Scott Larson CEO
SpaceAlpha Insights
Canada

BiographyAlpha's CEO and co-founder has been building high-tech startups for nearly two decades, primarily in the space industry. Prior to Alpha, Scott cofounded one of the first NewSpace companies in the EO sector, UrtheCast, as well as an IoT satellite company, Helios Wire, acquired in 2019. He has presented cutting-edge space technology for conferences like the Web Summit and Collison, and brings a unique perspective to the topics of Earth Observation, deep technology, big data, space, and the resulting global impact.AbstractTomorrow's SAR Technology, Today: Delivering 5th-Generation, Spaceborne RadarWe are primed for a seismic shift to the 5th generation of space-based SAR Earth Observation after years of deep R&D, growing demand, and successors reaching their lifespan. While NewSpace companies focus on narrow swaths and high-revisit constellations, 5th-generation SAR will deliver multiple X-L bands and wide swaths, which are critical for SARs most pressing use cases, including maritime surveillance. The result is next-gen technology that will be further augmented with rapid onboard processing, cloud computing, and in-space AI.

The key to long-term innovation and growth of this technology will be embedded solutions like onboard processing. This lessens the need for ground-based processing, reduces required resources, and allows for improved Earth intelligence and planetary study of our solar system. From supply-chain management and insurance, to land-mine detection, environmental science, and precision agriculture the next generation of SAR technology is well equipped to improve both our study and response to some of the worlds most pressing issues.