Hovering Horizon Featuring EO Solutions for pandemic crisis Copernicus Service in Support to EU External Action - Copernicus SEA
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March – April 2020
Hovering Horizon
Issue 5
Featuring EO Solutions for
pandemic crisis COVID-19
Copernicus Service in Support to
EU External Action
Implemented by:
SatCen
Contents
Summary Matrix 3
R&D and Academia 5
Policy and Regulations 8
Satellite Financing 10
Upstream Activities 12
New Technology / Equipment 13
Satellite operations and launch 14
Downstream Activities / Services 15
Annex I. List of Key Events and Conferences 19
Annex II. Selected satellites launched
in the period January to February 2020 23
2
SatCen
Summary Matrix
FEATURE CONTENT COVID-19
Category Development Impact on EO Security Page
COVID-19 outbreak has
Likely, COVID-19 and policies related to the current crisis will affect the
changed the focus on
decisions made in security.
5
Research and EO innovation
Development
EDPB adopts a statement
on the processing data Under circumstances relating to public health, competent public health
in the context of the authorities can process personal data without consent of individuals.
8
COVID-19 outbreak
Policy and
African governments use Data procured through the GRID3 help public authorities to create maps
Regulations
GRID3 data in response to that include settlement extents which are key planning tools for health 9
the pandemic crisis policymakers.
ESA issues two new
ESA has just launched two new initiatives to better understand the
initiatives to understand
the effects created by the
effect of COVID-19 on the society and the environment to supplement 11
Satellite the Copernicus Sentinel-5P satellite mission.
Financing pandemic crisis
Drones playing a growing In China and Australia drone usage has been extended for pandemic
role in response to the monitoring purposes such as monitoring movements of people, 12
Upstream coronavirus pandemic broadcasting messages and transporting samples.
Activities
The Guyana Space Center has ceased major operations due to the
The launch of UAE’s Falcon
Eye 2 satellite is delayed
Coronavirus. The launch of Falcon Eye 2 satellite has thus been delayed 14
Satellite to September.
Operations
Sentinel-5P data shows
As quarantine measures take place, air pollution maps show major
a drop in pollution across
drops in large cities such as Paris, Madrid and Milan.
15
Europe
The Copernicus Climate
An EU-funded project will develop a platform to study the relation
Change Service develops
between climatic, epidemiological and socio-economic data and support
Downstream the COVID Climate Toolbox
actors’ decision-making during the pandemic.
Services platform
European mobile carriers
European mobile operators share anonymous, GDPR compliant data on
share data to fight against
citizen movements with health authorities to help fight COVID-19.
16
the virus pandemic
3
FEATURE CONTENT COVID-19
Category Development Impact on EO Security Page
To face COVID-19, Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) members have
OGC members publish
been publishing resources to inform their customers, governments and
their resources to face the
the public at large and help authorities to take the appropriate decisions
16
pandemic crisis
during the crisis.
NASA reveals a drop in air NASA has identified a 20-year low in aerosol levels in India since the
pollution in India following March 25 lockdown date, based on data from the Moderate Resolution 16
the COVID-19 pandemic Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite.
Downstream China used GaoFen, Zhuhai and Sentinel-1 to monitor construction of
China uses satellites to
Services combat COVID-19
hospitals being built to tackle COVID-19. TFSTAR AI satellite helped 17
create the geographical reach of the virus.
BlackSky is offering
remote access to its BlackSky’s telework package is designed for workers who handle
global monitoring services sensitive information. The package provides access to BlackSky’s 17
and satellite imaging satellites for tasking and archiving data.
during the pandemic crisis
GENERAL HIGHLIGHTS
Category Development Impact on EO Security Page
NRO shifts its strategy
The U.S. National Reconnaissance Office is abandoning its long-standing
to buy commercial
monogamous relationship with Maxar Technologies and will buy
satellite imagery from
imagery from other vendors to improve the quality of its EO-related
8
Policy and vendors other than Maxar
security services.
Regulations Technologies
The UK startup Sen selected NanoAvionics, a Lithuanian satellite
NanoAvionics selected
manufacturer, to develop an EarthTV constellation. With this new
by Sen to build EarthTV
European partnership, Sen will stream ultra-high definition video from
12
Upstream satellites
space starting in 2021.
Activities
ICEYE unveiled SAR imagery with a 25-centimeter resolution using its
ICEYE unveils SAR imagery
small satellites constellation. This innovation will help governmental
with a resolution of 25
agencies and commercial entities to achieve very detailed change
13
New Technology/ centimeters
detection.
Equipment
Iran launches a military satellite on a previously unknown launch
Iran launches EO military
satellite
vehicle called Qassed. The satellite is expected to have limited 14
Satellite resolution given the small size of the launch vehicle.
Operations
4
Section 1
R&D and Academia
Figure 1 – COVID-19 deaths April 2020 on a map of near surface air temperatures from Copernicus Climate Services.
Figure from: https://cds.climate.copernicus.eu/apps/c3s/app-c3s-monthly-climate-covid-19-explorer
How can EO provide insights pandemic related security issues?
The link between the current COVID-19 outbreak and EO
data for security is stronger than one might think. This EO Information for the COVID-19 Crisis:
new worldwide situation makes it ever more important to ■ Copernicus - European Air Quality information in
stay in control in security related matters. Spatial proxies1 support of the COVID-19 crisis
and direct insights from satellite data provides more ■ C3S helps health experts explore how temperature and
information on the security challenges at hand. Areas such humidity affect virus spread
as border monitoring, sea traffic monitoring and human ■ Climate Data Store - Monthly climate explorer for
activity in urban centers, can be linked to the spatial COVID-19
developments from clusters of disease outbreak and
policy actions, if several data sources are combined in an
intelligent manner. As quarantine conditions force people In the light of the COVID-19 outbreak, a number of
to stay at home there’s also a risk to food security, making research calls for solving disease related problems have
EO more than ever a useful tool for crop monitoring.2 been issued. EO data is one of the sources of data that
could be used to learn more about the disease and how
it spreads.
