Albedo

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Today @Nominal_io is announcing an additional $80M fundraise at a $1B valuation, led by @FoundersFund. AI has already reshaped how software gets built (for the third time in 4 years, apparently). Hardware engineering should be seeing the same impact. It's not. The reason isn't the models. It's legacy tools that can't evolve, dot-com-software that was never built for the stakes, and the fragmented data they leave behind. That's why we built Nominal. Hardware teams deserve tools built on a data supply chain where "make no mistakes" is a standard, not a prayer.

x.com/i/article/2014…

x.com/i/article/2014…

ANNOUNCEMENT: Albedo is going all-in on VLEO systems For years, the space industry has competed on resolution, altitude, and scale — bigger optics, higher orbits, more satellites. But what if the next advantage doesn’t come from going higher, but from getting closer? We started @Albedo to build the next generation of Earth-imaging satellites. What we built to take better pictures became something much bigger: a way to operate reliably in Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO) — 275 km above Earth, where drag and atomic oxygen used to make long-duration missions impossible. This breakthrough changed our focus. From this point forward, we’re no longer selling commercial imagery. We’re building the infrastructure that makes an entire orbital layer operational and scalable. Our full effort is going into building the systems that make sustained flight in VLEO possible. The economics of getting closer Satellites today operate in three established orbit domains: GEO - Farther MEO - Middle LEO - Closer VLEO is roughly half the altitude of LEO. Getting this close to Earth doesn’t just improve performance; it also changes the economics of space. Satellites in VLEO can: → Capture higher-resolution data with smaller, cheaper payloads → Maintain stronger downlinks and uplinks at lower power → Deliver faster latency for real-time applications → Maneuver dynamically to balance endurance, precision, and autonomy The physics are simple: signal strength ∝ range², and for two-way systems, performance ∝ range⁴. Halving the distance delivers roughly 4× the signal power — or 16× for two-way systems — enabling smaller optics, lower-power transmitters, and lower mass. These efficiencies compound. Smaller spacecraft mean lower build and launch costs, faster iteration, and more frequent refresh cycles — a new economic curve for every market that depends on satellites, with a similar compounding cycle that transformed cloud infrastructure and semiconductors. Clarity’s proof through Solar Max Our first spacecraft, Clarity, has been on orbit for seven months through Solar Max, the most demanding period of the solar cycle. Clarity is performing 12% better than design predictions in drag efficiency, has executed 150 km of controlled maneuvers, and has maintained strong power generation while its solar arrays are exposed to atomic oxygen — a reactive element that corrodes conventional spacecraft materials at hypersonic speed. We’ve also uploaded 12 flight-software updates while in orbit, adding novel control modes and solving issues in real time. Clarity was designed for an average five-year lifespan at ~275 km, proving that long-duration, low-altitude operations are sustainable with the right architecture. VLEO isn’t experimental anymore. It’s operational. Our reliance on satellites requires redundancy LEO is crowded and vulnerable. VLEO offers the opposite: a naturally self-cleaning layer that clears debris in weeks, not years. Everyday life runs on space: ATMs to national security. As launch costs fall and cadence rises, redundancy shouldn’t mean “more LEO” — it means adding a second layer in VLEO. In testimony to Congress last year, John F. Plumb (Former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy) warned that a high-altitude nuclear detonation could render LEO unusable for up to a year. Diversifying architectures ensures continuity of communications, intelligence, and warning missions even under extreme conditions. VLEO sits below the radiation belts and in a naturally debris-clearing regime, making rapid reconstitution assured. What’s next for Albedo We’re dedicating our full engineering and operations teams to VLEO systems: buses, integrated satellites, and turnkey missions. These past few years proved the physics. Now we’re scaling the infrastructure that will make VLEO the next productive, sustainable orbit in space. If you believe the next edge in space isn’t higher but closer, please reach out. More to come.

Spy Satellites, Road Cameras, Phone Trackers. How Alternative Data Companies Are Changing Investing. trib.al/rWGr6xx

We’ve spent decades crowding LEO and chasing what lies beyond it. But few have ventured beneath — into a place we call VLEO (Very Low Earth Orbit). We’ve always known VLEO, being closer to Earth, offers better imagery resolution. That part was never in question. But VLEO’s proximity comes at a cost: 1 / The atmosphere is still dense enough to drag satellites out of orbit. 2 / Atomic oxygen eats away at materials. 3 / Plasma interactions can damage sensitive electronics. Historically, no business case could justify VLEO operations… …until @Albedo and their Clarity-1 satellite. __ Clarity-1, aka “Clare”: 1 / Purpose-built for VLEO. Not a retrofitted LEO satellite, but engineered from scratch with corrosion-resistant materials, drag-aware dynamics, and enhanced shielding. 2 / Designed for rapid downlink. Smarter electronics and onboard software enable near real-time image delivery (as fast as 30 minutes). VLEO’s proximity also means faster passes and quicker turnaround. 3 / Equipped with thermal and visible sensors. A powerful combo for defense, energy, and infrastructure. Those in the biz know! __ Clare is making history in real time — making possible what we’ve always known to be true, but couldn’t pull off until now. Very Per Aspera! Get to know @Albedo's beloved Clare 🇺🇸💥🤘 Visit Albedo: albedo.com