HawkEye 360, Inc. (NYSE: HAWK) announced it successfully located an environmental data transmitter that had been operating without a confirmed physical location on NOAA's GOES Data Collection System (DCS) for several years.

The transmitter was occupying an uplink position on the GOES DCS, a system used by more than 600 organizations in 42 countries for environmental and hazard monitoring. Because the device's location was unknown, the uplink slot could not be reassigned to other authorized users.

The transmitter presented technical challenges, broadcasting for only 1.9 seconds at a time on a narrow 1.5 kHz channel while operating among multiple simultaneous uplinks. HawkEye 360 used space-based radio frequency data and analytics to provide NOAA with a precise geolocation, allowing the operator to verify and remove the equipment. The action restored full availability of the uplink slot and returned the operator to compliance with federal regulations.

The geolocation also enabled the operator to independently locate a second transmitter. This led to the recovery of multiple non-functioning devices that had gone undetected for years.

"Working with NOAA, we were able to pinpoint a transmitter that had been missing for years and return valuable spectrum to the organizations that depend on it for environmental monitoring and public safety," said Todd Probert, Chief Operating Officer at HawkEye 360.

According to the company's statement, previous NOAA-related missions included identifying a UHF uplink interferer affecting environmental data delivery across more than 50 countries, and geolocating a disruptive transmitter near Quito, Ecuador, which led to the removal of a device on the slopes of Guagua Pichincha volcano.