Albedo Selected for $12M STRATFI Contract to Provide Operational VLEO Data for U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory

DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar 3, 2025--

Albedo, soon to be the first commercial company to operate in Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO), has been selected for a Strategic Funding Increase (STRATFI) opportunity by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), with potential funding of up to $12 million. The contract will provide AFRL with Albedo's unique dataset on how U.S. Government space capabilities can operate effectively in VLEO, an orbital regime that offers significant advantages but remains largely untapped.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250303573165/en/

The STRATFI agreement builds on Albedo's pioneering work in VLEO following the successful launch of its first satellite, Clarity-1, in March 2025. Clarity-1 will collect 10 cm resolution visible imagery and 2 meter thermal infrared imagery, which is currently only possible using planes and drones. Under the contract, Albedo will share VLEO-specific, on-orbit data and provide analysis to support the development of new missions and payloads beyond its own optical sensors.

This partnership represents a significant step in advancing the national space architecture through commercial innovation. VLEO offers several advantages, including superior image resolution, reduced power requirements, natural debris removal through atmospheric drag, and enhanced space domain awareness.

“VLEO represents a fundamental paradigm shift in space architecture, breaking the traditional tradeoff between exquisite capability and proliferated architectures," said Topher Haddad, CEO of Albedo. "As counterspace threats grow and LEO becomes increasingly congested, Albedo's VLEO approach delivers the optimal economics for exquisite capabilities – high performance at costs that enable constellation resilience. We're honored to pioneer this untapped orbital regime and help establish U.S. dominance in this strategic domain.”

The data sharing portion of the contract will encompass various operational data, including how GNSS telemetry is refined into precision orbit determination data in a dynamic environment, comparisons between expected and actual orbit maintenance performance, and comprehensive information for estimating satellite drag and atmospheric density. Albedo inherently collects atomic oxygen sensor readings and performance metrics for its imaging capabilities, including image quality samples, pointing performance, and agility measurements which it will share with AFRL under this contract.

Central to Albedo's success in VLEO is its Precision bus, a highly-agile, highly-stable foundation designed specifically to overcome the challenges of operating in this demanding orbital regime. Unlike traditional satellite designs, Albedo's approach combines power, performance, and precision engineering to maintain orbit despite high drag and atomic oxygen exposure. The platform features autonomous protective modes for solar events, efficient electric propulsion, advanced GNC sensors and actuators, and a modular interface that can accommodate various high-performance payloads beyond optical sensors.

The STRATFI program provides a streamlined process for funding promising space technologies by matching government and private investment. This award further validates Albedo's technological approach and business model, which delivers unprecedented 10 cm imagery from space while pioneering operations in a challenging orbital regime.

Albedo will begin sharing data with the U.S. Space Force immediately, with ongoing analysis and recommendations to follow throughout the contract period.

About Albedo

Albedo has built and will soon launch the first VLEO platform in the United States, the first of which will provide ultra-high-resolution 10 cm optical imagery - comparable to classified government capabilities at a fraction of the cost. Based in Denver, Colorado, Albedo is revolutionizing space from VLEO, with applications spanning defense, intelligence, mapping, infrastructure monitoring, and climate action. For more information, visit www.albedo.com.

About Air Force Research Laboratory

The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is the primary scientific research and development center for the Department of the Air Force. AFRL plays an integral role in leading the discovery, development, and integration of affordable war-fighting technologies for our air, space, and cyberspace force. With a workforce of more than 11,000 across nine technology areas and 40 other operations across the globe, AFRL provides a diverse portfolio of science and technology ranging from fundamental to advanced research and technology development. For more information, visit afresearchlab.com.

The views and opinions presented herein are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of DoD or its Components. Appearance of, or reference to, any commercial products or services does not constitute DoD endorsement of those products or services. The appearance of external hyperlinks does not constitute DoD endorsement of the linked websites, or the information, products or services therein.

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. Public Affairs release approval #AFRL-2025-1088

Albedo's Clarity-1 satellite. (Photo: Business Wire)

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — The party of Kosovo 's Prime Minister Albin Kurti won an early parliamentary election Sunday in the Balkan country by a clear margin, near-complete preliminary results showed.

