Capella 2 [Capella Space]
Official name CAPELLA-5 (WHITNEY)
Alternative name Capella 5
Cospar ID 2021-059AL
Norad ID 48913
Launch date 2021-06-30
Launch site AFETR
Launch vehicle Falcon-9 v1.2 (Block 5)
Country/Organization USA
Type application Earth observation, radar
Operator Capella Space
RCS size LARGE
Decay date 2023-02-23
Shape Box + 1 Pan + 1 Dish + 1 Rod
Mass (kg) 112
Height (m) 0.5
Width (m) 0.3
Depth (m) 0.3
Span (m^2) 3.5
Contractors Capella Space
Equipment X-band SAR
Propulsion None
Power Solar cells, batteries

Capella Space of California is developing the Capella Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellites. They are planned to operate in a 30 satellite constellation.

The improved satellites are about twice as large as the Capella 1 (Denali) prototype to accommodate a bigger sensor aperture for the X-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) that can provide high-contrast, low-noise high-resolution sub-0.5 meter imagery. For this, it features a new 3.5 meter aperture deployed mesh-based reflector antenna.

The second satellite, Capella 2 or Sequoia, was launched as the prime passenger on a on an Electron Photon-LEO rocket into a 45° orbit at a nominal altitude of 525 km in late August 2020.

Two more satellites Capella 3 and 4, the first batch of the six satellite Whitney sub-constellation, flew in January 2021 on a multi-satellite ride-share Falcon-9 v1.2 (Block 5) launch.

Two more satellites Capella 5 and 6, the second batch of the Whitney sub-constellation, are to fly in April 2021 on a Falcon-9 v1.2 (Block 5).

Satellite COSPAR Date LS Launch Vehicle Remarks
CAPELLA-2 2020-060B 2020-08-31 RLLC Electron Photon-LEO with First Light
CAPELLA-4 (WHITNEY) 2021-006BW 2021-01-24 AFETR Falcon-9 v1.2 (Block 5) with Starlink v1.0 R1-1, ..., R1-10, QPS-SAR 2, Capella 3, ICEYE X8, X9, XR 1, GHGSat C2, Hawk 2A, 2B, 2C, Sherpa-FX 1, ION-SCV 002, AII-Charlie, Hiber 4, ASELSAT, PIXL 1, SOMP 2b, IDEASSat, YUSAT 1, UVSQ-SAT, V-R3x 1, 2, 3, Flock-4s 1, ..., 48, Kepler 8, ..., 15, Astrocast 0101, ..., 0105, SpaceBEE 40, ..., 75, Lemur-2 130, ..., 137, PTD 1, Prometheus-2 10, ARCE 1A, 1B, 1C
CAPELLA-3 (WHITNEY) 2021-006CE 2021-01-24 AFETR Falcon-9 v1.2 (Block 5) with Starlink v1.0 R1-1, ..., R1-10, QPS-SAR 2, Capella 4, ICEYE X8, X9, XR 1, GHGSat C2, Hawk 2A, 2B, 2C, Sherpa-FX 1, ION-SCV 002, AII-Charlie, Hiber 4, ASELSAT, PIXL 1, SOMP 2b, IDEASSat, YUSAT 1, UVSQ-SAT, V-R3x 1, 2, 3, Flock-4s 1, ..., 48, Kepler 8, ..., 15, Astrocast 0101, ..., 0105, SpaceBEE 40, ..., 75, Lemur-2 130, ..., 137, PTD 1, Prometheus-2 10, ARCE 1A, 1B, 1C
CAPELLA-6 (WHITNEY) 2021-041BE 2021-05-15 AFETR Falcon-9 v1.2 (Block 5) with Starlink v1.0 L26-1, ..., L26-52, GeoStare 2
CAPELLA-5 (WHITNEY) 2021-059AL 2021-06-30 AFETR Falcon-9 v1.2 (Block 5) with Starlink v1.5 R1-1, ..., R1-3, Umbra-SAR 2001, YAM 2, YAM 3, ÑuSat 19, ..., 22, ICEYE X11, X12, X13, X15, TUBIN, Mandrake 2A, 2B, GNOMES 2, LINCS 1, 2, PACE 1, TROPICS 01, D2/AtlaCom 1, EG 3, Centauri 4, Lemur-2 140, ..., 145, SpaceBEE 88, ..., 111, SpaceBEENZ 7, ..., 10, Sherpa-FX 2, Lynk 06, Hawk 3A, 3B, 3C, Astrocast 0201, ..., 0205, Painani 2, Sherpa-LTE 1, Tenzing, Aurora, Arthur 1, Faraday Phoenix, KSF 1A, ..., 1D, Tiger 2, ION-SCV 003, NAPA 2, Spartan, Neptuno, W-Cube, Ghalib, QMR-KWT
CAPELLA-8 (WHITNEY) 2022-002CR 2022-01-13 AFETR Falcon-9 v1.2 (Block 5) with Umbra 02, Capella 7, 8, ICEYE X14, X16, Sich 2-1, ION-SCV 004, Dodona, STORK 1, 2, LabSat, SW1FT, VZLUSAT 2, ETV A1, BRO 5, HYPSO 1, Kepler 16, ..., 19, Flock-4x 1, ..., 44, Lemur-2 148, 149, 150, Lemur-2 146, 147, DEWA-Sat 1, NuX 1, IRIS A, MDASat 1a, 1b, 1c, Gossamer Piccolomini, Tevel 1, ..., 8, Challenger, Delfi-PQ 1, Unicorn 2A, 2D, 2E, FossaSat 2E1, ..., 2E6, MDQube-SAT 1, SATLLA 2A, 2B, Unicorn 1, EASAT 2, HADES, Grizu-263a, PION-BR 1, SanoSat 1, Tartan-Artibeus 1, USA 320, ..., 323
CAPELLA-7 (WHITNEY) 2022-002CS 2022-01-13 AFETR Falcon-9 v1.2 (Block 5) with Umbra 02, Capella 7, 8, ICEYE X14, X16, Sich 2-1, ION-SCV 004, Dodona, STORK 1, 2, LabSat, SW1FT, VZLUSAT 2, ETV A1, BRO 5, HYPSO 1, Kepler 16, ..., 19, Flock-4x 1, ..., 44, Lemur-2 148, 149, 150, Lemur-2 146, 147, DEWA-Sat 1, NuX 1, IRIS A, MDASat 1a, 1b, 1c, Gossamer Piccolomini, Tevel 1, ..., 8, Challenger, Delfi-PQ 1, Unicorn 2A, 2D, 2E, FossaSat 2E1, ..., 2E6, MDQube-SAT 1, SATLLA 2A, 2B, Unicorn 1, EASAT 2, HADES, Grizu-263a, PION-BR 1, SanoSat 1, Tartan-Artibeus 1, USA 320, ..., 323