Capella Space First Operational SAR Satellite

Abstract

Capella Space launched its first commercial Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite in August 2020. After commissioning phase, Capella started commercial operations in January 2021, deploying a fully-functional SAR system that demonstrates three engineering milestones: an 8-m <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup> deployable reflector mounted on small and agile satellite; the capability to process and timely deliver 0.5 m resolution spotlight images with 9 looks; and an automated tasking and delivery system that simplifies the ordering of high-quality SAR imagery for expert and novice users. In this paper, we present results from the commissioning and calibration/validation operations. We also compare images collected with the variety of imaging modes that Capella systems can collect.