# Umbra SAR constellation by Umbra Canonical page: https://technooptimist.io/spaceflight/umbra-sar-constellation Frontier: [Spaceflight](https://technooptimist.io/spaceflight.md) · Field: Earth observation · Company: [Umbra](https://technooptimist.io/companies/umbra.md) Stage: Deploy (4 of 5: Research → Proto → Pilot → Deploy → Scaling) Updated: last update 2026-09-17, facts checked 2026-10-11 Goal: Give governments and businesses sharp radar images of any place, in any weather, day or night, so they can track ships, floods, oil spills and military activity that clouds or darkness would hide. Status: Operating and growing; won NRO and NOAA contracts in 2026 and is designing a wide-area next generation. Next milestone: Build wide-area maritime next-generation satellites ## Milestones | Status | Milestone | Date | Slip | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Done | NOAA lifts licence limits; 16 cm image released | 7 Aug 2023 | | | Done | Umbra-07 and -08 tandem pair launched (Transporter-9) | 9 Nov 2023 | | | Done | Umbra-09 and -10 launched on Transporter-11 | 16 Aug 2024 | | | Done | Selected for STRATFI next-generation constellation | 8 Apr 2025 | | | Done | Moves into 50,000 sq ft factory, 4x production | 25 Jun 2025 | | | Done | Sole-source NRO radar contract (up to 3 years) | 5 Aug 2026 | | | Done | NOAA picks Umbra as a commercial SAR data provider | 17 Sep 2026 | | | Current | Build wide-area maritime next-generation satellites | | | ## Most important updates - **17 Sep 2026**: NOAA selects Umbra to supply commercial radar data for weather and environmental monitoring. NOAA's Commercial Data Program chose Umbra as a provider of synthetic aperture radar data under a space-based environmental monitoring contract. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/noaa-selects-umbra-to-supply-commercial-radar-data-for-weather-and-d8124d44.md) · [original source](https://umbra.space/blog/umbra-selected-by-noaa-to-provide-commercial-sar-data-for-weather-and-environmental-monitoring/)) - **5 Aug 2026**: Umbra wins a sole-source NRO contract for commercial radar imagery. The National Reconnaissance Office's Commercial Systems Program Office awarded Umbra a sole-source, firm-fixed-price contract for radar commercial augmentation: assured, global tasking across Umbra's fleet with fast, low-latency delivery… ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/umbra-wins-a-sole-source-nro-contract-for-commercial-radar-imagery-fed4c587.md) · [original source](https://umbra.space/blog/umbra-nro-radar-contract/)) - **16 Aug 2024**: Umbra launches its Umbra-09 and -10 radar satellite pair on SpaceX Transporter-11. Umbra launched a second tandem pair of radar satellites on SpaceX's Transporter-11 rideshare from Vandenberg, after Umbra-07 and -08 flew in November 2023. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/umbra-launches-its-umbra-09-and-10-radar-satellite-pair-on-spacex-865bdc8d.md) · [original source](http://satnews.com/2024/08/19/umbra-boosts-sar-with-2-satellites-on-the-spacex-transporter-11-rideshare-mission/)) - **7 Aug 2023**: Umbra releases a 16 cm radar image after NOAA lifts its licence restrictions. NOAA removed the temporary licensing conditions Umbra had operated under, letting it sell its sharpest data. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/umbra-releases-a-16-cm-radar-image-after-noaa-lifts-its-licence-2dcb1a09.md) · [original source](https://umbra.space/blog/umbra-generates-the-highest-resolution-commercial-satellite-image-ever-released/)) ## Current obstacles - **Fleet size and revisit**: How often a spot can be imaged depends on satellite count; Umbra does not publish its fleet size, and competitors fly more satellites. - **Reliance on government buyers**: Its largest contracts are with the NRO and NOAA, so budgets and recompetes drive revenue. ## Physics limits - **Sharp or wide, not both**: Fine resolution needs the beam to dwell on one spot for longer, so the sharpest images cover the smallest areas; wide-area search uses coarser modes. - **Radar is power-hungry**: The satellite must supply its own illumination, and echo strength falls steeply with distance, so imaging time per orbit is limited by power and heat. ## How it works ### Echoes: Imaging with radio echoes The satellite sends microwave pulses and times the echoes; rough or metal surfaces echo brightly, calm water looks dark. ### Synthetic aperture: A small antenna acting big Combining echoes recorded along its path makes the satellite act like an antenna kilometres long, which is what gives fine detail from orbit. ### Multi-look: Smoothing the grain Longer stares give several looks at the same spot; averaging them reduces radar speckle so images are easier to read. ### Open data: Free imagery for anyone Umbra posts high-resolution radar data under a Creative Commons licence several times a week, including raw phase data. ## Spec sheet | Spec | Umbra SAR constellation | Provenance | | --- | --- | --- | | Best released resolution | 16 cm | reported | | Spotlight product resolutions | 25 cm, 35 cm, 50 cm, 1 m | reported | | Images delivered to NRO (4 yrs) | 100,000+ | reported | | Manufacturing floor | 50,000 sq ft | reported | Provenance: reported = stated by the company; estimated = our estimate; sample = a sample figure. ## About Umbra US company that builds and runs its own radar-imaging satellites in Santa Barbara, California. It sells sharp radar images that see through cloud and darkness to US intelligence, NOAA and commercial users. - Released a 16 cm radar image in 2023, which it called the sharpest commercial satellite image ever released. - Sole-source NRO contract (Aug 2026) and NOAA data contract (Sept 2026), after delivering 100,000+ images to NRO. - Builds satellites in-house in a 50,000 sq ft Santa Barbara factory; shares free imagery via an open data program. - Founded: 2015 - Headquarters: US - Status: private - Website: https://umbra.space - People: David Langan (CEO and co-founder); Gabe Dominocielo (Co-founder and president); Todd Master (Chief Operating Officer) - Partners, customers, investors: National Reconnaissance Office (customer); NOAA (customer); SpaceWERX (US Air Force) (customer); Maxar (partner); SpaceX (supplier) Company page: https://technooptimist.io/companies/umbra.md ## Related programs 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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