Skip to content

Dutch company Orbital Eye has developed a service that uses satellites to monitor gas and oil pipelines. A major African pipeline operator has already signed up for the service.

Worldwide, gas and oil pipelines extend two million km. In most cases, this network is not very deep: just 1.5 m below our feet.

Gas pipes in the EU alone stretch 140 000 km, another 40 000 km carry oil and related products. In addition, there are the final distribution lines to our homes and places of work.

For pipeline operators, safety is paramount. Accidents tend to be serious enough to endanger people and the environment, as well as to damage the pipeline itself.

In Europe, almost half of all failures in high-pressure gas transmission pipelines are caused by excavations, construction work and deep ploughing.

Operators reduce such incidents through aerial surveys from helicopters along the entire pipeline route at least every three weeks.

However, 37% of problems are detected by the public, while aerial inspection surveys pick up only 17%. Orbital Eye’s PIMSyS service can improve this detection rate.

The system uses radar images from satellites in combination with smart software to detect potential threats as well as the slightest ground movement.

Pipeline operators, alerted to suspicious events, then dispatch field personnel to find reported or detected hazards using a tablet app.

The app can connect to the central database via terrestrial networks and satcoms and can therefore be used even in remote locations such as desert areas.

The EU’s Copernicus programme, with its growing constellation of Sentinel satellites, offers free high-quality observation data, day or night, independent of weather conditions.

“We have been using Sentinel-1A imagery since the satellite was launched, and the results have been very positive,” noted Jan Ridder, Managing Director at Orbital Eye.

“Currently, Sentinel-1A data are refreshed on average once every 12 days. Initially, some operators prefer a higher frequency, but once they start using the system they find that the current rate is adequate in many cases.”

Sentinel-1B, launched on 25 April, is expected to provide more regular visits and over larger regions, including Asia, Africa and the USA, allowing Orbital Eye to expand its service.

“Thanks to ESA’s support, we were able to deploy PIMSyS for two operators in 2015, gaining real-world experience. This was critical for gaining the trust of new customers in this industry.”

ESA’s Olivier Becu commented: “Our Integrated Applications Promotions programme gives promising start-ups such as Orbital Eye the opportunity to develop and deploy new space-based services in an operational setting in order to prove their products together with users.”

Read more at

With this new release, our Earth Observation Portal simplified registration to our data access services, with a more user-friendly look and feel.

See our tutorial video: Earth Observation Portal Tutorial

As a new user, creating an account in our EOP will grant you automatic access to our Data Centre where you can search and place orders for historical and long-term archive data. You will also be automatically registered to the Online Data Access (ODA) for Copernicus Sentinel-3 marine data.

As an existing EOP user, next time you log in to your account, you will also be granted automatic access to our Data Centre and to the ODA. No additional subscription will be required for these two services.

Note: the ODA will only become active this summer, when the Sentinel-3 data are operational.

If you want to receive data in near real-time, then subscribe to EUMETCast, our multi-service dissemination system delivering data from the Meteosat, Metop, Jason and Copernicus Sentinel-3 satellites, and a wide range of third party products.

With your EOP account, you can also subscribe to email service news from our User Notification Service.

For more information on registration to our services, see our Data Registration page or contact our User Service Helpdesk

Source

(Brussels, 21-22 September 2016) We want to draw your attention to the above-referenced event so that you can reserve the date in you diary. On 21-22 September 2016, the European Commission (DG Research and Innovation) will organise a second workshop with the European commercial sector with the aim of investigating innovation requirements and related collaborative approaches needed to develop new Earth observation markets in Europe.

This workshop follows on from the first event held in Brussels on 26 September 2014 and entitled “Engaging the Private Sector in GEOSS – A European Perspective”

Conclusion of the Workshop Engaging the Private Sector in GEOSS. A European Perspective

This second workshop will take place in the context of the recent developments within the Group on Earth Observations (GEO), in particular the renewing of the initiative for a further decade (2016-2025), during which a stronger collaboration with the commercial sector will be sought.

