DENVER — Data and intelligence providers, along with governments, are outsourcing the construction and operation of Earth-observation constellations, favoring access to data and analytics over owning the satellites and ground systems that produce them. The shift is helping reshape parts of the space industry, enabling companies such as Loft Orbital to move beyond niche hosted-payload offerings into what executives describe as “constellations as a service.”
“We are still doing rideshares, where we take a number of different payloads and put them on one satellite,” said Alex Greenberg, co-founder and chief operating officer of Loft Orbital. “But that’s not a central part of our business model. We’re really focused on sovereign programs, dedicated satellites, constellations flying AI in orbit. That’s really where the business has gone in the last couple years.”
Founded in 2017 and headquartered in San Francisco, Loft Orbital operates in Colorado and Toulouse, France. The company began with what the industry called a “condosat” model, in which multiple customers shared a single spacecraft and each controlled their own payload. The company is now tapping demand from governments and private firms seeking sovereign constellations without taking on the cost and complexity of spacecraft development, procurement and operations.
An example is the Earth observation system built for EarthDaily Analytics, which in 2022 signed a $150 million agreement with Loft Orbital to build, launch and operate a 10-satellite constellation, using modified OneWeb satellite platforms made by Airbus. Loft is also providing the ground systems and operational services that allow EarthDaily to control its payloads and downlink data directly into its cloud.
EarthDaily’s first satellite was deployed last year. Six satellites launched May 3 on the SpaceX CAS500-2 rideshare mission to low Earth orbit. Three more satellites are projected to launch before the end of the year to complete the constellation.
‘Altair’ multi-sensor satellites
Loft Orbital is also developing a 10-satellite Earth observation constellation known as Altair through Orbitworks, a joint venture based in Abu Dhabi with Marlan Space. The venture was formed after the UAE government sought to procure a sovereign constellation.
“We built out a 50,000 square foot facility in Abu Dhabi that is now building the first 10 satellites,” Greenberg said.
Altair is designed as a multi-sensor system, with each satellite carrying optical, hyperspectral, thermal and radio-frequency instruments, along with onboard computing and inter-satellite links. The architecture is intended to fuse different data types — imagery, heat signatures and RF emissions — into a more complete operational picture.
“What we’re doing is flying partner AI applications on board to basically run compute apps at the edge to do things like real-time detection, tipping and cueing,” Greenberg said. The 10-satellite constellation is projected to launch in 2027.
The European footprint is also expanding. Greenberg said Loft Orbital is supporting multiple European and French government programs. In January, it won a contract from the French government for the development and operation of the $50 million DESIR radar imaging constellation, aimed at providing France with its first sovereign space-based synthetic aperture radar capability.
On April 30, Loft Orbital announced a partnership with Magellium Artal Group on a multi-year contract with the French space agency, CNES, to build an Earth observation constellation, with the first satellite scheduled to launch in the fourth quarter of 2026. The plan is to build 10 satellites equipped with a mix of sensors — optical, thermal infrared, hyperspectral and radio-frequency payloads — along with onboard computing to process data in orbit.
The company says it has sought to reduce lead times by keeping hardware on hand. “We actually have satellite buses on a shelf ready to go,” Greenberg said, noting that Loft purchased 30 buses from Airbus and plans to work with other providers as well.
Customers such as EarthDaily outsource the construction, deployment and operation of the satellites but retain control over tasking and data collection, said Greenberg. “We have zero involvement in their core business, no revenue shares, we’re just a supplier to them.”