Space Flight Laboratory (SFL) Confirms Successful Deployment of HawkEye 360 Microsatellite Cluster 10

Space Flight Laboratory (SFL) confirmed that HawkEye 360 Cluster 10 has been successfully launched and deployed in orbit. Cluster 10 brings to 30 the total number of radio frequency geolocation microsatellites developed for HawkEye 360 by SFL and is the third Cluster integrated at HawkEye 360’s Virginia facility under the SFL Flex Production Program.

Cluster 10 launched on August 16, 2024, at 2:56 pm EDT from Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., aboard the Transporter-11 Rideshare mission with SpaceX via launch integrator Exolaunch. All three microsatellites have communicated with ground control.

Based in Herndon, Va., HawkEye 360 is the global leader in radio frequency (RF) signal analysis and the first to use formation-flying microsatellites for terrestrial RF signal detection. This data is analyzed for many commercial applications including maritime situational awareness, emergency response, national security, and spectrum mapping.

Attitude control and formation flying by multiple spacecraft in orbit are a necessity for accurate RF signal geolocation, a primary consideration in HawkEye 360’s selection of SFL as its satellite provider. The acknowledged leader in small spacecraft stability, SFL has innovated compact, low-cost formation-flying technology at a maturity and price point unmatched in the microspace industry today.

All HawkEye 360 satellites developed by SFL are still in operation. SFL built the Pathfinder (Cluster 1) satellites on its 15-kg NEMO platform, launched in 2018. Subsequent clusters have been developed on the larger 30-kg SFL DEFIANT bus. For Pathfinder, Clusters 2-6 and 9, SFL handled the entire development process, including integration and testing, at its Toronto facility. Cluster 12 will incorporate technology updates and will also be integrated by SFL.