Bezos Earth Fund’s $26 million FireSat could detect 15-by-15-foot fires anywhere on Earth within 20 mins: Lauren Sánchez Bezos says, ‘I watched friends and family lose everything’

Firefighters and scientists have watched wildfires from space using satellites for years, but not specifically to locate fires. By the time, satellites detect a fire and send the data back to Earth, a tiny blaze can already cause significant damage. But things can now change with the FireSat constellation that designed to change that: a network of satellites built specifically to spot fires early. They are also provide near real-time data that could give firefighters sufficient time to act before a small flame turns into a major disaster.

FireSat is a new satellite network backed by a $26 million investment from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos through the Bezos Earth Fund and built specifically to detect and monitor fires. Launched in July 2026, FireSat program is the first satellite constellation purpose-built for global wildfire detection.

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FireSat constellation to detect fire as small as 15 feet

According to an official press release by Bezos Earth Fund, by 2029, the growing FireSat constellation will be able to detect fires as small as 15 feet by 15 feet anywhere on the planet within one hour, before they burn out of control. Once fully operational in the early 2030s with approximately 50 satellites, the constellation will monitor every point on Earth every 20 mins or less. With this unprecedented technology, there is vast potential to protect homes, communities, and biodiversity while also reducing carbon dioxide emission from wildfires up to 5–10% annually.

Early wildfire detection is among the highest-leverage interventions available. Developed for Earth Fire Alliance by space systems company Muon Space, FireSat represents a fundamental leap in how the world detects, responds to, and understands wildfires. These advanced infrared satellites can detect fires as small as a beach bonfire within minutes of ignition and deliver high-resolution data to fire agencies and scientists in near real time.

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Fire to be detected within 20 mins

“During the LA fires, I watched friends and family lose everything. That feeling stays with you and makes you ask: What if we could respond faster? That’s what FireSat is trying to do, detect a fire anywhere on the planet within 20 minutes, thanks to a constellation of specialized satellites. That’s an investment worth betting on to safeguard communities, preserve nature, and make sure future generations inherit a world that is still vibrant, resilient, and full of possibility.” – Lauren Sánchez Bezos, Vice Chair of the Bezos Earth Fund.

“At the Bezos Earth Fund, we’re focused on supporting innovation that helps solve some of the hardest challenges in climate and nature, and breakthrough technology that addresses the challenges with uncontrolled wildfires is an important area that our funding can help move forward, faster,” said Tom Taylor, Bezos Earth Fund President and CEO. “Advancing detection and prevention technologies such as FireSat have incredible potential to better protect homes and communities, preserve forests and biodiversity, and reduce emissions, and we’re excited to be working together on these areas.”  In addition to participants in the Amazon region, FireSat Early Adopters include leading fire organizations in the United States (California, Colorado, Oregon and Texas) and in Africa, Australia, and Portugal.

When FireSat detected fire in Oregon

The success of Protoflight mission proved the worth of the FireSat system. It sent a demonstration satellite to orbit in March 2025 and in October, the satellite picked up on a small roadside fire in Oregon that had previously gone undetected by other space-based monitoring systems.

“It started when somebody was dragging trailer chains behind their truck on the highway,” EFA’s lead scientist Michael Falkowski said. “We saw that in our data, and it just gave us evidence of FireSat’s ability to get these cool, small fires before they become a problem.”

The expansion plans

The goal is to deploy a network of 50 satellites in low-Earth orbit to continuously sweep the planet, hunting for fires. With the full constellation in orbit, the system is designed to image every point on Earth every 20 minutes.

Since its launch, the satellites collected data on the Big Grass Fire that had already burned 290,000 acres (about the size of Los Angeles) at the time of detection on July 28, according to Gizmodo. By next year, FireSat plans to make its data more widely available to support wildfire research. Over time, the aim is to integrate the satellite data directly into firefighting operations and wildfire modeling.

“FireSat’s going to really shift our understanding of how much fire is on the planet and how it behaves and interacts with climate,” Falkowski said. “Insights from those data will ultimately be fed into doing research that helps improve wildfire management and resilience strategies globally. So, it’s really insane the data that we’re going to be getting from these satellites, and how I see it in the next five or 10 years, really pushing forward global fire science.”

By 2029, FireSat’s planned constellation of more than 20 satellites is expected to deliver hourly global revisits. At that coverage rate, it is projected to reduce the amount of US land burned annually by 1.3 million acres, nearly seven times New York City’s land area, protect 3,500 homes and properties, and prevent 21.9 million tons of carbon emissions.