A satellite system for detecting forest fires has started operating in Ukraine

The Ukrainian satellite system for early detection of forest fires has started operating, reports Militarnyi.

Volodymyr Taftai, Head of the State Space Agency of Ukraine (SSAU), said on his Facebook page that a satellite system for early detection of forest fires was put into operation in Ukraine.

The satellite system began operation in May 2021.

Volodymyr Taftai also told how it works:

“American satellites – Suomi NPP and JPSS-1 – photograph the territory of Ukraine 14 times a day. And if (as soon as) detect the so-called “thermal anomaly” – that is, fire – the early notification algorithm works.”

“We receive information from the National Space Management and Testing Center, process it, and plot the accurate coordinates on a map”, – Taftai wrote.

According to the head of the SSAU, the leaders of the nearest community, foresters and rescuers within 30 minutes of fixing the fire with the satellite will have detailed data on the fire, the map and will be able to start extinguishing in the initial stages, save human lives, property, animals and, in fact, tens of thousands of hectares of forest.

The report states that the accuracy of the data received is up to 90%, which is a very high indicator. The system works 24/7/365.

Now 14 regions of Ukraine are connected to the system, mainly southern, northern and western regions.

The state space agency plans to connect the rest of the country’s regions to the system in early 2022.

We remind, that the Ukrainian “Sich-2-30” remote Earth sensing satellite at the beginning of the current month, completed all the planned tests and the passage of customs formalities, December 5, was sent to the United States where it will be launched into space.