ICEYE to launch second SAR satellite

Finnish space tech company ICEYE is launching the company’s second SAR satellite, and the first Polish-Finnish one, ICEYE-X2, into low Earth orbit on Spaceflight’s SSO-A: SmallSat Express mission. The mission is currently targeted to launch later this month from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. ICEYE-X2 will further showcase the capabilities of ICEYE’s SAR technology. This launch follows the success of ICEYE’s first satellite mission ICEYE-X1 earlier this year. The ICEYE-X2 satellite has recently finished all tests, and it has been shipped to the launch site.

“After the success of ICEYE-X1, we are excited to move forward with the launch of our second satellite ICEYE-X2 with the help of Spaceflight,” said Rafal Modrzewski, CEO and co-founder of ICEYE. “The commercial satellite industry is changing and moving toward improved collaboration between new space and traditional companies, but it’s also speeding up collaboration between various space programs of governments, such as between Finland and Poland.”

In October 2017 the company opened its Warsaw office, the firm’s first office outside of its headquarters in Espoo, Finland.