Albedo
About
About Albedo
Albedo builds satellite buses and complete missions for operation below 400 kilometres in very low Earth orbit. Its Precision platform uses a low-drag structure, atomic-oxygen-resistant materials, autonomous station-keeping and control-moment-gyroscope agility to sustain useful life in the denser upper atmosphere. Clarity combines that bus with Albedo's visible and thermal imaging payload, while Vicinity is being developed for higher-power communications, sensing and demonstration payloads.
Clarity-1 launched in March 2025 and validated sustained VLEO operations, drag modelling and the core Precision platform. Albedo offers payload accommodation, satellite integration, launch and mission operations for imaging, radio-frequency observation, radar or lidar sensing, direct communications and defence missions. The company shifted from selling a single imagery service toward supplying adaptable spacecraft and turnkey missions based on the flight-proven platform.
Operations
Facilities & manufacturing
- Factory floor area
2023-06-08 - Albedo opened a Denver-area manufacturing facility with about 10,000 square feet for satellite build, assembly, integration and test work. - Albedo satellite manufacturing facility - Denver area, Colorado
Source
Production capacity
- Production capacity
2023-06-08 - Albedo said the Denver-area facility could accommodate simultaneous construction of three to four satellites. - Albedo satellite manufacturing facility - Denver area, Colorado
Source
Deployments
- Operating use
2025-03-17 - Albedo launched Clarity-1 and reported first contact plus autonomous Protect Mode entry after launch. - Clarity-1 satellite - low Earth orbit / VLEO transfer
Source
Funding
- 2024-01-23 - Series A-1 - $35M - Albedo raises $35 million Series A-1 led by Standard Investments
Albedo raised a $35 million Series A-1 round led by Standard Investments to launch its first operational satellite and accelerate constellation deployment. - source: businesswire.com
Investors
- Bill Perkins - Participant - VC - 1 funding event - first seen 2024-01-23
- Booz Allen Ventures - Participant - Corporate / CVC - 1 funding event - strategic/corporate - first seen 2024-01-23
- Breakthrough Energy Ventures - Participant - VC - 1 funding event - first seen 2024-01-23
- Cubit Capital - Participant - VC - 1 funding event - first seen 2024-01-23
- Giant Step Capital - Participant - VC - 1 funding event - first seen 2024-01-23
- Initialized Capital - Participant - VC - 1 funding event - first seen 2024-01-23
- Republic Capital - Participant - VC - 1 funding event - first seen 2024-01-23
- Shield Capital - Participant - VC - 1 funding event - first seen 2024-01-23
- Standard Investments - Lead - Corporate / CVC - 1 funding event - strategic/corporate - first seen 2024-01-23
- Y Combinator - Participant - Unknown - 1 funding event - first seen 2024-01-23
Team
- Topher Haddad - Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
- AyJay Lasater - Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer
Timeline
Events
- 2026-04-07 - Product Launch - Albedo announces Vicinity high-power VLEO bus for 2027 mission
Vicinity adds deployable solar arrays and Gen-2 flight software to the flight-proven Precision bus lineage. The bus is designed for payloads including synthetic-aperture radar, electronic warfare and direct-to-device communications. Albedo scheduled the Vicinity demonstration mission for 2027.
Source - 2026-01-23 - Capability - Clarity-1 validates Albedo VLEO bus before contact loss
Measured drag performance beat the design target by 12% and supported a five-year average lifespan model at 275 kilometres. Atomic-oxygen-resistant solar arrays maintained power generation as the satellite descended deeper into VLEO. The mission validated 98% of the technology needed for its imaging objective before an onboard radio-memory issue made recovery unlikely.
Source - 2025-08-01 - Contract Award - NRO awards Albedo Stage II commercial-imagery contract
The Stage II award enables NRO to buy Albedo 10 cm visible and 2 m thermal IR data from Clarity-1. The award expands Albedo's commercial-data relationship with U.S. defense and intelligence customers.
Source - 2025-03-17 - Deployment - Albedo Clarity-1 satellite launches and makes first contact
The satellite launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base on the Transporter-13 rideshare mission. Albedo said Clarity-1 sent telemetry and received commands about four hours after separation.
Source - 2025-03-03 - Contract Award - Albedo selected for $12 million AFRL STRATFI contract
Albedo was selected for a Strategic Funding Increase opportunity worth up to $12 million with the Air Force Research Laboratory. The contract covers operational VLEO data and analysis for U.S. Government space capability development. Albedo said the work builds on its Clarity-1 mission and VLEO operating dataset.
