Earththunder

Earththunder is a Melbourne, Australia-based space startup founded in 2022 developing a constellation of LEO microsatellites equipped with optical lightning detection sensors for real-time global thunderstorm monitoring. Traditional lightning detection relies on a sparse network of ground-based sensors (such as Vaisala's GLD360) that provide good coverage in developed regions but leave large ocean areas and developing-world landmasses poorly monitored. A LEO constellation overcomes this limitation, providing near-continuous global detection latency measured in minutes rather than hours.

Real-time lightning mapping has direct commercial value for aviation (route optimization, severe weather avoidance), insurance underwriting, agriculture, utilities (wildfire ignition risk), and emergency services. Earththunder competes in a nascent niche that also includes NASA's GOES-R Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) — which is fixed in GEO — and proposed commercial constellations. The company is in development, backed by the Australian Space Agency's Moon to Mars Initiative and the broader NewSpace ecosystem centered in the Asia-Pacific region.