Perihel was founded in 2019 by engineers from national space agencies and commercial manufacturers who thought nobody should have to be a space agency to own a satellite.
We build, launch and operate Earth observation satellites, and sell the data as a service. About 210 people work at Perihel across Glasgow, Wellington and Bremen, roughly half of them engineers.
The idea is simple: owning a satellite means a manufacturer, a launch broker, a licence, a ground network and an operations team. Few organisations can assemble all five. We hold them, and a customer pays a fixed monthly fee for the imagery.
The fleet has been in continuous operation since the first launch in June 2021. Manufacturing follows ISO 9001 and ECSS-aligned processes; operations are certified to ISO 27001.
| 2019 | Founded in Glasgow by six engineers; seed round led by a Scottish space fund |
|---|---|
| 2021 | First launch, three optical satellites on a rideshare mission; Wellington control room opens |
| 2022 | First radar satellite; Lumen Re becomes the first insurance customer |
| 2023 | Harrow Agri and Atlas Forestry go live; ISO 27001 certification |
| 2024 | Sixth launch, fleet reaches 41 satellites flown; Bremen payload integration hall opens |
| 2025 | STAC API released; first five-year Constellation renewal |
Chief Engineer
Fourteen years at national space agencies. Led two Earth observation payloads from design review to orbit, and now owns the standard bus: every change goes through her review board. Studied aerospace engineering in Zagreb and Delft.
Head of Mission Operations
Former flight director at a national agency. Has run more than 60 launch and early orbit campaigns and set up the two Perihel control rooms, in Glasgow and Wellington. Holds a pilot licence and an MSc from Surrey.
Head of Data Products
PhD in remote sensing from Stockholm. Built the calibration chain behind our surface reflectance products and chairs the team that compares our scenes with Sentinel-2 and Landsat every quarter.
Head of Compliance and Licensing
Space lawyer. Has secured operating licences in eleven jurisdictions and sits on a national export-control advisory panel. Previously at a launch broker in Madrid and an air-safety regulator.
Manufacturing to ISO 9001 and ECSS-aligned processes. Operations certified to ISO 27001. Member of the Space Data Association.
Portrait photographs: Unsplash. People shown are not Perihel staff; names and biographies are invented.
Rideshare missions with three providers, so no single vehicle decides our schedule.
| Date | Launch provider | Satellites | Orbit | Payloads |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 2024 | Halden Launch Services | 6 | SSO, 525 km | 2 optical, 2 radar, 2 multispectral |
| Mar 2024 | Kestrel Orbital | 4 | SSO, 520 km | 3 radar, 1 thermal |
| Nov 2023 | Halden Launch Services | 5 | SSO, 525 km | 3 multispectral, 2 optical |
| Jun 2023 | Meridian Space | 3 | SSO, 510 km | 2 optical, 1 thermal |
| Site | Address | What happens here |
|---|---|---|
| Glasgow, Scotland | Dock 4, Pacific Quay, Glasgow G51, United Kingdom | Headquarters, mission control, data products |
| Wellington, New Zealand | 12 Customhouse Quay, Wellington 6011, New Zealand | Second control room, ground operations, Awarua station liaison |
| Bremen, Germany | Hermann-Ritter-Strasse 4, 28359 Bremen, Germany | Payload integration and environmental test |
Customers write to missions@perihel.example. For careers, write to careers@perihel.example.