The first satellite of the Google-backed FireSat constellation successfully entered orbit over the weekend, launching a new era in forest fire detection and monitoring.
The constellation will keep a close eye on forest fires. When the constellation is fully operational, more than 50 satellites will be able to image almost the entire Earth’s surface every 20 minutes. At the initial stage, the constellation will consist of only three satellites, and after commissioning in 2026, it will visit every point on the globe twice a day.
The first satellite was built by Muon Space and launched aboard the SpaceX Transporter 13 mission on March 14 from the Vandenberg Space Force Base. The sensor suite consists of six-band multispectral infrared cameras that are configured to detect forest fires from a distance.
Today, forest fire tracking mostly relies on aerial photography from airplanes or low-resolution satellite imagery that has been processed for this task. The former are expensive, limiting the frequency of their updates, while the latter suffer from low resolution and sensors not adapted to detect fires.
The FireSate constellation is designed to solve both of these problems. The constellation produces images with a five-meter resolution, and when fully operational, it will provide firefighters with updated information on the location and behavior of fires in near real time.
The constellation is the result of a joint effort by Muon Space and the Earth Fire Alliance, a nonprofit organization supported by Google, Muon Space, the Environmental Defense Fund, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and the Minder Foundation.
