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Sequoia

retired
Earth ObservationLEOCOSPAR 2020-060BLaunched 8/31/2020
Admin Edit
Mission & Launch
Launch Mission
I Can't Believe It's..
Launch Vehicle
Electron
Launch Date
8/31/2020
Last Contact
2/22/2023
Orbit & Mass
Orbit Class
LEO
Altitude
536.5 km
Inclination
45.1 deg
Dry Mass
90 kg
Total Mass
100 kg
Payload Classification
Mission Type
Earth Observation
Payload Category
IMG-R
Payload Class
B
Organizations
Operator
Capella Space
Manufacturer
Capella Space
Constellation
Name
Capella SAR
Active Satellites
9
Registry
COSPAR ID
2020-060B
UN Registration
ST/SG/SER.E/954
Track
Mentions
27
All verified mentions of this spacecraft in source documents.
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Actions

The seven-year SEQUOIA contract was awarded in September 2023.

RelationshipsPlanValue 4.0Nov 25, 2025Enabled Intelligence Bags $708M NGA Contract

The SEQUOIA contract allows the NGA, Defense Department, and broader intelligence community to use Enabled Intelligence's computer vision algorithms to automate tasks such as object detection, tracking, and classification.

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RelationshipsCapabilityValue 4.0Nov 25, 2025Enabled Intelligence Bags $708M NGA Contract

Sequoia’s Spotlight mode is designed to dwell over a location for 20 to 60 seconds.

CapabilityValue 3.0Dec 16, 2020Capella Space releases high-resolution Spotlight imagery

Sequoia is a 100-kilogram radar satellite developed by Capella Space.

CapabilityGeneralValue 4.0Dec 16, 2020Capella Space releases high-resolution Spotlight imagery

Capella Space successfully relayed data on 2020-11-23 between its on-ground operations center and its Sequoia synthetic aperture radar satellite in low Earth orbit.

CapabilityGeneralValue 4.0Nov 25, 2020Capella Space successfully conducts first data relay order through Inmarsat

The first commercial demonstration of an Inter-Satellite Data Relay System was conducted on 2020-11-12 when tasking orders were sent to Sequoia through the Inmarsat-4 L-band constellation in geostationary orbit.

GeneralCapabilityValue 4.0Nov 25, 2020Capella Space successfully conducts first data relay order through Inmarsat

Inmarsat and Addvalue Innovation relayed data on 2020-11-23 between Capella Space’s operations center on the ground and Capella Space’s Sequoia synthetic aperture radar satellite in low Earth orbit.

CapabilityValue 4.0Nov 23, 2020Capella sends first task order through Inmarsat data relay

Capella Space conducted the first commercial demonstration of the IDRS service on 2020-11-12 by sending tasking orders to its Sequoia satellite through the Inmarsat-4 L-band constellation in geostationary orbit.

CapabilityPlanValue 4.0Nov 23, 2020Capella sends first task order through Inmarsat data relay

Sequoia is the first of 36 Synthetic Aperture Radar satellites that Capella Space plans to deploy into a constellation.

PlanCapabilityValue 4.0Oct 7, 2020Capella Space unveils first radar satellite images

Capella Space unveiled images from the Sequoia satellite on 2023-10-06.

GeneralValue 2.0Oct 7, 2020Capella Space unveils first radar satellite images

Sequoia, Capella Space’s first operational satellite, launched on 2023-08-30 on a Rocket Lab Electron rocket.

PlanGeneralValue 3.8Oct 7, 2020Capella Space unveils first radar satellite images

Capella Space launched Sequoia, its first operational synthetic aperture radar satellite, on 2020-08-30 on a Rocket Lab Electron.

PlanCapabilityGeneralValue 4.6Sep 24, 2020SAR Renaissance: Pandemic slows but doesn’t stop constellation progress

First Light was launched as the kick stage of an Electron mission that placed Capella Space’s Sequoia radar imaging satellite into orbit on 2020-08-30.

PlanCapabilityGeneralValue 4.0Sep 3, 2020Rocket Lab launches first Photon satellite

Sequoia is designed to produce synthetic aperture radar imagery with a resolution as sharp as 0.5 m.

CapabilityGeneralValue 4.0Aug 31, 2020Rocket Lab returns to flight with Capella Space launch

Sequoia is a 100-kilogram-class synthetic aperture radar satellite that follows Capella Space’s demonstration satellite Denali launched in late 2018.

CapabilityGeneralValue 4.0Aug 31, 2020Rocket Lab returns to flight with Capella Space launch

Capella Space previously planned to launch Sequoia as a secondary payload on the Falcon 9 launch of Argentina’s SAOCOM 1B in March 2020.

PlanGeneralValue 4.0Aug 31, 2020Rocket Lab returns to flight with Capella Space launch

Electron deployed the Sequoia radar imaging satellite about an hour after liftoff into a 500-kilometer orbit at a 45-degree inclination.

PlanCapabilityValue 4.6Aug 31, 2020Rocket Lab returns to flight with Capella Space launch

Capella Space’s Sequoia satellite was scheduled to launch no earlier than 2020-08-30 at 11:05 p.m. from Rocket Lab’s New Zealand launchpad.

PlanGeneralValue 4.3Aug 30, 2020SpaceX launches Argentine radar satellite, rideshare smallsats on Falcon 9 rocket

Capella's first operational satellite, Sequoia, is scheduled to launch into sun-synchronous orbit in late March alongside Saocom 1B on a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral.

PlanCapabilityValue 4.6Mar 5, 2020Rocket Lab to send Capella radar satellite to mid-inclination orbit

Capella Space delayed commencement of service by eight months to complete and validate Sequoia’s evolved design.

PlanCapabilityValue 4.0Jan 21, 2020Capella unveils radar satellite design