Satellite Company Iceye Launches 25cm Resolution Satellite

Highest Resolution in the Industry... Possession of 34 Satellites

A nighttime satellite image of aircraft at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base located in Tucson, Arizona, USA, captured at 50cm resolution by Iceye's Spot Fine. (Photo by Iceye)

Finnish satellite company ICEYE has launched three additional Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellites. The resolution is industry-leading at 25cm class.

On the 6th, ICEYE announced that three SAR satellites were launched on the 4th (U.S. local time) from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, USA, aboard the rideshare Transporter-10. The launch vehicle is owned by SpaceX. After reaching orbit, the launched satellites successfully established communication with other satellites.

Among the launched SAR satellites, two were manufactured by ICEYE's U.S. subsidiary. One is an in-orbit technology demonstration model made by ICEYE Finland. The demonstration model can capture high-resolution images up to 25cm through a 1,200MHz radar bandwidth. ICEYE plans to deploy this demonstration model immediately for commercial service after testing.

SAR is a radar system that sequentially emits radar waves from the air or space toward the ground and ocean, then processes the slight parallax of the radar waves reflected from curved surfaces to observe the surface and detect targets. The biggest advantage is that it can be used not only during the day but also at night or in bad weather because it uses radar. It is also useful for identifying fake weapons or tracking the movement of enemy troops and equipment.

The role of civilian SAR satellites was also prominent in the Ukraine war. Until now, SAR satellites have mainly been used by government and military agencies. Since 2022, Ukraine has been operating one of ICEYE's ultra-small SAR satellites from Finland.

Oleksii Reznikov, then Ukraine’s Minister of Defense, introduced the effectiveness of SAR satellites via social media early in the war, saying, "During the first two days of satellite operation, the enemy (Russian forces) tried to camouflage in forest areas, but more than 60 combat vehicles were detected," adding, "This was possible because ICEYE satellites collected information using SAR technology. Camouflaged equipment is very difficult or impossible to detect with optical satellites."

Some argue that to properly respond to North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, SAR satellites, especially small and ultra-small SAR satellites, must be actively utilized. North Korea is rapidly increasing the number of missile mobile launchers to deceive the South Korean and U.S. militaries and to undermine the Korean-style three-axis system. In particular, it repeatedly conducts surprise launches at unexpected locations such as reservoirs and railways during vulnerable times like nighttime. Methods to deceive South Korean and U.S. reconnaissance means are also diversifying. The number of various missile mobile launchers was about 100 in the past but is estimated to have increased to over 200 in recent years.

Rafal Modrzewski, CEO of ICEYE, stated, "Through the increased satellite constellation, we provide objective and reliable information that can respond more quickly and accurately to changes occurring anywhere on Earth," adding, "With the launch of the 1200MHz bandwidth technology demonstration satellite, it is now possible to capture SAR images with 25cm resolution, enabling detailed remote sensing and providing customers with top-level clarity."

Since 2018, ICEYE has launched 34 satellites to date. It operates the world's largest SAR constellation capable of capturing any location on the Earth's surface under any environmental conditions, whether day or night.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.