Capella Space
Capella Space operates a commercial Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite constellation delivering sub-0.25m all-weather Earth observation imagery and analytics to US defense, intelligence, and commercial customers, now a wholly owned subsidiary of IonQ.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Capella Space does
Capella Space is a US-based commercial operator of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellites that delivers high-resolution, all-weather Earth observation imagery and analytics to government and commercial customers. Founded in 2016 and headquartered in San Francisco with manufacturing operations in Louisville, Colorado and a Washington-area office in Chantilly, Virginia, the company operates the third-generation Acadia constellation of eight satellites distributed across mid-inclination (45°, 53°) and sun-synchronous (97°) orbits. The Acadia satellites deliver sub-0.25 meter resolution imagery through clouds, fog, darkness, and smoke, with 2-15 revisit opportunities per day and revisit times under 3 hours over key regions. Revenue is anchored by US government customers including the National Reconnaissance Office, Space Development Agency, NASA CSDA program, US Space Force, and the DoD Defense Innovation Unit, supplemented by enterprise customers such as BAE Systems and a global partner/reseller network.
The company's product portfolio is organized around four core solution areas: SAR Data products delivered in six standard formats (SLC, SICD, CPHD, SIDD, GEC, GEO); Space Systems for custom satellite and mission solutions for national security customers; Sensor Technology for space-based RF and signal detection; and an Automated Tasking platform (TCPED) with 15-minute scheduling cycles accessible through the Capella Console and Public REST API. Analytics add-ons include AI-powered Vessel Classification and Colorized Sub-aperture Image (CSI) processing, with Commercial InSAR for millimeter-scale ground deformation monitoring launched in May 2026. Data delivery is enabled through certified integrations with major geospatial platforms including ArcGIS Pro, ENVI, QGIS, SARscape, GAMMA, and SOCET GXP. AI/ML is applied at the sensor and analytics layers, including AI-enabled SAR sensors, CSI computer vision, and automated TCPED workflow orchestration.
Capella monetizes through quote-based multi-year contracts, a self-serve API/Console platform with usage-based charges, an Open Data Program offering free SAR imagery under CC BY 4.0, and a global partner channel. Pricing is not publicly disclosed. Following IonQ's all-stock acquisition completed July 2025 (~$318 million), Capella operates as a wholly owned subsidiary focused on integrating SAR capabilities with space-based Quantum Key Distribution and quantum networking for US and allied defense and intelligence customers.
Capella Space firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Capella Space
- Legal name
- Capella Space Corp.
- Website
- https://capellaspace.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Acquired
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Capella Space operates a commercial Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite constellation delivering sub-0.25m all-weather Earth observation imagery and analytics to US defense, intelligence, and commercial customers, now a wholly owned subsidiary of IonQ.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Capella Space industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Satellite Earth Observation
- NAICS
- Guided Missile and Space Vehicle Manufacturing (336414), Satellite Telecommunications (5174)
- SIC
- Guided Missiles & Space Vehicles & Parts (3760), Search, Detection, Navagation, Guidance, Aeronautical Sys (3812), Aircraft (3721)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Satellite Imagery & Remote Sensing Geospatial Platforms (BPAMANAM)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USV) & Autonomous Maritime Surface Platforms (IMABAIAE), Spacecraft & Satellites (Civil/Commercial) (IMABACAB), Space-Based Defense Systems (SSA, Missile Warning, Protected SATCOM) (IMABAOAH), Satellite Broadband Terminals & Gateways (VSAT/LEO CPE) (HDAFAIAM)
Keywords
Where Capella Space is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices3 records
Markets served
Capella Space business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Data-as-a-Service (SAR imagery & tasking): Recurring and transactional revenue from SAR imagery sales, tasking services, archive access, and analytics delivered through the Capella Console and API. Includes Data-as-a-Service, custom tasking, and analytics add-ons like Vessel Classification. Pricing is quote-based / tiered.
- Custom Space Systems / Mission Solutions: Design, build, and operation of high-performance satellite systems delivering secure, customizable space capabilities tailored to national and strategic needs. Includes spacecraft design, ground infrastructure, and fully integrated space solutions.
- Sensor Technology / Signals Intelligence: Advanced sensor capabilities built on TRL 9 platforms for space-based RF and signal detection supporting intelligence requirements with precision, speed, and operational security.
