Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS), an Amazon.com company (NASDAQ: AMZN), announced that Capella Space, a provider of on-demand Earth observation data via satellite-based radar, is going all-in on AWS. Capella runs its entire IT infrastructure on AWS to automate and scale its operations, including satellite command and control using AWS Ground Station. AWS Ground Station service makes it easy and cost-effective for customers to control satellites and download satellite data directly onto AWS using a fully managed network of ground station antennas located in AWS Regions around the world. Using AWS, Capella provides its customers with access to satellite data within minutes of its capture – far faster than traditional satellite data delivery services, which can take up to 24 hours – and at a lower cost. In addition, Capella leverages the breadth and depth of AWS services to process satellite data in real time as it is received, helping its customers in agriculture, infrastructure, defense, and disaster response immediately analyze and extract value from their data.

By leveraging and communicating directly with AWS Ground Station antennas, Capella’s Earth observation solution is able to provide organizations with timely access to images of the Earth, while freeing them from the cost and complexity of managing their own ground station infrastructure, which includes ground antennas to communicate with the satellites, as well as servers, storage, and networking infrastructure in close proximity to process, store, and transport the satellite data. Capella’s synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites also see through clouds and darkness to collect high-resolution imagery 24x7 in all weather conditions. The company uses AWS to manage the enormous amount of raw data that this persistent monitoring generates – an average of two to five terabytes per satellite per day – which Capella must prepare for analysis before it can be used by customers. Capella leverages AWS compute, storage, database, machine learning, and analytics services to process this data immediately upon downlink, helping its customers quickly gain insights for dynamic applications such as detecting illegal maritime activities and assessing the impact of natural disasters. In addition, Capella is developing a searchable archive of Earth observation data in the cloud, providing its customers with benchmark data so they can track subtle changes to the environment, discerning patterns over time to help them inform business and policy decisions.

“Our customers rely on us to deliver precision satellite imagery quickly. Working with AWS and leveraging the global coverage provided by AWS Ground Station, we are redefining what is possible in the satellite industry and reducing the cost and time required for organizations to benefit from satellite data,” said Payam Banazadeh, CEO of Capella Space. “Combining Capella’s automated and real-time approach to collecting Earth observation data with AWS’s proven infrastructure and unparalleled portfolio of services helps our customers achieve timely insights that can save lives and protect the health of the planet. We look forward to continuing to grow and innovate on AWS to create new opportunities for our customers who depend upon space technologies.”

“Capella Space leverages the breadth and depth of AWS services to provide its customers with on-demand access to data from space, as well as analytics to help them address some of the biggest challenges on Earth,” said Teresa Carlson, Vice President of Worldwide Public Sector at AWS. “Using AWS Ground Station, customers like Capella can connect the power of satellites with AWS’s reliable, global infrastructure and unmatched portfolio of services to automate and scale their operations on demand. By removing the need for organizations to build and maintain their own ground stations, AWS is putting the power of satellite data into the hands of more customers in order to derive insights that potentially can improve our understanding of space and life on Earth.”