New British satellite can track hidden activity inside buildings

The British company SatVu is set to launch HotSat-2, a satellite capable of capturing highly detailed thermal imagery from space, including the ability to detect human activity inside buildings by looking through walls and ceilings. Scheduled to fly aboard SpaceX’s Transporter-16 mission on March 29 from California, HotSat-2 uses advanced infrared cameras that provide images 30 times more detailed than those from NASA’s Landsat satellite. This technology has potential applications in monitoring sensitive sites, such as Iran’s nuclear facilities, and has previously detected activity at North Korea’s Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center. SatVu, backed by £30 million in NATO funding, aims to deploy a constellation of eight satellites to enable near real-time global coverage with a maximum two-hour revisit time. The satellite’s thermal data intelligence offers critical insights for geopolitical and economic contexts, such as assessing damage to Middle Eastern infrastructure amid ongoing conflicts, which can influence global fuel prices. SatVu’s CEO Anthony Baker highlighted the satellite’s ability