SEATTLE — Inside an office in this city’s South Lake Union neighborhood, engineers in lab coats fuss over a contraption unlike the usual creations flowing from Amazon, Facebook and other technology companies with offices nearby.

It’s a satellite the size of a large duffel bag that will be lobbed into orbit in August, as part of a constellation of cameras that will take aerial pictures of Earth and deliver them to customers faster and cheaper than in the past. The company building it, Spaceflight Industries, is one of a growing number of start-ups springing up in Seattle for the same reasons the area has been so hospitable to internet and software companies.

“It’s about software, big data, and it’s about capital,” said Jason Andrews, the chief executive of Spaceflight, which also arranges “ride-shares” — think Uber for rockets — for small satellites to tag along on bigger missions. “Seattle is an epicenter for all three.”