With 50 million downloads and 950,000 ratings, and an average rating of 4.8 stars, MyRadar is one of the most popular weather apps, putting weather information directly in the hands of its customers. But this isn’t an ad for MyRdar, it’s the story of how and why a popular mobile app becomes a space company. 

MyRadar orbital ambitions, and is working on a satellite constellation to quickly alert to wildfires. It currently has three satellites in space, with two more planned for next year, and recently won funding from NOAA. In this episode of On Orbit, host Rachel Jewett interviews MyRadar CTO Sarvesh Garimella about how and why the mobile app is investing in its its own satellites. The story turns the traditional Earth observation model on its head, as MyRadar is already an end user of satellite data, and now its purpose-building satellites for its own needs. Garimella wants to take MyRadar’s mission of putting actionable information right in people’s hands to the next level, with more up-to-the minute frequency.

Garimella also shares how a weather app helps its users deal with climate change, how AI models are impacting weather forecasting, and why a digital-first weather company still invests in the power of real, human meteorologists.

Correction: The intro of the podcast misstates the number of MyRadar downloads. The app has 50 million downloads. 

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