The fires, detected at Borroloola on the McArthur River, are among the first to be captured by the Earth Fire Alliance's FireSat Protoflight satellite, with images released this week.
But scientists behind the effort say it may take the launch of another three satellites, scheduled for next year, to create bushfire modelling and more accurately predict where and how fires spread.
The non-profit alliance, which has partnered with Google Research and Muon Space, aims to deliver bushfire detection and monitoring using satellites and AI software, and provide data to emergency services and scientists in near real time.
The group's first satellite launched in March and international relations lead Dr Karen O'Connor said the first four publicly released images captured by infra-red cameras demonstrated its potential.
"We're just starting to get our first glimpses of how this system is going to really provide unparalleled information on fires to support fire agencies and protect communities," she said.
"Those of us who live in Australia will know all too well the devastating impact of bushfires."
The satellite images include a collection of active fires in the Northern Territory, a minor, roadside fire detected in the US state of Oregon, and bushfires in Ontario, Canada, where the camera was able to distinguish between an active fire and burn scars on the land.
Using high-resolution cameras, the satellite could detect fires about the size of a classroom, Dr O'Connor said, and with a full constellation of 50 satellites, it would be able to monitor a fire's progress every 20 minutes.
An additional three satellites are planned for launch in the second half of 2026.
"We will be working closely with early adopters, including agencies across five Australian states and territories," Dr O'Connor said.
Agencies participating in the program include the Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service, the Queensland Fire Department, and the South Australian Country Fire Service.
NSW Rural Fire Service deputy commissioner Peter McKechnie said firefighters were grateful to be consulted in the development of the system and were almost "impatient" to use the technology when it could reliably detect, monitor and predict the path of bushfires.
"The whole team is excited about this," he said.
"This is taking us to a pathway of being able to ingest that information straight into our dispatch systems and dispatch resources based on what is detected."
Being able to monitor the spread of fires would also help to create advanced fire modelling, Google Research climate and energy lead Chris Van Arsdale said, and could help researchers predict a fire's movement and direct firefighting efforts.
"This stream of data will allow scientists to build the next generation (of) predictive models," he said.
"It would be great to live in a world where we don't have a high degree of uncertainty from wildfires."
The Earth Fire Alliance plans to launch more than 50 satellites and reach full operation by 2030.
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