Israeli Startup Targets Economics of High-Resolution Earth Observation

Israel - Ekhbary News Agency

Israeli Startup Targets Economics of High-Resolution Earth Observation

An Israeli space startup, Remondo, has announced a significant engineering breakthrough that could fundamentally reshape the commercial remote sensing market. The company claims to have developed a method for extracting high-resolution imagery from satellites small enough to fit in a carry-on bag. If validated in orbit, this claim could drastically alter the cost structure associated with acquiring Earth observation data.

Remondo is slated to launch its first mission in 2027, which will serve as a crucial test for its innovative Partial Aperture Imaging System (PAIS). According to the company, this system is engineered to capture imagery at resolutions better than 30 centimeters from small, low-cost satellites operating in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). This development represents a departure from conventional approaches in Earth observation.

Traditionally, satellites capable of achieving such optical resolution rely on large, highly precise telescope assemblies. The manufacturing, launch, and operational costs for these sophisticated systems are substantial, often making high-resolution data accessible only to government agencies and major corporations with significant budgets. Remondo's approach seeks to alleviate this financial burden by shifting a portion of the task from heavy hardware to computational power.

The company, co-founded and led by CEO Ido Priel, has successfully raised $20 million in funding from private investors and through Israeli government grants to develop its proprietary payload. Key backers include prominent investment firms such as 10D, Ace Capital Partners, 2i, Chartered Group, Starburst Ventures, and Venture Israel.

Rather than depending on a single, large mirror, the PAIS architecture is designed to achieve high-resolution imagery without the need for a large telescope aperture. Priel explained that the payload is compatible with small satellite buses, such as 12U or 16U CubeSats. This compatibility opens avenues for designing smaller, more agile satellites.

In conventional optical imaging, resolution is directly correlated with the increase in the aperture diameter of the telescope. This principle has historically driven the design of most high-end Earth observation spacecraft. Remondo's system, however, takes a different path. It captures partial optical information and then reconstructs higher-fidelity imagery through sophisticated calibration and computational processing. The company has already conducted successful laboratory tests and simulations using a collimator setup that mimics distant targets. The critical next step is proving the system's performance in the actual space environment.

Should this approach perform as intended, smaller satellites could soon rival the image quality typically produced by much larger spacecraft. This potential shift would have profound implications for governments and commercial operators seeking high-resolution data without the substantial capital outlays required by traditional systems. It could democratize access to high-quality Earth observation data.

Remondo is officially unveiling the PAIS system this week at the Defense Geospatial Intelligence conference in London. This event provides a significant platform for showcasing new technologies to decision-makers and experts in the defense and intelligence sectors.

The company's long-term strategy involves a dual approach. Firstly, Remondo intends to build its own satellite constellation and offer imagery services. Secondly, it plans to market its hardware directly to national governments seeking sovereign control over satellite tasking and data acquisition. This dual model offers flexibility in meeting diverse market demands.

Priel articulated this vision: "Many countries today want their own constellations, but they have limited budgets, so they either have to compromise on the resolution or on the number of satellites. We think they can have both with our technology." This ambition reflects a deep understanding of the challenges nations face in space capabilities.

Ekhbary News Agency