Our patented metasurface antenna technology provides rapid, horizon-to-horizon beamsteering from a lightweight, low-cost, and planar architecture. In contrast to phased arrays and other metasurfaces, our antennas use varactor diodes so that they do not require substantial control power. Minimal control power, high efficiency, and low-cost manufacturing serve as the key differentiators that allow give our satellites the unprecedented capacity to take thousands of images per day.

Our satellites have wide steering that leads to rapid revisit, with the high capacity needed to image hundreds of different target areas per orbit.

Technology Development

Extellis’ patented metasurface antenna technology was developed over the course of 10 years of government-sponsored research projects at Duke University. A total of $3.3M of non-dilutive funding has supported its development. In the summer of 2023, the technology was brought to Australia for collaboration with commercial and government partners, as part of our DARPA-sponsored program. Our antenna technology was thoroughly characterized and demonstrated in outdoor environments.