The Argentine nanosatellite company Satellogic is collaborating with Ukraine against the Russian invasion, sending images from outer space to monitor the movements of the Russian Army in Ukrainian territory, the company said March 4, 2022.
Satellogic, viaTwitter, said it was working with the Ukrainian government, the United States, members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and nongovernmental organizations on the ground to ensure that they have access to information necessary to protect the lives of Ukrainian citizens and residents.
“We are committed to providing time-critical, high-resolution coverage across Ukraine and surrounding areas impacted by the Russian invasion,” Satellogic said. “We will not engage parties restricted or sanctioned under U.S. government and NATO member law.”
According to the Argentine news site Infobae, Earth observation allows Satellogic to see how the environment changes and therefore to access critical information to anticipate emergency events for companies and governments.
“Satellogic is providing its Daily Collection Access service to the Ukrainian government and allied nations. This service delivers a direct stream of high-resolution satellite imagery collections over Ukraine’s sovereign territory as well as neighboring areas of interest. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has spread across the country, targeting multiple cities and critical infrastructure. High resolution satellite imagery offers detailed visibility at a scale to monitor military movement, assess post-event damage, plan civilian evacuation routes, and evaluate effective distribution of resources,” the company said in a statement.
On March 1, via Twitter, Ukrainian Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov called on Earth observation companies to make their data available to the Ukrainian government as soon as possible, especially data from synthetic aperture radars (SAR) that can operate day and night and are able to see through clouds and rain. “Appeal to the global remote sensing firms and organizations to provide real-time SAR data to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine with actionable intelligence,” he said.
Satellogic was among the companies that stepped up to provide support. On March 14, the U.S. geospatial analysis software company Astraea announced the launch of the Ukraine Observer portal, in collaboration with Satellogic, for partner governments and humanitarian organizations that want to intervene on Ukraine’s behalf in the conflict.
According to the statement, Ukraine Observer users can detect damage and military presence; monitor critical infrastructure; identify safe transportation routes; coordinate the safe movement of resources and goods; and locate hospitals, transport lines, and other places of interest.