Founded in 2014, ICEYE is a tiny company that made just $100 million in revenue last year, but it owns a network of more than 30 small surveillance satellites weighing less than 100 kilograms.
ICEYE CEO Rafał Modrzewski pointed to Europe's problematic effort to build its own version of Starlink, called IRIS², as an example of what not to do. | Noam Galai/Getty Images for TechCrunch
The satellites are equipped with Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) sensors that scatter microwaves and measure the signals that bounce back, so unlike optical sensors they can work at night and in bad weather. Increased computing power allows the satellites to process images with an accuracy of about 50 centimeters.
The new orbital spy network would include SAR satellites as well as basic optical sensors and systems capable of picking up electromagnetic signals from things like cell phones.
The combined systems provide the capability to cover nearly every corner of the globe, something that is increasingly in demand by militaries and governments, especially in the wake of a deteriorating security environment following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and rising tensions with China.
“It takes this to another level because we can look at something every hour,” Modrzewski said of the benefits of high-density Earth observation. “It's no longer just intelligence agencies that can take advantage of this, it's going to be available to squadron leaders and medical personnel as well.”
Space Startups
The idea for ICEYE came from a project called Aalto-1, part of a joint venture launched a decade ago by the Aalto School of Business outside Helsinki and Stanford University, and it was designed to use SAR technology to monitor ice, hence the name.
