The first space project of the U.S. Defense Innovation Unit Experimental (DIUx) involves funding commercial small satellites that are designed to collect synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery, according to a DIUx official.
“When we started, there were zero U.S. commercial providers of SAR,” said Air Force Col. Steven Butow, West Coast military lead for DIUx. “We’re launching a capability to look at patterns of life, one of those things that could serve as peacetime, early indications and warnings of things that we need to know about.” 
The office is also funding data-analytics companies to work with the satellite providers to help process the information they gather from their all-weather, day-and-night collection capabilities, said Butow, who spoke June 21 at a small-satellite event at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.
While some companies that work with DIUx prefer to remain anonymous, Butow mentioned two that have publicized their work with the unit: Capella Space, a small-satellite firm in Palo Alto, Calif., and Orbital Insight, a data-analytics firm in Mountain View, Calif. According to Capella’s website, the company’s first satellite will be launched in about five months.
“We do a competitive award, so it’s not just those two companies,” he said.
The Department of Defense launched DIUx in 2015 to strengthen its ties to Silicon Valley and other high-tech corridors to increase its access to commercial technology.