Urban Sky Secures NASA Grant for Wildfire Monitoring System Using Stratospheric Balloons

Urban Sky, a startup in the field of high-resolution imagery through stratospheric balloons, has won a NASA’s Earth Science Technology Office grant to develop an advanced wildfire monitoring system, worth approximately $2.6 million over three years.

The innovative project will utilize Urban Sky’s stratospheric balloons equipped with advanced sensors to detect and monitor wildfires, relaying crucial information to firefighters on the ground. This initiative builds on the company’s earlier achievements under a NASA Small Business Innovation Research award, which focused on developing a small thermal infrared sensor tested on its balloons.

"Under the new award, Urban Sky and its partners will improve the geolocation accuracy of the sensor and add the ability to downlink images it takes, rather than just temperature data," - Andrew Antonio, CEO of Urban Sky

Additionally, a new communications system developed by mobile mesh networking company goTenna will enable the sensor to transmit data directly to field-based firefighters.

The payloads, designed for both detection mode to identify new wildfires and perimeter mapping mode to monitor fire growth, will enhance the responsiveness and accuracy of wildfire monitoring. Unlike satellite-based systems, Urban Sky’s stratospheric balloons offer higher resolution imagery and quicker deployment capabilities.

“Where we have the winds, we can hover for days. We can park a balloon over a fire risk region for several days.” - Andrew Antonio, CEO of Urban Sky

Urban Sky’s system promises to deliver thermal infrared imagery at a resolution of 3.5 meters, a significant improvement over satellite imagery. This capability, combined with the balloons' ability to loiter in the atmosphere, makes the system highly responsive and persistent, offering a critical tool for state and federal wildfire response agencies. Private entities, such as insurance companies, may also benefit from the system to assess fire risk.

The NASA project team includes Urban Sky, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Chapman University, the University of Colorado Boulder’s Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, goTenna, and the U.S. Air Force Wildland Fire Branch.

Urban Sky’s wildfire monitoring system is a natural progression of its high-resolution imaging work from its microballoon platform. The company raised $9.75 million in a Series A round in October 2023 to support this expansion and currently operates several balloons weekly.

"The Department of Defense is interested in a rapidly deployable stratospheric system," - Andrew Antonio, CEO of Urban Sky

Urban Sky could provide the entire system, including sensors, or just the balloon platform, allowing the military to install its own payloads.

“We started this company to create this tactical stratospheric capability...and that has proven itself out where we now have a very mature platform.” - Andrew Antonio, CEO of Urban Sky

Urban Sky’s advancements signal a promising future for wildfire detection and monitoring, potentially transforming how these disasters are managed and mitigated.