You may not need a satellite yet. You need the answers one produces.
The open constellations already photograph every point on Earth every few days. Commercial tasking fills in the detail when a question demands it. What follows is our working inventory of what that data can answer: 1169 use cases, each documented with the sensors, the method, the honest limits and the deliverable. Every entry has a data sheet you can take to a procurement meeting.
- AIS dark vessel detection from orbit
- GNSS jamming zone mapping from space
- GNSS spoofing event detection and attribution
- Radar emitter geolocation from low Earth orbit
- Satellite communications interference source location
- VHF and UHF spectrum occupancy surveys from orbit
- ADS-B aircraft tracking from space
- EPIRB and PLB signal detection from orbit
- Push-to-talk VHF/UHF radio geolocation from space
- Radio frequency interference mapping in SAR imagery
- Shipborne radar activity monitoring from orbit
- Terrestrial LTE and GSM coverage mapping from LEO
- SAR-based vessel detection in open ocean
- AIS correlation and dark-ship detection
- RF emissions fingerprinting of vessels at sea
- Optical vessel classification by hull type
- Ship-to-ship transfer monitoring for sanctions evasion
- IUU fishing detection inside exclusive economic zones
- Night-light detection of squid and light-luring fishing fleets
- Port congestion measurement from anchorage vessel queues
- Anchorage dwell-time analysis for commodity flow intelligence
- Crude oil tanker load-status estimation from freeboard
- Oil slick and illegal bilge-dump detection using SAR
- Vessel wake analysis for speed and heading reconstruction
45 use cases
Agriculture and food security
Harvest forecasts that do not depend on the survey.
Open the category- Crop type classification from multispectral imagery
- Crop yield estimation using SAR and optical fusion
- Vegetation condition indices for agricultural drought monitoring
- Irrigated area mapping using SAR coherence and backscatter
- Root-zone soil moisture estimation for crop water status
- Planting date and crop establishment detection from dense time series
- Harvest progress monitoring at regional scale
- Desert locust breeding habitat risk mapping
- Crop disease and pest stress detection using hyperspectral sensing
- Pasture biomass and livestock carrying capacity estimation
- Satellite data integration for food security early warning systems
- Farm-level crop loss verification for index and indemnity insurance
45 use cases
Forestry and land cover
Four decades of archive make the chainsaw visible.
Open the category- Near-real-time deforestation alerts
- Illegal logging activity detection
- Forest degradation and sub-canopy damage mapping
- Carbon stock estimation and REDD+ verification
- Above-ground biomass estimation with SAR and lidar fusion
- Plantation species and age-class mapping
- National-scale land-cover classification
- Canopy height model derivation from spaceborne lidar
- Active fire detection and burned-area mapping
- Fire fuel load and fire-risk mapping
- Post-fire and post-disturbance forest recovery monitoring
- Mangrove extent and change detection
44 use cases
Water and hydrology
Reservoirs do not file honest reports. Radar altimeters do.
Open the category- Reservoir and lake surface-level monitoring by radar altimetry
- River discharge estimation from satellite observations
- Flood extent mapping with synthetic aperture radar
- Satellite data assimilation for flood forecasting
- Groundwater depletion detection using satellite gravimetry
- Snowpack extent and snow water equivalent from orbit
- Glacier mass balance and volume change monitoring
- Glacier surface velocity and ice-flow dynamics
- Irrigation withdrawal detection and agricultural water accounting
- Wetland inundation dynamics and long-term change detection
- Water turbidity and suspended sediment concentration mapping
- Harmful algal bloom and cyanobacteria detection in inland and coastal waters
- GNSS radio occultation for atmospheric profiling
- Tropospheric humidity retrieval from microwave sounders
- Aerosol optical depth mapping from multispectral imagers
- Saharan and Asian dust plume transport tracking
- Urban heat island intensity mapping from thermal infrared
- Sea-surface temperature retrieval for oceanography and fisheries
- Sea-level rise measurement from radar altimetry
- Ice-sheet mass balance from satellite gravimetry
- Ice-sheet surface elevation change from photon-counting lidar
- Stratospheric ozone column monitoring for treaty verification
- Atmospheric CO₂ and CH₄ column measurement for climate-treaty datasets
- Global lightning climatology from optical sensors in geostationary orbit
45 use cases
Emissions and pollution enforcement
Methane appears in TROPOMI, not in the annual report.
Open the category- Methane point-source attribution from orbit
- Routine gas flaring volume quantification
- NO2 column mapping over industrial facilities
- SO2 emissions monitoring at smelters and cement plants
- Coal power plant activity inference from multi-signal fusion
- Oil spill detection and extent mapping with SAR
- Oil spill thickness and type estimation from optical sensors
- Fugitive methane detection at municipal landfills
- NO2 and SO2 attribution to international shipping corridors
- Floating plastic and marine debris detection from orbit
- Aerosol optical depth attribution to industrial sources
- Illegal waste burning and field-fire detection via thermal anomaly
45 use cases
Energy and commodities
The oil market's secrets sit in plain view, photographed twice a week.
