HERNDON, Va.,, June 7, 2021 / PRNewswire / – HawkEye 360 Inc., the first commercial company to use flying satellites to create a new class of radio frequency (RF) data and data analysis, today announced that its Cluster 3 satellites have arrived on their noses. Canaveral site. The trio of second-generation HawkEye 360 satellites, each containing an RF payload developed by HawkEye 360, is scheduled to launch in June aboard Spaceflight Inc.’s SXRS-5 mission.
Cluster 3 will join HawkEye 360 cluster 2 and cluster 1 Pathfinder satellites in orbit, further expanding the company’s base constellation. The latest satellites will significantly expand the constellation’s current collection capacity and reduce the percentage of repeat visits. Seven additional next-generation clusters – fully funded and scheduled to launch in 2021 and 2022 – will complete the base constellation, allowing a revisit rate of up to 20 minutes to support time-sensitive defense, security and commercial purposes.
“We are extremely pleased to be moving forward with this expansion of our industry-leading constellation, which will accelerate the application of valuable RF geospatial intelligence to many industries,” said the CEO. John Serafini. “Cluster 2 has given us a strong indication of what these next-generation satellites can deliver, and we are eager to use Cluster 3 to serve the US government, the international government, trade and humanitarian interests.”
Cluster 2, which launches in January, and Cluster 3 are significantly more powerful than the company’s first research cluster, the Pathfinder Cluster. Starting with Cluster 2, this new generation of satellites processes data at a faster speed and is equipped with enhanced software-defined radio stations (SDRs) that can simultaneously collect a wide range of frequencies. The overall system is designed to produce faster and more accurate geolocations. In addition, Cluster 3 includes capabilities for in-orbit investigations that will help design a roadmap for future feature additions.
“Preparing and launching additional next-generation clusters involves increasing the quantity, quality and timeliness of the high-impact radio frequency information we deliver to our customers,” said HawkEye 360 Executive Vice President. Alex Fox. “Cluster 3 will significantly improve the range of opportunities we can offer and help us and our partners identify new RF intelligence applications to expand our products and services.”
The HawkEye 360 constellation detects, characterizes and accurately geolocates a wide range of RF signals from emitters such as VHF radios, UHF push-to-talk radios, marine and terrestrial radar systems, L-band satellite devices and emergency beacons. The company processes and analyzes this RF data to provide useful information and a unique layer of knowledge about national, tactical and national security operations, maritime domain awareness, environmental protection and a growing number of new applications, especially in the commercial sector.
For more information on the constellation HawkEye 360 and enhanced capabilities of HawkEye cluster 3, please visit https://www.he360.com/.
HawkEye 360 provides a revolutionary source of global knowledge based on geospatial radio frequency (RF) intelligence for those working to make the world a safer place. The company operates the first-of-its-kind commercial satellite constellation to detect, characterize and geolocate a wide range of RF signals. These unique radio frequency data and analyzes provide our global customers with the strong impact they need to make confident decisions. HawkEye 360 is based in Hurndon, Virginia.
