Author: EARSC
Five Years of Deimos-1
… another step closer to democratizing Earth observation data with the addition of 22 m Deimos-1 imagery dating back to 2011.
This rich archive includes coverage of the contiguous United States with a focus on the growing seasons. Utilize this powerful dataset to build crop yield predictive analytics or water management algorithms – among others – on major agriculture regions across the USA.
You can now also view the past, present, and future locations of both Deimos-1 & 2 satellites utilizing the Satellite Tracker API.
France, Germany Pressing Ahead with Greenhouse Gas Monitoring Satellite
(by Peter B. de Selding — December 8, 2015)
LE BOURGET, France — The French and German space ministers on Dec. 8 reaffirmed their commitment to launch a methane-measuring satellite to debut what they said should be a globally recognized system to verify government commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Appearing at the United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP21, here, Germany’s federal coordinator for German aerospace policy, Brigitte Zypries, and French Research Minister Thierry Mandon put their governments solidly behind a project that is six years behind schedule.
The Merlin satellite originally was the beneficiary of a rare endorsement by the German and French heads of state in 2010. Despite the high-level backing, the project was submerged by financial issues in both nations and the technology challenge of building the principal lidar instrument.
Lidars have been a headache at the European Space Agency as well, leading to a Future Laser Technology, or Fulas, research project at the 22-nation agency to clear hurdles in its own satellite missions.
But with the funding now cleared in Paris and Berlin, and the lidar technology seen as feasible if still challenging, Merlin earlier this year was given a fresh go-ahead.
The mission is now expected to cost some 250 million euros ($266 million), including the construction and launch of the satellite, three years of operations in low Earth orbit and the associated ground infrastructure.
A 2020 launch on a Europeanized Russian Soyuz rocket or Europe’s Vega small-satellite launcher is scheduled, with the final launcher choice to be made based on what co-passengers can be found to share the costs. Merlin managers have already secured a firm, fixed-price option with launch service provider Arianespace of Evry, France, that will not change whichever of the two vehicles is selected.
Merlin program officials said they had been approached by Spaceflight Industries of Tukwila, Washington, with a proposal to launch Merlin as part of a mission carrying multiple satellites aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
While conceding their interest in the Spaceflight offer, these officials said Merlin, as a European government mission, should launch on a European rocket unless one is not available. To that end, they are making Merlin compatible with India’s PSLV rocket in case there is a problem with Soyuz or Vega.
France will be contributing 100 million euros to the Merlin program, including a new-generation Myriade satellite platform and much of the ground segment. Germany’s 150 million euros in Merlin investment is directed mainly at the lidar instrument, to be built at Airbus Defence and Space’s Ottobrunn, Germany, facility.
Gerd Gruppe, a member of the executive board of the German Aerospace Center, DLR, and the head of DLR’s Space Administration, said DLR would send out a formal request for bids to Airbus before the end of December.
Gruppe said DLR would set a deadline for proposals of late March, with a formal contract for the construction of the Merlin lidar to be signed by July.
Matthias Alpers, Merlin project manager at DLR, said a critical design review of the lidar instrument should be completed in the summer of 2017, with the instrument’s delivery to France for integration into the satellite platform in 2019.
Alpers said elements of the lidar technology have been tested aboard Germany’s Halo — high-altitude, long-range — research aircraft in a series of flights earlier this year.
But he conceded that despite the testing, much of what the Merlin lidar will do to measure methane emissions is new technology and that a three-year construction schedule “is very challenging. Development of the lidar has certainly been more difficult than we had foreseen” when the project was first approved, he said.
Bruno Millet, Merlin project manager at the French space agency, CNES, said the Myriade satellite platform selected for the mission, and the choice of the Soyuz or Vega rockets, imposes constraints on the size of the satellite payload. At launch, Merlin is expected to weigh 400 kilograms.
To further demonstrate its bona fides at the COP21 conference, the French government announced Dec. 8 that it was putting 25 million euros of seed financing into a carbon dioxide measuring satellite called MicroCarb.
If other nations join France, MicroCarb could be launched in 2020 using a similar Myriade platform, which CNES developed. MicroCarb would follow Japan’s Gosat satellite launched in 2009 and NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory, OCO-2, launched in 2014.
Director general of UAE Space Agency emphasises importance of satellite data analysis to monitoring
Dr. Mohamed Nasser Al Ahbabi, director general of the UAE Space Agency, underlined the importance of satellite data analysis services related to earth observation, and the need to provide a uniform and systematic approach on efforts made by world countries to monitor the land, sea, and air..
