52 satellites working in concert to detect wildfires globally.
Satellite Constellation: A group of satellites working together as a system. Unlike a single bus that comes once a day, a constellation is like a subway system—there is always another train coming. FireSat uses 52 satellites to ensure no fire burns unseen for more than 20 minutes.
Satellite Constellation on Wikipedia ↗Experiment with Orbital Planes.
Orbital Inclination (i): The angle of the orbit relative to the equator.
• 0° = Equatorial (Follows the belt).
• 90° = Polar (Crosses the poles).
We use 53° because it focuses the satellites over populated land (where fires happen) rather than the empty ice caps.
Balance parameters to minimize Revisit Time (tracker above clock).
Swath Angle (θ): How wide the camera sees.
Phasing (Δv): Staggering planes like a zipper.
Revisit Time Formula: Time ≈ 1000 / Number_of_Satellites
Ideally, doubling satellites halves the wait time.
Swath Width: The width of the strip the satellite scans. Wider swaths mean we need fewer passes to cover the Earth.
Phasing: Ensuring the gaps in one orbit are covered by the next orbit.
The Fire Information for Resource Management System aggregates data from multiple orbits.
| System | Orbit | Revisit |
|---|---|---|
| GOES-R | GEO | 5-10 min |
| FireSat | LEO (Mesh) | ~20 min |
| VIIRS | LEO (Polar) | ~12 hours |
Orbits:
• LEO (Low): Close to Earth (fast, detailed photos).
• GEO (Geostationary): Far out (matches Earth rotation, stares at one spot).
FIRMS uses LEO for detail and GEO for speed. FireSat tries to get the best of both by using many small LEO satellites.
Earth is now in Thermal Mode.
"Fire Channel". Wildfires (600-1000K) emit peak energy here.
Electromagnetic Spectrum: Light is a wave. Our eyes see "Visible" light. Heat is "Infrared" light. Fire satellites wear "night vision goggles" tuned specifically to the color of heat (~3.7 microns) to spot fires even through smoke.
Infrared on Wikipedia ↗Hotter objects emit light at shorter wavelengths.
Wien's Displacement Law: λmax = 2898 / Temperature
As things get hotter, they change color from Red -> Orange -> White -> Blue. A 1000 Kelvin fire peaks at 2.9 microns (Invisible Infrared), which is why we need special sensors.
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