Space Flight Laboratory Confirms Successful Orbital Deployment of HawkEye 360 Cluster 6 Microsatellites

Cluster 6 was launched 24 January 2023 on the inaugural flight for Rocket Lab’s Electron Rocket from Wallops Island, Va. This successful mission brings the number of HawkEye 360 microsatellites built by SFL and now in orbit to 18.

The HawkEye 360 Constellation detects and geolocates RF signals for maritime situational awareness, emergency response, national security, and spectrum analysis applications. To boost revisit rates over the mid-latitude regions of the globe, Cluster 6 was launched into an inclined orbit. Upon commissioning, HawkEye 360 will be able to collect RF data as frequently as every hour anywhere in the world.

HawkEye 360 selected SFL due to the importance of formation flying by multiple satellites for successful RF geolocation. Clusters 2, 3, 4 and 5 have all been built on SFL’s space-proven 30 kg DEFIANT microsatellite bus. SFL’s formation flying technology enables the Virginia company to offer the most timely and actionable RF data and data analytics available on the market.