COVID-19 EO – Research calls:
■ Compiled list of funding opportunities by The Group
1 https://www.planet.com/pulse/how-satellite-data-can-help-with-
covid-19-and-beyond/ on Earth Observations (GEO) Health Community of
https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Preparing_for_the_Future/ Practice
Space_for_Earth/Space_for_health/Disease_Surveillance
■ ESA Business - Space in response to Covid-19 outbreak
2 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-12/satellites- ■ Copernicus - Current action and how you can help
are-helping-to-track-food-supplies-in-era-of-virus
5
Additionally, crowdsourcing is encouraged and a number
of contests and challenges are meant to enhance the
open datasets currently available on geo-data. This
helps mapping areas of the world where only sparse
information is available, such as vulnerable developing
countries. Another significant application of crowdsourcing
relating to security is border monitoring. Maxar’s GeoHIVE
platform was used to identify official and unofficial
border crossings in Iran. The identified crossings revealed
existing health risks to neighboring countries during the
pandemic.3 For things to keep an eye out for the ongoing
custom script contest by ESA and NASA’s Space Apps
COVID-19 hackathon on May 30-31 will likely showcase
some creative EO based solutions for COVID-19.
EO related crowdsourcing for the COVID-19 Crisis:
■ Mapping in times of COVID-19 and how you can help -
Humanitarian OpenStreetMap
■ ESA, EC and Sentinel-hub COVID-19 Custom Script
Contest managed by Euro Data Cube
■ MAXAR’s GeoHIVE crowdsourcing platform
■ NASA Space Apps COVID-19 challenge, May 30-31
Monitoring human activity both during and after lockdowns
resulting from COVID-19 can be achieved by EO data on
large scales both using conventional SAR change detection
methods and optical imagery, but also light emission data
at nighttime. NASA’s Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer
Suite (VIIRS) has been used in several cases to investigate
human activity patterns during COVID-194 5. Nighttime-
Light data relates to economic activity and can among
other things indicate which roads that are actively being
used. The data is provided in near-real-time, since this is
critical in a security-related setting it makes it suitable to
respond to threats derived from COVID-19 crisis.
3 https://explore.maxar.com/rs/748-UOX-850/images/Vol_21_
Mar_2020_Coronavirus%20in%20Iran.pdf
4 https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/146481/nighttime-images-
capture-change-in-china
5 https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/monitoring-the-covid-19-crisis-
from-space/
6
Scientific papers
worth noticing
Wang, Y., & Xiang Zhu, X. (2017). Earth Observation Using Racault, M.-F.; Abdulaziz, A.; George, G.; Menon, N.; C,
SAR and Social Media Images. In Proceedings of the IEEE J.; Punathil, M.; McConville, K.; Loveday, B.; Platt, T.;
Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition Sathyendranath, S.; Vijayan, V. Environmental Reservoirs of
Workshops (pp. 95-103). Vibrio cholerae: Challenges and Opportunities for Ocean-
Color Remote Sensing. Remote Sens. 2019, 11, 2763.
http://openaccess.thecvf.com/content_cvpr_2017_
workshops/w18/papers/Wang_Earth_Observation_Using_ https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/11/23/2763
CVPR_2017_paper.pdf Ocean-color remote sensing observations are increasingly
One of the promising way forward on the use of EO in used to map and forecast cholera disease outbreaks and
security, and other applications, is the combination of the distribution of V. cholerae environmental reservoirs in
satellite data with other sources, e.g. social media data. This fresh, coastal, and open-ocean systems. This paper reviews
research field is still in its early development, but scientific the use of ocean-color remote sensing data, in conjunction
development is happening such as this paper on urban with information on the ecology of the pathogen, to map
mapping with both social media images and TerraSAR-X its distribution and forecast risk of disease occurrence.
satellite data. This type of research can potentially lead to
much denser datasets of urban environment in the future
and thereby also benefit security related areas.
Hardy, A.; Ettritch, G.; Cross, D.E.; Bunting, P.; Liywalii, F.;
Sakala, J.; Silumesii, A.; Singini, D.; Smith, M.; Willis, T.;
Thomas, C.J. Automatic Detection of Open and Vegetated
Water Bodies Using Sentinel 1 to Map African Malaria
Vector Mosquito Breeding Habitats. Remote Sens. 2019,
11, 593.
https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/11/5/593
This paper presents an automated, tractable solution for
mapping both open and vegetated water bodies in a large
floodplain environment with a high degree of accuracy
using Sentinel-1 radar imagery and openly available
ancillary datasets. Developed water body products indicate
a number of areas where surface water persists beyond
the wet season. This identification is significant in terms
of public health risk mapping as these areas are likely to
maintain mosquito densities throughout the year.
7
Section 2
Policy and Regulations
Regulatory Review Policy
■ The European Data Protection Board adopts a ■ NRO shifts its strategy to buy commercial satellite
statement on the processing data in the context imagery from vendors other than Maxar Technologies
of the COVID-19 outbreak
April 13: The US National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) is
March 16: The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) abandoning its long-standing monogamous relationship
released a statement on the processing data in the with Maxar Technologies, as the office will award contracts
context of the COVID-19. Public and private organisations to new vendors to comply with its customers’ requirements.
throughout Europe are taking measures to mitigate For past decade, DigitalGlobe (last year consolidated into
COVID-19 which might involve the processing of personal Maxar), has been the sole source of commercial satellite
data related to individuals’ mobile phones. data used by the U.S. Intelligence Community under the
EnhanceView program series with commercial contracts
EDPB reaffirms that public authorities should first seek through the NRO.
to process location data in an anonymous way which
could enable generating reports on the concentration of This new strategy includes the release of a future Request
mobile devices at a certain location. In case the process of for Proposal expected in the third quarter of fiscal year
anonymous data is not sufficient to face the crisis, EDPB 2020, followed by the award of multiple commercial
reminds the governments that the ePrivacy Directive imagery contracts some months later. New vendors will all
enables Member States to introduce legislative measures be U.S.-based companies as NRO has a policy of contracting
to safeguard public security under certain conditions. only with American firms, or U.S. subsidiaries of foreign
firms having successfully complied with the Foreign
Control, Ownership or Influence (FOCI) requirements.
