About this series of interviews
Behind every product and service on the SmallSat Catalog, there is world-leading expertise and domain knowledge. This interview series is all about helping you tap into that expertise and get the information you need to help with your own mission.
Modern space missions increasingly depend on advanced optical payloads. Whether the goal is monitoring methane emissions on Earth, tracking satellites in orbit, supporting disaster response, or mapping resources on the Moon, optical payloads are the primary way spacecraft collect actionable data.
In a recent SatSupply™ Insights interview, James Durston spoke with Oskar Zdunek, Business Development Manager at Scanway Space, about how optical payloads are evolving beyond traditional Earth observation. Scanway, a Polish optical company with more than ten years in the market, develops modular imaging systems for Earth observation, lunar exploration, space situational awareness, and in-orbit servicing. These modular telescope and camera systems are designed so the camera at the back can be swapped to change wavelength, resolution, or mission entirely. Zdunek walked through how a buyer should think about an optical payload, from a 1U-sized space camera to a 450mm aperture telescope, and why the same design philosophy lets one company image Earth in RGB, map minerals on the Moon, and track methane plumes in shortwave infrared.
What optical product lines does Scanway offer?
An optical payload is the instrument that turns light into usable data — the telescope or camera system a satellite uses to observe something. We measure everything with light, Zdunek said, describing Scanway's focus on optical payloads for Earth observation, in-orbit servicing and inspection, space situational awareness, rocket launch observation, and more.
Scanway runs two product lines that solve different problems.
One product line is optical payloads. These observe from orbit — typically low Earth orbit — to image the Earth, the Moon, or other objects. They range from 1U cubesat-sized cameras up to a 450mm aperture telescope that weighs around 50 kilograms with all its thermal-control systems, sized for satellites in the 150–400 kg class.
The second line is the Scanway Camera System. These are a set of smaller cameras used mostly for in-orbit servicing and inspection. They confirm whether an antenna or solar array deployed correctly, and with onboard processing algorithms they can check satellite health — flagging a micrometeorite impact or any malfunction and sending that information back to the operator.
That second line has flown on a high-profile mission: Scanway provided a small camera for the Ariane 6 maiden flight, observing the fairing separation and satellite deployment from the rocket.
What specs actually determine what a satellite camera can see?
Three parameters do most of the work. A buyer who understands these can have a productive conversation about almost any optical payload.
Wavelength. What part of the spectrum you image in. Most common is RGB — the visible spectrum. But the right band depends on the target: methane shows up in shortwave infrared, and different minerals reveal themselves across specific visible bands.
Ground sample distance (GSD). The resolution, expressed as how much ground one pixel covers. A one-meter GSD means one pixel in the image corresponds to one meter on the Earth. Smaller GSD means finer detail. GSD is driven by the sensor's pixel pitch, how physically small each pixel is.
Swath. How much area a single image covers, for example 10 km × 10 km. Swath is driven by the sensor's total pixel count (its megapixels).
These trade against each other and against the mission. Imaging polar ice wants a wide swath of tens to hundreds of kilometers; spotting a car wants a much narrower, higher-resolution frame. Sensor type matters too — CMOS versus CCD changes the system. Zdunek noted that the relatively small number of space-grade sensors on the market is itself a constraint on what any optical payload can do today.
How do you match an optical payload to your mission?
The process starts with the use case, not the hardware. Scanway first works to understand what a customer is trying to observe, then identifies, often from scientific databases, which wavelengths are best suited to spot that target. From there they propose a resolution (GSD) and swath that fit the job, and select the sensor and optics to match.
The differentiator is modularity. Scanway designs each camera so parts can be changed without a clean-sheet redesign. "We designed it in a sense that we can easily change the focal plane array to put a different camera with different wavelengths", Zdunek said.
One 120mm-aperture payload, for example, has been flown with a visible-spectrum camera and tested with an infrared camera on the same optics. That adaptability also means Scanway takes on development-heavy custom work that off-the-shelf payload vendors tend to avoid. They will spend real time educating buyers on what physics will and won't allow. Some requirements simply can't be met because of diffraction limits, and part of the job is informing the customer of those limitations early.
What can modular optical payloads do beyond Earth observation?
The same swap-the-camera philosophy lets one company serve very different missions:
Lunar mapping. Scanway has a telescope heading to lunar orbit aboard an Intuitive Machines orbiter to map the Moon and its surface resources, imaging across several visible bands to identify minerals. Scanway delivers the full data pipeline here, processing the imagery rather than just supplying the optics.
Methane monitoring. With Korean partner Nara Space, Scanway built a payload to observe methane emissions from orbit — useful for environmental and taxation oversight, since governments otherwise have few tools to verify a facility's reported emissions. It works in shortwave infrared, where methane has detectable peaks, and uses a dual-telescope system: a shortwave-infrared spectrometer plus a visible/near-infrared telescope on the same optical bench, so the methane signal can be overlaid on a human-readable image.
Space situational awareness (SSA / SDA). Imaging other satellites and objects on orbit — a fast-growing application that brings hard optical problems, because targets are dim, distant, and moving, so the telescope has to gather as much light as possible.
In-orbit servicing inspection. The camera-system line that checks deployments and spacecraft health, as flown on Ariane 6.
Scanway's credibility for this range rests on flight heritage. The company launched its own demonstration satellite in January 2023 carrying its telescope, specifically to de-risk the electronics, which are the most failure-prone part in orbit, given radiation. It built its own camera around a CMOS sensor, proved it in flight, and reused the same focal plane array on a later mission. Scanway now has four customer missions currently on orbit as of 2026, with several more in the works.
What's driving demand for smallsat optical payloads right now?
Three trends are pulling the market, according to Zdunek:
National constellations and resilience. Governments increasingly want sovereign Earth-observation capability — their own satellites with high resolution. He described this demand as booming, accelerating since the war in Ukraine.
Space situational / domain awareness. More operators want to image objects already in orbit, driving demand for light-gathering telescopes suited to dim, moving targets.
Lunar exploration. Exploration missions are getting easier to fly, and customer interest in lunar projects is rising.
Underlying all three is a push toward higher resolution. Scanway's largest telescope to date is still in development, expected next year, with a goal of sub-50cm GSD. This class of resolution requires adapting their clean room to integrate large mirrors vertically rather than horizontally. The payoff for that resolution shows up in disaster management, where fast, detailed, frequently revisited imagery matters, and in defense and security applications.
Specifying your own mission payload
The fastest way to scope a smallsat optical payload is to start where Scanway does: name the thing you need to observe, then work back to wavelength, GSD, and swath before talking about hardware. Whether you're imaging Earth in RGB, hunting methane in shortwave infrared, or inspecting a deployment on orbit, the spec sheet follows the mission — and a modular design keeps your options open as that mission evolves. Browse the Orbital Transports catalog to compare smallsat optical payloads and the components that surround them, and match the right instrument to your mission stage.
Watch the full interview
Hear Oskar Zdunek discuss how a buyer should think about an optical payload, from a 1U-sized telescope to a 450mm aperture instrument, and why the same design philosophy lets one company image Earth in RGB, map minerals on the Moon, and track methane plumes in shortwave infrared.
Get Scanway for your mission
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