Synchronizing Orbits and Deep Learning Algorithms Satellite Surveillance and Civil Sea Rescue Missions in the Mediterranean

This chapter engages with the voluntary work of Space-Eye members centring around optical satellites and deep learning algorithms with the goal to support civil search-and-rescue (SAR) missions in the Mediterranean. Through coding, Space-Eye members negotiate ‘polyrhythmia’, stemming from the fact that within these digital practices Space-Eye members reconcile the realities and rhythms of their (in)organic collaborators on land and sea, and in (cyber)space. Space-Eye’s work is as much about compressing time as it is about compressing space, exemplified by the issues of temporal and spatial resolution inherent to optical satellites. This chapter shows different temporal challenges that arise when working with satellites and deep learning algorithms and their mechanical tempos. With the example of the ‘European Data Relay Satellite System’, we witness that (quasi-)real-time satellite surveillance constitutes an active achievement for some, which depends on overcoming temporal challenges by patching together sets of unresolved temporal patterns and mechanical tempos, through specific infrastructural investments.