# Capella SAR constellation by IonQ Canonical page: https://technooptimist.io/spaceflight/capella-sar Frontier: [Spaceflight](https://technooptimist.io/spaceflight.md) · Field: Earth observation · Company: [IonQ](https://technooptimist.io/companies/ionq.md) Stage: Deploy (4 of 5: Research → Proto → Pilot → Deploy → Scaling) Updated: last update 2026-08-06, facts checked 2026-10-11 Goal: Deliver sharp radar images of any place on Earth, day or night and in any weather, and cut the wait from request to delivery from hours toward minutes using laser links between satellites. Status: Acadia-10 in checkout after its March 2026 launch; won an NRO radar-data contract in August 2026. Next milestone: Laser terminal tests on Acadia-10 at 2.5 Gbps, target 2026 ## Milestones | Status | Milestone | Date | Slip | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Done | Denali test satellite launched | 3 Dec 2018 | | | Done | Sequoia, first operational satellite, launched | 30 Aug 2020 | | | Done | Acadia-1, first next-generation satellite, launched | 23 Aug 2023 | +7 mo (originally Q1 2023) | | Missed | Acadia-2 lost in an Electron launch failure | 19 Sep 2023 | | | Done | IonQ completes acquisition of Capella | 15 Jul 2025 | | | Done | Acadia-8 and -9 launched on Falcon 9 | 11 Jan 2026 | | | Done | Acadia-10 launched with first laser terminal | 30 Mar 2026 | | | Current | Laser terminal tests on Acadia-10 at 2.5 Gbps | 2026 | | | Planned | Skyloom laser terminals on new Acadia satellites | 2027 | | ## Upcoming events - **2026**: Laser terminal tests on Acadia-10 at 2.5 Gbps - **2027**: Skyloom laser terminals on new Acadia satellites ## Most important updates - **6 Aug 2026**: Capella wins a contract under the NRO's Radar Commercial Augmentation program. The US National Reconnaissance Office picked Capella, now an IonQ company, to supply commercial radar imagery and data for national security missions under its Radar Commercial Augmentation program. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/capella-wins-a-contract-under-the-nro-s-radar-commercial-augmentation-668995e3.md) · [original source](https://www.ionq.com/news/ionqs-space-division-awarded-nro-radar-commercial-augmentation-contract)) - **25 Jun 2026**: Capella releases first images from Acadia-10, its first satellite carrying a laser communications terminal. Capella published the first radar images from Acadia-10, launched in March 2026, and is finishing its checkout before testing the onboard Mynaric optical terminal at 2.5 Gbps. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/capella-releases-first-images-from-acadia-10-its-first-satellite-69777846.md) · [original source](https://www.satellitetoday.com/technology/2026/06/25/capella-prepares-to-validate-mynaric-optical-terminal-on-latest-sar-satellite/)) - **4 May 2026**: IonQ launches a commercial InSAR service on Capella's radar satellites for millimetre-scale ground monitoring. IonQ began selling interferometric radar (InSAR) from the Capella constellation: repeated radar images of the same place, compared to detect ground moving by millimetres. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/ionq-launches-a-commercial-insar-service-on-capella-s-radar-satellites-3ebdc03f.md) · [original source](https://www.ionq.com/news/ionq-launches-commercial-insar-capability-enabling-automated-millimeter-scale-earth-monitoring)) ## Current obstacles - **Fitting a laser terminal on a small satellite**: Capella says the optical head is large relative to the satellite, forcing major redesign; operational link tests on Acadia-10 are still to come. - **Crowded government radar market**: ICEYE and Umbra compete for the same US contracts; all three won NRO radar-data awards in August 2026. - **Switching laser terminal supplier**: Later Acadia satellites move from Mynaric to Skyloom terminals from 2027, so the laser link must be qualified again on new hardware. ## Physics limits - **Detail versus coverage**: Radar detail comes from