The satellites are the first phase of FireSat, a project designed to detect wildfires faster and provide firefighters with more detailed information about fire conditions on the ground.
"It's absolutely game-changing," said Keith Masback of the nonprofit Earth Fire Alliance.
Masback said the satellites use advanced infrared technology to improve wildfire detection and monitoring.
"These are cutting-edge, multi-spectral infra-red satellites," he said.
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Supporters point to recent destructive wildfires as examples of the challenges emergency responders face when visibility is limited by smoke and conditions change rapidly.
"Firefighters were fighting blind at times; it's difficult to fly drones, difficult to fly aircraft," Masback said.
He said the new system could provide critical information during active fires.
"If our satellites were up at that time, we would be able to see through that smoke and give at least some idea of what the situation was on the ground," Masback said. "...where is the fire hot, where is the fire cold, where is the fire moving, and where is the fire burned already."
Backed by $69 million in funding from the Bezos Earth Fund, Google, and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the first three FireSat satellites launched Tuesday.
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The satellites are the first step toward a network that could eventually grow to 50 satellites worldwide.
Project leaders said the satellites will collect high-resolution images of fires and ground conditions every 20 minutes.
"We will be able to see hot spots, hot fires down to the size of a two-car garage," Masback said.
The satellites were built by Muon Space, a Mountain View-based company.
"It's truly transformative," said Muon Space CEO Jonny Dyer. "Each of the three satellites we are launching, you can think about as the size of a dishwasher or a washing machine. They are about 250 pounds each. They unfold in orbit."
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Dyer said satellites can provide information that other wildfire-monitoring tools cannot.
"We see satellites as filling a key gap that other tools can't provide, which is persistent overhead visibility of these fires, especially early in their lifetime," he said.
Researchers also say the technology could significantly improve fire analysis.
"These new satellites will be much higher resolution, which will allow us to see the firefront shape and how it evolves, how it's burning through the forest and into communities at a much higher resolution," said Craig Clements of the Wildfire Research Center in San Jose.
Supporters say the FireSat project could provide firefighters, researchers and communities with new tools and information as they work to better understand and respond to wildfires.