Ordering

Tasking tiers — regular, priority, speculative

Three commercial tiers determine how aggressively the satellite operator chases your acquisition window.

Fig. 1 Tasking tiers trade flexibility for price. Speculative wins the cheapest capture but forfeits control over the acquisition window; Regular pins a specific date range; Priority buys first-available opportunity (jumping the queue). Success rate under weather risk varies by tier, because longer windows give more chances to find a clear pass.

Regular tasking

You have a wide window — typically 7 to 30 days, or simply 'as soon as possible' — and accept standard queue position. The cheapest option, right for monitoring, baseline mapping, and any work that is not time-critical. The tradeoff is sharing the satellite's attention with every other regular order in the area.

Priority tasking

The order jumps the queue. First claim on the next viable opportunity over the AOI, ahead of regular orders. More expensive because we are displacing other paying orders. The right answer when the window is tight (24–72 hours), when the event is time-sensitive (disaster response, a construction milestone, a crop growth stage), or when a single missed opportunity has real commercial consequences.

Speculative tasking

The satellite will try to capture if it has spare capacity, but with no guarantee. You pay only on successful delivery (or at a reduced rate). The right answer for price-sensitive work with flexible timing — essentially 'if you can get it cheap, I'll take it.'

How to choose

Window length is the fastest signal. Wide window → regular. Tight window (24–72 hours) → priority. No window and no urgency → speculative.