SpaceX’s Starlink plan has reshaped the landscape of the satellite Internet and commercial space launch markets. Its “carpool launch plan” has attracted many commercial satellite companies around the world with its low cost and high frequency.
Today let’s talk about:
Which satellite companies have taken a ride on SpaceX’s Starlink?
1
Planet
Planet（
Former Plant Labs
）
Founded in
2010
, headquartered in San Francisco, USA, is an influential company in the field of remote sensing satellite data.
The founders are former NASA scientists Chris Boshuizen, Will Marshall and Robbie Schingler.
its construction/operation
SkySat
satellite,
Dove constellation (
PlanetScope
）
satellite,
and
Pelican Constellation
Satellite etc.
It has carried SpaceX’s “Rideshare Plan” many times.
SkySat
constellation
Made of 15 pieces
SkySat-C
It is composed of satellites that can conduct image return visits to any location on the earth 10 times a day. The resolution of the images is about 0.5 meters per pixel.
dove constellation
Depend on
Consisting of approximately 130 satellites, it is capable of imaging the entire Earth’s land surface every day with a resolution of approximately 3 meters per pixel.
The Dove constellation satellites are all 3U configuration, with dimensions of 10cm×10cm×34cm. Three types have been released so far:
Dove Classic、
Dove R、
SuperDove。
(picture:
Planet Dove Constellation Satellite Concept Image Source: Planet
）
Pelican Constellation
plan
It consists of up to 32 Pelican satellites. With a resolution of up to 0.3 meters, most areas of the world can be revisited up to 10 times a day, and mid-latitude areas can be revisited up to 30 times a day.
The first test satellite Pelican-1 was launched on November 11, 2023.
(Picture: Pelican satellite in-orbit rendering Source: CNBC)
According to incomplete statistics, SpaceX has launched 235 satellites for Planet.
2
Capella Space
Capella Space
Depend on
Founded in 2016 by Payam Banazadeh and William Walter Woods, it is headquartered in San Francisco, USA. It is a commercial aerospace company focusing on synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite technology, providing users with high-quality, high-resolution SAR satellite services. It is the first company in the United States to deploy a commercial SAR satellite constellation.
Planned to be built by
36 satellites
Networked
SAR satellite constellation
, realizing hourly heavy SAR remote sensing services and providing users with 0.5-meter high-resolution SAR earth observation images. So far, Capella Space has launched 15 satellites and 8 have been retired.
(Picture: SAR satellite Source:
Capella Space
）
According to incomplete statistics, SpaceX has launched 10 satellites for Capella Space.
3
ICEYE
ICEYE
Founded in
2014
, headquartered in Espoo, Finland, is the world’s leading provider of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite technology and data services. It owns and operates the world’s largest SAR satellite constellation, providing users with high-fidelity earth observation, continuous monitoring and natural disaster solutions.
Since 2018, ICEYE has launched 44 satellites into orbit and plans to launch more than 20 new satellites every year starting in 2025.
(Picture: SAR satellite constellation rendering. Source: ICEYE)
According to incomplete statistics, SpaceX has launched 37 satellites for ICEYE.
4
Umbra Space
Umbra Space by
David Langan
and
Gabe Dominocielo
Founded in
2015
, headquartered in Santa Barbara, USA, is a commercial remote sensing company developing rapidly in the field of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite technology.
Focusing on the development of SAR satellites, it mainly provides SAR image services with a resolution of more than 0.25 meters.
(Picture: Umbra Space and the United States Space Development Agency have reached cooperation. Source: Umbra Space)
According to incomplete statistics, SpaceX has launched 10 satellites for Umbra Space.
5
IQPS
IQPS was founded in
2005
, the founders are Kyushu University honorary professors Tetsuo Yasaka, Akira Sakurai, and Kunihiro Funakoshi, a former rocket developer at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
developed
100kg high-resolution small SAR satellite——
QPS-SAR
. and plan
Deploy 9 satellites on 4 different orbital surfaces
QPS-SAR satellite
, constructing a constellation composed of 36 satellites to achieve 10-minute observation of any location on the earth.
(Picture: Falcon 9 satellite deployment, QPS-SAR2 on the left. Source: SpaceX)
According to incomplete statistics, SpaceX has launched 4 satellites for IQPS.
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