Remains to be decided if these new contracts will split
the $900 million NRO has set aside through 2023 for
optioning images from Maxar or if NRO will increase its
commercial imagery budget.
Covid-19 related
8
■ Russia and Belarus to build eight high-resolution EO ■ Axelspace partners with J-spacesystems in support of the
satellites United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
April 15: Russia and Belarus have recently signed an April 15: To contribute to the United Nation’s SDGs,
agreement to jointly build a constellation of eight high Axelspace Corporation concluded a Memorandum of
resolution Earth observation satellites. Belarussian satellite Understanding with Japan Space Systems, also called
engineers have already achieved a preliminary design. The J-spacesystems. This agreement will help the promotion
new project is supposed to be a follow-one design to the of the satellite data use in the field of capacity building
BKA-1 Earth observation satellite operated by Belarus and human resource development. Currently, capacity
which is able to capture two-meter resolution images. The building programs, such as the Japanese Government’s
new units will feature a high-resolution camera capable ABE initiative, use freely available satellite imagery to
of capturing images of 35 centimetres resolution. The reduce costs. However, this imagery is, for most part, not
optics will be manufactured by the Belarussian company satisfactory in terms of imaging frequency or resolution.
OAO Peleng and the integrated circuits will be built by the
Belarussian Integral Plant. Through this agreement, the two companies will use
AxelGlobe constellation data to resolve this issue and
No information regarding the project’s budget or the expect thus to make a substantial contribution to achieving
launch date of the constellation’s first unit (expected to be SDGs.
named BKA-2) are available. Analysts speculates that the
launch might occur in 2023. However, due to the current
pandemic crisis, all operations have come to a halt.
■ African governments use GRID3 data in response
to the pandemic crisis
April 17: To face the pandemic effects in sub-Saharan
Africa, Geo-Referenced Infrastructure and Demographic
Data for Development (GRID3) is marshalling its data
resources and capacities to help partner governments.
GRID3 is a program combining the expertise of partners
in States, United Nations, academia and private sector to
generate geospatial data on population, infrastructure and
boundaries.
GRID3 supports various countries during the crisis such as
Nigeria, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Data procured through the program help public authorities
to create maps that include settlement extents which are
key planning tools for health policymakers.
Covid-19 related
9
Section 3
Satellite Financing
■ PredaSAR raises $25 million for its SAR constellation The startup has already demonstrated its technology of
streaming ultra-high definition video from space following
March 3: PredaSAR, a Florida startup, completes $25
the launch of its first six UHD units in 2019 as hosted
million seed financing round to build its constellation of at
payloads on a commercial satellite. With the EarthTV
least 44 Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellites. Funds
constellation, Sen aims at offering video services free of
were raised from a diverse network of global institutional
charge for individuals and to offer premium services for
investors.
other organizations. Early adopters of Sen services might
be government-backed projects focused on monitoring
The company was found in 2019 by Marc Bell which also
climate change and movement of large groups of people.
owns Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems explaining partly why
PredaSAR hired Tyvak to build its first two units before
■ NASA awards a $7 million Earth imagery contract to
closing the funding round.
Planet
The first satellite of the constellation will be launched in April 17: In March 2020, Planet has been awarded a
early 2021. With its SAR project, PredaSAR aims to target $7million Earth imagery contract by NASA, announced a
both the government (defense, intelligence, homeland month after. The agreement follows a climate research
security) and commercial markets. pilot program under which Planet obtained a $6.7 million
contract in April 2019. During the pilot program, Planet
■ NanoAvionics selected by Sen to build EarthTV satellites imagery successfully supplemented data obtained by NASA
from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer,
March 5: The U.K.-based startup, Sen, awarded
its Terra and Aqua Earth observation satellites and from
NanoAvionics, a Lithuanian satellite manufacturer, a
the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite on the NASA
multimillion-euro contract to build five nanosatellites
and NOAA’s Joint Polar Satellite System.
aimed at capturing ultra-high-definition (UHD) video
from space. Under their agreement, NanoAvionics will
Under this new contract, the space agency has now access
manufacture 16 cubesats buses and integrate the units
to PlanetScope, the three-meter resolution global imagery
with Sen’s payload within its manufacturing and research
captured each day by a constellation of more than 130
facility located in Lithuania. Each unit will be equipped with
cubesats named Doves. The contract includes options to
cameras manufactured by Simera Sense of South Africa
continue purchasing imagery through September 2023.
enabling the satellites to capture 1.5-meter, 10-meter,
50-meter and wide-angle UHD imagery.
NanoAvionics and Sen are currently conducting a study to
determine the exact number of satellites needed to obtain
the EarthTV constellation, which is estimated around
100 units according to Sen’s CEO. The startup plans to
launch its first EarthTV satellite by 2021, followed by four
additional units in 2022.
10Roundup of Grants, Invitations to Tender,
and other Financing Opportunities
1. SPACE IN RESPONSE TO COVID-19 OUTBREAK 3. SPACE BASED SERVICES / APPLICATIONS
(TARGETED TO ITALY) ADDRESSING COVID-19 OUTBREAK
Financing: Financing:
European Space Agency, Invitation to Tender [AO10314] European Space Agency, Invitation to Tender
Opening Date and Deadline: Opening Date and Deadline:
31 March 2020 / 20 April 2020 TBD
Description: Description:
In cooperation with the Minister for Technological Innovation Under preparation
and Digitalization (MID), ESA invites companies to propose
Access: Link
Demonstration Projects dedicated to the deployment and
demonstration of pre-operational services, addressing
Healthcare or Education and based on at least one space
4. MULTILATERAL CALL FOR SOLUTIONS FOR
asset. The proposed services shall be deployed in Italy and
COVID-19 ECHO PERIOD – LIFE WITHOUT A
can be additionally demonstrated in other countries facing
VACCINE
similar exceptional challenges.
