ST. LOUIS — A new generation of Earth monitoring satellites is emerging to help responders detect and react to wildfires more quickly.
Muon Space, which launched its FireSat protoflight mission in March, is developing a dedicated constellation of satellites to track wildfires globally in near real-time. The company is working with the nonprofit Earth Fire Alliance to build out the “FireSat” network in low Earth orbit (LEO). These satellites are equipped with multispectral electro-optical and infrared (EO/IR) sensors.
“This would be the first dedicated constellation designed to global wildfire detection and response,” Brian Collins, executive director of the Earth Fire Alliance, said May 18 at the GEOINT Symposium. Collins described FireSat as part of a layered sensing ecosystem that includes ground sensors, aircraft, and now satellites.
“With a long-term goal to deploy as many as 50 FireSats, that would enable a 15-minute revisit rate across the planet,” he said. “So we can see the fire move and we can move resources accordingly.”
Muon’s FireSat platform is designed for dual-use applications, serving both civilian disaster response and national security needs. The company is also working with the National Reconnaissance Office to evaluate its EO/IR sensors for defense use.
But the technology still faces bottlenecks, particularly in translating raw satellite data into useful insights for first responders.
“One of the challenges… is that while sensors can collect increasingly detailed data, there are not enough tools to analyze the information and make it immediately accessible to operators such as first-responder organizations,” said Muon Space CEO and co-founder Jonny Dyer. “These operations need actionable data… I don’t think we’ve solved that problem.”
Dyer sees artificial intelligence as a key part of the solution, though he cautioned that the speed of analysis is still a limiting factor.
The broader Earth monitoring industry is also looking at ways to support wildfire response through alternative sensing methods. Synthetic aperture radar (SAR), which can penetrate smoke and see through cloud cover, is increasingly used in disaster scenarios.
Madison Creeden, director of business development at Iceye US, the American arm of Finnish SAR satellite operator Iceye, said better coordination between satellite providers and emergency agencies is needed. She pointed to procurement delays as a persistent problem.
“The geoint community could encourage more proactive response to disasters,” Creeden said at GEOINT. Agencies often don’t start the contracting process until after a disaster has begun, she noted, which slows down access to critical data. Creeden also called for more training within emergency services to integrate satellite-derived data into field operations.
Increasing investment
The wildfire detection satellite sector is attracting increasing investment and international competition. Germany’s OroraTech recently announced a new funding round and opened its U.S. headquarters in Denver, Colorado. With 10 satellites already in orbit, the company said its Denver office will serve as a central hub connecting U.S. emergency services, utility providers, and government agencies with its wildfire mapping and analysis platform.
OroraTech’s approach combines data from its own 10 small satellites with public information from more than 30 satellites in low Earth orbit and geostationary orbit, creating a comprehensive monitoring network.
With climate change driving larger and more frequent fires, former Cal Fire official Christopher Anthony said space-based tools are becoming essential. “Technological advancements in space-based monitoring are needed due to the increasing scale and scope of wildfire disasters,” he said.
