SFL Missions to provide spacecraft buses for HawkEye 360 RF constellation expansion

Summary points: 

• SFL Missions in Toronto will provide spacecraft bus units for three new HawkEye 360 satellite clusters, totaling nine satellites, to expand RF detection and geolocation capabilities.
• Clusters 15 and 16 are being modified to incorporate advanced bus-level and payload capabilities, including real-time downlinking.
• The Flex Production program allows initial spacecraft development at SFL’s facility with options for customer-side mass production or future upgrades.

TORONTO - SFL Missions Inc. in Toronto has been awarded a contract to provide spacecraft bus units in support of three new HawkEye 360 satellite clusters, totaling nine spacecraft, which will expand HawkEye 360’s RF detection and geolocation constellation. The contract includes Cluster 14, similar to those recently launched by HawkEye 360, as well as Clusters 15 and 16, which SFL Missions is modifying to incorporate advanced capabilities. Based in Herndon, Va., HawkEye 360 is a signals intelligence technology company that supports sectors including maritime situational awareness, emergency response, national security, and spectrum mapping.

Under the Flex Production program, SFL Missions provides spacecraft bus units and subsystems based on its 30-kg DEFIANT platform, designed in Toronto specifically for HawkEye 360. The bus units are shipped to HawkEye 360’s Herndon, Va., facility for full assembly, integration, and testing.

Upgraded capabilities

SFL Missions is supplying upgraded bus-level components that support HawkEye 360’s payload and enable new capabilities, including concurrent in-theater data collection and downlinking. The satellites will download acquired RF signal data in real time to a ground station. To support this, SFL Missions is upgrading antenna and radio systems on each spacecraft to selectively steer the beam toward the target station.

"Our collaboration with HawkEye 360 remains strong and productive," said SFL Missions Director Dr. Robert E. Zee. "SFL Missions is pleased that HawkEye 360 continues to leverage our quality platforms to develop the small satellites that enable the core of its space-based RF signal detection constellation. We look forward to enhancing the operational capabilities of HawkEye 360’s spacecraft to meet the evolving needs of an expanding customer base."