data market
Radar satellite operators continue to see the long-term promise of commercial markets and near-term demand from government customers, according to panelists speaking Nov. 10 at the virtual World Satellite Business Week conference.

Finland’s Iceye names new CEO for Iceye US: Jerry Welsh
Finnish radar satellite operator Iceye announced Oct. 29 that Jerry Welsh, Iceye chief operating officer and chief financial officer, is taking the helm of Iceye US as CEO.

Capella Space unveils first radar satellite images
Capella Space unveiled images Oct. 6 from Sequoia, the first of 36 Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellites the San Francisco startup plans to send into a constellation to collect global imagery with hourly updates.

Japan’s iQPS to update technology for future radar satellites
IQPS launched its first 100-kilogram SAR satellite, Izanagi, in November 2019 on an Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle. The firm’s second satellite, Izanami, is scheduled to launch as early as December on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket as part of Spaceflight’s SXRS-3 rideshare mission.

Synthetic aperture radar finally shedding its mystique
SAR satellites can gather data day and night, but the resultant imagery is typically more expensive, less available, and more difficult to use than optical imagery. Technological advances are breaking down those barriers, positioning SAR for much more widespread adoption, according to experts.

SAR Renaissance: Pandemic slows but doesn’t stop constellation progress
Startups around the world continue building synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites even as the COVID-19 pandemic delays some launches.

Iceye raises $87 million in Series C investment round
Radar satellite operator Iceye raised $87 million in a Series C round announced Sept. 22, boosting the Finnish startup’s total investment tally to $152 million.

PredaSAR may launch 48 satellites with SpaceX, exec says
Synthetic aperture radar startup PredaSAR has signed a contract to launch a small satellite with SpaceX, and is in discussions to launch its entire first constellation with the company, PredaSAR co-founder Marc Bell, said Aug 4.

PredaSAR to send 48 satellites into initial radar constellation
PredaSAR Corp. plans to deploy an initial constellation of 48 radar satellites with the goal of offering customers the ability to obtain updated views of sites on the ground within minutes.

Capella to supply U.S. Navy with airborne imagery
Capella Space announced a contract May 13 to provide airborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery and analytics services to the U.S. Navy.