LiveEO launches Germany’s first commercial 3D satellite
Berlin-based Earth-observation specialist LiveEO has announced Twinspector, a purpose-built satellite constellation that the company says will deliver high-resolution, three-dimensional monitoring for critical infrastructure at scale.
The move marks a rare example of a vertically integrated German commercial space project designed specifically for utilities, transport operators and other infrastructure owners.
LiveEO positions Twinspector as the world’s first satellite constellation developed end-to-end to serve infrastructure monitoring use cases. The project began more than three years ago in stealth after customers repeatedly pushed back against the limits of existing satellite data for operational tasks such as vegetation management, pipeline surveillance and rail corridor resilience.
“Germany has everything it needs to take a leading role in space,” said Sven Przywarra, co-founder of LiveEO, in LiveEO’s press release. “With Twinspector, we are building a commercial satellite capability that strengthens Europe’s technological independence.”
LiveEO says Twinspector is being manufactured along a German supply chain with partners including Reflex Aerospace, Engineering Minds Munich and KTO. The company evaluated more than ten international suppliers before opting for domestic partners, arguing that local quality and sovereignty were decisive.
“In the end, the quality of the domestic supply chain convinced us, from the satellite platform to the optics,” said Daniel Seidel, co-founder of LiveEO, in the press release. “Germany has an impressive, often underestimated space capability. We are now pooling this strength to realize the world’s most powerful 3D camera.”
Reflex Aerospace’s CEO Walter Ballheimer emphasized the strategic angle: “For the technological sovereignty and resilience of Europe’s defense and space infrastructure, it is crucial that we retain the ability to produce and innovate ourselves in Germany and Europe,” he said in LiveEO’s release.
Twinspector’s camera is physically large — LiveEO describes it as equivalent to more than 1,000 CubeSats — and the constellation will run AI processing directly in orbit using multiple GPUs per satellite. That approach is intended to reduce latency and make large volumes of 3D data operationally usable for customers.
LiveEO highlights one capability as emblematic: the constellation can measure the height of 1.1 million trees with around one metre accuracy in less than one second. The company says that scale enables new workflows for risk prioritization, vegetation management and compliance.
Industry veterans involved in the project underline the customer-first design. “I have been involved in many commercial space missions, but Twinspector stands out for one decisive reason: the mission is driven by customer needs, not by technology,” said Manfred Krischke, who has prior experience launching the RapidEye constellation, in LiveEO’s press release.
LiveEO frames Twinspector as part of a broader push for independent access to high-resolution satellite data — a point that resonates in a geopolitical context where imagery availability can depend on foreign providers. The company has already cited customers such as Deutsche Bahn and E.ON and says the constellation will feed into its existing product stack — from vegetation-management tools to pipeline-monitoring services.
The company is also deepening a media partnership with WirtschaftsWoche. “In our 100th anniversary year, we are making our motto tangible: Think ahead. Move forward,” said Martin Dowideit, deputy editor-in-chief of WirtschaftsWoche, in LiveEO’s release.
LiveEO has presented Twinspector as both a commercial product and a strategic asset. For Berlin’s space and infrastructure tech scene, the real test will be how quickly the company converts 3D satellite capability into reliable, low-latency services that operators can deploy inside existing operational systems.
LiveEO’s announcement is an important signal: German companies are moving from data consumers to data sovereigns — and building the hardware to prove it.