Foreword from our CEO: Franck Marchis
As we conclude the first quarter of 2026, I am filled with immense pride at the speed with which SkyMapper has moved from technical feasibility to repeatable, real-world utility. In just three short months, we have transitioned from a promising beta into a validated, global sensing network that is already delivering professional-grade data.
We are no longer just building a concept; we are operating a functioning infrastructure that spans six continents accessible via our app. This quarter, we secured our second commercial observation contract with Space Locker, proving that our decentralized model provides a real product that the scientific and industrial communities need. Our mission to map all the sky, all the time, is sharpening into focus with every new station we connect. Thank you for continuing to look up with us and please consider joining us if you want to share your sky.
Clear skies,
Franck Marchis
Science & Technology: Validating the Network
This quarter was defined by moving from theoretical architecture to field-validated results. Our proprietary technology suite has reached new milestones in reliability and scientific integrity:
- SkyBridge: The first wave of 55 units has been successfully shipped to our dedicated beta testers and early adopters. These devices are now online, actively participating in live demonstrations and validating their capability to deliver essential orbit determination and satellite tracking data.
- SkySphere: The all-sky camera has undergone significant enhancements, now featuring a new "short-movie" mode and YOLO (You Only Look Once), an edge AI-based object recognition. Crucially, testing conducted in both Latvia and the U.S. successfully demonstrated real-time drone detection and alerting capabilities, marking a major achievement for our defense and security offerings. (pictured: SkySphere in its latest version)
- SkyViewer & app.skymapper.io: We have hardened our web platform with a new telescope-status API and integrated SkyCredits, our internal credit system, to streamline reservations and subscriptions. (pictured: updated SkyViewer app). You can be a part of the pioneers to use the new application. Interested in securing future observations? You can purchase credits directly on our platform to lock in your observations.
- Data Integrity (PoSO): We have defined our end-to-end Proof of Space Observation (PoSO) verification flow and migrated data storage to Akave RC3 nodes to ensure our observations remain immutable and traceable.
Voices from the Sky: Our Beta Community
Our ~60 active beta testers remain the heart of SkyMapper. Their feedback continues to shape our platform in ways only a true community could:
- Community Spotlights: Origin Stories: We believe in highlighting the diverse experiences within our community. That's why we've launched "Origin Stories," a series of brief features where community members share what sparked their interest in
- Positive Outcomes: Northern Hemisphere testers have reported the "thrill" of accessing remote Southern Hemisphere skies, leading to significant contributions like observing 30 astronomical transient phenomena in a single night.
- Shaping products: Testing and reporting by our beta testers have found numerous opportunities to strengthen SkyBridge connectivity and user experience with the SkyViewer platform.
- Real Science: The community has praised the utility of our orbit determination tools for satellites and the efficiency of the Request For Observation (RFO) workflows.
- Community Spotlights: Origin Stories: We believe in highlighting the diverse experiences within our community. That's why we've launched "Origin Stories," a series of brief features where community members share what sparked their interest in astronomy. Read the latest stories here. Interested in sharing your own space journey? Email us to tell your story!
SkyMapper in the Wild: Global Presence & New Installs
The SkyMapper team has been traveling the world to promote, demo, and expand our physical footprint:
SkyMapper in the Wild:
A Global Footprint
Our mission to map the sky knows no borders. This quarter, the SkyMapper team traveled across three continents to install hardware, demonstrate our dual-use capabilities, and build the partnerships that will power our growth in 2026. Highlights include:
- American Astronomical Society (AAS) meeting: In Phoenix, Arizona, Skymapper and SETI Institute teams spent a week in conversations with researchers, educators, and partners exploring how astronomy is evolving toward more connected, data-rich, and collaborative models.
- Europe & Defense: In Riga, Latvia, we successfully demonstrated our SkySphere drone detection system to international observers, proving that our network can protect the ground as effectively as it monitors the stars. We also spent time in Toulouse, France, the heart of European aerospace, aligning our data products with industry leaders, at CNES. (pictured: Nicolas, Franck and Tom at CNES)
- Catalyst Collaboration: This quarter SkyMapper joined the TAS-F Space Business Catalyst and prepared a product-focused presentation and live demo for program stakeholders. Our team built a reliable data-to-orbit demo to show how we track objects, and improved our drone detection and satellite scheduling features to make our demonstrations more compelling. We also signed an MOU with TAS-F that secures mentoring for up to a year, coordinating with partners like Thales, and we are planning activities around TAS-F’s on-site.
- Testing & Assembly: Our engineering teams were active in Menlo Park, CA and Ithaca, NY, where we moved the SkySphere from prototype to production. These trips were critical for final hardware hardening before shipping to our global beta testers. (Pictured: SkySphere in action)
- Southern Hemisphere Expansion: Most recently, we expanded our physical presence to the "other side of the world." We are proud to announce new, operational SkyBridge installations in Ushuaia, Argentina and Réunion Island, providing our users with unprecedented access to Southern Hemisphere transients and satellite passes.
Every mile traveled brings us closer to a fully connected, decentralized sky. Follow our journey on LinkedIn for real-time updates from the field.
Growing the Team
We are excited to welcome new talent to the SkyMapper family who will help us scale our technical and operational capabilities since the beginning of the year:
- John Johnson: Junior product manager, managing support and our customer knowledge base.
- Vincent Vrignaud: A technical intern focused on astrometry, orbits, and maneuvers.
- Stephane Zsoldos: Lead ML engineer, spearheading SkySphere's computer vision algorithms for real-time object identification, tracking, and community alerts.
- Dr. Luke Keller: Project Manager for SkySphere and Professor of Physics and Astronomy, Ithaca College
What’s Ahead
As we transition into Q2, our focus remains on scaling the network and launching our commercial programs:
- April Product Launches: The Kosmo and SkyBridge marketing campaigns will officially launch alongside the launch of a new SkyMapper homepage, and our presence at the NEAF Expo (April 10-12). (Pictured: Kosmo).
- Credits Economy: We will roll out and expand the SkyPoints system, a foundational step toward our decentralized economy.
- Manufacturing Ramp: We are preparing for the mass production of SkyBridges to meet our 1,000-station roadmap.
- Fundraising: Securing growth capital remains our top priority to support our rapid EU expansion and commercial sales.
The best is truly yet to come. Thank you for building this future with us.
- The SkyMapper Team
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