As more and more companies launch their own satellites, the opportunities are growing for the use of the resulting data for disaster response applications.
Using networks of these small satellites, equipped with synthetic aperture radar (SAR), images can be produced capable of detecting even the most minute of changes on the ground, according to Space News. Applying these small changes, both predictions for flooding, earthquakes, and avalanches, and knowledge of the aftermath of disasters can be greatly improved. Speaking of the potential image quality, Robert Lauditi, managing director of commercial products at Harris Space and Intelligence Systems, told Space News: “You can see changes at a centimeter level, from space. It’s amazing.”
The imagery offers significant advantages over other data sources, as SAR is not affected by weather that might normally interfere with aerial observation of a disaster site.
Speaking at the GEOINT 2018 symposium in April, co-founder and vice president of Ursa Space Systems Julie Baker notes the growing advantages of SAR as satellite networks increase: “More frequent revisits mean more timely response for first responders…. Tornadoes come through at dusk after optical satellites have gone over, and it’s too windy for aerial systems. Radar can cut through clouds and work at night.”
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