Small Satellite Constellation Could Change Earth Observation Industry
Marble Imaging Plans Fleet of 200 Very-High-Resolution Spacecraft

A constellation of up to 200 small satellites intended to address urgent need for Earth Observation capabilities is being planned by Marble Imaging in conjunction with Reflex Aerospace.
“Our planet is facing significant challenges due to human activities impacting Earth. It’s crucial to understand these effects for a sustainable future."
Robert Hook, Marble Imaging
With its planned fleet of small satellites, Marble Imaging aims to be the leading European EO company capturing images of the entire planet every day in very-high resolution (VHR). To achieve this goal, they have partnered with Germany-based satellite manufacturer Reflex Aerospace.
“Our planet is facing significant challenges due to human activities impacting Earth,” says Robert Hook, CEO of Marble Imaging. “It’s crucial to understand these effects for a sustainable future. To do this, we need a big data approach to monitor these changes and develop solutions. But currently, there’s a gap in providing the necessary very high-resolution images essential for such applications.”
The derived EO data, analytics, and insights will cater to the needs of real-world applications and people. These include government organizations as well as commercial companies involved in, for example, environmental monitoring, implementation of sustainability and climate adaptation policies, ensuring food security, or providing humanitarian aid.
The initial satellite will be built for Marble Imaging by Reflex Aerospace with the funding coming via the German Space Agency at DLR in the form of an award to Marble Imaging who have won the Agency’s small satellite payload competition (‘Kleinsatelliten Nutzlastwettbewerb’). Marble Imaging’s payload will be hosted on the same platform as IABG Innovation Center’s RAISE (Resilient AI in Space and the Edge), an onboard AI computing cluster customized for robust and safe autonomous space applications – another competition winner.
“The ability to apply machine learning methods directly at the sensor and the edge in a robust and safe way is key to handling big data and enabling autonomous functions in the challenging and complex space environment,” said Dr. Daniel Kliche, SVP Innovations Center at IABG.
By developing Europe’s first EO VHR satellite constellation in partnership with Reflex, Marble challenges an overwhelmingly US-dominated market to strengthen European independence in the supply of VHR EO data.
“Through this partnership, we will deploy emerging technology on tailor-made satellites to develop very high-resolution images that empower informed decision-making, positioning ourselves among the top-tier of EO platform manufacturers,” said Walter Ballheimer, CEO of Reflex.