# Umbra SAR constellation
*missions*

## Specifications
- **operator**: umbra
- **actual launch**: 2021-06-30
- **planned decommission**: 2030-12-31
- **current status**: operational
- **orbit type**: Commercial X-band SAR constellation; WMO lists operational satellites in low Earth orbit
- **revisit days**: 7
- **tasking supported**: true
- **current geographic priority**: Global high-resolution SAR tasking and archive access through Umbra Canopy
- **launch vehicle**: spacex-transporter
- **entity type**: mission
- **last verified date**: 2026-06-14
- **verified by**: operator
- **claim status**: unclaimed
- **provider**: umbra
- **attributes**: {"operator":"umbra","actual_launch":"2021-06-30","planned_decommission":"2030-12-31","current_status":"operational","orbit_type":"Commercial X-band SAR constellation; WMO lists operational satellites in low Earth orbit","revisit_days":7,"tasking_supported":true,"current_geographic_priority":"Global high-resolution SAR tasking and archive access through Umbra Canopy","launch_vehicle":"spacex-transporter"}
- **relevance**: in-scope

## Editorial
The Umbra SAR constellation is an operational commercial X-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) mission operated by Umbra, with the first satellite launched on 2021-06-30.[^ceos-umbra] WMO OSCAR records the UMBRA-SAR instrument as an X-band imaging radar with 1200 MHz bandwidth and 25 cm best achievable resolution, with utilisation planned from 2021 to 2035.[^wmo-umbra-sar] The constellation supports multiple imaging modes including 25 cm Spotlight and Dwell modes for high-resolution tasking, as well as wider-area scan modes for large-area coverage.[^umbra-remote-sensing] CEOS plans reference 32 satellites, while WMO coverage cycle documentation cites 12 satellites, reflecting evolution in programme planning.[^ceos-umbra][^wmo-umbra-sar] Tasking and archive access are available through the Umbra Canopy platform, which provides STAC-compatible collect metadata and programmatic ordering.[^umbra-canopy-tasking][^umbra-stac-metadata] Two additional satellites were added to the constellation via the SpaceX Transporter-11 rideshare in August 2024.[^umbra-transporter-11] The mission supports maritime domain awareness, disaster damage assessment, and transport infrastructure monitoring applications.

## Compositional position
- Umbra SAR constellation --[mission_payloads]--> umbra-sar (products)
- Umbra SAR constellation --[related-topic]--> maritime-domain-awareness (topics)
- Umbra SAR constellation --[related-topic]--> disaster-damage-assessment (topics)
- Umbra SAR constellation --[related-topic]--> transport-infrastructure (topics)

## Sources
- [ceos-umbra] | CEOS MIM Umbra mission summary | https://database.eohandbook.com/database/missionsummary.aspx?missionID=1474 | tier=agency-doc | accessed=2026-06-14
- [wmo-umbra-sar] | WMO OSCAR UMBRA-SAR instrument record | https://space.oscar.wmo.int/instruments/view/umbra_sar | tier=agency-doc | accessed=2026-06-14 | published=2022-08-08
- [umbra-remote-sensing] | Umbra remote sensing modes | https://umbra.space/remote-sensing/ | tier=operator-marketing | accessed=2026-06-14
- [umbra-canopy-tasking] | Umbra Canopy tasking documentation | https://docs.canopy.umbra.space/docs/tasking | tier=operator-datasheet | accessed=2026-06-14
- [umbra-stac-metadata] | Umbra STAC collect metadata fields | https://docs.canopy.umbra.space/docs/collect-metadata | tier=operator-datasheet | accessed=2026-06-14
- [umbra-transporter-11] | Umbra Transporter-11 pair launch announcement | https://umbra.space/blog/umbra-boosts-sar-capabilities-with-pair-of-satellites-on-the-transporter-11-rideshare-mission-with-spacex/ | tier=operator-press | accessed=2026-06-14 | published=2024-08-19

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Source: https://eo-atlas.org/missions/umbra
Maintainer: SpectraWorks B.V. (CC-BY 4.0)