Financing:
Access: Link
Eureka network
Opening Date and Deadline:
2. SPACE HELPING UK ON COVID-19 AND OTHER 15 April 2020 / 15 May 2020
PANDEMICS (TARGETED TO UK) Description:
Financing: Participants are invited to submit research and innovation
European Space Agency, Invitation to Tender [AO10336] project proposals aiming to provide short to medium-
term responses to COVID-19 specific needs. The list of
Opening Date and Deadline:
examples provided does not specially target space-related
14 April 2020 / 15 October 2020
technologies but affirms that projects might be related to
Description: safe mobility including migration data and trends, regional
In cooperation with the UK Space Agency (UKSA), ESA risk monitoring etc.
calls for activities to facilitate the quick integration and
Access: Link
deployment of sustainable and concrete solutions to
address the UK healthcare ecosystem’s needs related to
the COVID-19 pandemic crisis making use of the different
advantages provided by space-based products and services.
Access: Link
Covid-19 related
11Section 4
Upstream Activities
■ Australian scientists develop a satellite to better identify Drones are currently used in some areas to monitor peo-
bushfires ple’s movements to make the restriction rules respected
and reduce the risk of infection for public authorities. Some
March 3: Australian researchers develop a satellite to bet-
authorities also use drones to broadcast messages and in-
ter detect bushfires following the 2019/2020 dramatic fire
formation about the crisis in rural areas that lack open com-
season. The small spacecraft will be equipped with infra-
munication channels for health information.
red detectors tuned to the country’s dominant vegetation.
Australian scientists already use satellites to investigate fire
Drones can also be used to carry various products. UAVs
potential, but this new mission will provide more accurate
carry out tasks like spraying disinfectant in potentially af-
and precise information.
fected areas. They also deliver transport samples from
hospital to laboratories and groceries in different countries
According to the ANU Research School of Astronomy and
including Australia and China.
Astrophysics team, the satellite will be launched in a few
years. It is expected to be suitcase-sized and have a resolu-
■ Airbus will support India and France to monitor climate
tion of about 10 meters.
change with TRISHNA
■ World View Stratollite fleet to deliver high resolution April 20: The French space agency, CNES, has recently con-
imagery and data analytics in North and Central America cluded a contract with Airbus Defence and Space to develop
and manufacture the thermal infrared instrument of the
March 3: World View Enterprises, the stratospheric data and
TRISHNA (Thermal infraRed Imaging Satellite for High reso-
information services company, will soon offer high resolu-
lution Natural resource Assessment) satellite.
tion imagery and associated analytics products from an in-
tegrated network of vehicles operating in the stratosphere.
TRISHNA will be the latest satellite in the joint Franco-Italian
The company has announced its plans to build and launch a
satellite fleet dedicated to climate monitoring and opera-
fleet of Stratollites, called World View Orbits, over North and
tional applications. CNES and the Indian space agency, ISRO,
Central America starting summer 2020. Initial operational
are partnering on the development of an infrared observa-
capabilities will follow, and full fleet operations are expected
tion system with high thermal resolution and high revisit
in first half of 2021.
capability including a satellite and associated ground seg-
ment. ISRO will provide the platform, the visible and short
Using its satellites, World View will provide high resolution
wave infrared instrument and will be the prime contractor
imagery access at 15 centimetres ground sample distance
for the satellite. CNES is co-responsible for the mission and
(GSD) using precision instruments manufactured by part-
will provide the thermal infrared instrument developed by
ners and suppliers. Data will be delivered to end users via
Airbus. The ground segment is shared between the two
the company’s secure data portal on its website.
countries.
The company also affirmed to be working on an electro-op-
For this mission, Airbus is leveraging the latest innovations
tical sensor to provide higher resolution imagery at better
to offer an affordable high performance instrument. The
than 5 centimetres GSD.
satellite will image the Earth every three days at 50 meters
resolution.
■ Drones playing a growing role in response to the
coronavirus pandemic
April 20: Technologies such as GIS, artificial intelligence and
mapping are crucial during the pandemic crisis. Drones are
playing a key role by helping authorities in different fields.
12Section 5
New Technology/
Equipment
■ ESA tested monitoring data to track movement of This kind of imagery is acquired by a single satellite star-
people ing at a location for 10 seconds. This precise resolution is
only available for targets in the azimuth direction or in the
April 28: As part of the coronavirus response, govern-
satellite’s path of travel. For targets in the range direction
ments across the EU are pushing for high-tech solutions
or perpendicular to the satellite’s direction, ICEYE provides
to reduce the spread of the Covid-19 virus. Contact trac-
imagery with a 50-centimeter resolution.
ing and tracking the movements of infected people is just
one example. Recent years have seen an explosion in data
This new product will enable the commercial and govern-
sources which can cast light on people’s movements, in-
ment customers of the company to achieve very high lev-
cluding satellites, drones, mobile phones and social media.
els of detailed change detection and improve their track-
In the wake of the refugee crisis of 2015, EU agencies, tech
ing capabilities.
companies and research consortiums started exploring the
use of these new data sources to predict movements of
GeoOptics announces the launch of an innovative radio
migrants into Europe, and these techniques can be applied
occultation data processing system
to track the spread of the virus in today’s pandemic.
