A Ukrainian TV host and producer turned fundraiser purchased a surveillance satellite that he has given to the country's armed forces to provide real-time battlefield images to assist in its war with Russia.
Serhiy Prytula led a crowdfunding campaign that raised $20 million in three days to purchase three Turkish-made battle drones. When the manufacturer, Baykar Defense, instead gave the drones free to Ukraine, the Serhiy Prytula Charitable Foundation instead used the money to purchase the surveillance satellite as well as access to data from the ICEYE satellite constellation, the organization announced on its Facebook page.
"My dear Ukrainians — you're cosmic," the post by Prytula read. "Our armed forces will now have rapid access to high quality satellite images which will help them plan and respond to threats faster and more effectively."
The agreement with ICEYE essentially hands ownership of one of the company's satellites to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine as well as access to the data from its other satellites. The purchased satellite is already in orbit in the required region.
Defense Ministry Intelligence Directorate spokesperson Andriy Yusov explained that Ukraine has been relying on Western allies and their own satellite intelligence.
"We, of course, had a lot of satellite data already. But any help is appreciated and will certainly strengthen our positions. This is a huge plus," Yusov said.
A press release from ICEYE expounded on the capabilities of their satellites. Most Earth observation satellites struggle with producing high quality images if the area is covered in clouds or during nighttime.
"ICEYE's small radar imaging satellites can form high-resolution images of areas of the Earth in daylight, at night, and through cloud cover. In other words, they can collect images and data from any part of the Earth multiple times a day, with the necessary reliability for critical decision making," read the press release.
With 21 successful launches, ICEYE has the world's largest fleet of commercial synthetic aperture, or SAR, satellites, which can produce two- and three-dimensional images.
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