Two young innovators from Poland and Finland have built one of the world’s best satellite systems. The radar sensors of ICEYE monitor oil spills, hurricanes and forest fires from an altitude of 600 km. The nanosatellites detect illegal loggers, collect data on flooding, and keep an eye on the movements of military equipment.
Even through cloud cover and in the middle of the night, the small satellites deliver ultra-precise detailed images. They identify aircraft types at hostile airports. The eyes of ICEYE track suspicious ship movements across vast stretches of ocean.
The fourth generation of satellites currently in orbit (weight: 200 kg) improves the resolution from 25 cm to 16 cm. “And that’s not the end of it”, says Damon Ollomon, one of the vice presidents of ICEYE, in an interview with Euronews.
The ICEYE team in Helsinki is particularly proud of its rapid response time. “We can deliver images within two hours, and we aim to reduce that to less than ten minutes”, said Ollomon.
ICEYE currently operates a constellation of more than 70 satellites in Earth orbit. “We produce 25 satellites a year and are now increasing this to 50 per year”, says Ollomon.
ICEYE was founded in 2014, and start-up capital was provided by the EU. The company has subsidiaries in Poland, Spain, Germany, and Greece, among others, and employs around 1,000 people from 70 countries. Last year, ICEYE achieved a turnover of EUR 250 million.
In an interview with Euronews, Pekka Laurila, one of the founders of ICEYE, offered a piece of advice to the EU: “Take risks and put ambitious plans into action immediately – not 10 years from now. Europe has resources. So at the very least, we should aim to become the best in the world. Take this seriously!”