April 15: GeoOptics launched an original radio occultation
In 2016, ESA, recognizing the lack of timely information on
data processing system named the GeoOptics Processor
migration trends, reached out to a number of EU agencies
for Radio Occultation (GeoPRO) to provide even more ac-
including Frontex and the European Asylum Support Office
curate and timely weather data from its CICERO constel-
with a collaborative pitch to use big data and space assets
lation of radio occultation satellites. Radio occultation is a
to harness these tools to track the movements of people.
remote sensing technique used for measuring properties
At least four feasibility studies were carried out with
of the atmosphere and can be used as a weather forecast-
companies including GMV, CGI, Thales Alenia, the geo-
ing tool and to monitor climate change. The constellation
information specialist EGEOS and Vodafone.
is made of smallsats designed to create the most details
picture ever assembled of the Earth’s ionosphere and at-
The feasibility studies “confirmed the usefulness” of
mosphere.
combining space technology and big data for monitoring
migration movements, according to ESA. The space value
As the number of GeoOptics satellites and ground stations
added included exploiting Sentinel-1 and -2 data, improve
increases, data will arrive much more frequently requiring
monitoring capabilities using VHR data, provide anomalies
less latency. GeoOptics aims at improving the method cur-
detected from mobile data as inputs to geospatial based
rently used called “phase-matching” which is considered
monitoring and searching services, and more.
too resource intensive for use in real-time data process-
ing for operational weather modelling and forecasting.
■ ICEYE unveils SAR imagery with a resolution of 25
GeoPRO is a real-time phase-matching processing sys-
centimeters
tem built around the on-demand parallelism enabled by
March 26: The Finnish Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) serverless cloud-computing services, generally referred to
satellite operator, ICEYE, unveiled imagery with a 25-cen- as “Serverless Supercomputing”. Through this innovative
timeter resolution using its small satellites constellation system, the company optimizes the processing system, is
composed of 3 units. With this achievement, ICEYE is now able to face the increase number of data received daily
able to offer the same resolution class provided by larger and provides a comprehensive picture of the Earth’s envi-
commercial SAR satellites at their highest performance. ronment to its customers.
13Section 6
Satellite operations
and launch
■ Capella Space and Rocket Lab to launch mid-inclination decided to move the satellite to Rocket Lab as a result of
radar satellite adjusting the launch timing and the orbit of the unit. The
startup expects to use its Arianespace contract for the launch
March 5: Capella Space will send one of its Synthetic Aperture
of another future satellite instead.
Radar (SAR) satellites into a mid-inclination orbit in 2020 on
a Rocket Lab Electron launch vehicle.
The StriX-α SAR satellite will be sent in orbit in late 2020
on board an Electron rocket from New Zealand. Terms of
This launch will send the first commercial SAR satellite in a
the launch contract were not disclosed. The 150-kilogram
mid-inclination orbit. The operation will provide crucial data
satellite will be the only payload on the Electro rocket,
to customers who wants to monitor areas around Korea, the
giving Synspective greater control over the launch schedule
Middle East and some portions of Europe and North America.
and orbit for the satellite. StriX-α will be the first unit of a
constellation of about 25 SAR satellites designed to provide
Capella’s 100-kilogram SAR satellite will be the primary
geospatial data products.
payload on the Electron launch. The two companies did not
disclose the cost of this dedicated launch but it is expected
■ Launch of an Iranian Earth observation military satellite
to be significantly more expensive than a rideshare mission.
April 22: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)
announced that it had launched a military satellite in a Sun-
■ The launch of UAE’s Falcon Eye 2 satellite is synchronous orbit (SSO) on board a previously unknown launch
delayed vehicle called Qassed. The military satellite is potentially an
Earth observation satellite, or some other kind of intelligence
March 6: The launch of UAE’s Falcon Eye 2 satellite has
gathering system. However, the satellite, called Noor, is
been pushed back from its March 6 launch data due to a
expected to have limited resolution given the relatively small
malfunction on the Soyuz’s Fregat-M upper stage. Falcon
size of the launch vehicle. There is a possibility, however, that
Eye-2 is the second reconnaissance satellite built by Thales
Noor is a technology demonstrator.
Alenia Space for the United Arab Emirates. The first satellite
was destroyed in July 2019 following Arianespace’s Vega
The satellite was launched from the Shahroud base which has
rocket failure.
never been previously used for satellite launches. This choice
demonstrates that the country has two space programs, one
The mission will be delayed to at least September 2020 due
civil led by the Iran Space Agency (ISA) and the second is
to an upper stage issue; in any case, due to the coronavirus
military in nature, run by the IRGC.
pandemic, the Guiana Space Center in Kourou has ceased
major operations until further notice.
■ Rocket Lab will launch a SAR satellite for Japanese startup
Synspective
April 14: The Japanese synthetic aperture radar (SAR)
company, Synspective, announced it will launch its first
satellite with Rocket Lab, after initially selecting Arianespace
for this mission. The Japanese spacecraft was slated to fly as
a rideshare payload on a Vega launch in 2020. However, due
to delays caused by a Vega failure in July 2019, the company
Covid-19 related
14Section 7
Downstream
Activities / Services
■ Data collected by the Copernicus Sentinel-5P The platform is an open and flexible solution hosting tools,
showing a drop in pollution across Europe data, and information derived from different sources,
including crowd-sourced, in-site and from satellites. It is
March 27: The Copernicus Sentinel-5P satellite mapping air
designed to support research, high-level decision making
pollution in Europe and in China has revealed a significant
and rapid response to critical emergencies. The platform
diminution of nitrogen dioxide concentrations coinciding
will also facilitate authorities to manage future outbreaks
with the quarantine measures. This drop is even more
making it possible to prepare mitigation plans in advance
important in major cities such as Paris, Madrid and Milan.
and allow industry actors to build business solutions to
manage the potential outbreak consequences.
Such results have been identified by scientists from
the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI)
The platform developers will tailor the platform to
using the satellite to monitor both pollution and weather
different users, including scientists, government actors,
over the European continent. The satellite images have
local authorities and the public.
been analyzed across the 14 to 25 March period as the
nitrogen dioxide concentrations vary from day to day and
■ Creation of the HAPS Alliance supporting the
conclusions cannot be thus drawn based on just one day
development of high altitude vehicles
of data alone.
