Englewood, Colo., April 15, 2014 — Surrey Satellite Technology US LLC (SST-US) today introduced the Surrey V1C color video-imaging satellite, a new compact design with high-quality imaging at sub-one-meter resolution. Priced at less than $20 million, the V1C design has significant space heritage and provides a 10-kilometer color video imaging swath.
The Surrey V1C satellite will collect high-definition, natural-color (red, green, blue) video with better than one-meter ground sample distance (GSD) resolution over a 10-kilometer-wide swath at up to 100 frames per second. In addition to video, the camera can operate in still scene imager mode. The Surrey V1C spacecraft is based on the new SSTL-X50 satellite bus derived from mission-proven Surrey spacecraft designs. The satellite has large onboard data storage capabilities for store and forward as well as real-time downlink technology.
SST-US announced plans for the Surrey V1C satellite in booth #2090 at the GEOINT 2013* Symposium being held this week in Tampa, Fla.
“The demand for high-quality, wide-swath video solutions from customers engaged in business analytics and U.S. geospatial intelligence missions has been a key driver behind the development of our current suite of affordable, high-value small imaging satellites. The V1C delivers next-generation video capability at a very low cost, helping close the video-derived products business case and serve intel mission profiles that require constellations for a robust end-user information products,” said Doug Gerull, SST-US’s chief operating officer.
SST-US has been developing a new complete suite of high-value, affordable small satellites for U.S. geospatial intelligence missions, Gerull explained. This suite includes the Surrey V1C and the Surrey L1 half-meter electro-optical imaging satellites announced at GEOINT. These mission-configurable spacecraft are applicable to a broad spectrum of intelligence collection requirements, such as surveillance, detection, and identification.
SST-US developed the Surrey V1C for organizations that need satellite data to be collected and analyzed quickly for situational awareness and activity-based intelligence (ABI) applications related to rapidly changing human or infrastructure conditions on the ground.
“The primary use of video imaging from space is to quickly understand activity on the ground and make informed decisions in short periods of time. The basic limitation of time-over-target for video can be overcome by a constellation of satellites made economically feasible by a low cost per spacecraft,” said Gerull.
Demonstrated architectures and cost-effective prices mean Surrey’s geospatial intelligence satellites are well suited to multi-satellite constellation configurations. Many on-orbit configurations are possible depending on the number of satellites launched—Surrey V1Cs can deploy in phased orbits trailing one another by 30 to 60 minutes, in order to provide nearly continuous video coverage during specific times of the day.
SST-US’s new manufacturing facilities in Englewood, Colorado, allow the build of V1C satellites in the U.S. and accelerate Surrey’s already proven fast build times. The Englewood facility is currently processing the Surrey Orbital Test Bed mission which will host high-value payloads from customers such as NASA JPL.
Leveraging Surrey’s 100 percent successful 41 satellite mission legacy, SST-US is also positioned to assist satellite customers with launch services and satellite command and control.
About Surrey Satellite Technology US LLC
Surrey Satellite Technology US LLC (SST-US), a wholly owned subsidiary of Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL), is a Delaware-registered company with its principal offices located in Englewood, Colorado. Since its incorporation in 2008, SST-US has been addressing the requirements of the United States market and its customers for the provisions of small satellite solutions, applications, and services for Earth observation, science, technology demonstration, and communications. The activities of SST-US draw extensively on the heritage, background, and capability of all elements of the Surrey group, with a proven track record in provision of high-quality, rapid, cost-effective small satellite solutions, applications, and services. Since 1981, Surrey has launched 41 satellites as well as provided training and development programs, consultancy services, and mission studies for NASA, the United States Air Force, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and other institutional and commercial customers with its innovative approach of “changing the economics of space.” www.surreysatellite.com