This workshop will be forward looking. It will take stock of new ideas and business models supporting EO products and services of the future. It will also examine the necessary framework conditions and identify any relevant innovation deals to be addressed. Indicative topics to be addressed include:

  • Topic 1: Exploring EO products and services of the future
  • Topic 2: Reviewing the necessary R&I conditions for the development of the European Earth observation market
  • Topic 3: Assessing rationale and way forward towards the establishment of a structured consultation mechanism between the European commercial sector and GEO.

This workshop builds on a series of events on EO related business held in Europe since 2014, including:

The workshop will be a unique moment for companies attending to:

  • Take advantage of opportunities for networking,
  • Develop new business opportunities,
  • Promote their capabilities to others,
  • Learn about R&D and state of the art.

The workshop will last two full days. It will start on 21st September in the morning (with registration opening at 08:30 AM) and will be adjourned on 22nd September at 05:00 pm. The participation at the workshop of commercial actors, research organisations, and users interested in accessing and developing geospatial/Earth observation services and products is particularly welcome.

Registration for participants and speakers is now open at the DG RTD website REGISTRATION where you can find preliminary information and a draft agenda for the workshop as well as some background information.

In the registration form you will find the possibility to request a time slot to present relevant activities, results and future plans related to the topics covered by the workshop in one of the six break-out sessions detailed on the website. A limited number of requests to speak at the plenary sessions may also be considered.

Draft agenda

https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/InnovationEarthObservationMarket

We would therefore kindly ask you to express your interest to contribute with an oral presentation by 20th July 2016.

We will study all the proposals and will try to accommodate your request in the programme taking into consideration the relevance of the topic of your contribution to the session requested and the slots available. Therefore, you will receive a confirmation of the accepted nature of your contribution after 20th July.

Please note however that registration for attendees-only will close later, on 07 September 2016.

Further details of the venue and logistic information such as a list of hotels near the facilities of the workshop will be provided in the weeks to come.

We would kindly ask you as well to distribute this mail among your networks and encourage them to participate.

Should you have any questions, please contact Edita Kuzmova (Edita.KUZMOVA@ec.europa.eu)

Source

PARIS — The Luxembourg government has agreed to purchase up to 49 percent of the equity in asteroid-mining company Planetary Resources’ Luxembourg operations as part of the effort to make Luxembourg the nexus of space-based resource exploitation, an industry official said. –

An announcement of the agreement was scheduled for June 13 in Luxembourg, the official said.

It was not immediately clear what the initial investment level would be beyond taking part in Redmond, Washington-based Planetary Resources’ creation of a Luxembourg operation. Initial costs are likely to be modest, including administrative fees associated with incorporating in Luxembourg.

The Luxembourg government has stressed it wanted to move quickly to tie down commitments from space-mining companies, starting with memoranda of understanding and continuing with a new pro-development space-mining law and financial incentives for research and development.

In addition, the government announced on June 3 that it had set aside an initial 200 million euros ($225 million) to be spent on its spaceresources.lu venture. Luxembourg Deputy Prime Minister Etienne Schneider said the money would be used for technology-demonstration spacecraft and the purchase of ownership in companies that set up operations in Luxembourg. He said the 200 million euros should be seen as just the start.

“The program has the full support of the Luxembourg government and what is clear so far is how fast it is moving forward,” said the industry official.

Schneider and Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel said the government would adapt for space-based mining many of the investment techniques it used for commercial telecommunications satellite fleet operator SES, which in 25 years has grown into the largest commercial fleet operator. The government retains a 33 percent equity owner of SES.

Deep Space Industries of Mountain View, California, was the first to sign the memorandum of understanding leading to a formal Luxembourg corporate presence and will receive financial support for its Prospector-X nanosatellite to test mining-relevant technologies. The satellite will be built in Luxembourg.

Now comes Planetary Resources. The industry official said this company offers investment-savvy Luxembourg the possibility of an early revenue stream – Earth observation – on the way to its long-term goal of asteroid mining.

The company completed a $21.1 million in Series A financing in June from several venture capital funds and from Google co-founder Larry Page, an early supporter, to develop a 10-satellite constellation for hyperspectral and infrared Earth imaging.

Other investors were Bryan Johnson and the OS Fund; Idea Bulb Ventures; Tencent; Vast Ventures; Grishin Robotics; Conversion Capital; The Seraph Group; and Space Angels Network, a syndication of investors from Angel.co.