This came in a speech delivered by Al Ahbabi at the 5th International Conference on Earth Observation for Global Changes and the 7th International Conference on Geo-information Technologies for Natural Disaster Management organised by United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) in Al Ain, in collaboration with Waterloo Institute for Disaster Management held between December 8-10.
Al Ahbabi said: “Many government and commercial institutions and entities in the state have expressed the need for such services, particularly since they have become a key and indispensable element in geographic information management systems. Space observation data derived from satellite systems are now used routinely, and their use is associated with other sources of data, including aerial photography, laser mapping systems for urban areas, monitoring weather on planet Earth for the production and construction of special and integrated temporal databases, as well as the provision of services that rely on a holistic analysis of these data. “
He added: “These services include risk, vulnerability, and climate change mapping, including the modeling and analysis of the effects of sea level rise as a result of global warming, and predicted poor visibility due to sand storms, cloudy weather, and heavy rains, in order to assess their impact on human life.”
Al Ahbabi said that due to the importance of the geographic information system (GSI) that relies on satellites in disaster management, a number of international initiatives have been launched to assist in the exchange of such data on a global level. He noted that with the establishment of the UAE Space Agency, the United Arab Emirates is now mobilizing efforts and building on participations in various international cooperative activities related to geographic information systems. The Agency as the authority to continue to show the capabilities and obligations of the State, so it would be an active member and contributor to various global activities, such as the “Spider” initiative sponsored by the United Nations, and any other initiatives that are launched to benefit and serve humanity.
The Agency will make use of the successful group of satellites operated by the UAE, including DubaiSat-1 and DubaiSat-2, which will be backed by a third highly advanced satellite, Khalifa Sat. These will provide services based on the systems and applications that contribute to urban planning; monitoring various environmental changes; assessing natural climatic factors, such as sand storms and fog; determining water quality in the region and monitoring the red tide; in addition to supporting aid missions and disaster relief. This will contribute to strengthening the global role and position of the State in this area because of the services that benefit society, the state, and humans.
Al Ahbabi said that it may be an appropriate time to assess the feasibility and benefits of establishing a joint and central database in the UAE to monitor the earth, which can be built based on satellites owned by the state and other commercially available data, thanks to existing space assets and other sources. Thus, this data can be made available to all government agencies in the state, which can enter data and access different layers of this information through a secure data portal.
He added that such a strategy has proven to be effective when it was approved by the government of Abu Dhabi through the establishment of the Abu Dhabi Systems & Information Centre (ADSIC) in the year 2009 to enable the provision of central services for the geographic information system, especially since such a move is in line with the e-government vision and its aim to make electronic services available for everyone in the public and private sectors.
Free and open satellite data: private companies join in the game
(9 December, 2015 © by Massimo Zotti) Open data usually refers to information the public sector makes (or should make) available to ensure transparency and create business opportunities. A long-standing problem for users is the lack of harmonisation and integration of databases. This is an issue with geographical data too; an obstacle that the standardisation process of INSPIRE is slowly trying to solve.
Non-commercial satellite images are the exception. Freely accessible and reusable, they have the characteristics that any data analyst dreams of! Earth observation data is usually available in standard formats, no matter the area covered. It is frequently updated, of great quality and a reliable source of information: the best conditions to build a sustainable business.
Just as the EC was discussing licencing conditions for Copernicus, a 2012 ESA study showed that an open access government policy for satellite data is beneficial in the medium to long term. We are talking about environmental benefits, but also economic, i.e. an estimated €30 billion market and tens of thousands of new jobs by 2030.
The Americans did it first, it must be said. The breakthrough arrived in 2008, when the US Geological Survey (USGS) decided to open its archive of Landsat satellite images collected over forty years.
Today Landsat 8 consistently acquires high quality pictures over the entire globe. The free and open data policy is confirmed for Landsat 9, to be launched in 8 years.
Copernicus, the European EO programme, is much more ambitious than the Landsat programme. Rather than a single satellite, Copernicus comes with several, to be launched over many years. In addition to data from the Sentinels, the programme delivers the so-called Core Services, that is, value-added geo-information products, or thematic maps on soils, seas, atmosphere, climate change, emergency management and security. The European Environment Agency, for instance, manages such a service: land.copernicus.eu. The output of the Core Services is generally available as open data too.
