HEO Raises $25M: Why Non-Earth Imaging Is Becoming Critical Space Infrastructure

Satellites Are Starting to Watch Other Satellites

Earth observation satellites have spent decades looking down. A new market is emerging around satellites looking sideways. On September 21, Australian space company HEO announced a US$25 million Series B to expand its Non-Earth Imaging network, including deeper coverage of geostationary orbit. The financing reflects an important shift in the space economy: as orbital infrastructure becomes more valuable, governments and commercial operators increasingly need to see what is happening to their assets in space.

What Is Non-Earth Imaging?

Non-Earth Imaging, or NEI, means using a spacecraft to photograph and analyze another object in space rather than the Earth below.

HEO’s model is particularly interesting because it does not necessarily require launching a dedicated inspection spacecraft for every observation. Its software identifies opportunities when satellites equipped with suitable cameras pass close enough to another spacecraft or orbital object to capture useful imagery.

The resulting images can help determine whether a solar panel has deployed correctly, identify spacecraft orientation, observe damage, characterize unfamiliar objects, or understand why a satellite is behaving unexpectedly.

That makes NEI complementary to traditional space situational awareness. Ground-based radar and telescopes are excellent for determining where an object is and how it is moving. Satellite-to-satellite imagery can provide additional information about what the object actually looks like and what condition it may be in.

HEO has already partnered with companies such as BlackSky to automate the process of identifying imaging opportunities, tasking spacecraft, and delivering intelligence products to customers.

Why GEO Is the Next Strategic Market

The latest funding will help HEO expand into geostationary orbit, or GEO, approximately 36,000 kilometers above Earth.

GEO hosts some of the world’s most valuable communications, weather, defense, and government satellites. A spacecraft positioned there can remain over roughly the same region of Earth, making the orbit ideal for persistent communications and monitoring.

But GEO is also difficult to observe in detail. Satellites are extremely distant from ground-based sensors, and many assets are strategically sensitive.

HEO has developed its Adler Mk2 camera specifically for deeper orbital environments, with systems designed to tolerate the radiation and thermal conditions of GEO for at least five years. The company has said its first GEO deployment is scheduled for 2026, with commercial services expected to follow.

Expanding NEI into GEO could therefore create a new intelligence layer around some of the most economically and strategically important infrastructure in orbit.

From Monitoring to Satellite Maintenance

The commercial implications go beyond defense.

Today, if a satellite experiences an anomaly, operators often have limited information about its physical condition. They may know that communications have changed or that the spacecraft is rotating unexpectedly, but they cannot simply send an engineer to inspect it.

NEI changes that equation.

A visual inspection could reveal an undeployed antenna, damaged solar array, unexpected rotation, surface degradation, or proximity of another object. This could help operators decide whether a spacecraft can be recovered, whether an insurance claim is justified, or whether an in-orbit servicing mission makes economic sense.

HEO recently demonstrated a more advanced version of this concept with Satellogic and UNSW Canberra Space, using an existing Earth observation satellite to conduct a sustained rendezvous and proximity operations campaign around a non-cooperative rocket body. Instead of obtaining a single opportunistic flyby image, the mission created more observation time and viewing angles.

This begins to connect imaging with another emerging space economy sector: in-orbit servicing.

Inspection comes first. Repair, refueling, relocation, and life extension can follow.

A Dual-Use Market With Growing Government Demand

Space is also becoming more contested. Governments increasingly want independent information about satellites, unusual orbital behavior, and potential threats.

That demand is already creating contracts. In February 2026, HEO USA secured a multi-year, seven-figure contract with the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office to integrate its Non-Earth Imaging technology and analytics into government collection architectures.

The company’s new Series B therefore sits at the intersection of two markets: commercial satellite operations and national security.

That combination can be powerful. Commercial operators need asset monitoring; governments need space domain awareness; servicing companies need inspection data; insurers need better evidence of spacecraft condition.

The same underlying capability can serve all four.

What Comes Next for the Orbital Economy

HEO’s funding matters to satellite operators, governments, insurers, servicing companies, investors, and defense agencies. As space infrastructure grows more expensive and orbital environments become more crowded, knowing what is happening to spacecraft after launch will become increasingly valuable.

If this topic is of interest, you can learn more about space domain awareness, satellite operations, in-orbit servicing, defense applications, and emerging space business models in the Master in Space Economy by the Space Economy Institute. Discover more about the Master and explore how new orbital services are creating entirely new markets within the global space economy.