The Luxembourg government investment adds a powerful incentive to relocate some of this development to Luxembourg before Ceres satellite production is too solidly anchored on the U.S. West Coast.

In May, health-care and agricultural research giant Bayer of Monheim, Germany, and Planetary Resources announced they had signed a memorandum of understanding under which Bayer “intends to purchase data from Planetary Resources to create new agricultural products and improve existing ones. The collaboration will be part of the Digital Farming Initiative at Bayer.”

Schneider has said the spaceresources.lu program would distinguish itself from U.S.-based efforts by being more international. Companies setting up shop in Luxembourg need not prove Luxembourg-based majority ownership to receive the full suite of regulatory advantages.

The government has said it wants a European, an American and a Chinese national on the space-mining program’s board. Jean-Jacques Dordain, former director-general of the 22-nation European Space Agency; and Simon Pete Worden, former director of NASA’s Ames Research Center, have joined the board.

UPDATE: Planetary Resources said June 13 that it had signed an MoU with the Luxembourg government and that the government was “considering a direct capital investment in Planetary Resources Luxembourg. This public equity position will be taken by the SNCI [banking institution Société Nationale de Crédit et d’Investissement] to become a minority shareholder. Planetary Resources Luxembourg plans to conduct key research and development activities.”

Source

(14 June 2016) At a restricted meeting of the ESA Council held in Paris mid June Mr Josef Aschbacher was appointed as ESA Director of Earth Observation.

Mr Aschbacher is currently the Head of Programme Planning and Coordination in the Directorate of Earth Observation Programmes at ESA ESRIN, located in Frascati, Italy.

Born in Austria, he studied at the University of Innsbruck, graduating with a Master’s and a Doctoral Degree in Natural Sciences.

He has 35 years of professional experience in Earth observation.

His professional career in ESA began in 1990.

During 1994–2001 he worked at the European Commission Joint Research Centre in Ispra, Italy, where he was the Scientific Assistant to the Director of the Space Applications Institute.

He returned to ESA HQ in Paris in 2001, and in 2014, he was promoted to his current position where he is responsible for planning ESA’s Earth observation programmes and for formulating and implementing programmatic and strategic decisions across the Directorate.

He is taking over from Mr Volker Liebig, who has been Director of Earth Observation since October 2004.

Source

ATHENS, Greece, June 14, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — At the first CAMS summit in Athens on 14-16 June, ECMWF, in charge of CAMS on behalf of the European Commission, will launch a radically new interactive and ready to use version of its online platform of atmosphere data. Policy makers, scientific and business communities or citizens will benefit from an enhanced free-to-access array of customisable and “live” maps and charts in just a few clicks.

Some of today’s most important environmental concerns relate to the composition of the atmosphere. The increasing concentration of the greenhouse gases and the cooling effect of aerosol are prominent drivers of a changing climate, but the extent of their impact is often still uncertain. Air quality is also one of the major concerns throughout the world, affecting human health and life expectancy, the health of ecosystems and the fabric of the built environment.

The European Union’s Copernicus Earth Observation programme uses and contributes to a worldwide network of thousands of sensors on land, in our oceans, and in the air, as well as a network of over 50 satellites providing millions of environmental readings every day. To address these environmental concerns there is a need for data and processed information that is easily accessible. That means, not only free of charge, but ready to use and designed to match users’ needs.

Instant online design “à la carte”

To see the video presentation of the new CAMS online platform

The new CAMS interface provides dynamic visualisations without the need to download data into specialist tools or software, giving users access to maps, charts, animations and local time series based on information about atmospheric chemistry as generated by the Copernicus programme.

The Catalogue component provides the basis for users to easily find the many products, be it data, maps or documents. It includes an intuitive search system, improved filtering and clear display of the resulting information.

The new catalogue marks an important step in broadening access to the wealth of CAMS data as part of Copernicus’s mission, supporting society to understand and adapt to our changing environment through world-leading science and technology.

Introducing the new interface, Dr. Vincent-Henri Peuch, Head of the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service said:

“To sum up this major improvement, any user will find in just one place the data they need with just a few clicks and be able to display them on a live map of the world instantly, zooming on a region and panning on the map, making point & click queries to visualize timeseries and playing animations.”