wide bandwidth and from staring longer at one spot. Capella's 0.25 m spotlight mode covers a 5 × 5 km scene; its 1.2 m stripmap mode covers up to 100 km. - **A radar must light its own scene**: Echo strength falls with the fourth power of distance, so a small satellite needs a large antenna, a low orbit and short imaging bursts to collect enough signal. - **Revisit takes a fleet**: One satellite passes over a given spot only a few times a day. Frequent looks need many satellites spread across different orbits. ## How it works ### Radar: Seeing with its own microwaves The satellite beams X-band microwave pulses at the ground and times the echoes. Clouds and darkness don't block them, so it can image at any hour. ### Synthetic aperture: A small antenna acting like a huge one As the satellite flies, it records echoes from many positions and merges them in software, sharpening detail as if the antenna were far longer. ### InSAR: Measuring millimetre ground motion Comparing images of one spot taken days apart from the same angle reveals ground that sank or rose by millimetres, such as subsiding cities. ### Downlink: Laser links instead of ground passes Acadia-10 tests a laser terminal that talks to the US Space Development Agency's satellite network, skipping hours of waiting for a ground station. ## Spec sheet | Spec | Capella SAR constellation | Whitney-class satellites | Provenance | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Satellites launched (since 2018) | 20 | | reported | | Radar band | X-band, 9.4–9.9 GHz | | reported | | Radar bandwidth (Acadia) | 700 MHz | 500 MHz | reported | | Slant-range resolution (Acadia) | 0.214 m | | reported | | Spotlight mode | 0.25 m, 5 × 5 km scene | | reported | | Stripmap mode | 1.2 m, up to 100 × 10 km | | reported | | Satellite mass (Acadia) | 175–195 kg | ~110 kg | reported | | Solar array power | 700 W | | reported | | Antenna area | ~8 m² unfurled | | reported | | Orbits | 45° and 53° inclined, 97° sun-synchronous | | reported | | InSAR repeat cycle | 3 days | | reported | | Laser terminal rate (testing) | 2.5 Gbps | | reported | Provenance: reported = stated by the company; estimated = our estimate; sample = a sample figure. ## About IonQ IonQ builds trapped-ion quantum computers and was the first pure quantum company to go public (2021). Under CEO Niccolo de Masi it bought Oxford Ionics, networking firms and chip fab SkyWater. It aims for 2 million qubits by 2030. - Closed its $1.8B purchase of chip maker SkyWater on 31 July 2026, gaining its own fab. - Reported 99.99% two-qubit fidelity in October 2025 using Oxford Ionics' electronic control. - Raised $2B in equity in October 2025, one of the sector's largest raises. - Founded: 2015 - Headquarters: US - Status: public - Listing: IONQ (NYSE) - Valuation: $18B (market cap, 2026-09) - Staff: ~1,132 - Raised: $3B - Last round: Equity offering $2B, Oct 2025, led by Heights Capital Management - Website: https://ionq.com - People: Niccolo de Masi (Chairman and CEO); Chris Monroe (Co-founder) - Partners, customers, investors: Oxford Ionics (partner); SkyWater Technology (partner); ID Quantique (partner); AstraZeneca (customer); EPB (customer) Company page: https://technooptimist.io/companies/ionq.md ## Related programs More from IonQ: - [Tempo and 2D-chip roadmap](https://technooptimist.io/quantum/tempo.md) (Deploy) - [Quantum networking](https://technooptimist.io/quantum/ionq-networking.md) (Pilot) - [ID Quantique quantum key distribution](https://technooptimist.io/quantum/id-quantique-qkd.md) (Deploy) - [Quantis quantum random number generator](https://technooptimist.io/quantum/quantis-qrng.md) (Deploy) Everything in Spaceflight: https://technooptimist.io/spaceflight.md --- The Techno Optimist tracks every frontier of technology, program by program: https://technooptimist.io/ (a Markdown version of any page: add .md to its URL; site map for agents: https://technooptimist.io/llms.txt). 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