French company to double the number of satellites for maritime surveillance

The French company Unseenlabs has raised $92 million from investors to double its group of nanosatellites to 25, and to be able to track ships in near real time.

Here's What We Know

In addition to expanding the number of satellites in low Earth orbit over the next few years, the funds raised will allow Unseenlabs to increase its global presence, particularly in the US and Asia, and improve the capabilities of its radio frequency geolocation network.

According to Clement Galic, CEO, their network currently monitors signals from ships across the world's oceans every four to six hours. And plans to create a constellation of more than 20 satellites will reduce the update time to about 30 minutes.

The satellites are designed to receive passive radio waves from radars and other electronic systems on a ship, allowing states to track illegal activities such as smuggling even if onboard automatic identification systems are turned off.

The French have raised more than $130 million since its inception, in nine years.

Source: Spacenews