MDA, an aerospace company from Ontario, Canada, is using its proprietary technology to help Ukraine resist the Russian invasion.
The Canadian government has granted MDA permission to collect satellite imagery of restricted areas in Ukraine using synthetic aperture radar (SAR).
"Images captured by MDA's SAR technology, which is unique in its ability to see through all weather and cloud conditions, will be combined and analyzed with other image sources from commercial Earth observation companies to develop a comprehensive intelligence report for Ukraine," said MDA CEO Mike Greenley. , quoted from Space.com.
"We are honored that we were able to use our radar satellite capabilities to contribute to this international effort, and will continue to do everything in our power to help the Ukrainian government protect its citizens," he added.
MDA radar capability is quite large. For example, they built Radarsat-2, which has been circling Earth since December 2007, as well as three Radarsat Constellation spacecraft, which were launched into Earth orbit on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in June 2019.
Greenley's brief statement did not specify which other company images MDA would look at. It is possible, for example, that Colorado-based Capella Space has also captured SAR images of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
In addition, there are spacecraft operated by Maxar Technologies, Planet and BlackSky which have taken photographs of the invasion and its effects in optical light. Maxar recently released a series of shots showing extensive damage to shops, homes and other civilian buildings in the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol.