Non-Earth Imaging Services Partnership Finalized
Non-Earth Imaging Services Partnership Finalized
Impulse Space will Host an HEO Payload on LEO Express-2 Mission
An agreement for Impulse Space to host the HEO in-space imager, HOLMES-007, onboard a Mira orbital transfer vehicle (OTV) as part of the LEO Express-2 mission has been finalized between the two companies.
“A major challenge for non-Earth imaging is coverage, and this is the first step of a long-term partnership to serve demand for this imaging data across many orbits.”
Will Crowe, HEO
HEO is a space technology company specializing in non-Earth imaging (NEI) and in-orbit satellite inspection.
This will be HEO’s third Holmes Imager in space and the first commercial camera dedicated to non-Earth imaging in high Low Earth Orbit (High LEO), presenting new prospects for satellite inspection. This higher orbit will be reachable thanks to Mira’s powerful 5lbf Saiph thrusters.
“A major challenge for non-Earth imaging is coverage, and this is the first step of a long-term partnership to serve demand for this imaging data across many orbits,” said HEO Co-Founder and CEO Will Crowe. Working hand-in-hand with HEO’s automated smart tasking systems, Mira will provide hosting services such as power, communications, orbit raising, attitude control, and others to successfully complete NEI missions.
“With rapid and responsive maneuverability, Mira is uniquely positioned to help HEO capture valuable imagery,” said Impulse Space founder and CEO Tom Mueller. “Having recently demonstrated several high-precision maneuvers with Mira on our LEO Express-1 mission, including 6DOF attitude control, we’re excited to see how customers can take advantage of our capabilities on future missions.”
HEO feeds data from Holmes Imagers and other satellite sensors into HEO Inspect, an in-orbit satellite inspection software platform that provides invaluable information on spacecraft at scale. Since its unveiling, HEO Inspect has been used by governments, defense agencies, and the commercial sector, serving as a vital tool to achieve high-revisit and timely collection for the rapid identification and characterization of spacecraft. Recently, HEO released HEO Inspect 2.0, which added new features like attitude estimation, pattern-of-life analysis, and rapid identification for space objects.