February 21: A group of global industry leaders form
This analysis demonstrates the crucial importance of both the HAPS Alliance, as association of world-leading
the partnerships established between ESA and cooperated telecommunications, technology, aviation and aerospace
organizations, such as KNMI, and the Copernicus program. companies. The creation of the HAPS Alliance follows a
previous announcement made in April 2019 by HAPSMobile
■ The Copernicus Climate Change Service develops and Loon forming a strategic alliance to advance the use
the COVID Climate Toolbox platform of high altitude vehicles.
April 12: Members of the Copernicus Climate Change
The newly formed alliance is composed a great number
Service (C3S), with funding from the EU, have developed a
of stakeholders including Nokia Corporation, SoftBank
platform to help scientists, governments and the general
Corp., Telefonica S.A., HAPSMobile, Loon, China Telecom
public to navigate the COVID-19 emergency by providing
Corporation Limited and Airbus Defence and Space.
free and open high-quality data to allow to study the
relation between climatic, epidemiological and socio-
Through this alliance, members can collectively advocate
economic data and enable actors to make pragmatic
for High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) business
decisions during the pandemic.
development with the relevant authorities in various
countries, develop common product specifications
The platform will host high quality data and information
and promote the standardization of HAPS network
together with software tools permitting the user to
interoperability.
manipulate and visualize data and also compose
information into a storyline to share findings.
Covid-19 related
15■ CloudFerro partners with CG Satellite to provide very verticals by mixing the elements of historical time lapse
high-resolution satellite imagery with the frequency of geospatial imagery.
March 6: The Polish cloud computing service provider
Using Planet’s datasets and historical time lapse features,
CloudFerro has established a cooperation agreement
Seisan will supplement data transformation techniques and
with CG Satellite, a Chinese operator. CloudFerro already
traditional systems integration. The company will be able to
operates cloud platforms providing Earth observation
provide greater machine learning imagery analysis services
satellite imagery. With this new cooperation, the Polish
for its customers and to achieve previously unattainable
company will now provide both video and images in very
levels of imagery detail on a daily basis. The final products
high resolution, taken at night and day. The company will
will disrupt multiple sectors and offer greater insights from
have access to the operator’s archives covering the period
location data, enabling businesses to increase productivity,
from 2016, and new images will be shared regularly.
situational awareness and reduce operational costs.
The resolution of the imagery provided by the Chinese
■ OGC members publish their resources to face the
operator is up to 72 centimeters. The images are taken
pandemic crisis
by CG Satellite’s Jilin-1 constellation and consist in both
pictures and 4k video of maximum 60 seconds. April 2: To face COVID-19, Open Geospatial Consortium
(OGC) members have been publishing resources to inform
These very accurate images will enable clients to develop their customers, governments and the public at large. OGC
their abilities in object recognition and identification of is an international consortium composed of more than 499
changes in objects. These skills are crucial in mapping, businesses, agencies, research organizations and university
mining planning or for risk assessment in the insurance making geospatial information and services accessible.
and banking industry. CloudFerro also provides to its
customers an infrastructure in the form of cloud services, Data provided will help the authorities to take the appro-
named CREODIAS, allowing various analysis without priate decisions and to keep their citizens informed during
having to deal with infrastructure complexity. the crisis. These OGC members include the Group on Earth
Observations, UK Geospatial Commission, Heidelberg Uni-
■ European mobile carriers share data to fight versity, ESRI Canada, etc.
against the virus pandemic
■ China uses satellites to combat COVID-19
March 18: In Italy, Germany and Austria, mobile operators
share data with health authorities to help fighting April 8: China has used satellite imagery to help fighting the
COVID-19 by monitoring whether citizens are complying pandemic crisis. GaoFen, a constellation of high-resolution
with regulations while respecting European privacy laws. Earth observation satellites, continuously monitored the
construction of hospitals built at breakneck pace. The
Data donated by mobile carriers as Deutsche Telekom data collected were supplemented by the information
or Vodafone have offered authorities to monitor people’s given by Zhuhai- hyperspectral imaging satellite and ESA’s
movements. The data collected are anonymous and aggre- Sentinel-1. The Wuhan University analyzed multiple data
gated to enable map concentrations. These tools are com- sources to identify which site would be best suitable for
pliant with EU privacy rulebook the General Data Protec- the hospitals.
tion Regulation and thus less invasive than the approach
adopted in other countries such as South Korea which use Another satellite has helped to create the geographical
smartphone location to trace the contacts of individuals reach of the virus and enabled citizens to find out the dis-
who have tested positive. tance between the citizens and active infection. TFSTAR,
a second-generation AI satellite designed by the Satellite
■ Planet partners with Seisan Technology Research Center of University of Electronic
Science and Technology of China (UESTC) and ADA-Space,
March 24: The satellite operator, Planet has partnered
enables powerful analytics and processing. Combined with
with Seisan, a custom software solutions and systems
geocoding, the satellite makes it possible to obtain a visu-
integration company specializing in leveraging geospatial
alization of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis.
technologies. Such cooperation will allow Seisan to provide
next-level competitive advantages into many industry
Covid-19 related
16■ NASA reveals drop in air pollution in India following
the COVID-19 pandemic
April 21 – The U.S. space agency has identified a huge drop
in aerosol levels in India since March 25, date on which the
government decided to impose the world’s largest lock-
down. This analysis is based on measurements taken by the
Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)
on NASA’s Terra satellite.
After just a week of strict lockdown, NASA sensors detected
aerosol levels at a 20-year low for this time of year in the
northern part of the country. These results demonstrate the
importance of satellites during the crisis giving the oppor-
tunity to study how natural and human sources of aerosols
affect the atmosphere.
■ BlackSky is offering remote access to its global
monitoring services and satellite imaging during
the pandemic crisis
April 22 – Due to the coronavirus pandemic, there is cur-
rently a significant demand for telework tools and minute
intelligence. Many intelligence analysts are used to working
in secure facilities and cannot have access to tools they
need as they are forced to teleworking during the crisis,
partly due to security concerns.
