Flagstaff scientists and engineers are developing a plan to launch a network of wildfire-detecting satellites into space. They’re now semifinalists in a global competition.
The team proposes to put a ‘constellation’ of 90 small satellites into Earth orbit equipped with heat-seeking sensors built at Northern Arizona University. The network would continuously monitor wildfire-prone areas in parts of the Southwest including Flagstaff and the Pacific Northwest, Canada, and Alaska.
Project lead David Trilling says it will cost $100 million.
"Which for you and me and my checkbook is a lot of money," Trilling said. " Compared to the cost of fighting fires, the insurance costs and damages and loss of life and all of that, it’s a tiny, tiny, tiny amount."
The team will demonstrate the project’s potential on a simulated wildfire next April, competing against 19 other semifinalists in the XPrize Wildfire Competition. The winner will receive $11 million.
