ICEYE Launches Six New Satellites Aboard Transporter-16 Mission

ICEYE Launches Six New Satellites Aboard Transporter-16 Mission

ICEYE, the world leader in sovereign intelligence from space, has successfully launched and deployed six new 25 cm resolution SAR satellites into orbit. The satellites were integrated via Exolaunch and successfully lifted off on March 30, 2026, aboard the Transporter-16 rideshare mission with SpaceX from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, USA. Each spacecraft has established communication, and routine commissioning operations are underway. The new satellites will serve ICEYE's commercial constellation alongside dedicated national missions, including ICEYE US, the Polish Armed Forces' MikroSAR program, and CTI Aeroespacial, representing the Portuguese Air Force, CEiiA, and GEOSAT in the Atlantic Constellation initiative.

With this deployment, the company continues to increase sovereign imaging capacity and resilience for governments that require rapid, reliable, and high-fidelity persistent awareness, day or night and through any weather. Across Europe, the Americas, and the Indo-Pacific, nations are elevating space-based intelligence from strategic advantage to operational requirement. ICEYE is enabling this shift by delivering sovereign ISR capabilities in months rather than years, at a fraction of the cost of traditional programs. By providing responsive, high-revisit access under full national control, ICEYE is building the foundation of a resilient intelligence architecture for allied nations worldwide.

ICEYE has successfully launched 70 satellites into orbit since 2018, eight of which have been launched in 2026 – two were launched aboard the Twilight rideshare mission in January 2026. Looking forward, the company is scaling to an average production rate of one satellite per week in 2026, deploying sovereign space capability for allied nations at unprecedented speed and scale, while also building capacity within the ICEYE proprietary fleet. ICEYE operates the world's largest synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite constellation, delivering objective, near real-time insights to detect, understand, and respond to change on Earth. SAR uses radar pulses that penetrate clouds, smoke, and darkness, providing continuous observation regardless of time of day or weather conditions.

ICEYE is accelerating the shift to software-defined satellites, delivering the world's highest-fidelity commercial SAR imagery. Offered as a fully sovereign capability not subject to ITAR control, ICEYE delivers the satellite as part of a complete, secure system that can be launched, deployed, and operational within 12 months from signing. This includes the ground segment and comprehensive training, with new capabilities deployed via software updates from the ground rather than traditional hardware refresh cycles.

Rafal Modrzewski, CEO of ICEYE, said: "ICEYE protects sovereign nations from space. The era of relying on a single, expensive satellite for national security is ending. Governments now understand that resilient constellations of many satellites are what give them real intelligence advantage, with answers in minutes instead of days. That is the shift from strategic to tactical timelines, and it changes everything about how nations defend themselves. Every satellite we launch brings our customers closer to that reality, and we are building the industrial capacity to keep pace with the demand." ICEYE supports allied governments and organizations worldwide with defense, intelligence, and scientific missions, delivering sovereign satellite systems, data, and imagery to customers across six continents.

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GNSS Constellations - A list of all GNSS satellites by constellations

beidou

Satellite NameOrbit Date
BeiDou-3 G4Geostationary Orbit (GEO)17 May, 2023
BeiDou-3 G2Geostationary Orbit (GEO)09 Mar, 2020
Compass-IGSO7Inclined Geosynchronous Orbit (IGSO)09 Feb, 2020
BeiDou-3 M19Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)16 Dec, 2019
BeiDou-3 M20Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)16 Dec, 2019
BeiDou-3 M21Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)23 Nov, 2019
BeiDou-3 M22Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)23 Nov, 2019
BeiDou-3 I3Inclined Geosynchronous Orbit (IGSO)04 Nov, 2019
BeiDou-3 M23Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)22 Sep, 2019
BeiDou-3 M24Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)22 Sep, 2019

galileo

Satellite NameOrbit Date
GSAT0223MEO - Near-Circular05 Dec, 2021
GSAT0224MEO - Near-Circular05 Dec, 2021
GSAT0219MEO - Near-Circular25 Jul, 2018
GSAT0220MEO - Near-Circular25 Jul, 2018
GSAT0221MEO - Near-Circular25 Jul, 2018
GSAT0222MEO - Near-Circular25 Jul, 2018
GSAT0215MEO - Near-Circular12 Dec, 2017
GSAT0216MEO - Near-Circular12 Dec, 2017
GSAT0217MEO - Near-Circular12 Dec, 2017
GSAT0218MEO - Near-Circular12 Dec, 2017

glonass

Satellite NameOrbit Date
Kosmos 2569--07 Aug, 2023
Kosmos 2564--28 Nov, 2022
Kosmos 2559--10 Oct, 2022
Kosmos 2557--07 Jul, 2022
Kosmos 2547--25 Oct, 2020
Kosmos 2545--16 Mar, 2020
Kosmos 2544--11 Dec, 2019
Kosmos 2534--27 May, 2019
Kosmos 2529--03 Nov, 2018
Kosmos 2527--16 Jun, 2018

gps

Satellite NameOrbit Date
Navstar 82Medium Earth Orbit19 Jan, 2023
Navstar 81Medium Earth Orbit17 Jun, 2021
Navstar 78Medium Earth Orbit22 Aug, 2019
Navstar 77Medium Earth Orbit23 Dec, 2018
Navstar 76Medium Earth Orbit05 Feb, 2016
Navstar 75Medium Earth Orbit31 Oct, 2015
Navstar 74Medium Earth Orbit15 Jul, 2015
Navstar 73Medium Earth Orbit25 Mar, 2015
Navstar 72Medium Earth Orbit29 Oct, 2014
Navstar 71Medium Earth Orbit02 Aug, 2014

irnss

Satellite NameOrbit Date
NVS-01Geostationary Orbit (GEO)29 May, 2023
IRNSS-1IInclined Geosynchronous Orbit (IGSO)12 Apr, 2018
IRNSS-1HSub Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (Sub-GTO)31 Aug, 2017
IRNSS-1GGeostationary Orbit (GEO)28 Apr, 2016
IRNSS-1FGeostationary Orbit (GEO)10 Mar, 2016
IRNSS-1EGeosynchronous Orbit (IGSO)20 Jan, 2016
IRNSS-1DInclined Geosynchronous Orbit (IGSO)28 Mar, 2015
IRNSS-1CGeostationary Orbit (GEO)16 Oct, 2014
IRNSS-1BInclined Geosynchronous Orbit (IGSO)04 Apr, 2014
IRNSS-1AInclined Geosynchronous Orbit (IGSO)01 Jul, 2013
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