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Capella Launches Commercial InSAR Data Capabilities

Capella now offers InSAR-ready SLC imagery compatible with major processing platforms, with 3-day repeat cycles and dual-orbit geometry no other commercial constellation offers.  

What Is InSAR?

Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) is a technique that uses the phase information in SAR imagery (not just the amplitude) to measure how the Earth's surface is moving. By comparing two or more radar images collected of the same location at different times, InSAR can detect surface displacement with millimeter-scale precision, across large areas, through clouds and at night.

InSAR data: When a SAR satellite passes over a location, it illuminates the ground with radar pulses and records the reflected signal. That signal is sensitive to the precise satellite-to-ground distance, far finer than the resolution of the image itself. If the ground moves between two passes, even by millimeters, InSAR detects the shift by comparing signals across collections.

A related output, coherence, measures how similar the phase is between two acquisitions. High coherence means the ground hasn't changed much between passes (stable urban surfaces, bare rock, engineered structures), and produces cleaner, more reliable deformation measurements. Low coherence caused by vegetation growth, flooding, or significant surface disturbance, signals that the measurement is noisier or that a significant change has occurred. Both coherence and displacement are useful products, for different reasons.

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What InSAR Is Used For

InSAR is a proven technique across a wide range of monitoring applications:

  • Subsidence and ground deformation: detecting gradual sinking in cities, near mines, along pipelines, or in groundwater-depleted areas before it becomes structural damage
  • Infrastructure stability: monitoring bridges, dams, rail networks, and buildings for millimeter-scale movement over time
  • Slope and geohazard monitoring: detecting early indicators of landslide risk or slope instability before failure occurs
  • Mining and energy operations: tracking tailings facilities, subsurface extraction zones, and facility footprints for safety compliance and operational risk management
  • Seismic and volcanic activity: mapping ground displacement following earthquakes or monitoring magmatic intrusion ahead of eruptions
  • Construction monitoring: detecting settlement or heave caused by excavation or new builds on adjacent structures
  • Defense and intelligence: identifying subtle changes around critical infrastructure, facilities, or terrain that indicate activity or damage

How Capella's InSAR Is Different

Most SAR systems were not designed with InSAR in mind. They optimize for individual image quality or opportunistic collection scheduling. Both of which work against the consistent, repeatable acquisition geometry that InSAR requires. When a satellite's ground track drifts, or collections are scheduled without regard for baseline geometry, interferograms degrade. Phase history becomes inconsistent. Time series break.

Capella's constellation is engineered from the ground up for time-series integrity. To learn more about our orbital precision, check out this blog.

Precision Repeat Ground Tracks

Capella maintains tight orbital control, so each InSAR collection closely repeats the geometry of prior passes. The Acadia constellation has demonstrated long-term sustained operations within a 500-meter tube consistently on commercially operated, highly agile small satellites executing dense imaging schedules for diverse customers simultaneously. This means satellites return within 500 meters of their intended orbital path over time. When Capella returns to a target, it returns to the position that makes the data usable.

Industry-Leading Revisit Rate

Capella offers 3-day, multiples of 3, and 7-day repeat cycles for InSAR. Dense temporal sampling means deformation trends surface earlier in their lifecycle, before movement accumulates into damage, safety events, or operational disruption. More repeat cycles are in development as a future capability.

Multi-Orbit Geometry: MIO + SSO

Capella operates satellites in two distinct orbital regimes:

  • Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO) at 98-degree inclination, the standard for SAR imaging, providing north/south viewing geometry
  • Mid-Inclination Orbit (MIO) at 53 degrees, a novel configuration that provides northwest/southeast viewing geometry unavailable from SSO alone

This is the only commercial InSAR constellation combining both orbit types. When MIO and SSO data are processed together, analysts can better separate vertical and horizontal components of ground motion. A capability that single-orbit systems cannot provide. This is particularly valuable for infrastructure, mining, and geohazard applications where the direction of deformation matters as much as the magnitude.

Very High-Resolution X-Band SAR

Capella's InSAR data is collected in X-band, the highest-resolution radar band used for commercial InSAR enabling detection of building-scale deformation that C-band and L-band systems cannot resolve. Collection modes supported for InSAR include:

  • Spotlight
  • Stripmap 100
  • Stripmap 50
  • Stripmap 20

Stripmap modes are the most commonly used for large-area InSAR time series. Spotlight modes support high-resolution monitoring of specific structures, assets, or sites.

Proven Performance

In a 2025 study of Mexico City, Capella measured line-of-sight deformation rates exceeding 70 cm/year (with vertical displacement above 90 cm/year) using 18 acquisitions collected over just seven weeks. A commercial benchmark for urban subsidence monitoring at this temporal density.

What You Receive

Capella InSAR data is delivered as Single Look Complex (SLC) imagery, the standard input format for InSAR processing. SLCs preserve both amplitude and phase information, and are compatible with the major third-party InSAR processing and analytics platforms used by geospatial analysts and service providers.

Capella does not currently process or deliver interferograms, displacement maps, or interpreted analytics products directly, the imagery is the output. Customers and analytics partners can ingest that data into their own workflows.

If you need end-to-end InSAR analysis, from raw data through to displacement time series, deformation maps, or risk reporting, Capella can connect you with Analytics Partners who specialize in these workflows across infrastructure, mining, energy, and geohazard applications.

To learn more about our Analytics Partner Program, visit https://www.capellaspace.com/our-partners

How to Order InSAR Data

Ordering via the Capella Console or API

InSAR collections are ordered as repeat tasking through the Capella Console or API, under the InSAR Collection Tier. The workflow is consistent with standard Capella tasking: you define your area of interest (AOI), select your collection mode and repeat interval, and Capella's automated TCPED system schedules and executes collections according to your cadence.

Customers can task both new InSAR acquisitions and access relevant archive data where prior repeat-pass collections exist.

For customers new to InSAR, a baseline stack (typically 15 or more collections) is recommended before beginning operational monitoring. This allows analysts to validate coherence, establish a deformation baseline, and confirm the data is suitable for the monitoring program.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Capella deliver processed interferograms or displacement maps?
No. Capella delivers InSAR-ready data products. Customers process these through their own workflows or through an Analytics Partner. If you need help identifying the right partner for your use case, Capella can assist.

Which collection modes are supported for InSAR?
Spotlight, Stripmap 100, Stripmap 50, and Stripmap 20. Stripmap modes are most common for time-series monitoring programs; Spotlight modes are used for high-resolution site-specific monitoring.

What repeat interval is available?
The standard InSAR cadence is a 3-day repeat cycle. 7-day repeat is also available.

How does InSAR differ from standard Capella SAR tasking?
Standard SAR tasking optimizes for individual image quality at any available geometry. InSAR tasking constrains collection geometry to maintain a consistent repeat ground track, which is required for phase coherence across a time series. This is managed automatically under the InSAR Collection Tier. You do not need to manually constrain geometry.

Is archive data available for InSAR use?
Yes, where repeat-pass collections at consistent geometry have been made. Contact us to assess archive coverage for your AOI.

What processing software is compatible with Capella SLC data?
Capella SLC products are compatible with major commercial and open-source InSAR processing platforms. Your analytics team or partner can confirm specific toolchain requirements.

Get Started

To order InSAR data, log in to the Capella Console and select the InSAR Collection Tier under new tasking, or submit a request via the Capella API.

For questions about InSAR suitability for your use case, pricing, or Analytics Partner referrals, contact the Capella team at capellaspace.com/contact.