Open the category- Floating-roof tank volume estimation from shadow geometry
- Refinery unit utilisation signals from thermal infrared
- Pipeline construction progress monitoring with SAR coherence
- Methane leak detection along gas pipeline corridors
- Pipeline integrity assessment via ground-movement InSAR
- LNG terminal throughput inference from vessel activity
- LNG storage tank status from thermal anomaly patterns
- Power-plant operating status from thermal discharge plumes
- Coal stockpile volumetric estimation at ports and power stations
- Grain silo and open-stockpile monitoring for commodity intelligence
- Utility-scale solar farm construction progress from optical time series
- Wind farm construction monitoring and turbine installation counting
- Open-pit mine expansion monitoring
- Mine production activity inference from truck and equipment counts
- Illegal and artisanal small-scale mining detection
- Tailings dam surface deformation monitoring with InSAR
- Hyperspectral mineral mapping for exploration targeting
- Quarry volumetric change detection using stereo and SAR DEM differencing
- Mine rehabilitation and vegetation recovery verification
- Conflict-minerals supply chain monitoring via site activity tracking
- Acid mine drainage detection in receiving water bodies
- Ground subsidence mapping over underground mines
- Thermal anomaly detection for spontaneous combustion in coal stockpiles and waste dumps
- Dust plume and particulate emission tracking from mine operations
46 use cases
Defence and national security
The satellite record is the account nobody's press office wrote.
Open the category- Airbase order-of-battle change detection
- Naval vessel presence and port-activity monitoring
- Missile site and launch-facility construction monitoring
- Post-strike battle damage assessment from optical imagery
- SAR coherence-loss damage detection in denied or clouded areas
- Border-zone ground-disturbance and incursion monitoring
- Military encampment growth and force-buildup detection
- Night-light blackout mapping in conflict zones
- Ceasefire and arms-control treaty verification from open imagery
- Disinformation rebuttal using dated satellite scenes
- Underground facility detection from surface signatures
- Military logistics depot throughput estimation
45 use cases
Disaster response and humanitarian
After a cyclone, the first honest map is usually the one from orbit.
Open the category- Flood extent mapping with optical imagery
- Flood extent mapping with synthetic aperture radar
- Cyclone and tropical storm structural damage assessment
- Earthquake building-damage proxies via SAR coherence loss
- Earthquake surface deformation measurement with InSAR
- Active wildfire front detection from thermal infrared
- Post-wildfire burn scar extent and severity mapping
- Volcanic ash cloud detection for aviation hazard
- Volcanic edifice deformation monitoring with InSAR
- Landslide mapping and post-event inventory from satellite
- Refugee and IDP camp growth monitoring from space
- Power-outage and blackout mapping with nighttime lights
43 use cases
Infrastructure and construction
The contractor's progress report and the satellite's rarely agree.
Open the category- Construction progress verification from optical imagery
- InSAR measurement of urban ground subsidence
- Bridge deformation monitoring with InSAR
- Dam and embankment deformation detection with SAR
- Road and rail corridor construction monitoring
- Port expansion and nearshore bathymetric change detection
- Airport construction activity and airside expansion analysis
- Satellite-based project-finance covenant monitoring
- Urban utilities corridor planning with satellite data
- Surface settlement monitoring above tunnel boring operations
- Unauthorised construction and land encroachment detection
- High-rise building tilt and differential settlement from SAR
41 use cases
Urban growth and land administration
Cities announce plans. Satellites record outcomes.
Open the category- Urban expansion and boundary mapping
- Informal settlement detection from satellite imagery
- Building footprint extraction at city scale
- Land-use change detection for planning enforcement
- Property tax base mapping from satellite data
- Urban green-space audit and canopy mapping
- Night-lights mapping of urban economic activity
- Population distribution modelling from built-environment data
- Urban heat island mapping from thermal infrared
- Impervious surface mapping for urban flood and runoff modelling
- Cadastral boundary verification using sub-metre imagery
- Construction activity monitoring and project-stage tracking
- Container yard occupancy measurement from SAR
- Vessel dwell time and berth utilisation from optical imagery
- Dark vessel detection by fusing AIS gaps with RF and SAR
- Road freight activity proxied by truck counts at logistics nodes
- Rail wagon and intermodal yard occupancy from satellite imagery
- Airport aircraft counting and stand utilisation monitoring
- Retail and industrial activity proxied by parking-lot occupancy
- Land border crossing queue length estimation from satellite
- Air traffic flow analysis from spaceborne ADS-B
- Cold-chain and logistics warehouse construction progress monitoring
- Port and freight terminal activity indexed by nighttime light intensity
- Inland waterway barge traffic monitoring from SAR and optical
42 use cases
Financial intelligence and insurance
Alternative data with a paper trail.
