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Capella 2, ..., 7 (Sequoia, Whitney)
Capella 2 [Capella Space]
Capella Space of California is developing the Capella Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellites. They are planned to operate in a 30 satellite constellation.
The improved satellites are about twice as large as the Capella 1 (Denali) prototype to accommodate a bigger sensor aperture for the X-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) that can provide high-contrast, low-noise high-resolution sub-0.5 meter imagery. For this, it features a new 3.5 meter aperture deployed mesh-based reflector antenna.
The second satellite, Capella 2 or Sequoia, was launched as the prime passenger on a on an Electron Photon-LEO rocket into a 45° orbit at a nominal altitude of 525 km in late August 2020.
Two more satellites Capella 3 and 4, the first batch of the six satellite Whitney sub-constellation, are to fly in late 2020 on a Falcon-9 v1.2 (Block 5).
| Nation: | USA |
|---|---|
| Type / Application: | Earth observation, radar |
| Operator: | Capella Space |
| Contractors: | Capella Space |
| Equipment: | X-band SAR |
| Configuration: | |
| Propulsion: | None |
| Power: | Solar cells, batteries |
| Lifetime: | |
| Mass: | ~100 kg |
| Orbit: |
| Satellite | COSPAR | Date | LS | Launch Vehicle | Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capella 2 (Capella Sequoia) | 2020-060B | 31.08.2020 | OnS LC-1 | Electron Photon-LEO | with First Light | |
| Capella 3 (Capella Whitney 1) | - | 2021 | CC | Falcon-9 v1.2 (Block 5) | with QPS-SAR 2, Umbra-SAR 2001, Capella 4, XR 1, Landmapper-Demo 6, 7, GNOMES 2, GHGSat C2, Hawk 2A, 2B, 2C, SHERPA-FX 1, Vigoride 1, ION-SCV 2, SAMSON 1, 2, 3, AuroraSat 1, RadCube, VZLUsat 2, LINCS A, B, UVSQ-SAT, CPOD A, B, Astrocast 1.x1, ..., 1.x5, SpaceBEE x1, ..., x36, Delfi-PQ 1, SATTLA 2, EASAT, HADES, Grizu-263a, LibertyQube 1, Pycubed, TRSI 2, Tartan Artibeus, PTD 1, Lemur-2 x1, ..., x8, SW1FT, Prometheus-2 10, ARCE 1A, 1B, 1C, (multiple satellites) | |
| Capella 4 (Capella Whitney 2) | - | 2021 | CC | Falcon-9 v1.2 (Block 5) | with QPS-SAR 2, Umbra-SAR 2001, Capella 3, XR 1, Landmapper-Demo 6, 7, GNOMES 2, GHGSat C2, Hawk 2A, 2B, 2C, SHERPA-FX 1, Vigoride 1, ION-SCV 2, SAMSON 1, 2, 3, AuroraSat 1, RadCube, VZLUsat 2, LINCS A, B, UVSQ-SAT, CPOD A, B, Astrocast 1.x1, ..., 1.x5, SpaceBEE x1, ..., x36, Delfi-PQ 1, SATTLA 2, EASAT, HADES, Grizu-263a, LibertyQube 1, Pycubed, TRSI 2, Tartan Artibeus, PTD 1, Lemur-2 x1, ..., x8, SW1FT, Prometheus-2 10, ARCE 1A, 1B, 1C, (multiple satellites) | |
| Capella 5 (Capella Whitney 3) | - | 202x | ||||
| Capella 6 (Capella Whitney 4) | - | 202x | ||||
| Capella 7 (Capella Whitney 5) | - | 202x | ||||
| Capella 8 (Capella Whitney 6) | - | 202x |
References:
- Capella Space: Website
- Space News: Capella unveils radar satellite design, 22 January 2020
