Satellite Vu has announced plans to launch “the world’s highest resolution thermal imaging satellite” early next year.

It will partner with SpaceX to facilitate the launch. The mission will put the first of Satellite Vu’s seven satellites into a low-earth orbit.

The group of satellites will collect thermal data during the day and at night and can track the temperatures of the built and natural environment at any location on the planet. If successful, potential use cases for the data include:

• Gauging the energy efficiency of buildings
• Tracking the economic activity of countries
• Monitoring supply-chain disruptions
• Identifying insurance fraud

In September 2020, the firm told Neudata it was hoping to engage with early adopters from the buy-side to better understand the industry’s demand and requirements for its product. Its approach to collecting satellite data would differ from incumbents since it would attempt to capture the internal activity of buildings, which are typically obfuscated from view.

Photo by SpaceX on Unsplash