Capella’s Earth-imaging satellites are deorbiting faster than expected

Capella Space’s synthetic aperture radar satellites are falling back to Earth much sooner than than the three years they were anticipated to operate, according to publicly available satellite data.

The startup has launched a total of ten small satellites to low Earth orbit since 2018, including eight in its family of “Whitney”-class spacecraft. Five of these satellites have reentered the atmosphere since the end of January of this year, including three of the Whitneys. Those Whitney sats were in orbit for less than two-and-a-half years; one, Capella-5, was in orbit for less than two years.

That leaves five of the constellation in orbit, including the Capella-9 and Capella-10 launched on March 16, which are operating at an altitude of around 584 km and 588 km, respectively.

According to filings with the Federal Communication Commission, the propulsion system of Capella-9 was built by Phase Four. At least one of the satellites that has reentered prematurely, Capella-5, also used Phase Four propulsion. In that same filing from March 2022, Capella said its Capella-9 satellite would operate at an orbital altitude of 525 km, and maintain an altitude between 475-575 km for three years. It seems this is the typical mission profile of Capella satellites.

But Capella-7 and Capella-8, launched in January 2022, appear to be now operating below 400 kilometers, and will likely deorbit in a matter of weeks to a few months. The unexpected decay could be due to a problem with the propulsion system, or a systematic miscalculation of its requirements.

“Probably they [Capella-7 and Capella-8] will reenter in Sep-Oct or so,” astronomer and analyst Jonathan McDowell said when reviewing the data at TechCrunch’s request. “I suspect propulsion failures but certainly it isn’t clear.”

Capella Space did not respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment.

Seven year old Capella is one of a handful of startups building out constellations of synthetic aperture radar satellites in low Earth orbit, an imaging technique that allows for detailed 3D scans of the surface regardless of weather. In January, the company raised $60 million in funding, less than nine months after it closed a $97 million Series C. At the time, the company said the new capital would be used to build and launch a next-generation class of SAR satellites called “Acadia.”

The first Acadia satellite will launch on board a Rocket Lab Electron rocket on August 6, the first of a multi-mission contract the two firms signed in February.

An independent report on orbital debris remediation prepared by NASA estimated each Capella satellite cost $5 million.