Open the category- Crop yield nowcasting from multispectral imagery
- Grain silo and bulk-storage inventory estimation by SAR
- Crude oil tanker cargo estimation from vessel draught and AIS
- Petroleum refinery throughput monitoring by thermal infrared
- Dark vessel detection for commodity sanctions compliance
- Sovereign economic activity monitoring from night-light radiance
- Parametric flood insurance trigger verification by SAR inundation mapping
- Satellite vegetation index triggers for drought index insurance
- Crop insurance loss adjustment using post-event multispectral change detection
- Construction progress verification for project-finance lenders
- Mining output estimation from ore stockpile volume change
- ESG deforestation claim verification in agricultural supply chains
41 use cases
Biodiversity and conservation
A protected area is a promise. Imagery is the audit.
Open the category- Protected-area boundary encroachment detection
- Habitat fragmentation and patch-connectivity mapping
- Mangrove extent and canopy-structure mapping
- Seagrass bed distribution mapping in shallow coastal waters
- Coral-reef thermal stress and bleaching-context monitoring
- Wildlife habitat-suitability modelling from satellite-derived covariates
- Anti-poaching infrastructure and ranger-post monitoring
- Ecosystem-services carbon-stock accounting from satellite biomass layers
- Ecological corridor planning using satellite land-cover time series
- Invasive plant species detection using hyperspectral and multispectral signatures
- Surface-water permanence and seasonal wetland mapping for biodiversity
- Peatland drainage and subsidence monitoring using InSAR
- Sea-ice extent and concentration mapping
- Sea-ice thickness from radar and laser altimetry
- Iceberg detection and drift tracking
- Polar shipping-route ice condition monitoring
- Ocean colour and marine primary productivity estimation
- Harmful algal bloom detection and extent mapping
- Sea-surface salinity mapping from L-band radiometry
- Ocean current and mesoscale eddy tracking from altimetry
- Greenland ice-sheet mass balance and outlet glacier dynamics
- Antarctic ice-shelf calving-front monitoring and basal melt
- Permafrost active-layer dynamics from InSAR surface deformation
- Polynya detection and polar ocean heat-flux estimation
45 use cases
Real estate and property intelligence
The land registry says one thing. The imagery says what is actually there.
Open the category- Construction start detection from satellite imagery
- Development pipeline tracking across urban regions
- Informal settlement mapping and growth monitoring
- Land parcel change detection for cadastral update
- Greenfield site screening for development suitability
- Flood exposure assessment for property asset valuation
- Coastal erosion monitoring for shoreline property risk
- Night-light luminosity as a property market economic proxy
- Road access and proximity analysis for land valuation
- REIT portfolio site verification by satellite
- Rooftop solar panel penetration mapping for property intelligence
- Land cover transition detection on the urban fringe
45 use cases
Telecoms and network planning
The propagation model is only as good as its map of the ground.
Open the category- Terrain and clutter model generation for radio propagation
- Building-height extraction for millimetre-wave network planning
- Vegetation encroachment detection on microwave line-of-sight links
- Tower-site access route mapping in remote terrain
- Population-distribution demand mapping for network dimensioning
- Backhaul route corridor planning across uncharted terrain
- Disaster damage triage for telecoms network assets
- Coverage-gap analysis for universal service fund programmes
- Urban canyon geometry characterisation for multipath modelling
- Forest canopy height mapping for rural propagation loss estimation
- Permafrost and ground-stability assessment for tower foundation siting
- Inland water body mapping for microwave over-water propagation planning
41 use cases
Archaeology and cultural heritage
The past leaves marks the ground forgets and orbit remembers.
Open the category- Crop-mark and soil-mark site prospection from orbit
- SAR subsurface penetration for desert archaeological site detection
- Looting-pit detection and monitoring at conflict-zone heritage sites
- Conflict damage assessment at UNESCO and ICOMOS-listed heritage sites
- Thermal infrared detection of buried structures and voids
- Urban encroachment monitoring on legally protected archaeological zones
- InSAR ground deformation monitoring at heritage sites and monuments
- Submerged archaeological site survey using satellite-derived bathymetry
- High-resolution DEM analysis for landscape and earthwork archaeology
- Palaeochannel and ancient route mapping using multitemporal spectral analysis
- Satellite monitoring of visitor infrastructure pressure at heritage sites
- SAR and optical fusion for systematic tells and burial mound mapping
43 use cases
Air quality and public health
Exposure maps for the people who breathe the data.
