After the successful launch of the first tranche of 10 satellites for the Kepler Communications optical data relay constellation on Jan. 11, OroraTech announced that four of its SAFIRE Gen4 sensors were onboard.
Fast moving startup
OroraTech is a Munich, Germany based startup with a global presence including an office in Vancouver. Founded in 2018, the company has been developing space based thermal intelligence products for use cases including for wildfires, land surface temperature monitoring and has launched 11 satellites to date.
In 2022 the company launched three Forest satellites know as OroraTech Constellation Phase-1 or OTC-P1. The first, Forest-1, was a 3U CubeSat demonstrator satellite. Also in 2022, the company launched a 6U CubeSat, Forest-2. This was followed by another 6U CubeSat, Forest-3 in 2025.
The company then deployed a constellation of 8 wildfire satellites known as OroraTech Constellation Phase-2 (OTC-P2) in March 2025 on a 8U Spire Global Lemur CubeSat satellite bus. These 8 OTC-P2 satellites were the first constellation dedicated to wildfire detection.
| SAFIRE features based on OTC-P1 lineage | Specification |
| Sensor Type | Thermal Infrared Imager |
| Spectral Bands | Mid-Wave Infrared (MWIR): High-intensity fire detection. Wavelength: 3.4–4.2 µm. Detecting high-temperature flames. Long-Wave Infrared 1 (LWIR1): Background temp & false alarm reduction. Wavelength: 8.1–9.3 µm. Sensing lower-temperature heat sources, including smouldering vegetation or fires obscured by smoke Long-Wave Infrared 2 (LWIR2): Background temp & false alarm reduction. Wavelength: 10.4–12.5 µm. Sensing lower-temperature heat sources, including smouldering vegetation or fires obscured by smoke |
| Spatial Resolution | ~200m (Standard mode) / Detects fires down to 4x4m |
SAFIRE Gen4 – Edge computing & fast data delivery
While there does not appear to be any publicly available specifications on the SAFIRE Gen4 sensor we do know that there are two advantages of having the four sensors embedded into the Kepler optical data relay satellites, edge computing and fast data delivery.
OroraTech says with the new fours sensors on-orbit they now have the “First thermal livestream of Earth.”
Using Kepler’s onboard edge computing the SAFIRE Gen4 system processes thermal data on-orbit. Instead of sending raw heavy imagery down to be analyzed later, the satellite detects heat anomalies (wildfires) immediately and transmits the critical intelligence. And because the system sends the data through the Kepler optical inter-satellite links of the data relay constellation, the data gets to those who need within minutes. The service, when activated, will enable near-real-time delivery, a game changer in the detection and management of wildfires.
Martin Langer, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Technology Officer of OroraTech said, “OroraTech is leading the way by delivering the first thermal livestream of the Earth, leveraging Kepler’s always-connected satellite network to have the Earth’s thermal signature in real-time at a global scale. Together with industry partners, we are setting a new global standard for real-time intelligence.”
The other Canadian connection
Aside from being hosted on the new Kepler optical data relay satellites, OroraTech is a key partner to Spire Global Canada who are developing Canada’s WildFireSat constellation which will have 10 small satellites that include 7 active satellites, 2 on-orbit spares, and 1 spare on the ground in reserve for the future. OroraTech is providing thermal sensors. The first prototype WildFireSat is expected to launch in 2029.