Earth-imaging company Satellogic has successfully launched Merlin.01, the first satellite of its new Merlin constellation designed to remap the planet every day using onboard artificial intelligence.
The satellite lifted off aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on October 1, together with two NewSat Mark VI satellites and one NewSat Mark V, the company announced on October 2. All four payloads were delivered into sun-synchronous low-Earth orbit and have since made contact with Satellogic's ground station network, with good health reports for every subsystem.
Onboard AI
Merlin is designed as a global detection layer for large-scale, theater-level monitoring. Each satellite carries 10-band payloads aligned with Europe's Sentinel program, producing 1-metre-class imagery across a 170-kilometre-wide swath — enough, at full constellation strength, to remap the Earth daily.
What sets Merlin apart is its onboard processing. The satellites use edge computing to analyse imagery with AI directly in orbit and deliver change alerts within 30 minutes. Using inter-satellite links, a Merlin satellite can also direct newer NewSat Mark VI spacecraft to capture 50-centimetre follow-up images of anything it finds in real time, without first routing through a ground station.
"Merlin is designed to process every pixel with AI directly onboard, then use inter-satellite links to direct NewSat VIs to capture what it finds in higher resolution," said Alan Kharsansky, the company's chief technology officer. "That means governments and organizations will no longer need to know where to look. The constellation will find change for them so they can act with confidence and speed."
Merlin.01 is now in its launch and early orbit phase, with payload testing and commissioning set to begin in mid-October. The company says the constellation is on track to reach full operational capacity in the second half of 2027.
"This is the start of a new chapter for Satellogic," said chief executive Emiliano Kargieman. "Governments and organizations need to see change across an entire theater, not just the sites they already monitor. Merlin is built to deliver that view at a scale and cost that make routine country-wide monitoring practical."
Sources: Satellogic Announces Successful Launch of First Merlin Satellite
The satellite lifted off aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on October 1, together with two NewSat Mark VI satellites and one NewSat Mark V, the company announced on October 2. All four payloads were delivered into sun-synchronous low-Earth orbit and have since made contact with Satellogic's ground station network, with good health reports for every subsystem.
Onboard AI
Merlin is designed as a global detection layer for large-scale, theater-level monitoring. Each satellite carries 10-band payloads aligned with Europe's Sentinel program, producing 1-metre-class imagery across a 170-kilometre-wide swath — enough, at full constellation strength, to remap the Earth daily.
What sets Merlin apart is its onboard processing. The satellites use edge computing to analyse imagery with AI directly in orbit and deliver change alerts within 30 minutes. Using inter-satellite links, a Merlin satellite can also direct newer NewSat Mark VI spacecraft to capture 50-centimetre follow-up images of anything it finds in real time, without first routing through a ground station.
"Merlin is designed to process every pixel with AI directly onboard, then use inter-satellite links to direct NewSat VIs to capture what it finds in higher resolution," said Alan Kharsansky, the company's chief technology officer. "That means governments and organizations will no longer need to know where to look. The constellation will find change for them so they can act with confidence and speed."
Merlin.01 is now in its launch and early orbit phase, with payload testing and commissioning set to begin in mid-October. The company says the constellation is on track to reach full operational capacity in the second half of 2027.
"This is the start of a new chapter for Satellogic," said chief executive Emiliano Kargieman. "Governments and organizations need to see change across an entire theater, not just the sites they already monitor. Merlin is built to deliver that view at a scale and cost that make routine country-wide monitoring practical."
Sources: Satellogic Announces Successful Launch of First Merlin Satellite