- Open Data Program (CC BY 4.0): Free SAR imagery under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) license as a marketing/ecosystem asset. Available via Capella Console or AWS open dataset to drive adoption and community engagement.
- Government Contracts (US DoD, NRO, SDA, NASA): Multi-year government contracts and task orders including a $49 million Space Development Agency contract for military communications satellite demo, NRO contract extensions, NASA CSDA agreements, and other U.S. Department of Defense deals.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Data-as-a-Service (SAR imagery & tasking) - Quote-based |
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Open Data Program - Free |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | US Government License Tiers (USG / USGP / PUB) |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | API Key Access (90-day rolling expiration) |
Go-to-market motion4 records
Distribution channels5 records
Capella Space product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Capella Space operates a vertically integrated Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Earth observation platform centered on its third-generation Capella Acadia satellite constellation. The company delivers sub-0.25m resolution, all-weather radar imagery and value-added analytics (Vessel Classification, Colorized Sub-aperture Imagery, Commercial InSAR) through a self-service Capella Console, a Public REST API, and direct enterprise sales, targeting U.S. defense, intelligence, maritime, and commercial geospatial customers.
Product overview
Capella Space is a U.S.-based Earth observation company offering a vertically integrated SAR satellite platform that combines satellite manufacturing, constellation operations, and analytics services. The platform centers on the next-generation Capella Acadia SAR satellite constellation (internally codenamed "Hawk"), which delivers all-weather, day-and-night high-resolution radar imagery at sub-0.25 m resolution. Core offerings are organized around four solution areas — SAR Data (all-weather radar imagery products in SLC, SICD, CPHD, SIDD, GEC, and GEO formats), Space Systems (custom satellite and mission solutions for defense and intelligence customers), Sensor Technology (space-based RF and signal detection), and Automated Tasking (a fully automated Tasking, Collection, Processing, Exploitation, Dissemination (TCPED) platform with 15-minute scheduling cycles). The Commercial InSAR service extends the platform with interferometric SAR for millimeter-scale ground movement monitoring. The Capella Console serves as the unified web platform for searching, tasking, and ordering, backed by the Capella API for programmatic workflows. Analytics add-ons include Vessel Classification (detecting military and commercial vessels) and Colorized Sub-aperture Imagery (CSI). The Capella Open Data Program provides free SAR samples under CC BY 4.0. The company was acquired by IonQ in July 2025 and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary focused on integrating SAR with space-based quantum key distribution.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Capella Acadia: Capella's third-generation SAR satellite constellation/line, providing all-weather high-resolution Earth intelligence imagery (referenced as Acadia Render imagery and Acadia satellites throughout the site).
- Capella Console
- Capella Open Data
Products and services
- Capella Acadia SAR Constellation Third-generation Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite constellation delivering all-weather, day-and-night high-resolution radar imagery at sub-0.25 m resolution. The constellation includes eight Acadia satellites in mid-inclination (45°, 53°) and sun-synchronous (97°) orbits, supporting mission-ready 24/7 Earth intelligence with 2–15 revisit opportunities per day.
- SAR Data All-weather, high-resolution SAR imagery products available in six formats: Single Look Complex (SLC), Sensor Independent Complex Data (SICD), Compensated Phase History Data (CPHD), Sensor Independent Derived Data (SIDD), Geocoded Ellipsoid Corrected (GEC), and Geocoded Terrain Corrected (GEO). Supports Spotlight, Sliding Spotlight (Site), Stripmap, and Parallel Stripmap collect modes with HH polarization.
- Space Systems
Quantifiable outcome
- Sub-0.25m SAR resolution (high-fidelity imagery)
- +7 more outcomes
Companies that use Capella Space
Customer profileNamed customers11 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Capella Space technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration17 records
AI capability6 records
Feature11 records
Capella Space partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
22 partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship, major and minor.
- TendegcoreTendeg counts Capella Space among its key customers and supplied the deployable reflector for the Capella-17 SAR spacecraft that launched on SpaceX Falcon 9 Transporter-14. Tendeg's new 120,000 sq ft Innovation Drive production facility in Louisville, Colorado has capacity for 100+ deployable apertures annually.
- NASA (Commercial Satellite Data Acquisition Program)flagshipNASA CSDA Program signed one of eight new data agreements with Capella Space (and six other commercial partners) in February 2026 to provide multispectral and SAR data for Earth science research applications.