In response, BlackSky, the Geospatial intelligence provider,
is offering remote access to its satellite imaging and its
global monitoring services. The company’s telework pack-
age, named Spectra On-Demand Secure Bundle, was espe-
cially designed for these workers who handle unclassified
but still sensitive information. The package provides access
to BlackSky’s satellites for tasking as well as other satel-
lites for tasking and archiving data. It also includes training
on the methodology involved in capturing data. The product
can be accessed from any computer enabling analysts to
achieve their unclassified work from home. However, classi-
fied operations are still achieved in secure facilities.
Covid-19 related
17Annex I
List of Key Events
and Conferences
Legend of events icons The event has been cancelled
The event dates have been modified
Events focused Events related to diverse space
on EO matters matters including EO ones New / existing events which have been
transformed into online only conferences
Importance of the Event Speakers – public sector
High-level A high-level speaker in the
Large event More than 500 attendees speakers in the governmental sphere refers
governmental to a position of minister (or
sphere equivalent) or army chief.
Event category
Speakers – space agency
Conferences focused on new
R&D
technologies Conferences of interest for
High-level
speakers in the defence departments of
Conferences focused on civil the space States including geospatial
security matters as disaster agency sector
Security matters
management, humanitarian
aid, etc. Delegates list
Conferences of interest for the
Defence and Publicly available list of par-
intelligence defence departments of States List of
including geospatial matters delegates ticipants / delegates on the
available official website of the event
Conferences focused on
Maritime Need for speakers
maritime matters
Public call for speakers for
Frequency Call for the event, ongoing and open
speakers at the time the report is
Conference or event organ-
One-time ized only once, not annually published.
conference
or regularly repeating Paper abstracts
Programme Call for abstracts refers to
Free availability of the Call for the calls still ongoing and
Programme programme on the official abstracts open at the time the report
available is published.
website of the event
Speakers – private sector Exhibition Opportunities
A high-level speaker in the Call for exhibitors refers to
High-level
speakers in private sector refers to a Calls for a call still ongoing and open
the private C-level in a large multination- exhibitors at the time the report is
sector al company. published.
18List of Key Events and Conferences
SPIE Photonics Europe 36th Space Symposium
29 March - 2 April Strasbourg, 30 March - Colorado,
2020 France 2 April US
Enables engineers and researchers to collaborate with The Space Symposium is considered to be the premier
European leading companies in various innovative fields international gathering of space professionals, offering
including lasers, imaging, sensing etc. sessions, speakers, and panels covering all aspects of space.
Postponed Postponed
6 - 10 Apr 31 Oct -
Digital forum 2 Nov
Geospatial World Forum GEOINT Symposium
7 - 9 April Amsterdam, 26 - 27 April Tampa,
2020 the Netherlands 2020 US
The 12th edition of the conference will advocate for technology The event brings together keynote speakers, panel discussions
innovation and practices in the geospatial industry, highlighting and sessions around geospatial issues involving government,
the value of geospatial technology and its integration with military and private-sector leaders. The 2020 theme is “New
emerging technologies such as 5G, AI, Autonomous Vehicles, Big Decade. New Challenges. New Strategies.”
Data, Cloud, IoT and LiDAR in various user industries.
Cancelled Cancelled
CompTIA and Space Foundation –
Webikeo – Mews Digital Days – Imagerie Ready to fight : How the space industry is
satellite et services de géo-infomation leading the charge to combat COVID-19
29 April 20 - 21 May
– –
2020 2020
The webinar focuses on the emergence of constellations and Leaders in satellite communications and imagery, logistics and
related technologies such as cloud computing and machine data analytics will explain how their companies are partnering
learning offering new opportunities in various fields such as with federal, state and local government who are depending
security or the protection of the environment. The conference will upon the U.S. space industry to help combat COVID-19 and
be focused on the digital services offered by Airbus DS Geo. support affected communities.
Webinar Webinar
(In French)
19List of Key Events and Conferences
EARSC EOcafe: Food security AITC 2020 – Arctic International
in the time of CoVid! Technical Conference
30 April 14 - 15 May Nuuk,
–
2020 2020 Greenland
The European Association of Remote Sensing Companies is The international conference gathers experts mapping the arctic
organizing a second EOcafe to discuss the impact of COVID-19 ranging from ice-free land, sea-ice inland to permafrost. Various
on the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sectors. subjects will be covered as shipping, geo-sciences, surveillance
and meteorology.
Postponed
Webinar 28 Sept -
1 Oct
SCI-239 Research Specialists’ Meeting
GEO Business 2020 (RSM) on ‘Capabilities for Sensing,
Search and Surveillance in the Arctic’
20 - 21 May London, Nuuk,
26 - 27 May 2020
2020 England Greenland
Dedicated to actors who store, process and deliver This Research Specialists’ Meeting (RSM) will gather specialists
geospatial information. to discuss about the capacities for sensing, search and
surveillance in the Arctic in order to enhance the capability of
the NATO S&T community and respond to NATO requirements.
Postponed Postponed
24 - 25 Sept TBD
EO for agriculture under pressure A Changing Arctic
25 - 29 May Frascati, 2 - 5 June Tromsø,
2020 Italy 2020 Norway
The workshop will gather experts in EO for agriculture, end-users The conference deals with a wide range of subjects linked with
and stakeholders as NGOs, agro-insurances or food agencies to Arctic including climate range and will welcome discussions
discuss the role of EO for improving food security. on needs for future monitoring systems and satellite remote
sensing products.
Postponed Postponed
TBD TBD
20List of Key Events and Conferences
International Conference on Advances
Military Space USA Conference in Satellite and Space Missions
9 - 10 June Los Angeles, 15-16 June London,
2020 US 2020 United Kingdom
The conference will be focus on disruptive technologies which The event will host scientists and researchers, space agency
are critical for the DoD including in the Earth Observation sector. executives, Earth science researchers, spacecraft and satellite
engineers and more to be informed about the latest space
technologies and achievements. The conference covers different
aspects related to Space Missions, Remote spatial sensing & GIS,
Earth Science Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, Advances
in Antenna Technology, Military Satellites and more.
