Israel-based startup Remondo unveiled plans for a super-high-resolution EO payload today, which aims to provide customers with sub-30 cm resolution imagery from LEO at prices that won’t break the bank.
Instead of increasing resolution by creating a larger mirror or a more powerful optical sensor, the company has invented what it calls a “Partial Aperture Imaging System (PAIS),” which uses a ring of smaller mirrors, a light modulator, and a coding system to create high-res digital images.
By using cheaper materials and designing the sat to fold up for launch, Remondo expects the end result to be two-to-three times cheaper than full aperture alternatives. The company believes it can eventually build, operate, and launch each sat for $2M or less, according to CEO Ido Priel.
“The main barrier in this market has always been cost,” Priel told Payload. “You can have a low-resolution satellite at low cost, but the market isn’t there. The market is always looking for that higher and higher resolution.”
Rollout plan: The company has tested its technology in the lab. The real test, however, will come when Remondo flies its first sat to orbit in mid-2027, and second sat later that same year. Between VC funding and multiple grants from the Israeli government, Remondo has raised $20M to support those demos.
The company’s ultimate aim is to build a constellation of ~32 satellites to offer frequent revisit rates and worldwide coverage.
“PAIS architecture changes the unit economics to make persistent ISR from space a reality,” Amikam Norkin, managing partner at Ace Capital Partners (a Remondo investor), and former commander of the Israeli Air Force. “This is the kind of deep-tech innovation that can reshape the Earth-observation market.”
Say cheese! Priel explained that capturing images more granular than 30-cm from orbit opens the door for ISR applications that today exist only in the realm of aerial photography, or ground-based imaging systems. Namely, Remondo’s tech would be able to spot human beings from orbit.
“At one meter, I guess you can’t really see people and count them,” Priel said. “People, as we know, could be an interesting object for different kinds of applications…definitely for defense.”
Remondo isn’t just gunning for defense dollars with its planned constellation, however. Priel told Payload that if costs can continue to fall, Remondo’s PAIS architecture could open the door for “real-time Google Earth,” and help commercial ventures leverage insights into human activity. Just like how Ring cameras can help you find your lost dog.
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