Satrec Initiative (KOSDAQ: 099320) launched its next-generation SpaceEye-T imaging satellite on a Falcon-9 bandwagon launch in March 2025. Previously, Satrec sold imagery via a tasking platform where customer order details, including coordinates, are shared with the company. However, as SpaceNews first reported, Satrec now offers customers ability to send encrypted tasks and acquire encrypted imagery with SpaceEye-T. Satrec is not privy to tasking information or the customer’s generated imagery. Satrec describes this new offering as “Surveillance Without Trace” in a video it uploaded to Facebook.
This service caters to defense customers and nation-states that prefer such discreet capabilities. For instance, ImageSat International secured a contract to provide sovereign surveillance satellite capability to Chile, and Blacksky won a similar contract with Indonesia and India.
Satrec’s service, however, appears distinct: instead of selling satellites, they are leasing access while maintaining customer security through encrypted tasking. It remains to be seen if this strategy will significantly boost Satrec’s imagery business. Satrec sells imagery through its subsidiary, SIIS Co., LTD. Imagery sales have been flat since 2018. In 2024, Satrec sold ₩7.7 billion of imagery, approximately $5.6 million. Given that Satrec reportedly spent $100 million on SpaceEye-T, substantial imagery sales are necessary to recoup this investment.