- U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO)flagshipNRO extended contracts with Capella Space (alongside HawkEye 360, ICEYE US, and Umbra) for Earth observation data through early 2027 as part of preparing a new acquisition approach via commercial solutions opening (CSO).
- StarcloudflagshipStarcloud is processing data commercially for Capella Space on its Starcloud-1 satellite (Nvidia H100 GPU). This partnership leverages Starcloud's orbital data center capabilities to process Capella's SAR data in space - first AI model trained in orbit. Starcloud-2 launching October 2026 with multiple H100 chips and Nvidia Blackwell platform.
- IonQflagshipIonQ completed its acquisition of Capella Space on July 15, 2025 (announcement May 7, 2025; agreement signed May 2025). The all-stock deal was valued at approximately $318 million. Capella became a wholly owned subsidiary of IonQ, combining trapped-ion quantum computing with SAR satellite capabilities to create a quantum-enabled Earth observation platform and infrastructure for a space-based Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) network.
- LightsynqmajorAcquired by IonQ alongside Capella Space; to leverage long-distance quantum repeaters from Lightsynq combined with Capella's top-secret signals capabilities to enable ultra-secure communications for U.S. and allied government defense and intelligence missions.
- Kratos Defense & Security SolutionscoreKratos Defense & Security Solutions validated Capella Space's Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Level 2 in compliance with 110 NIST SP 800-171 Revision 2 security requirements.
- Summit7minorProvided additional IT support during Capella Space's CMMC Level 2 certification process.
- SafranmajorDisplayed as a Capella global partner for trusted technology integration and solution delivery for mission-critical operations.
- SarmapmajorGlobal partner for SAR data integration; SARscape (Sarmap) software supports Capella SLC+GEC+GEO across Spot, Site, and Strip imaging modes.
- SI AnalyticsmajorGlobal partner displayed on Capella's homepage as part of the partner ecosystem.
- Space KnowmajorGlobal partner displayed on Capella's homepage as part of the partner ecosystem.
- TCartamajorGlobal partner displayed on Capella's homepage as part of the partner ecosystem.
- Ursa SpacemajorGlobal partner displayed on Capella's homepage as part of the partner ecosystem for geospatial intelligence delivery.
- BoxMicamajorPartner using Capella SAR data with BoxMica analysis for aircraft identification and activity classification (referenced on homepage as part of partner network).
- Live EOmajorGlobal partner displayed on Capella's homepage as part of the partner ecosystem.
- UP42coreUP42 (geospatial marketplace) listed as customer/partner on Capella's homepage, indicating data distribution through the UP42 platform ecosystem.
- Pacific Geomatics LTDcoreChannel partner displayed on Capella's homepage, distributing Capella SAR data to the Pacific Geomatics customer base.
- BAE SystemsflagshipStrategic customer/partner displayed on Capella's homepage; BAE Systems' SOCET GXP software fully supports Capella SLC, GEC, GEO, and SICD formats.
- ICEYE USmajorIndustry peer partner alongside Capella Space in NRO commercial remote sensing contract extensions through early 2027. Also a NASA CSDA Program data partner.
- UmbramajorIndustry peer partner alongside Capella Space in NRO commercial remote sensing contract extensions through early 2027. Also a NASA CSDA Program data partner.
- HawkEye 360majorIndustry peer partner alongside Capella Space in NRO commercial remote sensing contract extensions through early 2027. Also first used water propulsion commercially alongside Capella Space in 2018.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves6 records
Capella Space competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- ICEYE: ICEYE operates a commercial SAR satellite constellation delivering X-band SAR imagery with sub-1m resolution and is the closest direct competitor to Capella in US defense and commercial markets. ICEYE US received NRO contract extensions alongside Capella through early 2027 and is also a NASA CSDA data partner.
- Umbra: Umbra operates a commercial SAR constellation focused on high-resolution tasking for defense, intelligence, and commercial customers. Umbra received NRO contract extensions alongside Capella through early 2027 and is also a NASA CSDA data partner, making it a direct competitor for the same federal SAR workload.
- HawkEye 360: HawkEye 360 operates a commercial constellation of RF-sensing satellites for signals intelligence and geolocation, complementing SAR with a different sensing modality. HawkEye 360 received NRO extensions alongside Capella, was an early water-propulsion partner (2018), and competes for similar defense and intelligence EO/ISR budgets.
- Synspective: Synspective is a Japan-based SAR satellite operator building a commercial X-band SAR constellation and SAR analytics solutions for infrastructure monitoring and disaster response. It is a direct SAR peer competing with Capella in Asia-Pacific markets and global infrastructure-monitoring use cases.
