Vantor (company)

Last updated

Vantor Holdings, Inc.
FormerlyMaxar Intelligence
Company type Private
IndustryGeospatial software and services
Predecessor Maxar Technologies
Founded1 October 2025;8 days ago (2025-10-01) (corporate spin-off)
Headquarters Westminster, Colorado, United States
Key people
  • Daniel Smoot (President and CEO)
Owner Advent International
Website vantor.com

Vantor Holdings, Inc. (doing business as Vantor, formerly Maxar Intelligence) is an American space technology company based in Westminster, Colorado, specializing in geospatial intelligence, Earth observation, and related services. The company was formed after Maxar Technologies split into two independent companies with Maxar Intelligence later became Vantor.

Contents

History

Former logo of Maxar Maxar yellow logo.svg
Former logo of Maxar

What became Vantor was started when DigitalGlobe was founded in 1992 by Walter Scott in Oakland, California.

In 2017, DigitalGlobe was acquired by MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (MDA), who renamed the merged company Maxar. [1] The headquarters of the combined entity was then established in Westminster, Colorado. The company was dual-listed on the TSX and NYSE. [2] [3]

In July 2020, Maxar completed its acquisition of Vricon for $140 million. Vricon is a global leader in satellite-derived 3D data for defense and intelligence markets [4]

In February 2022, Maxar published several satellite images that showed a Russian military convoy during its invasion of Ukraine. [5] [6] [7] Maxar's satellite data was used by Ukraine as part of its defense against Russia's invasion of its territory. [8]

In December 2022, private equity firm Advent International acquired Maxar in a cash deal worth $6.4 billion. [9] [10] The acquisition was completed in May 2023. [11]

In September 2023, Maxar was broken into two business units, Maxar Space Systems (based in California, led by CEO Chris Johnson) and Maxar Intelligence (based in Colorado, led by CEO Dan Smoot). [12]

In 2024, Maxar Intelligence launched WorldView Legion a fleet of six high-performing satellites that dramatically expanded the ability to revisit the most rapidly changing areas on Earth, enabling more near-time insights. [13]

In early March 2025, the Trump administration. [8] temporarily restricted Ukraine's access to U.S. intelligence, which impacted one U.S. government program managed by Maxar Intelligence. Access was restored within a few days. [8]

In October 2025, Maxar Intelligence and Maxar Space Systems rebranded to become Vantor and Lanteris respectively. [14]

Controversy over BSI Partnership and Pahalgam Imagery Orders (2025)

In May 2025, Maxar Intelligence faced scrutiny following reports that it had received an unusual spike in orders for high-resolution satellite images of Pahalgam, a region in Jammu and Kashmir, India. Between February 2 and 22, 2025, at least 12 such orders were placed, which was double the usual number. [15] This surge occurred shortly after Maxar partnered with Business Systems International Pvt Ltd (BSI), a Pakistani geospatial firm.

BSI is owned by Obaidullah Syed, a Pakistani-American businessman who was convicted in 2021 for illegally exporting high-performance computing equipment and software to Pakistan's nuclear research agency. Despite this conviction, BSI was listed as a Maxar partner in 2023. [16] Following the revelations about the satellite imagery orders, Maxar removed BSI from its list of partners on its website. [17]

Maxar stated that BSI had not placed any orders for imagery of Pahalgam or its surrounding areas in 2025 and had not accessed any such imagery from its archives. However, the timing of the imagery orders and BSI's partnership raised concerns among defense analysts and experts. [18]

In May 2025, it was further reported that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security had earlier complained that BSI had sold satellite imagery to an arm of the Pakistani government. This raised additional concerns about the firm’s access to sensitive geospatial data and its ties to Maxar Intelligence. [19]

Products and services

Vantor provided geospatial intelligence and earth observation products and services for various industries such as commercial mapping, defense, government, and system integrators.

Drone vision and monitoring

Raptor is a vision-based software suite that used a drone's native camera and 3D terrain data without GPS dependencies, Sentry is a monitoring platform for intelligence.

Mapping

Vivid is a mapping software suite consisting of Mosaic (seamless map tiles), Terrain (digital terrain data), and Features (vector tiles).

Satellite imaging

WorldView is a satellite imaging software suite consisting of 2D (high-resolution satellite imagery), Radar (radar imagery), and Space (spacecraft imagery).

Spatial intelligence

Tensorglobe is a spatial intelligence software suite consisting of Cortex (constellation orchestration software), Forge (platform to produce a digital twin of earth), and Nexus (hosting and API).

Vantor Hub is a cloud-based environment bulit around Tensorglobe.

