A Message from the Team
Dear SkyMapper Community,
As we navigate through 2026, we are proud to share the latest updates from the SkyMapper network. This season has been nothing short of extraordinary. We have seen unprecedented growth in our community, successfully tackled complex technical hurdles, and forged strategic partnerships that are expanding the utility of our network far beyond our initial vision. Whether you are an investor who believed in us from day one, a stakeholder supporting our operations, a Kickstarter Backer, or a dedicated SkyKeeper capturing the cosmos from your backyard, this success belongs to you.
Here is a look at what we've accomplished together over the last few months.
Expanding Our Horizons: Growth and Milestones
Our community's enthusiasm has been the driving force behind our recent rapid expansion. We are thrilled to announce that our Kickstarter campaign concluded as a resounding success, bringing in double our original funding goal! This incredible validation of consumer demand has allowed us to confidently launch pre-orders for the SkySphere Founder Edition on our Shopify store.
Simultaneously, our decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePIN) footprint is growing rapidly. We now have active nodes and deployments spanning the globe,
including Finland, Latvia, France, Canada, New Zealand, Reunion Island, Brazil, Chile, and the United States, with exciting new partnership agreements (under the hospice of Pacs Lab) opening doors in Africa.
We’ve also broken down hardware barriers. The SkyMapper ecosystem will soon no longer be limited to a single device. In Beta, we have successfully integrated automated control and observation capabilities for third-party instruments, including SeeStar and Explore Scientific telescopes. This interoperability will ensure that anyone with a passion for the stars can join our network and contribute to our mission.
Securing the Skies: Defense and Enterprise Successes
While our eyes are often on the stars, our technology is proving immensely valuable much closer to home. SkyMapper is rapidly becoming a crucial tool for Space Domain Awareness (SDA) and airspace security.
Stateside, we are honored to begin collaboration with the U.S. Air Force’s Experimental Test Force (ETF) at the historic Edwards Air Force Base in California. Working alongside the Griffiss Institute, we will be demonstrating SkySphere's optical drone detection capabilities next month, proving that our decentralized sensor networks can provide robust, low-cost, and highly effective monitoring for sensitive airspace.
Beyond our collaboration with the U.S. Air Force, SkyMapper was selected for the Thales Alenia Space (TAS) Space Business Catalyst program, and named to the Defense Pitch Cohort at the Space Tech Expo in Anaheim, California. On the operational side, our SSA (Space Situaltional Awarenss) pipeline now routinely delivers verified Orbit Parameter Messages (OPM) and Tracking Data Messages (TDM) to commercial satellite partners proving the commercial value of our decentralized optical network.
200% Funded: SkySphere Takes Off
This summer marked a major milestone for SkySphere and the SkyMapper community. Our Kickstarter campaign reached 200% of its original funding goal, demonstrating strong support for our vision of a globally connected network continuously observing the sky.
More than simply funding a new device, the campaign helped validate the idea behind SkySphere: an intelligent, always-on eye on the sky that allows people around the world to contribute to a shared observation network. With 122 backers joining the campaign, we took an important step toward expanding SkyMapper’s global coverage and putting more eyes on the sky.
To everyone who backed, shared, supported, and believed in SkySphere: thank you for helping us look up together.
Overcoming Challenges: Strengthening Our Infrastructure
Rapid growth inevitably brings technical challenges, and this quarter put our infrastructure to the test. We are proud of how our engineering and R&D teams responded, turning potential roadblocks into opportunities to build a more resilient network.
- Solving the "SkySphere Brain" Overload: As data poured in from our expanding network, our centralized "SkySphere Brain" experienced memory overload crashes. To solve this permanently, we executed a seamless migration of our DePIN architecture to a containerized infrastructure. This transition provided the memory headroom required to process massive data floods without crashing, ensuring our system remains stable as we scale.
- Streamlining Connectivity and Updates: We resolved frustrating WireGuard VPN configuration conflicts that were causing device dropouts. Furthermore, we implemented a standardized, automated Over-The-Air (OTA) update workflow for our SkyBridge units. This means we can now push crucial security and feature updates to the fleet without manual intervention or frustrating downtimes for our users.
- Pipeline Optimization: We overhauled our data pipelines to better handle planetary defense, transient events, and satellite tracking. Even during temporary storage backend outages, our automated systems were optimized to queue and deliver astrometry and orbit files reliably.
Spreading the Word: Podcasts, Conferences, & Community Outreach
Over the past quarter, the SkyMapper team has actively engaged with industry leaders, investors, and space enthusiasts through podcasts, panel discussions, and educational outreach. Here is where we have been sharing our vision:
- Podcasts & Broadcasts: SkyMapper was highlighted in the SkyMapper on Avalanche: Trustworthy Space Data podcast episode and featured on the Observer’s Notebook Podcast produced by the Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers. Additionally, CEO Dr. Franck Marchis hosted a successful "Ask Me Anything" session on Reddit, and participated in #SETILive discussions covering exoplanet imaging and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.
- Industry Conferences & Competitions: Franck Marchis participated in a main-stage panel on space entrepreneurship and science at the Space Tech Expo in Anaheim, California, moderated by Mat Kaplan of The Planetary Society. SkyMapper was also voted into the top 3 finalists at the French American Business Awards startup competition and highlighted its tracking capabilities at Drone Summit 2026 and SATShow 2026.
- Defense & Industry Briefings: Tom Esposito presented SkySphere's optical drone tracking capabilities at the T3 Open House at Edwards Air Force Base, hosted by the Griffiss Institute alongside the U.S. Air Force Experimental Test Force.
- Grassroots & Student Engagement: Franck Marchis delivered a talk at San Francisco's "Lectures on Tap" exploring SETI, AI, and citizen science networks. The team also hosted an interactive session with SETI REU undergraduate students and presented an overview of the SkyMapper network to the Vermont Astronomical Society.
Welcoming John Johnson to the Team
We are thrilled to officially welcome John Johnson to the growing SkyMapper family! John brings a wealth of expertise and fresh energy that will be instrumental as we scale our operations to support an expanding global network. We are incredibly excited to have him on board and look forward to the amazing impact he will make alongside our dedicated community.
Improving Life on Earth: The SkyMapper Impact
Ultimately, SkyMapper is about utilizing the power of the crowd to safeguard our planet and democratize space exploration. Over the past quarter, we have made tangible impacts in several critical areas:
- Airspace Safety: By implementing advanced, real-time YOLO (You Only Look Once) machine-learning algorithms directly onto our edge hardware, we are now able to detect drones, aircraft, and Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAPs) with incredible speed. This localized processing can be a game-changer for critical infrastructure protection and aviation safety.
- Solar System: Our network of telescopes has been hard at work tracking near-Earth objects. Recently, our nodes successfully tracked Comet 10P/Tempel as it approached the Sun, providing valuable data on solar system remnants.
- Space Situational Awareness: We also continue to monitor space debris fragmentation events and commercial satellite trajectories, contributing to a safer orbital environment for everyone.
- Empowering Citizen Science: The heart of SkyMapper is our "SkyKeepers", everyday contributing to global scientific endeavors. Through our SkyPoints and SkyCredits economy, we are rewarding users for their telescope time, turning backyards into active research stations. We are showing that when humanity looks up together, there can be no limit to what we can discover.
Looking Ahead
The success of this quarter is just the beginning. With upgraded infrastructure, expanding hardware compatibility, and new defense and commercial partnerships on the horizon, SkyMapper is perfectly positioned to become the world's leading decentralized optical network.
Thank you for your continued trust, support, and passion. Stay tuned for more updates, and as always, keep looking up!
Warmly,
The SkyMapper Team
