Plus: Fundraising for orbital data centers and opportunities for Golden Dome missile defense.
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By Sandra Erwin
The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) is preparing to open the doors to its new "NGA West" campus just north of downtown St. Louis in late September, the culmination of a nearly decade-long effort to modernize the agency's footprint in the Midwest.
The $1.7 billion facility — the largest federal investment in St. Louis history — will replace the NGA's current downtown site and serve as a hub for geospatial intelligence operations. The project has remained on track amid budget pressures and workforce reductions driven by directives from the Trump administration.
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Capella Space bets on quantum future under IonQ ownership By Sandra Erwin Earlier this month, IonQ, a Maryland-based quantum computing firm, announced its intent to acquire the synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite company Capella Space in an all-stock deal valued at nearly $318 million. The acquisition is expected to close in the second half of 2025, pending regulatory approval. Capella will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of IonQ but continue to run and upgrade its SAR satellite constellation.
Commercial radar satellite firm eyes role in U.S. missile defense By Sandra Erwin The Trump administration's push to modernize missile defense could open new opportunities for the commercial remote-sensing industry, according to Eric Jensen, CEO of Iceye U.S., a subsidiary of Finnish radar satellite operator Iceye. Jensen argues that commercial synthetic aperture radar satellites, like those deployed by Iceye, could play a supporting role alongside the infrared sensors traditionally used by the U.S. military to detect missile launches.
Sophia Space raises $3.5 million for orbiting data centers By Debra Werner Sophia Space raised $3.5 million in pre-seed funding to develop orbiting compute and data centers with key geospatial intelligence applications such as intelligence gathering, disaster monitoring and disaster management.
Japan's iQPS lines up eight SAR launches By Debra Werner Japan's Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space, iQPS, plans to launch eight additional SAR satellites through the end of 2026. Rocket Lab, the U.S. launch provider that sent QPS-SAR-10 into orbit on May 17, is on contract to launch the next iQPS satellite no earlier than June. Including that flight, four more iQPS missions will fly in 2025.
SatVu's thermal imaging satellite winning over customers despite early setback By Sandra Erwin British startup SatVu is proving that even a short-lived satellite mission can yield big business opportunities in the competitive remote-sensing sector. Despite the premature failure of its first thermal imaging satellite after just six months in orbit, the company has already signed up customers for its next satellite scheduled to launch later this year.
| | | | Space Minds at the GEOINT Symposium | | | | | "There's no longer a fire season — it's always fire." | | — Ronda Schrenk, CEO of the U.S. Geospatial Intelligence Foundation, in an interview May 19 with Chief Content and Strategy Officer Mike Gruss at the 2025 GEOINT Symposium. Listen to the latest episode on SpaceNews.com, YouTube or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts, and be sure to subscribe for updates all week with special guests at the GEOINT Symposium. | | | | Sign up for SpaceNews newsletters -
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