PAIS Optical Payload

The PAIS (Partial Aperture Imagery System) is an electro-optical payload developed by Remondo, an Israeli startup, targeting sub-30 cm ground sample distance from compact LEO smallsats. The system uses a deployable partial-aperture design: an array of small mirrors arranged around the edge of a virtual 1 m full aperture, combined with coded aperture modulation and proprietary nonlinear deconvolution to reconstruct high-resolution images from a physically compact optical assembly. Remondo states the design is spectrally flexible, covering VIS, NIR, IR, and multispectral channels; the specific spectral configuration for the first demonstration satellite has not been publicly disclosed. The payload is pre-operational: a first on-orbit demonstration is planned for mid-2027, with a second satellite intended later in 2027.^[1][2][3][4]