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First acquisition for company adds satellites
Robyn Sidersky //December 28, 2023//
On Jan. 24, Rocket Lab launched its Electron rocket from Wallops Island on a mission to deploy satellites for Herndon-based HawkEye 360. Photo by Rocket Lab/Brady Kenniston
On Jan. 24, Rocket Lab launched its Electron rocket from Wallops Island on a mission to deploy satellites for Herndon-based HawkEye 360. Photo by Rocket Lab/Brady Kenniston
First acquisition for company adds satellites
Robyn Sidersky// December 28, 2023//
Herndon-based HawkEye 360 has acquired RF Solutions from Westminster, Colorado-based Maxar Intelligence, the satellite analytics company announced last week.
Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
It’s the first acquisition for HawkEye 360 and gives the company ownership of two new satellites, intellectual property and a data archive. The company now has a constellation of 23 satellites that detect, characterize and geolocate radio frequency signals. The additional satellites will enable HawkEye 360 to expand frequency coverage and the broader range will enhance customer understanding of the signal activity occurring in each region of the world, according to a company news release.
RF Solutions formed from the Aurora Insight acquisition that Maxar Intelligence completed in January 2023.
“The on-orbit assets and expertise of the RF Solutions group from Maxar Intelligence brings a complementary capability to HawkEye 360,” HawkEye 360 President Rob Rainhart said in a statement. “Our existing satellites do very well at precise geolocation and characterization of signals. This technology from the former Aurora Insight team will allow HawkEye 360 to quickly scan gigahertz of bandwidth to efficiently map active frequencies at a regional level. We look forward to rapidly integrating these powerful capabilities and talented personnel into the company to further accelerate the value we bring to our clients.”
HawkEye 360 had about 175 employees before the acquisition and will add 11 more as part of the deal, according to the company.
In October, HawkEye 360 closed its Series D-1 funding round with another $10 million, for a total of $68 million in the round. HawkEye 360 plans to launch another dozen satellites in 2024. In January, three HawkEye 360 satellites went into orbit during Rocket Lab’s first launch in the United States, which took place at NASA’s Wallops Island facility. The company plans to have 20 clusters with three satellites each by 2025.
In 2022, HawkEye 360 opened a 19,000-square-foot facility to boost the production of its satellites.
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