Open data policies when it comes to satellite data have come to be expected and welcome when it comes to public entities. However, a private satellite data provider adopting the same policy will make some noise and raise some eyebrows. Surely the very point of such companies is to make money from selling such data, not giving them away for free. And yet…I jumped from my seat on learning that Will Marshall, CEO of Planet Labs, announced, end September, that the company would open the access to some high resolution satellite data acquired by its constellation of microsatellites.
Marshall made the announcement at the UN Assembly, talking about how the data would contribute to the UN objectives for sustainable development. I naturally thought that the data licenced out by Planet Labs for free would concern poor regions in Africa or India; it would have been pretty generous already. But the cheeky imps took it yet a step further, opening access, on a beta platform, to satellite images of California! With a CC BY SA 4.0 open licence. In other words, Marshall says: you can use my data for free, but whatever you do, you must make it open in the same way. This applies to value-added products as well.
I don’t know for how long the data on California will be available in open access. But it’s certainly an excellent way of promoting the capacities and data characteristics of very high resolution images of Planet Labs.
This is both a major opportunity and the challenge of Copernicus: to generate enough interest in the development of useful, affordable downstream services beyond current capacities, services geared to meet demand.
With the caveat that such services should exploit not only satellite data, but also information and other data available, such as all the data published by governments, local authorities, private companies and even by individuals – just think of OpenStreetMap, the free and openly licensed map of the world created entirely by volunteers.
Twitter by Massimo Zotti
Digital Globe to use Raytheon's Constellation Scheduling System
Aurora CO (SPX) Dec 14, 2015 – Raytheon has been selected by the high-resolution Earth imagery company, DigitalGlobe, Inc., to develop the capability to support a September 2016 launch and mission planning of DigitalGlobe’s WorldView-4 satellite.
Raytheon’s Constellation Scheduling System (CSS) is the commercial geospatial mission planning system for companies who want cost and resource efficiencies through automation while increasing satellite utilization and imagery yield.
“Raytheon’s CSS has a proven record of maximizing the capture of usable imagery,” said Jane Chappell, vice president of Raytheon’s Global Intelligence Solutions.
“DigitalGlobe’s trust in Raytheon to expand their commercial constellation is confirmation of our reliable ground station automation services valued by satellite operators and commercial data providers.”
DigitalGlobe owns and operates the world’s most agile and sophisticated constellation of commercial Earth imaging satellites.
WorldView-4 – a commercial satellite featuring industry-leading 30 cm resolution imagery – will be the fifth DigitalGlobe satellite to have planning and scheduling support provided by Raytheon’s CSS.
The system runs routine planning and scheduling automatically, yielding more efficient schedules, and allowing DigitalGlobe to focus on fulfilling customer orders for specific imagery.
The new competitively-awarded contract to prepare the ground station for WorldView-4 is part of the first phase in the development of DigitalGlobe’s next generation ground system, Platform 20/20.
The September 2016 launch of WorldView-4, from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, will be supported by Raytheon space launch range services.
CartoConsult Partners with Proteus to Harness New Laser Scanning Technology
CartoConsult has signed a joint venture agreement with Proteus to develop and promote the use of the latest laser scanning technology.
As new systems are launched to market, such as handheld mobile mappers, UAV mounted sensors and even vehicle guidance systems, the partnership will assess their application for real world projects in a diverse range of industry sectors, completing field tests and developing best practice references.
The joint venture between CartoConsult and Proteus will provide a complete solution for clients, initially within the architectural, engineering and property development sectors using a handheld mobile mapping system. By working together, the partnership can offer trained and experienced survey personnel to complete onsite data capture, cloud based data processing of the millions of individual measurements captured and the creation of highly accurate 3D models and visualisations.
“Working with Proteus to explore the power of new laser scanning systems as they come to market, we can undertake projects in complex and challenging environments where more traditional systems may not be suitable, may not even work or may be considered too expensive or resource hungry,” commented Tim Hughes, CEO and founder of CartoConsult.
“Laser scanning has, for some time, been considered a ‘game changer’ for building surveys and other projects, with real world case studies reporting significant reductions in onsite survey times,” commented David Critchley, Proteus CEO. “By working with CartoConsult to deliver an end to end solution utilising the latest technology, we can offer our clients a fast, efficient yet accurate way of recording and modelling complex environments. These onsite benefits, coupled with highly efficient and cost effective cloud based data processing, will revolutionise the service we provide.”
