Breaking the 15 Minutes Barrier from Acquisition to Delivery for SAR Imaging

ICEYE and KSAT Announce joint work on direct downlink capabilities for ICEYE constellation to push the boundaries of synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) image delivery timelines.

PR Newswire

HELSINKI, June 6, 2019

HELSINKI, June 6, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — ICEYE, the leader in small synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) satellite technology, currently providing commercial imaging with the ICEYE-X2 satellite, and Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT), announced today their joint offering of full SAR Ground Segment services to ICEYE SAR satellite constellation customers. This collaborative service enables timelines as short as 15 minutes from image acquisition to processed SAR image delivery for government customers globally.

Illustration of KSAT and ICEYE timeline from image acquisition to processed SAR image delivery.

“We are excited to be working with ICEYE to provide our customers enhanced capabilities in SAR imaging,” said Jan Petter Pedersen, Senior Vice President at KSAT. “The timelines involved in rapid imaging, downlinking and processing require new types of solutions. The combined SAR Ground Segment of ICEYE and KSAT is here to change the way customers think about the timeliness of the data they can use.”

The current market capabilities and timelines for gaining access to commercial SAR imagery can easily vary from several hours to several days, if not weeks, for the complete chain of delivery. For many use cases such long timelines are prohibitive, as the imagery would then be too old by the time it is received for it to be useful. There has long existed a need to shrink these timelines to be closer to instantaneous, but due to the way SAR imaging and processing is performed, it has been difficult to attain globally. ICEYE and KSAT’s joint SAR Ground Segment offering enables access to a new level of service quality for SAR users worldwide.

ICEYE is currently delivering SAR data to government and commercial customers using its ICEYE-X2 satellite in orbit. In addition to launching up to 5 more SAR satellites throughout 2019, the company has developed a new generation of an on-site SAR processor available for its customers. KSAT is the first ICEYE partner that has installed the newly developed ICEYE SAR processor for direct downlink capabilities, gaining the ability to offer its customers an unparalleled access to ICEYE SAR satellite constellation data. KSAT is developing new ground station capabilities and expanding their ground station network globally.

“ICEYE is proud to continue to break the boundaries of what’s possible with its proprietary SAR technology,” said Rafal Modrzewski, CEO and co-founder of ICEYE. “Working with KSAT has enabled us to provide even better services for our customers. The next step for ICEYE is to enable direct tasking of its commercially available constellation, providing users with even better capabilities.”

About ICEYE
ICEYE is commercially operating its own commercial constellation of small SAR satellites, with ICEYE-X2 satellite data available to customers and up to 5 more satellites scheduled for launch this year. ICEYE empowers its partners to make better decisions in governmental and commercial industries by providing access to timely and reliable radar satellite imagery. The company is tackling this crucial lack of actionable information with world-first aerospace capabilities and a New Space approach. ICEYE’s radar satellite imaging service, with coverage of selected areas every few hours, both day and night, helps clients resolve challenges in sectors such as maritime, disaster management, insurance, and finance. For more information, please visit: www.iceye.com

About KSAT
Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT) is the leading provider of communication services for spacecraft and launch vehicles from their uniquely located global ground network. KSAT’s network today spans over 180 antennas at 21 sites across the globe (including Pole to Pole coverage from Antarctica to the Arctic), and is constantly expanding. KSAT is proud to be the behind-the-scenes bridge back to Earth, supporting the vast majority of space companies, agencies, and start-ups. Furthermore, KSAT provides a variety of products derived from both Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and high-resolution optical satellite data. The key focus is maritime situational awareness, which includes Near Real-Time (NRT) vessel detection and oil spill monitoring, ice monitoring and other related services. Please visit: www.ksat.no

ICEYE-X2 radar satellite image of Singapore.