WASHINGTON \u2014 HEO, the Australian company that uses Earth observation satellites to take images of other spacecraft, has signed an agreement with Planet to access that company\u2019s satellites.<\/p>\n
The two companies announced a partnership Aug. 17 in which HEO will be able to use Planet\u2019s SkySat high-resolution satellites for what is known as non-Earth imaging, or NEI. The companies did not disclose financial terms of the partnership.<\/p>\n
HEO will be able to task SkySat satellites when they are not being used for Earth observation to instead take images of other space objects. The SkySat NEI imagery will initially be available only to HEO\u2019s U.S. government customers.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlanet has heard increasing calls for the need to detect and characterize potentially nefarious activity in space, from space, and by integrating our high-resolution SkySat constellation with HEO\u2019s analytic expertise, we are bringing rapid, scalable on-orbit imaging capacity to our customers,\u201d Jon Powers, general manager of Planet Federal, said in a statement.<\/p>\n
With the addition of SkySat, HEO will have access to more than 50 sensors in orbit, primarily from other Earth observation companies, that it can use to observe other space objects.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t need huge, expensive satellites to do the non-Earth imaging mission and help governments and satellite owners. You just need to have cameras in the right place at the right time,\u201d said Will Crowe, chief executive of HEO, in an interview.<\/p>\n
That approach requires \u201ca diversity of sensors and a diversity of orbits,\u201d he said. \u201cThat increases your chances of having your camera in the right place at the right time to take the right image of an object of interest.\u201d<\/p>\n
The SkySat NEI imagery will initially be limited to U.S. government customers because of licensing issues, he said, but he expects to eventually be able to offer those images to commercial customers. The partnership, he added, could later expand to using Planet\u2019s Pelican and Dove satellites in addition to SkySats.<\/p>\n
That government restriction is not a major hindrance, though, since Crowe estimated that 90% of HEO\u2019s business comes from government customers, with 10% from commercial customers.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re focused on the government customer because they know what this is, they know why it\u2019s important,\u201d he said. \u201cCompanies are really starting to wake up to this, but I\u2019d say it\u2019s still early days on the adoption curve for commercial.\u201d<\/p>\n
He noted the company is seeing growing commercial interest in NEI, citing as one example the use of such imagery to help identify satellites deployed in clusters on rideshare launches. Another case involved using NEI to study a malfunctioning SpaceX Starlink satellite, showing the spacecraft was tumbling but had not broken apart.<\/p>\n