Overview
- SatVu’s HotSat-2, which is slated to ride a SpaceX Falcon 9 from California this week, is integrated for launch on the Transporter-16 rideshare mission.
- The UK-built craft carries high-resolution infrared sensors that can map heat through smoke and walls and spot fine details such as reactor pumps, generators, or a ship being loaded.
- SatVu says the imagery will help assess damage at oil and gas sites and track activity at nuclear facilities, though commercial access will start roughly two months after launch.
- The company is backed by £30 million from the NATO Innovation Fund and has contracts with the US, Japan, and European partners, yet it has no service contract with the UK government.
- High-end US thermal data is largely restricted within the Five Eyes intelligence alliance, so a commercial source could broaden sharing, though sales will follow UK embargo rules.