SBIR/STTR Award attributes
Adversary threats are becoming more unwarned, rapidly deployed, and menacing, elevating the importance of multi-domain persistent surveillance capabilities to protect U.S. and allied forces. Low tasking priority and slow delivery of space imagery from existing, non-persistent, and often warned against, national systems do not adequately meet many of DoD’s tactical mission needs. Warfighter information superiority can be achieved by fusing space and airborne temporal and spatial data; collecting data in all weather, day and night, conditions; and providing persistent surveillance anywhere on globe. The desire for this capability has long been sought, but not yet obtained, and is critical to the Air Force Warfighter Integration Construct. Capella Space, a privately funded U.S.-company based in San Francisco, is building a constellation of commercial Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) small satellites. Capella exploits the nexus of the smallsat revolution, new low cost launch entrants, and significant advancements in information processing technology. We successfully launched a SAR satellite on 30 August 2020 and are completing calibration and on-orbit activation now. With initial operation capability expected by the end of October, this is just the start. Not only is Capella a commercial SAR provider from space, but Capella will be a persistent SAR provider with 6 more satellite launches planned in the next year – and this is just the beginning. After the first 7 satellites, we perform a block upgrade and launch additional satellites. As calibration activities continue 0.5-meter resolution imagery will soon be available. There are multiple manufacturers of manned ISR aircraft and Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) that fly radars, electro-optic, and signal intelligence payloads. Further there are a variety of state-of-the-art digital payload control and image fusion and data processing systems. However, space and air surveillance architectures have not been integrated to improve information superiority and as envisioned and prescribed by the Air Force Warfighter Integration Construct. This project addresses an unsatisfied Air Force requirement for Integrated Information Superiority (USAF-19-PEO-SPACE-11.E) as part of the Air Force Warfighter Integration Construct. Specifically, the requirement seeks to improve information superiority across space and air domains by fusing space and airborne temporal and spatial data to decrease opportunities for surprise by adversaries; collect data in all weather, day and night, conditions; and provide persistent (
