Acadia is Capella Space's third-generation X-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) small satellite, delivering the highest-resolution commercial SAR imagery available with increased bandwidth, power, and optical inter-satellite links.
Acadia
Acadia is Capella Space's third-generation X-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) small satellite, delivering the highest-resolution commercial SAR imagery available with increased bandwidth, power, and optical inter-satellite links.
Description
Acadia is Capella Space's third-generation SAR satellite platform, designed to expand and upgrade the company's commercial radar imaging constellation. Each Acadia-class satellite has a launch mass of less than 197 kg and deploys a large mesh reflector antenna spanning approximately 8 square meters once on orbit. The spacecraft carries an X-band SAR payload with radar bandwidth increased to 700 MHz and transmit power boosted more than 40% compared to Capella's second-generation Whitney-class satellites, enabling slant range resolution as fine as 0.214 m. Acadia supports spotlight, sliding spotlight, and stripmap imaging modes, providing all-weather, day-and-night imaging that penetrates cloud cover. Acadia satellites are equipped with Mynaric optical communications terminals, making Capella the first commercial SAR company to demonstrate Optical Inter-Satellite Links compatible with the U.S. Space Development Agency's National Defense Space Architecture. Target markets include U.S. and allied government/defense agencies, intelligence users, and commercial customers needing rapid-revisit, high-resolution geospatial intelligence. Flight heritage: Acadia-1 launched August 23, 2023 aboard a Rocket Lab Electron from New Zealand; Acadia-2 was lost in a September 2023 launch failure; subsequent Acadia satellites launched between 2024 and 2026 via Rocket Lab Electron and SpaceX rideshare missions, growing Capella's operational constellation, which has been providing commercial SAR imagery since 2020.
Specifications
| Satellite mass | Less than 197 kg |
|---|---|
| Deployed antenna area | Approximately 8 m² mesh reflector |
| Radar band | X-band SAR |
| Radar bandwidth | 700 MHz (up from 500 MHz on prior generation) |
| Slant range resolution | Down to 0.214 m |
| Spotlight mode resolution | ~0.25 m azimuth resolution, 5x5 km scene |
| Stripmap mode resolution | ~1.2 m resolution, up to 100x10 km swath |
| Communications | Mynaric optical communications terminals, Optical Inter-Satellite Links compatible with SDA National Defense Space Architecture |
| Orbit types | 45° and 53° mid-inclination and 97° sun-synchronous, ~525-575 km altitude |
| Flight heritage | Acadia-1 launched Aug 23, 2023 (Rocket Lab Electron); Acadia-2 lost in Sept 2023 launch failure; Acadia-3 through 10+ launched 2024-2026 via Rocket Lab Electron and SpaceX rideshare |