On October 29, 2024, Spire Global was awarded a concept study contract by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to develop future space-based wildfire detection capabilities for the United States. Spire, a global provider of space services, will partner with OroraTech, a leader in wildfire monitoring technologies.
The two companies have previously collaborated on the development of several satellites and are now expanding their partnership to deliver advanced solutions for wildfire monitoring, at NASA’s request. With wildfire events intensifying due to climate change, their combined expertise aims to support quicker, more accurate detection and response capabilities to help mitigate these growing challenges.
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A good partnership to face a major issue
Rising temperatures, prolonged drought periods, and other climate change-induced issues are significantly impacting the development of wildfire scenarios, which have long posed serious threats to ecosystem stability and human activities. Over the past two years, the devastating wildfires that have struck Canada, South America, western Amazonia, and various regions around the Mediterranean—especially Greece—have garnered substantial media attention.
The 2023 wildfires in Canada were the most extensive ever recorded in the country, with over 150,000 km² burned and more than 232,000 people evacuated. Similarly, the fires in Greece were the most devastating wildfires in the history of the European Union.
According to the data collected by the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), and published on August 14 in the “State of Wildfires” report, between 2023 and 2024, more than 3.9 million km² burned globally, with a 16% increase in fire carbon emissions compared to previous years.
Significant programs for wildfire monitoring from space are already active, notably the European CAMS and NASA’s FIRMS (Fire Information for Resource Management System), based on MODIS and VIIRS instruments. However, increasing challenges and the need for more accurate data require new wider, scalable, and low-cost solutions.
The partnership between Spire and OroraTech aims to accelerate the development of these new capabilities, enhancing response rapidity, by combining both players’ extensive experience in the sector.
“Current monitoring methods fall short during peak periods of fire intensity. By leveraging the transformative power of space-based technology and our partnership with OroraTech, we aim to close this gap and provide a scalable, low-cost solution for early wildfire detection and monitoring.”
— Peter Platzer, CEO of Spire Global
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About Spire Global and OroraTech
Spire Global is a leading global provider of space-based data, analytics, and space services, thanks to a large nanosatellite constellation. The latter is the world’s largest multi-purpose constellation, composed of more than 100 Low Earth Multi-Use Receiver (LEMUR) satellites, which observe Earth using radio frequency technology. Spire thus provides valuable data for maritime operations, aviation tracking, global security solutions, and environmental and weather monitoring.
The company, previously NanoSatisfi, was founded in 2012 in San Francisco, but rapidly expanded globally, establishing offices in the USA, Canada, Germany, UK, Luxembourg, and Singapore.
Founded in Germany, in 2018, OroraTech quickly established itself as a leading company in the development of space-based solutions for wildfire monitoring worldwide.
The company’s first satellite, FOREST-1, was launched in 2022, aboard SpaceX’s Transporter-3 rideshare mission. To date, OroraTech operates two satellites in orbit but plans to deploy a constellation of over 100 spacecraft in the coming years to meet the needs of governments and agencies with which it has already signed several agreements. For instance, in July of this year, the company was awarded a €20 million contract by the Greek government to build a national wildfire detection network.
