Capella Space selected to bid on prototype orders to meet critical SDA mission needs

Capella Space Corp., an American space tech company with data and satellite solutions for government and commercial applications, today announced its selection to participate in the Hybrid Acquisition for Proliferated LEO (HALO) other transaction authority (OTA) procurement vehicle. This acquisition approach will enable Capella Space to bid on prototype orders to build satellites systems for the Space Development Agency (SDA).

Capella Space owns a constellation of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites, wholly designed, manufactured and operated in-house. This constellation has been in commercial operation since January 2021, delivering high quality SAR data to end-users and mission partners around the world, 24/7/365. Capella’s SAR data has been in use operationally across the globe in many applications, including oil spill detection, border monitoring, forest management and the support of national defense missions.

Capella was the first US company to demonstrate end-to-end, fully automated operation of a SAR constellation. They were also first to use an Inmarsat Data Relay System, first to deliver 30-second multi-look imagery (dwell), first to partner with AWS on a cloud native SAR platform and first to deploy a 3.5m mesh-based reflector from a small-sat.

Capella’s speed to delivery, end-to-end mission capability, mature manufacturing capability and proven on-orbit track record are key ingredients for enabling future HALO missions.

“Owning and operating our satellite constellation enables us to quickly launch new satellites, deploy new capabilities and offer actionable solutions tailored to meet diverse mission needs,” said Frank Backes, CEO of Capella Space. “We have built a platform around agility in design, quality in manufacturing, and speed in operation through automation – all of it enabled by a world-class team. We look forward to leveraging all of that in support of the SDA’s unique missions.”

“SDA is proud to welcome 19 vendors into the first-ever HALO pool,” said SDA Director Derek Tournear. “This creative award solution enables SDA to quickly compete, build, and fly demonstration missions to burn down risk for the future of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture. We also hope, through the HALO pool, to build a broader base of vendors that can compete for work on operational layers of future tranches.”

HALO enables Capella Space to also compete for Tranche 2 Demonstration and Experimentation System (T2DES) and other SDA demonstration projects. This award builds on the strong partnerships Capella Space has developed with other US government agencies including the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), U.S. Air Force, U.S. Space Force and NASA.

Source: BUSINESS WIRE