The Vetevendosje, or Self-Determination, party won nearly 50% of the ballots, far ahead of the opposition Democratic Party of Kosovo with 21%, and the Democratic League of Kosovo with nearly 14%, the state election, authorities said after some 96% of the ballots were counted.

The snap ballot on Sunday was scheduled after the Self-Determination party failed to form a government despite also winning the most votes in a Feb. 9 election (is this correct?).

It was not immediately clear whether the Self-Determination party has won 61 seats in the 120-member parliament to be able to rule alone.

The previous postelection stalemate marked the first time Kosovo could not form a government since it declared independence from Serbia in 2008 following a 1998-99 war that ended in a NATO intervention.

Kosovo has not approved a budget for next year, sparking concern over the already poor economy in the country of 2 million people.

Lawmakers also are set to elect a new president in March as current President Vjosa Osmani’s mandate expires in early April. If this fails too, another snap election must be held.

After voting Sunday, Kurti urged Kosovo’s 1.9 million voters to turn out in large numbers to grant “more legitimacy for our institutions.”

“Once the election result is known, we will do our best to constitute a new parliament as soon as possible and to proceed with the election of the new government,” he said.

Turnout was at around 44%, according to the state election authorities.

According to Kosovo’s election laws, 20 parliamentary seats are automatically assigned to ethnic Serb representatives and other minority parties.

Opposition parties have accused Kurti of authoritarianism and of alienating Kosovo’s U.S. and European Union allies since he came to power in 2021.

Lumir Abdixhiku from the Democratic League of Kosovo urged voters to “move away from the gloom, the deadlock and the division that has accompanied us for these years.”

A former political prisoner during Serbia’s rule in Kosovo, the 50-year-old Kurti has taken a tough stand in talks mediated by the European Union on normalizing relations with Belgrade. In response, the EU and the United States imposed punitive measures.

Kurti has promised to buy military equipment to boost security.

Ilmi Deliu, a 71-year-old pensioner from the capital, Pristina, said he hoped the election will bring a change or “we will end up in an abyss.”

“Young people no longer want to live here,” he said.

Tensions with restive ethnic Serbs in the north exploded in clashes in 2023 when scores of NATO-led peacekeepers were injured. In a positive step, ethnic Serb mayors this month took power peacefully there after a municipal vote.

Kurti has also agreed to accept third-country migrants deported from the United States as part of tough anti-immigration measures by the administration of President Donald Trump. One migrant has arrived so far, authorities have told The Associated Press.

Kosovo has one of the poorest economies in Europe. It is one of the six Western Balkan countries striving to eventually join the EU, but both Kosovo and Serbia have been told they must first normalize relations.

A man folds his ballot prior to voting in early parliamentary election in Kosovo's capital Pristina, Sunday Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)

A couple cast their votes in early parliamentary election in Kosovo's capital Pristina, Sunday Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)

Voters fill their ballots behind voting booths for early parliamentary election in Kosovo's capital Pristina, Sunday Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)

Kosovo's acting prime minister and leader of VeteVendosje political party Albin Kurti casts his ballot in Kosovo's capital Pristina, Sunday Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)

Supporters of Belgrade-backed Srpska Lista prepare to go at a polling station and cast their ballots in an early parliamentary election in the northern Serb-dominated part of ethnically divided town of Mitrovica, Kosovo, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Bojan Slavkovic)

A voter arrives at a polling station in an early parliamentary election in the northern Serb-dominated part of ethnically divided town of Mitrovica, Kosovo, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Bojan Slavkovic)

A voter prepares her ballot at a polling station in an early parliamentary election in the northern Serb-dominated part of ethnically divided town of Mitrovica, Kosovo, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Bojan Slavkovic)

People walk past a giant banner of the leader of VV (Selfdetermination) political party Albin Kurti, in the capital Pristina on Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)

People waiting in the iluminated bus station with banners of LDK (Democratic League of Kosovo) leader Lumir Abdixhiku in capital Pristina on Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)