Vantor Constellation

Vantor operated Vantor Constellation, a fleet of satellites consisting of GeoEye-1, WorldView-1, WorldView-2, WorldView-3, and WorldView Legion. [20]

GeoEye-1

The GeoEye-1 satellite collects images at 0.41 m (1 ft 4 in) panchromatic (black-and-white) and 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) multispectral resolution. The satellite can collect up to 350,000 km2 (140,000 sq mi) of multispectral imagery per day. This is used for large-scale mapping projects. GeoEye-1 can revisit any point on Earth once every three days or sooner.

WorldView satellites

WorldView-1

Ball Aerospace built WorldView-1. [21] It was launched on 18 September 2007 from Vandenberg Air Force Base on a Delta II 7920-10C. Launch services were provided by United Launch Alliance (ULA). The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) is expected to be a major customer of WorldView-1 imagery. [22] It included a panchromatic only camera with a 50 cm (20 in) maximum resolution.

WorldView-2

Ball Aerospace built WorldView-2. It was launched on 8 October 2009. DigitalGlobe partnered with Boeing commercial launch services to deliver WorldView-2 into a Sun-synchronous orbit. [23] [24] The satellite includes a panchromatic sensor with a 46 cm (18 in) maximum resolution and a multispectral sensor of 184 cm (72 in) [25]

WorldView-3

Ball Aerospace built WorldView-3. It was launched on 13 August 2014. It has a maximum resolution of 25 cm (9.8 in). WorldView-3 operates at an altitude of 617 km (383 mi), where it has an average revisit time of less than once per day. Over the course of a day it is able to collect imagery of up to 680,000 km2 (260,000 sq mi). [26]

Previously, DigitalGlobe was only licensed to sell images with a higher resolution than 50 cm (20 in) to the U.S. military. [27] However, DigitalGlobe obtained permission, in June 2014, from the United States Department of Commerce, to allow the company to more widely exploit its commercial satellite imagery. The company was permitted to offer customers the highest resolution imagery available from their constellation. Additionally, the updated approvals allowed the sale of imagery to customers at up to 25 cm (9.8 in) panchromatic and 100 cm (39 in) multispectral ground sample distance (GSD), beginning six months after WorldView-3 became operational. WorldView-3 was launched aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V launch vehicle in the 401 configuration on 13 August 2014, at 18:30 UTC from Vandenberg Space Launch Complex 3 (SLC-3E) at Vandenberg Air Force base. [28]

WorldView-3 is the industry's first multi-payload, super-spectral, high-resolution commercial satellite. [29]

WorldView Legion

Built by Lanteris Space Systems (then sibling company Maxar Space Systems), WorldView Legion is Vantor's next generation of Earth observation satellites. WorldView Legion comprises six satellites planned to launch between 2024 and 2026 [30] into a mix of Sun-synchronous and mid-latitude orbits. [31] [32] These satellites will replace imaging capability currently provided by WorldView-1, WorldView-2 and GeoEye-1 Earth observation satellites. [33]

The six WorldView Legion satellites were contracted to launch on three flight-proven SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicles. [34]

Customers and competitors

Vantor's customers range from urban planners, to conservation organizations like the Amazon Conservation Team, [35] to the U.S. federal agencies, including NASA [36] and the United States Department of Defense's National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). [37] Much of Google Earth and Google Maps high resolution-imagery is provided by Vantor (formerly DigitalGlobe). [38]

Vantor's main competitor in satellite fleet services is Airbus with Spot and Pleiades satellites. Vantor's competitors in geospatial software and services including Intermap Technologies, NV5 Geospatial Solutions, Planet Labs, and Vexcel.

