Space Comm 2022: Azalea Cluster

Elizabeth Seward, Head of Space Strategy at BAE Systems, announced their plans for a new satellite cluster as part of their Azalea programme alongside Doug Liddle, CEO of In-Space Missions, a recent acquisition of BAE Systems. The Azalea constellation consists of four satellites focused on earth observation, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. and will be rented out to both private companies and allied governments. The satellites are designed to download a variety of customer-requested applications, such as additional sensor and camera capabilities and will be rented out to businesses and allied governments alike.

Talking of the programme, Elizabeth Seward said,

“A key part of the UK’s defence space strategy is to have a national earth observation capability so that’s definitely where our focus is. Supporting the UK customer.”

“Countries around the world are all stepping up their space commands. That’s really the driving force behind what we’re doing. The idea is with one cluster you cover the whole Earth every few days but if a customer wanted it to be much quicker than that we would be able to launch more clusters,” she explained, adding “that with over 100 clusters of four satellites, customers could cover the entire Earth in just 15-minutes.”

Read more about this programme here.