Open the category- Tropospheric NO2 exposure mapping from orbit
- PM2.5 surface concentration estimation via aerosol optical depth
- Stratospheric ozone column mapping and UV index health risk
- Dust storm detection and health-warning forecasting
- Wildfire smoke attribution and downwind population exposure
- Malaria vector habitat mapping from land surface and water data
- Dengue transmission risk mapping using urban heat and greenness
- Flood-driven waterborne disease risk from SAR inundation mapping
- Urban heat health vulnerability mapping for excess mortality risk
- Pollen season onset and allergen load tracking via vegetation phenology
- SO2 plume mapping for industrial pollution health burden assessment
- Formaldehyde column mapping as a secondary ozone and VOC precursor indicator
42 use cases
Illicit economies and enforcement
Illegal work at industrial scale cannot hide its infrastructure.
Open the category- Illegal logging road detection in tropical forest
- Narco-trafficking clandestine airstrip mapping
- Illicit crop cultivation monitoring: coca and cannabis
- Illicit river-route vessel activity detection
- Illegal landfill and open waste-dumping site detection
- Activity monitoring at sanctioned industrial facilities
- Unlicensed construction and land-use violation detection
- Illegal artisanal and small-scale mining pit expansion
- Dark-vessel detection on known smuggling routes
- Wildlife-trafficking transit hub and holding-site monitoring
- Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing vessel detection
- Illegal charcoal production kiln detection
42 use cases
Renewable energy siting and performance
The resource map decides the business case before the first panel ships.
Open the category- Solar irradiance climatology and site screening
- Near-surface wind-resource mapping from SAR
- Offshore wind site screening using multi-parameter satellite data
- Hydro-resource assessment from satellite precipitation climatology
- Snowpack water-equivalent monitoring for hydro-power forecasting
- Solar farm construction progress monitoring from satellite imagery
- Operational solar-farm performance anomaly detection
- Panel soiling and dust-deposition detection from satellite spectral indices
- Long-term panel degradation tracking via satellite reflectance time series
- Wind-farm wake mapping from SAR wind-speed retrievals
- Grid-connection route planning using satellite-derived land-cover and terrain
- Green-hydrogen site screening via combined solar, wind, and water-availability data
43 use cases
Geohazards and ground motion
The ground moves before it fails. InSAR keeps the ledger.
Open the category- Continental-scale InSAR ground motion mapping
- Interseismic strain accumulation on active faults
- Coseismic surface displacement mapping after earthquakes
- Volcano inflation and deflation monitoring by InSAR
- Pre-failure landslide precursor motion detection
- Mining-induced subsidence and void migration monitoring
- Urban sinkhole and karst subsidence detection
- Permafrost thaw settlement and active-layer dynamics
- Coastal cliff and shoreline erosion rate measurement
- Reservoir-induced seismicity and dam-body deformation monitoring
- Active tectonic plate boundary and fault mapping from SAR and optical
- Land subsidence from groundwater and hydrocarbon extraction
41 use cases
Fisheries and aquaculture
The fish do not report their position. The ocean colour does.
Open the category- Potential fishing zone advisory from SST and chlorophyll
- Dark-vessel detection for illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing
- Harmful algal bloom detection and warning for aquaculture sites
- Aquaculture farm mapping and licensing compliance monitoring
- Sea-surface temperature stress alerts for marine fish farms
- Seagrass and coastal nursery habitat mapping for fisheries management
- Fishing vessel activity monitoring during quota seasons
- Satellite upwelling indices as environmental covariates in stock assessment
- Environmental context mapping for fish-aggregating device deployments
- Night-light detection of squid and light-fishing fleets
- Inland water body monitoring for freshwater fisheries management
- Mangrove loss and recovery monitoring for coastal fisheries habitat
41 use cases
Carbon markets and MRV
A tonne of carbon claimed is not a tonne verified.
Open the category- Forest carbon stock estimation from canopy structure
- Near-real-time deforestation alerts for leakage monitoring
- Selective logging and forest degradation detection
- Mangrove extent and blue-carbon stock mapping
- Avoided-deforestation additionality and baseline audit
- Methane emission verification for offset projects
- Soil carbon proxy monitoring for agricultural offset programmes
- Afforestation, reforestation and revegetation project canopy monitoring
- Fire emissions quantification for forest carbon accounting
- Greenwashing detection in published forest-carbon casework
- Biochar project feedstock land-use and additionality verification
- Registry-grade satellite time-series evidence packages for carbon auditors
- SAR interferometric surface deformation mapping
- Multispectral vegetation index monitoring
- Thermal infrared land surface temperature retrieval
- Tropospheric nitrogen dioxide column mapping
- Ocean colour and coastal water quality retrieval
- AIS vessel tracking and dark-ship detection
- ADS-B aircraft surveillance from space
- RF emitter geolocation from space
- GNSS radio occultation atmospheric profiling
- Spaceborne lidar canopy height and forest structure
- VIIRS day-night band nighttime light monitoring
- Commercial SAR rapid flood extent mapping