A provider of mapping and geospatial service, Proteus recently announced an exclusive partnership with GeoSLAM, the company behind the handheld mobile mapping system ZEB1, to distribute the laser scanner in the Middle East region and provide laser scanning services globally. An example of the new laser scanning technology being explored by the CartoConsult Proteus partnership, ZEB1 uses robotic technology called Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping (SLAM). With a range of 30 metres and its ability to self-localise, ZEB1 is ideally suited for use indoors, underground and in other covered environments, where traditional solutions that utilise GPS don’t function.
CartoConsult Limited provides integrated 2D/3D geospatial solutions for the Architectural, Engineering and Construction sectors. Using the world’s most advanced progressive and immersive 3D technology together with a network of approved business partners, CartoConsult offers scalable solutions presenting a cost effective alternative to recruiting additional resources.
Proteus is leading the way in harnessing the step change in availability, accuracy and resolution of satellite derived imagery, coupled with advances in processing technologies to deliver full turnkey mapping solutions at a fraction of the traditional time and cost.
Based in Abu Dhabi, UAE, and Bristol, UK, Proteus offers full turnkey global mapping solutions produced from very high resolution satellite imagery, providing customers with cutting edge products for environment, agriculture, forestry and marine use.
Thales Alenia Space wins contract worth €402 million
Thales Alenia Space will again participate in Copernicus program. Company will for sure use their experience during first series of Copernicus satellites called Sentinel-1A and Sentinel-1B. Worth €402 million contract estimates that Sentinel-1C and Sentinel-1D will be launched on 2021 or later. According to Thales Alenia, Sentunel-1A launched on 2014 is now fully operational and launching Sentinel-1B is scheduled on spring 2016.
Copernicus, also known as Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) is program established in 1998 by the European Commission to provide independent global Earth observation system. It utilizes ground stations, air stations and research satellites to provide most accurate information about Earth condition. Program is mainly focused on gathering information on land, ocean, atmosphere and climate change. Also it is helpful in emergency response and security monitoring. Space part of the program could be divided into two groups. First consists satellites developed especially for Copernicus and in second group includes satellites utilized for Copernicus purposes but realizing other missions. Second group included inter alia: European Remote Sensing Satellite ERS-1, Envisat Earth observation satellite, Cosmo-Skymed imaging satellites, various meteorological satellites like MetOp or MSG or JASON-2 ocean topography research satellite.
Spacecrafts developed under Copernicus program are generally divided into six types which stand after “Sentinel” name. Following satellites from each type are signed with letters in the end. First type, Sentinel-1, is radar imaging satellite providing imaging of land and seas in all weather conditions, also in night. First Sentinel-1 (Sentinel-1A) was launched on 2014. Next group is Sentinel-2 – optical imaging satellite providing high resolution pictures for utilizing during emergency situations, with first satellite launched on 23 June 2015. Sentinel-3 is scheduled for 2016 (You can read more here) and will provide global monitoring services. Further type of Sentinel, called Sentinel-4, scheduled for 2012, will be gathering data on atmospheric composition. Sentinel-5 is planned as replacement of ENVISAT satellite lost in 2012; Sentinel-6 is developed to replace JASON-2 in future.
Sentinel-1 satellites are based on Prima bus which was developed by Italian Space Agency (ASI) and Alenia Aerospazio as main contractor on 2001. Bus was designed as universal, modular solution possible to utilize in various types of satellites. Using this bus by Thales Alenia Space was natural solution due the fact that Alenia Aerospazio is part of Thales Alenia Space and its easy adopting for different purposes. Prima also showed its advantages as bus for imaging satellites being utilized in four Cosmo-Skymed satellites utilized for Copernicus program. Sentinel-1 satellites are equipped with C band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) for radar imaging with ground resolution from 5 to 25 meters. Onboard instruments are powered by deployable solar arrays and batteries. Sentinel-1 weighs 2280 kg and has operational life at 7 years.
Sources:
The European Union and Africa: a Copernicus partnership since 2007
The GMES & Africa initiative was established in order to promote cooperation between the European Union and the African Union, to strengthen coordination amongst Earth Observation initiatives, and to facilitate the development of Space-based technologies on the African continent. In October 2015, the Development Cooperation Instrument committee of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development (DG DEVCO) approved funding support from the Pan-African programme related to this initiative. Three priority topics will be addressed during the initial implementation phase of the initiative (2016 – 2020): long term management of natural resources, marine and coastal areas monitoring and water resources management.
