Near Space Labs is launching in California, including Sacramento, the Bay Area, and Fresno. The team is excited to use their innovative high-resolution Earth imaging balloon vehicles to tackle some of the Golden State’s biggest challenges.
In 2020, California faced its worst wildfire season on record. By assessing past wildfire sites and monitoring future areas of concern, Near Space Labs is part of the solution. Their Swift aerial vehicles are uniquely designed with cameras that can capture up to 270 square miles of imagery at 22 cm per pixel resolution in a single pass. This highly detailed data can lend support to heads of conservation, government planning departments, fire departments, and land trusts to prevent future wildfires and accelerate the recovery of past wildfire sites.
Wildfires are not the only challenge that California is currently facing. Urban growth offers complex challenges of its own. Because the Swifts can be launched multiple times per day, they can offer near real-time aerial infrastructure monitoring. The insurance industry can leverage this data to track developments in wildfire-prone zones, monitor the development of neighborhoods, and make sure houses are not being built in flood zones.
Cities of all sizes also face challenges when it comes to urban growth. Because the Swift vehicles are not tied to a satellite’s orbital schedule or an airplane’s availability, Near Space Labs can get municipal governments the imagery they need exactly when they need it. With a high-resolution bird’s eye view of a city’s water systems and utility grids, municipal governments big and small can assess the needs of their citizenry and make plans for future growth.
“We see so much opportunity to do good with our imagery in California,” says Near Space Labs CEO Rema Matevosyan. “With half the state burning every year and first responders using low quality maps to monitor forests and wildfires, there is space for our detailed imagery to help improve catastrophe planning and responses. In parallel, insurance companies are losing about $20B a year on claims and no one — from the insurer to the insured — is happy about it. Improving everyone’s experience with high-quality imagery is something we’re very excited about.”
The challenges of the last year have accelerated Near Space Labs’ commitment to accessibility. The Swift technology fits in a container the size of a suitcase, making it easy and cost effective to ship and deploy. No need to wait on satellites or drones. Near Space Labs is ready to fly in California.
