Goodbye, PredaSAR…The company scrapped plans to launch its own 96-satellite synthetic aperture radar (SAR) constellation. Now, it will focus on selling SAR satellites, rather than operating any in house.
“After the conflict started in Ukraine, we started getting lots of calls. People are interested in [SAR] and we decided, you know, we don’t want to compete with our customers,” Bell said. “We decided it was better for us to work with our customers and sell them satellites than to own a constellation.”
The company has seen interest in these satellites from allied governments that previously relied on American SAR assets, but now want to own those capabilities themselves. “Our total addressable market has gone up dramatically,” Bell said.
The first PredaSAR constellation launch had been slated for the first half of 2023. The company is looking into the potential to keep that launch on the books, on behalf of an as-yet-unnamed customer.