Source

Shifts in funding for forest governance mean donors want to see they’re achieving results. Richard Tipper and Karin Viergever look at the pros and cons of the different earth observation data available for measuring forest areas

The importance of forests in mitigating climate change was reaffirmed at the historic UN agreement in Paris in December, and a notable shift in financing models towards results-based systems makes accurate measurement from earth observation satellites more important than ever.

In Article 5 of the Paris Accord, parties to the convention are encouraged to support reductions in emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, as well as backing forest conservation, restoration and improved management measures in developing countries. These measures are known as REDD+.

While aid funding for improved forest governance has traditionally been applied on a needs basis, there is increasing interest in financing projects on the basis of results: the avoided loss of forest and resulting carbon emissions. Norway has taken the lead in the move towards results-based finance and while other donors have viewed it with some wariness, there is an increasing acceptance from both the results-based and the needs-based financing perspectives that results or outcomes from forestry programmes need to be measured. At the very least, it allows donors to understand whether they are achieving their objectives and delivering value for money. Earth observation (EO) by satellites is widely recognised as the only practical way to monitor forest changes at national or regional scales. Good practices in the application of EO to REDD+ are emerging through the efforts of the Global Forest Observations Initiative (GFOI), and through various UN, World Bank and donor-led schemes, developing countries are being encouraged and supported to develop systems for mapping forest resources and quantifying changes in forest cover and conditions.

The main observation tasks required by REDD+ can be split into ‘resource mapping’ (the mapping of forests and related vegetation classes and their condition) and ‘change mapping’ (the mapping and quantification of change from one year to the next) – for reasons of error propagation, change is rarely quantified by comparing two resource or forest cover maps.

Which earth observation assets are chosen for these tasks will depend on details such as cloud cover levels, forest complexity, technical capabilities and affordability. For any country with complex forest estates and change dynamics, or with ambitions for forest monitoring that go beyond the most basic REDD+ monitoring requirements, it is likely that multiple sensors will be needed to
achieve its aims.

Choices

For forest change detection, response times and accuracy are key considerations. While national reporting may require only annual observations of change, enforcement and response agencies are looking for faster and subtler methods of detecting change that can pick up activities such as illegal logging or the clearance of small patches for subsistence agriculture or small-scale mining.

In general, there is a shift from relatively coarse scale forest resource mapping, such as the 250m MODIS, to medium resolution products based on the likes of Landsat, DMC, CBERS, SPOT and Sentinel-2. While MODIS has the attraction of high frequency revisits, consistent and easy-to-handle data products and a historic archive going back to 2000, its relatively coarse resolution makes precise boundaries between agriculture and forest difficult to determine. There is also far less capability to distinguish forest types within a landscape.

In some cases, this data is being supplemented by airborne LIDAR missions, particularly for areas of high carbon stocks or important biodiversity, while radar methods have proven to be particularly useful in the mapping of fragmented dryland forests. There are also a number of exciting new developments on the way in terms of satellite deployment and equipment. These new EO constellations are likely to have an impact on both forest resource assessment and change detection.

In the case of optical sensors, the increasing availability of very high resolution images and falling costs is likely to continue with new constellations, such as Urthecast, Planet Labs and DMC3. But despite increasing availability and lower prices, these products are unlikely to become the mainstays of national EO applications. Instead, they will most likely be used for calibration, validation tasks and discrete operations, such as prosecutions or monitoring activities in highly sensitive areas.

New radar sensors are also becoming higher resolution. For example, TerraSAR, CosmoSkyMed, ALOS-2/PALSAR-2, and India’s RISAT are offering spatial resolutions at less than 5m, allowing for better mapping of finer scale degradation patterns such as logging tracks. The European Space Agency’s upcoming BIOMASS mission, scheduled for 2020, will be the first space-borne P-band radar, which saturates at higher levels of forest biomass. Outputs of the mission will include maps of forest biomass and forest height at a resolution of 200m. An experimental ‘tomographic’ phase will aim to provide 3D views of forest areas.

New technologies and further development of existing methods may provide data and information where persistent cloud cover limits optical satellite data, and in areas of the tropics where radar sensors experience reduced sensitivity at high levels of biomass.

