GRSG 34th Conference 2023
Title: First results from SatVu’s new high-resolution mid-wave thermal infrared (MWIR) HotSat-1
Author: Xu Teo
Our mission at SatVu (formerly Satellite Vu) is to capture the highest resolution thermal data from space, contributing to a safer and more sustainable Earth.
On 12 June 2023, the team took a giant leap towards this mission with the successful launch of our first mid-wave thermal infrared (MWIR) satellite, HotSat-1. The launch was carried out aboard Transporter-8, a SpaceX Falcon-9 rocket, from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, USA. The satellite was placed into a sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 525 km. HotSat-1 has now completed commissioning and begun commercial operations, serving data to customers via our self-serve portal. Our MWIR sensor offers a unique perspective of the world, imaging at an unprecedented resolution of 3.5 m, at both day and night, and is a significant improvement over any commercially available space-based thermal sensor.
This technological advancement opens a plethora of new applications. In industrial monitoring, the ability to discern whether a furnace is active by observing its thermal signature could provide valuable insights into a plant’s overall activity. In climate applications, identifying thermal variations at the street level in urban areas could aid in the identification of urban heat islands (UHI) down to the street level. In defence and intelligence, detecting unauthorized activities at power plants could enhance national security. In this presentation, we will showcase some of the images captured by HotSat-1 and discuss how they are being utilized in these use cases.
Our mission at SatVu (formerly Satellite Vu) is to capture the highest resolution thermal data from space, contributing to a safer and more sustainable Earth.
On 12 June 2023, the team took a giant leap towards this mission with the successful launch of our first mid-wave thermal infrared (MWIR) satellite, HotSat-1. The launch was carried out aboard Transporter-8, a SpaceX Falcon-9 rocket, from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, USA. The satellite was placed into a sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 525 km. HotSat-1 has now completed commissioning and begun commercial operations, serving data to customers via our self-serve portal. Our MWIR sensor offers a unique perspective of the world, imaging at an unprecedented resolution of 3.5 m, at both day and night, and is a significant improvement over any commercially available space-based thermal sensor.
This technological advancement opens a plethora of new applications. In industrial monitoring, the ability to discern whether a furnace is active by observing its thermal signature could provide valuable insights into a plant’s overall activity. In climate applications, identifying thermal variations at the street level in urban areas could aid in the identification of urban heat islands (UHI) down to the street level. In defence and intelligence, detecting unauthorized activities at power plants could enhance national security. In this presentation, we will showcase some of the images captured by HotSat-1 and discuss how they are being utilized in these use cases.