References

  1. ↑ Maxar Technologies (October 5, 2017). "MDA Completes Acquisition of DigitalGlobe, Creates Industry Leader in Satellite Systems, Earth Imagery, Geospatial Solutions and Analytics" (Press release). Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  2. ↑ Greg Avery (February 14, 2018). "Maxar Technologies, parent of DigitalGlobe, moves HQ to Colorado". Denver Business Journal.
  3. ↑ Maxar (October 5, 2017). "MDA Completes Acquisition of DigitalGlobe, Creates Industry Leader in Satellite Systems, Earth Imagery, Geospatial Solutions and Analytics". MAxar Technologies.
  4. ↑ "Maxar Technologies Completes Acquisition of Vricon, Inc. | Maxar". www.maxar.com (Press release). Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  5. ↑ Beech, Eric (February 28, 2022). "Russian military convoy north of Kyiv stretches for 40 miles -Maxar". Reuters. Retrieved February 28, 2022.
  6. ↑ "More than 70 Ukrainian soldiers killed in Russian attack on base near Kharkiv". The Guardian. March 1, 2022. Retrieved March 1, 2022.
  7. ↑ "The satellite giant bringing global crisis into focus". The Register . March 1, 2022. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
  8. 1 2 3 "US satellite company Maxar reportedly cuts off Ukraine's access to imagery". Politico. March 7, 2025.
  9. ↑ Sheetz, Michael (December 16, 2022). "Space company Maxar agrees to go private in $6.4 billion deal". CNBC.
  10. ↑ "Maxar is being acquired by Advent International, a global firm with $89 billion in assets under management". Space News. December 16, 2022. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
  11. ↑ Alamalhodaei, Aria (May 3, 2023). "Maxar completes $6.4B sale to private equity". TechCrunch.
  12. ↑ "Maxar Intelligence Names Dan Smoot as CEO, Announces New Management Team | WashingtonExec". October 31, 2023. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
  13. ↑ Erwin, Sandra (November 21, 2024). "Maxar prepares for final WorldView Legion launch to complete advanced imaging constellation". SpaceNews. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
  14. ↑ Feldscher, Jacqueline (October 1, 2025). "Maxar Companies Rebrand to Lantaris, Vantor". Payload. Retrieved October 1, 2025.
  15. ↑ Pillai, Soumya (May 9, 2025). "Orders for Pahalgam satellite images from US firm peaked two months before attack". ThePrint. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  16. ↑ Pillai, Soumya (May 10, 2025). "How Maxar partner fooled US manufactures into aiding Pakistan's nuclear programme". ThePrint. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  17. ↑ "Maxar Removes Pakistani Firm BSI from Partner List Following Pahalgam Satellite Imagery Controversy". BW Businessworld. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  18. ↑ पिल्लई, सौम्या (May 10, 2025). "हमले से दो महीने पहले पहलगाम की सैटेलाइट तस्वीरों के लिए अमेरिकी कंपनी को सबसे ज़्यादा ऑर्डर मिले". ThePrint Hindi (in Hindi). Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  19. ↑ Pillai, Soumya (May 12, 2025). "US Homeland Security knew in 2020 Pakistani firm illegally sold satellite images to Pak govt". ThePrint. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  20. ↑ "Vantor Constellation – The Most Capable Imaging Satellites On Orbit". Vantor. Retrieved October 9, 2025.
  21. ↑ "DigitalGlobe announces Ball building WorldView-2 satellite". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved February 2, 2007.
  22. ↑ "A Satellite's First Breath". O'Reilly Media. Archived from the original on September 22, 2007.
  23. ↑ "Boeing Selected to Co-Develop and Launch Next DigitalGlobe Imaging Satellite". Boeing. 2004. Archived from the original on March 18, 2006. Retrieved April 19, 2006.
  24. ↑ "Delta II Worldview-2 mission booklet". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  25. ↑ "Features and Benefits for WorldView-2". Archived from the original on October 8, 2008. Retrieved September 8, 2008.
  26. ↑ "WorldView-3 Data Sheet" (PDF). DigitalGlobe. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 4, 2014. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  27. ↑ Hollingham, Richard (February 11, 2014). "Future – Inside the Google Earth satellite factory". BBC. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  28. ↑ "U.S. Department of Commerce Relaxes Resolution Restrictions DigitalGlobe Extends Lead in Image Quality". Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
  29. ↑ "WorldView-3 Data Sheet" (PDF). Dg-cms-uploads.production.s3.amazonaws.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  30. ↑ "Third Quarter 2022 Earnings Call" (PDF). Maxar Technologies . November 3, 2022. pp. 4–5. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  31. ↑ Sheetz, Michael (August 5, 2021). "Space company Maxar stock drops after delaying launch of next-generation satellites". CNBC. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  32. ↑ Krebs, Gunter (August 6, 2021). "WorldView-Legion 1, ..., 6". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
  33. ↑ Clark, Stephen (March 28, 2018). "DigitalGlobe books two launches with SpaceX for Earth-imaging fleet". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved April 12, 2018.
  34. ↑ Avery, Greg (February 23, 2022). "Westminster-based Maxar's satellite launches shift to later in 2022". Yahoo Finance . Archived from the original on February 25, 2022. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
  35. ↑ "Amazon Conservation Team Presented with the Seeing a Better World Award". August 8, 2015.
  36. ↑ "Scientific Data Purchase". NASA. Archived from the original on September 29, 2006. Retrieved April 19, 2006.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  37. ↑ "National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency Awards US$12 Million ClearView Contract to DigitalGlobe". March 16, 2006.
  38. ↑ Hafner, Katie; Saritha Rai (December 20, 2005). "Governments Tremble at Google's Bird's-Eye View". The New York Times.
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