Marble Sat-1 to use Odysseus Space laser downlink for Earth observation data

Marble Imaging, Reflex Aerospace and Odysseus Space have announced a joint mission in which Marble Imaging's first satellite, Marble Sat-1 "Morgana", will return imagery to the ground by laser. Launch is scheduled for the first quarter of 2027.

Reflex Aerospace built the satellite and integrated Odysseus Space's Cyclops-DTE terminal. The satellite has recently passed vibration testing and flight qualification. Odysseus provides the link as a managed Laser Communication as a Service subscription with no upfront hardware cost, covering pass planning through to data delivery. It is designed for up to 10 Gbps and around 1 TB per day.

After launch, Marble Sat-1 will run a six-month in-orbit demonstration before commercial operations begin. It is the first of more than 20 planned very high-resolution satellites from Marble Imaging.

Why it matters: Downlink capacity is a growing constraint for high-resolution Earth observation. A managed optical service with no hardware outlay shows one way operators could move more imagery to the ground, a model that could later serve African data users.