Overview
Maxar Technologies, headquartered in Westminster, Colorado, operates the world's highest-resolution commercial Earth observation satellites. WorldView and GeoEye satellites have been the gold standard for geospatial intelligence for two decades, providing 30cm imagery to the US government, allied militaries, and commercial customers. Acquired by Advent International in 2023 for ~$6.4B. Maxar also manufactures 1300-series satellite buses and robotic systems including components for NASA's Lunar Gateway.
WorldView Legion
Next-gen constellation providing 30cm resolution with up to 15 revisits/day over priority areas. Smaller, more numerous than WorldView-3, using LEO orbits optimised for mid-latitude coverage. First satellites launched 2024 on Falcon 9. See Satellite Eye to discover when Maxar satellites pass over your location.
Heritage Fleet & Defence
WorldView-2 (0.46m), WorldView-3 (0.31m with 29 spectral bands including SWIR), and GeoEye-1 (0.41m) in sun-synchronous LEO. Primary customer is the US government via NRO's EOCL contracts. Maxar imagery was prominently used during the Russia-Ukraine conflict for OSINT coverage of troop movements and damage.
Satellite Manufacturing & Robotics
The 1300-series bus is one of the most widely used GEO platforms, chosen by SES, Intelsat, and governments. Maxar builds robotic arms for NASA's Lunar Gateway and has heritage Canadarm technology. This makes Maxar unique among Earth observation operators — imaging, satellite manufacturing, and space robotics in one company.