Source - 2024-01-23 - Funding - Albedo raises $35 million Series A-1 led by Standard Investments
The financing brought Albedo's total funding to $97 million. Booz Allen Ventures, Cubit Capital, Bill Perkins, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Shield Capital, Initialized Capital and Y Combinator participated. The capital supports commercial automation and autonomous-system workflows as Albedo moves from product development toward broader commercial use.
Source - 2023-12-05 - Contract Award - NRO awards Albedo electro-optical capabilities contract
The National Reconnaissance Office awarded Albedo a Strategic Commercial Enhancements contract for commercial electro-optical imaging capabilities. The award placed Albedo among commercial providers selected for NRO electro-optical imagery evaluation. The contract created a government channel for assessing Albedo's VLEO imagery architecture.
Source - 2023-06-08 - Facility Opening - Albedo opens Denver-area satellite manufacturing facility
Albedo opened a Denver-area facility for building, assembling, integrating and testing its VLEO satellites. The facility covers about 10,000 square feet and supports work on Albedo's first satellite. Albedo said the site can support simultaneous construction of three to four satellites.
Source - 2023-04-27 - Contract Award - Albedo wins U.S. Air Force nighttime thermal-imaging contract
The contract supports evaluation of 2-meter thermal infrared imagery for U.S. Government nighttime use cases. The work is tied to Albedo's planned VLEO imaging satellite constellation.
Source
Relations
Relationships
- SpaceX
Launch Provider - Albedo launched Clarity-1 on SpaceX's Transporter-13 rideshare mission.
Context
Shared workflows
- Rocket Lab
workflow adjacency - Aerospace Autonomy Innovation
- Lockheed Martin
workflow adjacency - Aerospace Autonomy Innovation
- Hop Aero
workflow adjacency - Aerospace Autonomy Innovation
- Spaceium
workflow adjacency - Aerospace Autonomy Innovation
- Cascade Space
workflow adjacency - Aerospace Autonomy Innovation
- Navier AI
workflow adjacency - Aerospace Autonomy Innovation
- Basalt
workflow adjacency - Aerospace Autonomy Innovation
- Inversion Space
workflow adjacency - Aerospace Autonomy Innovation
- Reditus Space
workflow adjacency - Aerospace Autonomy Innovation
- Wardstone
workflow adjacency - Aerospace Autonomy Innovation
- HEO
workflow adjacency - Aerospace Autonomy Innovation
- Quindar
workflow adjacency - Aerospace Autonomy Innovation
- Velontra
workflow adjacency - Aerospace Autonomy Innovation
- Airhart Aeronautics
workflow adjacency - Aerospace Autonomy Innovation
- Seaflight Technologies
workflow adjacency - Aerospace Autonomy Innovation
- REGENT
workflow adjacency - Aerospace Autonomy Innovation
- Hubble Network
workflow adjacency - Aerospace Autonomy Innovation
- Kitekraft
workflow adjacency - Aerospace Autonomy Innovation
- Daedalean
workflow adjacency - Aerospace Autonomy Innovation
- Embraer
workflow adjacency - Aerospace Autonomy Innovation
- Airbus UpNext
workflow adjacency - Aerospace Autonomy Innovation
- Kalam Labs
workflow adjacency - Aerospace Autonomy Innovation
- Radical
workflow adjacency - Aerospace Autonomy Innovation
- Elodin
workflow adjacency - Aerospace Autonomy Innovation
- Piasecki Aircraft
workflow adjacency - Aerospace Autonomy Innovation
- Airbus
workflow adjacency - Aerospace Autonomy Innovation
- Oculus Aeris
workflow adjacency - Aerospace Autonomy Innovation
Context tags
- Aerospace autonomy innovation - Workflow - Korthos context supports Aerospace autonomy innovation.
Commercial
- NRO awards Albedo Stage II commercial-imagery contract
2025-08-01 · Order / contract · The National Reconnaissance Office awarded Albedo a Stage II contract under its Strategic Commercial Enhancements program.
Source - Albedo selected for $12 million AFRL STRATFI contract
2025-03-03 · Order / contract · Albedo was selected for a Strategic Funding Increase opportunity worth up to $12 million with the Air Force Research Laboratory.
Source - NRO awards Albedo electro-optical capabilities contract
2023-12-05 · Order / contract · The National Reconnaissance Office awarded Albedo a Strategic Commercial Enhancements contract for commercial electro-optical imaging capabilities.
Source - Albedo wins U.S. Air Force nighttime thermal-imaging contract
2023-04-27 · Order / contract · Albedo won a $1.25 million AFWERX contract to test nighttime thermal infrared imaging for the National Air and Space Intelligence Center.
Source