# Alba Orbital **Source:** https://geo.sig.ai/brands/alba-orbital **Vertical:** Aerospace & Defense **Subcategory:** General **Tier:** Emerging **Website:** albaorbital.com **Last Updated:** 2026-04-14 ## Summary Scottish microsatellite company building low-cost CubeSats for Earth observation; Unicorn series designed for affordable rideshare launches on SpaceX and Rocket Lab. ## Company Overview Alba Orbital is a Scottish microsatellite and small satellite company specializing in building and launching picosatellets and CubeSats for Earth observation, scientific research, and commercial remote sensing. Founded in 2012 in Glasgow, Scotland, Alba Orbital designed and built the Unicorn-1 and Unicorn-2 series of 3U CubeSats — among the smallest satellites capable of useful commercial imaging. The company has pioneered ultra-low-cost satellite development for academic institutions, research organizations, and early-stage remote sensing companies. The company operates in the rapidly growing small satellite (smallsat) market, which has expanded dramatically as launch costs decreased and satellite miniaturization enabled more capable small platforms. Alba Orbital's satellites are designed to be compatible with rideshare launch services on SpaceX Falcon 9 (Transporter program), Rocket Lab, and other dedicated small launch vehicles, reducing development costs and allowing more frequent access to orbit than was previously possible. In 2025, Alba Orbital continues developing next-generation microsatellite platforms with improved imaging resolution and onboard AI processing capabilities. The company serves universities, government research agencies, and commercial customers needing affordable Earth observation data without the cost of full-scale remote sensing satellites. Alba Orbital operates in a competitive smallsat ecosystem alongside Planet Labs, Spire Global, and hundreds of other small satellite operators. The company's Glasgow base benefits from Scotland's growing space technology cluster and the UK Space Agency's investment in national space capabilities. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Alba Orbital? Alba Orbital is a Scottish pico-satellite company founded in 2012 that is building the world's largest Earth observation constellation. The company aims to image everywhere on Earth every 15 minutes through its satellite network. ### What products and services does Alba Orbital offer? Alba Orbital offers pico-satellite platforms, Earth observation constellation services with 15-minute global imaging capability, and commercial and government satellite imaging services. ### Who are Alba Orbital's customers? Alba Orbital serves both government and commercial customers. The company has signed over $85M in letters of intent with government and commercial clients. ### When was Alba Orbital founded? Alba Orbital was founded in 2012 in Glasgow, Scotland. ### Where is Alba Orbital located? Alba Orbital is based in Glasgow, Scotland. ### How much funding has Alba Orbital raised? Alba Orbital has raised $3.53M in total funding, with $3.4M raised after completing the Y Combinator 2021 program. Investors include Liquid 2 Ventures, Y Combinator, Unpopular Ventures, Soma Ventures, Metaplanet, and five additional investors. ### What are Alba Orbital's key achievements? Alba Orbital has launched 41 satellites into orbit, more than any other seed stage company in history. The company also became the first Scottish company to receive Y Combinator investment and has secured over $85M in signed letters of intent. ### What is unique about Alba Orbital's technology approach? Alba Orbital uses pico-satellite platforms to build a massive Earth observation constellation designed to image everywhere on Earth every 15 minutes. As of 2025, they are publishing images from their Unicorn-2 constellation. ### How can I get started with Alba Orbital's services? Based on the provided information, Alba Orbital offers commercial satellite services for businesses and government satellite imaging for agencies. Contact details are not specified in the available information. ### What are Alba Orbital's recent developments? Alba Orbital is currently publishing images from its Unicorn-2 constellation as of 2025 and has more launches planned from 2024 onwards. The company participated in Y Combinator's W21 batch and has secured significant commercial traction with over $85M in signed letters of intent. ## Tags b2b, global, hardware, manufacturing --- *Data from geo.sig.ai Brand Intelligence Database. Updated 2026-04-14.*