LiDAR provides near-3D information on canopy structure and ground topography, so can be used to derive accurate estimates of forest canopy heights. It has been found to be more accurate than even field-based height measurements. It is an established method for forest mapping and monitoring, but still an emerging technology in terms of national-scale mapping.

The detailed vertical and horizontal resolution of airborne LIDAR enables field measurement-like data over larger areas. However, compared to many other EO data sources, LiDAR from airborne platforms is expensive, although the high data acquisition costs can compare favourably overall, given that more data is often needed using other methods. LiDAR from satellite platforms is currently less common: NASA’s Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) on the ICESat satellite was originally intended for monitoring ice sheet topography and atmospheric properties, but the coarse horizontal spatial resolution data has been used to contribute to global forest canopy height models and large-scale tropical biomass maps.

Maps of forest characteristics at such large scales are not generally used for REDD+. However, NASA’s Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation LiDAR (GEDI) mission will operate for one year from the International Space Station, from 2018. It was designed specifically for mapping and monitoring forest structure, biomass and change, and will offer higher resolution spaceborne LiDAR data.

Another option is interferometric X-band, such as TerraSAR-X, which can be used to estimate forest canopy height. A drastic reduction in canopy height indicates deforestation, while a smaller reduction could indicate degradation. This method is less accurate than LIDAR, but there is more historical data available and it can be significantly cheaper.

EO applications in forests are using an increasingly broad range of sensors for different tasks, from coarse resolution resource mapping to high frequency change detection and characterisation. With interoperability of data from different satellite sensors and data model integration identified as areas of priority, that is likely to continue as more EO assets and techniques become available.

Richard Tipper is executive chairman and Karin Viergever is head of earth observation at Ecometrica (www.ecometrica.com)
Source

[Via Satellite 04-22-2016] Rezatec, a U.K.-based Earth Observation (EO) data analytics company formed in 2012, has raised more than $1.4 million in a seed financing round to expand its sales and marketing teams worldwide. Run Capital led the round with support from the Harvard Business School Alumni Angels and existing shareholders.

Rezatec provides satellite-driven data analytics for users in the utilities, agribusiness and energy sectors. The financing follows a number of contract awards for subscription to the company’s landscape intelligence portal by customers seeking to enhance their corporate predictive and forecasting capabilities around their land-based assets.

We are making clear headway with commercial sales of satellite-derived data analytics in a number of sectors worldwide,” said Rezatec CEO Patrick Newton. “The support of our investors in this round is key to our expansion plans into this new and fast developing segment of big data analytics.”

Rezatec proprietary algorithms process data inputs from satellite, airborne and ground sensors to predict outcomes for key assets in a number of industry verticals. Users access Rezatec analytics through subscription to the Rezatec landscape intelligence portal. Among its solution sets, Rezatec enables yield optimization for commodity crops in the agribusiness sector; water catchment pollution and soil erosion forecasts in the water utilities sector; and pipe bursts and subsidence movements in the energy and utilities sectors. Rezatec users include major U.K. utilities, agribusinesses, consulting partners and government.

Source

- Joint-venture with Airbus Defence and Space to build estimated $85 million automated facility in Florida to manufacture nearly 900 satellites
- The satellites are designed in Toulouse (France) and series production will be tested there on a prototype assembly line

OneWeb Satellites, a joint venture between Airbus Defence and Space and OneWeb, has chosen Florida in the United States as the site for its final assembly line, completing the last step in its industrial organisation. This facility, located at Florida’s Exploration Park, near the Kennedy Space Center, will carry out the series production of nearly 900 satellites for the OneWeb constellation.

“In June 2015, we started from scratch to create a new satellite design and manufacturing company,” stated François Auque, Head of Space Systems. “In both Florida and Europe, we are now embarking on the next stage of an unprecedented venture in the space industry: a site that can mass-produce dozens of satellites every month. All this, of course, without affecting the levels of quality and technology that are essential when it comes to spacecraft – complex machines that need to operate for several years in space.”

The choice of Florida for the final assembly line follows the announcement of the creation of OneWeb Satellites in January 2016. The production site will cover an area of 100,000+ square feet and will create nearly 250 direct jobs.

