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Kongsberg Satellite Services AS

Kongsberg Satellite Services AS (KSAT) is a commercial Norwegian company, uniquely positioned to provide ground station and earth observation services for polar orbiting satellites. With three interconnected polar ground stations; Tromsø at 69°N, Svalbard (SvalSat) at 78°N and Antarctic TrollSat Station at 72°S, and a growing mid-latitude network, KSAT operates over 60 antennas optimally positioned for access to polar orbits.

Ground Network Services

KSAT is the global leader in providing ground station network services including Telemetry, Tracking and Commanding (TT&C) and Data Acquisition services, with experience all the way back to 1967. With a large number of sites and antennas available, KSAT provides the very high reliability that is needed for critical support of satellite operations.

  • Telemetry, Tracking & Command (TT&C)
  • Data Acquisition
  • Hosting Services
  • LEOP & Launch Support
  • Sounding Rocket Support
  • Data Handling

Earth Observation Services

KSAT supports most of the commercial satellites in orbit and can provide timely imagery and data independent of satellite ownership. With our unique ground station network and experienced analysts, ‘near-real-time’ operational information can often be provided within 30 minutes. KSAT’s multi-mission maritime monitoring services have been provided to coastguards, pollution-control authorities and oil companies since 1998.

  • Oil Spill Detection Service
  • Vessel Detection Service
  • Multi Mission Rapid Response
  • Ice Navigation
  • Nasjonal bruk og tilgang til data

KSAT has supplied multi-mission near real-time services for more than a decade. The main focus has been marine applications, where services for oil spill, vessel detection, wind information and real-time image access for navigation are provided. The capability of providing near real-time customized information has been a key to the success of these services. KSAT focuses on customized multi-mission services, and development of new operational services tailored to user requirements has a high priority. Services for Emergency situations, land applications and ice berg tracking are being established as part of KSAT Rapid response and Near real-time service portfolio. KSAT is now also developing new data services particularly for forestry. KSAT will ensure operational access to multi-mission optical and SAR data products e.g. at a geocoded format suitable for forest mapping and monitoring.

Multi-mission near real-time services

The distribution of SAR and optical data acquired and processed at the Tromsø Station, Grimstad, SvalSat and the Troll station in Antarctica represents a major element in the business activities. The processing facilities and distribution chain has been designed and developed for very fast deliveries of data to customers with operational needs. Near real-time is by KSAT defined as delivery of data and/or information in 30 to 60 minutes after acquisition.

KSAT process and deliver image products from Envisat, Radarsat-1, Radarsat-2, ALOS, Kompsat-2, Formosat-2 and Terra/MODIS. In addition KSAT has data distribution agreements for infoterra’s high resolution SAR satellites; TerraSAR- X and soon Tandem-X, and Digital Globe’s high resolution optical satellites; Worldview -2, WorldView-1 and QuickBird. KSAT also contributes to the Norwegian investment in the Canadian Radarsat program, providing access to data for institutional and commercial customers at favorable conditions.

KSAT has a highly qualified order and supports centre and is a one-stop access point for multi-mission data users. Our services include planning and ordering support, scheduling, data acquisition, processing, value adding and dissemination of information – all through a dedicated and well defined interface.

KSAT is continuously working to reduce delivery time for supported missions. New concepts and service chains are being developed and tested in close cooperation with satellite operators and key end users such as Norwegian Defense and UNOSAT-UNITAR. Through these activities delivery time has been reduced to less than 2.5 hours for optical satellites and less than 15 minutes for SAR satellites. The target is Near Real Time deliver for all supported missions!

Maritime environment and situational awareness

By utilizing state-of-the-art technology and experienced operators, KSAT provides satellite based oil spill and vessel detection services to coastguards and pollution-control authorities. The services are based on Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) in combination with optical imagery and integrated with non-space data.

The overall aim of these services is to provide detection and early warning of possible oil spills and associated sources for regional environmental monitoring, and to provide information about vessels and associated activity in a certain area at a given time. The information is relevant for the Defense, Coastguards and for authorities responsible for fisheries or ship traffic monitoring. The
rapid delivery from the satellite service makes the information effective in support to surveillance means like coastguard vessels and surveillance aircrafts. Oil spill or detected vessels are reported to customers as fast as possible after satellite acquisition, typically 30 to 60 minutes.

The KSAT service has been used operational in Europe for many years and since 2007 a KSAT lead consortium has provided 24 European Coastal States with satellite based oil spill information through the CleanSeaNet service contract with the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA).

The KSAT Emergency response service allows rapid set-up of a complete multi- mission satellite based service for any given area. The monitoring density will be adapted to each individual case and can be adjusted as the situation develops. This service was activated and used during the first month of the Deepwater Horizon accident in Gulf of Mexico in April 2010. Such situations are characterized by a huge need for information – and short deadlines. One single satellite system will not meet all requirements, so the rapid set-up of the KSAT multi-mission service concept where end users have one access point to all applicable satellites is the optimal solution.

KSAT is continuously working on service improvement and development of new services. The new generation services is based on information derived from the satellite data, integrated with additional information such as wind, wave and current from SAR-images, numerical models information, observations, and additional geographical database information. KSAT also provides satellite imagery for measuring sea surface temperature and ocean colour. The new generation of integrated services will be a KSAT contribution to the Barents Watch system now being established in Tromsø under the responsibility of the Norwegian Coastal Directorate.

Ice navigation services

Any journey in the ice infested waters of the Arctic Ocean is a journey into the unknown with no up-to-date detailed map of the ice conditions readily available. Icebergs may represent a threat for offshore oil and gas activities as well as for commercial ship traffic and fisheries. KSAT is now developing a service where the aim is to detect and monitor the drift of the icebergs.

KSAT also provide near real – time access to the satellite images for users operating in the high North. These users can connect to the image server at KSAT in Tromsø to access the latest radar satellite image of the sea ice conditions immediately ahead of them. This enables the users to receive the very latest information on the sea ice conditions and use it for navigation.

Global Ground Station Network

KSAT owns and operates three polar ground stations. SvalSat, the world’s largest ground station for polar LEO satellites is located at 78 degrees north. SvalSat is augmented with the Tromsø station and the Troll site in Antarctica. With the new ground stations in Hartebeesthoek, Bangalore, Dubai and Singapore, KSAT offers a global network of stations for all clients.

  • Svalbard Satellite Station (Svalsat)
  • Tromsø satellite Station
  • Troll Satellite Station (TrollSat) – Antarctica
  • Grimstad
  • Hartebeesthoek – South Africa
  • Dubai
  • Mauritius
  • Singapore

General

Earth Observation

Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT)
Prestvannveien 38, 9011 Tromsø
Mailaddress; P.O. Box 6180, 9291 Tromsø, Norway
E-mail: ksat@ksat.no
Telephone: (+47) 77 60 02 50 // Telefax: (+47) 77 60 02 99