Photo: Radiant Solutions

Radiant Solutions, a Maxar Technologies company, was awarded a $2 million contract by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to lead a team in designing, building, and demonstrating a next-generation optical telescope system for small satellite constellations. Radiant Solutions is partnered on this program with SSL, Maxar’s spacecraft manufacturing business.

The satellite telescope system’s lightweight design and large field-of-view is expected to enable more capable small satellites that can be manufactured more rapidly and economically. The system can scale to many dozens of spacecraft for persistent coverage. To reduce mass, the system’s design incorporates a  silicon carbide material designed for demanding space applications.

“Radiant Solutions is proud to play a major role in the development of disruptive, next-generation technologies that will transform satellite imaging missions and enhance global mapping and intelligence at scale,” said Radiant Solutions President Tony Frazier. “With our team’s extensive experience in highly specialized geospatial systems, we’re uniquely positioned to accelerate the evolution of the Department of Defense’s (DOD’s) most critical imaging infrastructure,”