Capella (Capella Space)

Capella Space was founded in 2016 and is a American space company, specialized in space-based radar Earth observation satellites equipped with synthetic-aperture radar (SAR). Synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) is a form of radar that is used to create two-dimensional images or three-dimensional reconstructions of objects, such as landscapes. Unlike optical technology, synthetic aperture radar (SAR) can “see” through darkness, clouds, and rain, detecting changes in habitat, levels of water and moisture, effects of natural or human disturbance, and changes in the Earth's surface after events such as earthquakes or sinkhole openings. Capella Space's SAR satellites deliver global insights into commerce, conservation, and security on Earth. Capella Space plans to deploy a fleet of small radar satellites to provide regularly-updated imagery to the U.S. government and commercial customers. In 2018 and 2020, Capella Space's first satellites were launched into space after which the company began rolling out the Whitney network of satellites. In 2023, Capella Space started to develop a new generation of satellites called 'Acadia'. These new satellites represent an improvement from the previous Capella ones with increased radar bandwidth from 500 MHz to 700 MHz, and will be able to provide better resolution, higher imaging quality and shorter times between customer orders and delivery. Acadia satellites will also be equipped with optical communication terminals (OCTs) making Capella Space the first commercial SAR company to demonstrate Optical Inter-Satellite Links. Each Capella satellite has a three-year design life. By launching 12 satellites per year, the constellation will maintain its imaging capability indefinitely.

Capella Space satellites launch overview

Flight no.	Date launch	Rocket	Launch base	Orbit	Satellites launched	Patch	Mission succes?
1	03/12/2018	Falcon 9	Vandenberg Space Force Base (USA)	525 km	Capella-1 (Denali)	No patch	Success
2	31/08/2020	Electron	Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 (New Zealand)	525 km	Capella-2 (Sequoia)		Success
3	24/01/2021	Falcon 9	Cape Canaveral (USA)	525 km	Capella-3 (Whitney-1) Capella-4 (Whitney-2)	No patch	Success
4	30/06/2021	Falcon 9	Cape Canaveral (USA)	525 km	Capella-5 (Whitney-3) Capella-6 (Whitney-4)	No patch	Success
5	13/01/2022	Falcon 9	Kennedy Space Center (USA)	525 km	Capella-7 (Whitney-5) Capella-8 (Whitney-6)	No patch	Success
6	16/03/2023	Electron	Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 (New Zealand)	525 km	Capella-9 (Whitney-7) Capella-10 (Whitney-8)	No Patch	Success
7	23/08/2023	Electron	Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 (New Zealand)	525 km	Capella-11 (Acadia-1)		Success
8	19/09/2023	Electron	Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 (New Zealand)	/	Capella-12 (Acadia-2)		Failure

Images: Capella Space