The strategic partnership will, say the companies, help deliver advanced space-based surveillance capabilities to global customers. That is, using Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) real-time imaging over a larger area.
Moreover, on-board AIS (automatic identification system) will also correlate and validate the detection of ships.
Maritime monitoring
SSTL will make the satellites and Space Norway, a space services specialist, will lead the maritime monitoring. This will be for the Norwegian government, commercial entities, and other international third-parties.
“Our radar technology is designed to deliver the long-anticipated High Resolution Wide Swath (HRWS) imaging dream,” said Marte Kalveland, Director of Earth Observation and Innovation at SPN.
“Once operational, the satellites will offer a unique capacity for surveillance of large areas with a real-time high resolution, and we look forward to offering this to the global market.”
SAR
For its part, SSTL, highlighted the configurability of its spacecraft:
“This agreement expands SSTL’s Synthetic Aperture Radar portfolio and allows us to offer variants of this spacecraft to customers that require privacy and priority of service over their own Area of Interest,” said Andrew Cawthorne, its managing director.
The Norwegian state owns Space Norway.
Image: SSTL – (l-r) Andrew Cawthorne, SSTL, MD, Morten Tengs, Space Norway CEO
See also: USA-Norwegian Technology Safeguards Agreement boosts Andøya Spaceport