A prototype production line at Airbus Defence and Space in Toulouse (France) will assemble and test the first 10 satellites, and check and validate industrial solutions for the series production. The design of the satellites is currently under way in the company’s design offices in Toulouse.

The space segment of OneWeb will comprise initially a constellation of 648 operational satellites and replacement satellites, all of which will be identical. Each satellite will weigh approximately 150 kg and will operate in low Earth orbit. Arianespace and Virgin Galactic will begin launching the spacecraft in 2018 and the satellites will be placed in orbit using electrical propulsion.

This joint venture, equally owned by Airbus Defence and Space and OneWeb, has been set up following the selection in June 2015 of Airbus Defence and Space as the industrial partner of OneWeb to design and build its satellites. The constellation to be operated by OneWeb will provide high-speed internet services with global coverage. OneWeb Satellites will also be able to produce satellites, platforms or equipment to be marketed by Airbus Defence and Space for the benefit of other operators of future constellations.

(14 June 2016) exactEarth and DigitalGlobe today announced a strategic alliance to offer joint services to the commercial fishing industry and to aid in the combating of Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing.

Today, IUU fishing is recognized as a major threat to achieving sustainable fisheries, with the potential to cause an irreversible change in ocean ecosystems. Several decades of overfishing in the world’s major fisheries has created large declines in commercially important fish populations, thus hindering the ability to feed the growing global population and costing governments tens of billions of dollars in lost revenue annually.

The Alliance will see exactEarth’s advanced automatic identification system (AIS) maritime information services integrated with DigitalGlobe’s high-accuracy, high-resolution commercial satellite imagery. The integrated solution will leverage both organizations’ big data and predictive analytics capabilities in order to help governments to address IUU fishing and also their broader maritime surveillance.

“26 million tonnes of fish, representing approximately $23 billion in lost revenue, are taken each year through illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing,” said Peter Mabson, CEO of exactEarth. “This has created a compelling case for governments and commercial organization to find a solution to stem their IUU losses. With DigitalGlobe we believe we have the solution required and we will be first-to-market with a satellite-based AIS system to solve this problem. Our Alliance will enable governments and commercial organizations to monitor fishing activity in and around their borders, respond to suspicious activity and hold vessels accountable for their catch.”

“Illegal fishing costs countries billions of dollars each year and impacts livelihoods of millions,” said Tony Frazier, SVP & GM of Services for DigitalGlobe. “This partnership will bring to market the first commercial solution to combat illegal fishing, and the combined capabilities of DigitalGlobe and exactEarth will allow stakeholders to make decisions with confidence to control the serious problem of IUU fishing. The Alliance will enable our customers to receive AIS data covering a broader territory, which in turn will help them to enhance their overall maritime governance decisions and increase transparency for our changing planet.”

About exactEarth

exactEarth is a leading provider of global maritime vessel data for ship tracking and maritime situational awareness solutions. Since its establishment in 2009, exactEarth has pioneered a powerful new method of maritime surveillance called Satellite-AIS (“S-AIS”) and has delivered to its clients a view of maritime behaviours across all regions of the world’s oceans unrestricted by terrestrial limitations. exactEarth has deployed an operational data processing supply chain involving a constellation of satellites, receiving ground stations, patented decoding algorithms and advanced “big data” processing and distribution facilities. This ground-breaking system provides a comprehensive picture of the location of AIS equipped maritime vessels throughout the world and allows exactEarth to deliver data and information services characterized by high performance, reliability, security and simplicity to large international markets.

About DigitalGlobe

DigitalGlobe is a leading provider of commercial high-resolution earth observation and advanced geospatial solutions that help decision makers better understand our changing planet in order to save lives, resources and time. Sourced from the world’s leading constellation, our imagery solutions deliver unmatched coverage and capacity to meet our customers’ most demanding mission requirements. Each day customers in defense and intelligence, public safety, civil agencies, map making and analysis, environmental monitoring, oil and gas exploration, infrastructure management, navigation technology, and providers of location-based services depend on DigitalGlobe data, information, technology and expertise to gain actionable insight.

(source: exactEarth) and spacenews