WASHINGTON — Developers of wildfire detection satellites are moving beyond raw data delivery, adding tools that show firefighters and researchers when the satellites will actually pass over the areas they’re monitoring.
The nonprofit Earth Fire Alliance, which is funding the FireSat constellation, last month awarded a contract of undisclosed value to ExoAnalytic Solutions to create software that looks at satellite orbits and sensor coverage. The goal is to help fire response managers and scientists understand when space-based sensors will collect data in specific areas, and how that timing should shape operational decisions.
Earth Fire Alliance said, “Visualization tools that make data accessible and actionable regardless of the scale, geography, or resources of any organization” are key to making fire detection satellites usable.
FireSat is designed to detect, monitor and characterize wildfires anywhere on Earth using a constellation of low orbit satellites equipped with multispectral infrared sensors. Although such sensors can detect small ignitions and track fire behavior, their value depends largely on time. Without clear information about when satellites will observe a given area, respondents may incorrectly guess whether fresh data is imminent or just hours away.
Exoanalytic, which operates a commercial network of optical telescopes used to track satellites and debris, describes the effort as applying space situational awareness to disaster response. The company will build software that maps satellite orbits and Firesat’s wide, approximately 1,500 kilometer sensor swath, allowing users to view real-time and upcoming satellite tracks, observation footprints and areas of interest.
Software is being developed as containerized web applications, allowing it to be deployed across different environments and user groups. AxoAnalytic is creating two versions of the interface: a public-facing tool for the broader wildfire and policy community, and a secure interface for operational users who need more detailed information.
Firesat’s data is expected to serve multiple audiences. First responders and fire managers will gain earlier and more accurate awareness of ignitions and fire behavior, while researchers can build on rich historical datasets to refine models of fire spread and climate interactions.
Need to know ‘when’ satellites collect data
Sean Triplett, director of data integration and operations at the Earth Fire Alliance, said the lack of a shared interface remains a major gap in wildfire monitoring from space. “There are multiple satellites in orbit, including FireSat, that can detect, locate and monitor fire events on a global scale,” he said. “However, there is no collective interface that allows firefighters, fire managers and scientists to see when these satellites will pass over the areas they are working in or that they are monitoring. This visualization tool will support their operations by showing when the satellites will collect data over certain areas. This will help them plan and manage wildfire response.”
According to Triplett, the public interface will display the orbits of Firesat and other Earth observation satellites, while the secure interface will initially be limited to early adopters of the Earth Fire Alliance. The secure version will allow users to upload information such as active fire perimeters and receive both upcoming and historical satellite pass data.
Triplett said this capability could impact the way fires are managed. He cited the example of the wildfire burning in Kobuk Valley National Park, which poses no threat to communities or critical infrastructure. In such cases, managers may choose to support natural fire processes with limited resources. Using the secure interface, planners can see when satellite coverage is available and decide whether conditions require aircraft monitoring or whether satellite data alone is sufficient.
The Firesat constellation is still a work in progress. A prototype satellite built by Muon Space is slated for launch in March 2025, and the company released the first thermal infrared images from the spacecraft in June. The deployment of three Firesat satellites is planned for 2026, which Muon Space says will provide global coverage twice a day.
The long-term plan is to deploy 50 or more satellites around 2030, which would reduce revisit times to about 20 minutes or less in many fire-prone areas.