Broad incumbents
- Maxar Technologies: Maxar is a large incumbent provider of high-resolution optical Earth observation imagery and satellite systems serving US defense, intelligence, and commercial customers. As a broader EO incumbent, Maxar competes for NRO and defense workloads that overlap with Capella's SAR offerings, though its core medium is optical rather than radar.
- Planet Labs: Planet Labs operates the largest commercial fleet of Earth observation satellites, focused on high-cadence optical imagery. It is a broad EO incumbent competing with Capella for agriculture, defense, and commercial monitoring budgets, profiled alongside Capella as a key market player in agriculture satellite mapping.
- Airbus Defence and Space: Airbus Defence and Space operates SAR (e.g., TerraSAR-X, PAZ) and optical Earth observation satellites, offering a full-stack EO portfolio. It is a broad incumbent and global SAR competitor that overlaps with Capella in defense and commercial markets, and was profiled alongside Capella in industry innovator lists.
Emerging players
- BlackSky Technology: BlackSky provides high-cadence optical imagery and AI-enabled geospatial analytics for defense, intelligence, and commercial customers. It competes with Capella for time-sensitive monitoring workloads (maritime, infrastructure, defense) via a different sensor modality, and overlaps in the same NRO/defense buyer pool.
- Satellogic: Satellogic operates a high-resolution Earth observation satellite constellation focused on affordable daily remap imagery for defense, agriculture, and infrastructure customers. It is an emerging player with partial overlap in EO analytics and competes with Capella for commercial monitoring budgets, though primarily via optical sensors.
Others
- Ursa Space Systems: Ursa Space is a geospatial analytics company that fuses SAR and RF data from multiple commercial providers (including Capella) to deliver insights for financial, energy, and defense customers. It is both a Capella channel partner and a downstream analytics competitor in EO-derived intelligence products.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights8 records
Customer concentration
Capella Space social profiles
Digital presenceCapella Space compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Capella Space financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Capella Space leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles9 records
Capella Space subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Capella Space funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds11 records
Investors19 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Capella Space M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Capella Space
What does Capella Space do?
Capella Space operates a vertically integrated Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Earth observation platform centered on its third-generation Capella Acadia satellite constellation. The company delivers sub-0.25m resolution, all-weather radar imagery and value-added analytics (Vessel Classification, Colorized Sub-aperture Imagery, Commercial InSAR) through a self-service Capella Console, a Public REST API, and direct enterprise sales, targeting U.S. defense, intelligence, maritime, and commercial geospatial customers.
Is Capella Space a public or private company?
Capella Space is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently acquired.
When was Capella Space founded?
Capella Space was founded in 2016. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Capella Space based?
Capella Space is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does Capella Space make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Data-as-a-Service (SAR imagery & tasking) is the primary driver. The others are custom Space Systems / Mission Solutions, sensor Technology / Signals Intelligence, open Data Program (CC BY 4.0) and government Contracts (US DoD, NRO, SDA, NASA).
Who are Capella Space's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are ICEYE, Umbra, HawkEye 360 and Synspective. Broad incumbents are Maxar Technologies, Planet Labs and Airbus Defence and Space. Emerging players are BlackSky Technology and Satellogic. Ursa Space Systems is listed as an others.
Does Capella Space have an API?
Yes. Public REST API for programmatic access to Capella's SAR data products, tasking, and analytics. Supports endpoints for catalog search (POST /catalog/search, /tasks/search, /repeat-requests/search), ordering and downloading SAR products (POST /orders, /orders/review, GET /orders/{orderId}/download), tasking new acquisitions (POST /task), analytics ordering (e.g., Vessel Classification with productType "VS" or "VC"), Areas of Interest (AOIs), and API key management (POST /keys). Authentication via API Keys using Bearer or ApiKey in the Authorization header; API keys expire after 90 days of inactivity. Available in both Sandbox and Production environments. Public documentation published at docs.capellaspace.com. Developer documentation is at docs.capellaspace.com.
What industry is Capella Space in?
Capella Space's product category is Satellite Earth Observation. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAMANAM, Satellite Imagery & Remote Sensing Geospatial Platforms, with a secondary code of IMABAIAE, Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USV) & Autonomous Maritime Surface Platforms. Its NAICS code is 336414 and its SIC code is 3760.