The GMES & Africa initiative was established in 2007 as a firm commitment to cooperative action between Europe and Africa towards the development and implementation of Earth Observation (EO) applications tailored to African requirements. A specific roadmap was developed which applied the programmatic approach of the EU’s Copernicus programme (known as GMES at the time) to the African continent. The GMES & Africa initiative takes place in the wider context of the Africa-EU partnership, aimed at the sustainable development of the African regions and scientific cooperation between Europe and Africa.
The GMES & Africa partnership approach arose as a result of the consensus reached at the Lisbon Summit in December 2007, as part of the 8th Joint Africa-EU Strategy Partnership on Science, Information Society and Space. The Lisbon declaration on GMES & Africa laid out the actions to be undertaken in order to formulate the GMES & Africa Action Plan (GAAP). GMES & Africa will strengthen Africa’s capacities and its ownership of EO activities, acknowledging the importance of past and present African programmes and recognising the need to coordinate actions so as to avoid duplication, increase synergies and enhance complementarities.
After extensive consultations over several years, the African and European experts involved in this initiative defined nine thematic areas for the GMES & Africa information services: i) infrastructure and territorial development, ii) long term management of natural resources, iii) marine and coastal areas, iv) water resources management, v) impact of climate variability change, vi) natural disasters, vii) food security and rural development, viii) conflicts and political crises, ix) health management issues. In addition, five cross-cutting issues were identified: governance, infrastructure, capacity building, financial and monitoring & evaluation.
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Nine GMES & Africa information services defined after extensive consultations. The three topics marked in orange will be implemented during the first phase (2016-2020) under the auspices of the Pan-African Programme of the EC’s DG DEVCO.
The GMES & Africa coordination team, comprised of experts from the African Union Commission (AUC), the European Commission, African and European Member States, regional organisations, the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), and the European Space Agency (ESA), selected three of the above-mentioned topics as priority areas to be addressed during the initial implementation phase of the initiative: long-term management of natural resources, water resources management and monitoring of marine and coastal environment.
In October 2015, the Development Cooperation Instrument (DCI) committee of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development (DG DEVCO) backed this initiative, providing funding support from the Pan-African programme (EU financial instrument for the development of the cooperation strategy between the European Union and the African Union).
Presently, African organisations are submitting concept notes – expression of interest – to a call issued by the African Union Commission for the implementation of services in the three priority areas.
GMES & Africa will be coordinated by the AUC through a dedicated secretariat to be established (and mandated) once the African Space Policy and Strategy will have been adopted by the African Heads of State at their summit scheduled for February 2016.
Power of Shared Earth Observations
A Ministerial Declaration, issued at the Ministerial Summit and twelfth plenary of the intergovernmental Group on Earth Observations (GEO) in November, made commitments to harness and share critical environmental observations to enable leaders to make better-informed decisions for the benefit of humanity at a time of rapid global change.
“As we near the historic Paris climate talks, it is clear open data and international collaboration are key to countries moving the needle on climate change,” said U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell. “We can and should share Earth observation data to help address climate challenges because science and open data are critical to understanding land, water, wildlife and climate change. They must be at the heart of every policy decision – no country can solve it alone.”
The GEO ten-year Strategic Plan (2016–2025) was adopted to build the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). “We have reached a tipping-point where GEO has to move its focus towards successful societal delivery. We should not underestimate this formidable challenge,” said European Commissioner Carlos Moedas. South African Minister of Science and Technology Naledi Pandor reminded delegates of their “responsibility to ensure the targets of the Global Goals for Sustainable Development are met by providing adequate funding for scientific research and global collaboration.”
The GEO launched several initiatives at the plenary, including:
• An initiative to integrate Earth observations into national plans to attain the Global Goals for Sustainable Development;
• A global Marine Biodiversity Observation Network, including an Arctic to Antarctic network linking coastal observing centres in the Americas to measure species distribution and habitat;
• AmeriGEOSS, a regional programme to share Earth observation data for agriculture, disaster risk reduction, water and biodiversity, and ecosystem monitoring; and
• Renewal of GEONETCast, an initiative of China, Europe and the USA to provide critical Earth observation data to developing countries.
The GEO plenary and Ministerial Summit took place in Mexico City from 10 to 13 November. The thirteenth GEO plenary will be held in St Petersburg in November 2016.