Iceye Releases Under 1 Meter Resolution SAR Satellite Imagery

Iceye radar satellite imagery compared with Copernicus Sentinel-2 optical imaging. ICEYE’s imaging here has been acquired and processed at 0.5-meter ground sample distance, featuring a port container terminal near Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Photo: Iceye

Iceye, a provider of small satellite synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) technology, was the first company to achieve better than 1 meter resolution imagery from under-100 kilograms (kg) SAR satellites. The new Spotlight imaging capability builds on Iceye’s previous work. With new satellites being launched still during 2019, Iceye continues to develop and optimize its imaging capabilities further for customers in both commercial and government segments.

ICEYE’s newly deployed Spotlight imaging mode enables under 1 meter radar imaging from the company’s satellites. With Spotlight imaging, the satellite focuses its energy on a smaller area for a longer time, resulting in more data received from the same location. This in turn can be processed into more detailed imagery.

“Offering satellite imagery day and night, regardless of cloud cover, and at these very high resolutions, makes small SAR the new standard for reliable and timely imaging,” said Rafal Modrzewski, CEO and co-founder of ICEYE. “The imagery we’ve released today shows that the previously perceived limits of small satellite SAR continue to be solved by our extremely talented teams at ICEYE.”