SSTL Earth Observation Spacecraft Series
SSTL (Surrey Satellite Technology)
This product page describes a series of Earth observation spacecraft from SSTL, including Carbonite, DarkCarb, CarbSAR, TrueColour, Precision, and NovaSAR, each designed for different imaging capabilities and applications.
Technical specifications
- Spacecraft
- Carbonite
- Payload
- High Resolution Optical
- Spacecraft (2)
- DarkCarb
- Payload (2)
- Medium Wave Infra Red
- Spacecraft (3)
- CarbSAR
- Payload (3)
- X-band Radar
- Spacecraft (4)
- TrueColour
- Payload (4)
- Wide swath super-spectral
- Spacecraft (5)
- Precision
- Payload (5)
- High Resolution Optical
- Spacecraft (6)
- NovaSAR
- Payload (6)
- S-Band Radar
- Operating altitude (Carbonite)
- 500 km
- GSD (Carbonite)
- 1m
- Imaging mode (Carbonite)
- Forward Motion Compensation (FMC)
- Capture duration (Carbonite)
- >120 seconds of a single target
- Flight heritage (Carbonite-1)
- Launched July 2015
- Flight heritage (Carbonite-2)
- Launched January 2018
- GSD (DarkCarb)
- 3.5m
- Imager type (DarkCarb)
- Mid-wave infra-red (MWIR)
- Imager bands (TrueColour)
- 9 selected bands
- Payload (CarbSAR)
- Deployable X-band SAR
- Payload (NovaSAR)
- S-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)
About
This page details a series of Earth observation spacecraft developed by SSTL, each offering distinct imaging capabilities. The Carbonite series, operating at 500km altitude, provides 1m GSD colour video with Forward Motion Compensation (FMC) for captures exceeding 120 seconds, adding a new dimension to high-resolution Earth observation. Carbonite-1, launched in July 2015, demonstrated low-cost 1m GSD imagery, followed by Carbonite-2 in January 2018, which delivered the world’s first commercial HD colour video from space. A constellation of Carbonite satellites would enhance robustness against weather and target concealment.
DarkCarb is a high-resolution mid-wave infra-red (MWIR) imaging satellite featuring an innovative low-mass and volume MWIR imager. Combined with novel image enhancement algorithms, it achieves high-quality 3.5m GSD imagery. MWIR imagery allows differentiation of objects and surfaces based on temperature and emissivity, extending imaging opportunities into the night. Its video capability provides information on dynamic features, crucial for human activity monitoring.
The TrueColour satellite offers a medium spatial and multi-spectral resolution option, utilizing the same platform as the Carbonite series. Its imager has a wide swath and captures images in 9 selected bands.
SSTL-Precision is designed for very high-resolution, high-quality imagery, supporting pan-sharpened colour mapping and surveillance. It is compact for affordable operations, either as a standalone unit or in constellations for higher temporal resolution. It provides higher resolution data and significantly greater data return compared to the Carbonite series.
CarbSAR leverages the Carbonite platform heritage and integrates an innovative deployable X-band SAR payload, enabling high-resolution imaging day and night, regardless of weather conditions.
NovaSAR is a small S-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) mission, optimized for low-cost programs and shared launch opportunities.
Documentation
- SSTL-CARBONITE.pdf PDF source: www.sstl.co.uk ↗
- SSTL-DARKCARB.pdf PDF source: www.sstl.co.uk ↗
- SSTL-TRUECOLOUR.pdf PDF source: www.sstl.co.uk ↗
- SSTL-Precision-Data-Sheet-2025_2pages.pdf PDF source: www.sstl.co.uk ↗
- SSTL-CARBSAR.pdf PDF source: www.sstl.co.uk ↗
- NovaSAR-Datasheet.pdf PDF source: www.sstl.co.uk ↗
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