Finnish based microsatellite company ICEYE has agreed to a deal with the Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation to provide the Ukrainian government with access to the company’s satellite systems in orbit, meeting a much requested need from Ukraine.
Per the agreement, ICEYE will transfer full capabilities of one of its Synthetic-aperture Radar (SAR) satellites to the Government of Ukraine for intelligence use against Russian and Russian-backed forces. The company noted, however, that they will continue to maintain and operate the satellites while allowing the Ukrainian Armed Forces access to radar satellite imagery for military operations.
ICEYE is known for their synthetic-aperture radar development, having received the Finnish Engineering Award, as well as grants from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 program for their success in the field. Their small radar imaging satellites can take high-resolution images during any time of day and through any weather conditions, marking an incredible advancement over traditional satellite imagery.
Synthetic-aperture radar is a type of radar that creates two-dimensional images or three-dimensional reconstructions of objects by emitting successive pulses of radio waves which highlight a location. The echo of each pulse is received and recorded via multiple antennas, which are then combined to give an extremely clear picture of a location.
ICEYE has already successfully used this technique to track ice shifting in the arctic and has several satellites in use by the Brazilian Air Force (Força Aérea Brasileira).
“With this agreement, ICEYE further builds on its efforts to provide objective data and technological support to Ukraine. We firmly believe SAR technology and its capabilities will continue to add significant value to the Government of Ukraine, now enabled by the work of the Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation,” said Rafal Modrzewski, CEO of ICEYE.
– Authored by GoodHistory contributor Joshua Paulo