Postponed Webinar
8 - 9 Jun Covid-19 impact: Rundown of
2021 Space Science and exploration
EXPANDEO ESA – EO for Polar Science Workshop
17 - 18 June Brussels, 17 - 19 June Copenhagen,
2020 Belgium 2020 Denmark
EXPANDEO is the annual conference of EARSC, the European The workshop will assess the latest advancement in the use
Association of Remote Sensing Companies. This year, of Earth Observation technology for Polar science, explore the
EXPANDEO is focusing on Climate Change. main challenges and opportunities for the coming decade and
define a common scientific agenda for the future.
Postponed
28 - 30 Oct
Canadian Symposium 43rd COSPAR Scientific Assembly
on Remote Sensing
13 - 17 July Yellowknife, 15 - 22 August Sydney,
2020 Canada 2020 Australia
The theme of this year is “Landscapes of Change; Remote The theme of the 2020 Assembly is “Connecting Space Research
Sensing for a Sustainable Future”. The symposium will cover a for Global Impact”. The aim of the conference is to support the
wide range of technical, applied and natural sciences topics and international space science community.
will include special sessions dedicated to remote sensing of
environmental change.
In-person Symposium Postponed
Webinar postponed 28 Jan - 4 Feb
21 - 25 Jun 2021 2021
21List of Key Events and Conferences
Summit on Earth Observation SPIE Europe’s Remote Sensing
Business Symposium
16-18 September Paris, 21-24 September Edinburgh,
2020 France 2020 United Kingdom
For ten years now, the Summit on Earth Observation Business The event gathers researchers, engineers and scientists involved
has welcomed the most inspiring, forward thinking and influential in the EO sector and focuses on next generation satellites,
leaders of the satellite imagery and geospatial solutions sector. atmospheric propagation and imaging analytics.
Postponed
9 - 12 Nov
2020
71st IAC 2019 Space Tech Expo
12-16 October Dubai, 17 - 19 November Bremen,
2020 UAE 2020 Germany
Annual congress gathering a large number of space stakeholders Space Tech Expo Europe is a B2B trade event for aerospace
divided into 40 administrative and technical committees to and related industry professionals/government/academia.
advance space knowledge and develop future space projects. The event is described as the continent’s major dedicated
supply-chain and engineering event for manufacturing, design
and engineering services for spacecraft, subsystems and
space-qualified components.
Postponed
TBD
22Annex II
Selected satellites launched
in the period March to April
2020
GEO-KOMPSAT-2B Yaogan 30-06-01/ CX-5 16 Yaogan 30-06-02 / CX-5 17
Operator: KARI Operator: PLA People’s Operator: PLA People’s
Operator status: Government Civil Liberation Army Liberation Army
Country: South Korea Operator status: Government Defence Operator status: Government Defence
Payload: Optical Country: China Country: China
Payload: Security Payload: Security
Launch date: Launch date: Launch date:
18 February 2020 24 March 2020 24 March 2020
Yaogan 30-06-01 to 30-06-03 is Yaogan 30-06-01 to 30-06-03 is
Features the GOCI-II imager and
the sixth triplet of reconnaissance the sixth triplet of reconnaissance
the GEMS sensor to monitor the
satellites designed for the satellites designed for the
environment and oceans.
Chuangxin-5 constellation. Chuangxin-5 constellation.
Yaogan 30-06-03 / CX-5 18 TDO-2 Noor 1
Operator: PLA People’s Operator: US Air Force Operator: Islamic Revolutionary
Liberation Army Operator status: Government Defence Guard Corp (IRGC)
Operator status: Government Defence Country: United States Operator status: Government Defence
Country: China Payload: Security Country: Iran
Payload: Security Payload: Security
Launch date: Launch date: Launch date:
24 March 2020 26 March 2020 22 April 2020
Yaogan 30-06-01 to 30-06-03 is TDO-2 is a small satellite carrying
the sixth triplet of reconnaissance multiple U.S. government payloads The cubesat Noor-1 is the first
satellites designed for the to support space domain awareness indigenous Iranian military satellite.
Chuangxin-5 constellation. through optical calibration and No details are known.
satellite laser ranging.
Launched
Confirmed
Exact date unknown
23Annex II
Selected satellites to be launched
in the period May to September
2020
Pléiades-VHR 1 & 2 Falcon Eye 2 Capella 3
Operator: Airbus GEO-Intelligence FR Operator: MoD Abu Dhabi Emirate Operator: Capella Space
Operator status: Commercial Operator status: Government Defense Operator status: Commercial
Country: France Country: United Arab Emirates Country: United States
Payload: Optical Payload: Optical Payload: SAR
Launch date: Launch date: Launch date:
June 2020 September 2020 September 2020
Feature an imager with 30 cm ground Equipped with a sensor aperture for
Features the HiRI imaging system
resolution and will use TesatSpacecom the X-band SAR providing high-
with a ground resolution of 70 cm
laser communication relay terminals contrast, low-noise, high-resolution
across a 20 km swath.
to transfer data. sub-0.5 meter imagery.
ResourceSat-3 ResourceSat-3S Feng Yun-4C, -3F, 4B
Operator: ISRO Operator: ISRO Operator: China Meteorological
Operator status: Government Civil Operator status: Government Civil Administration
Country: India Country: India Operator status: Government Civil
Payload: Optical Payload: Optical Country: China
Payload: Meteorology
Launch date: Launch date: Launch date:
September 2020 September 2020 2020 (Exact date unknown)
Carries the LISS-V high resolution A 5.3-ton GEO meteo satellite to
Carries the ALISS-III imaging multi-
optical imager and the APAN provide improved weather forecasting
spectral radiometer and the ATCOR
panchromatic high-resolution and a substantial contribution to
high resolution optical imager.
optical imager. space weather applications.
Launched
Confirmed
Exact date unknown
24Annex II
Selected satellites to be launched
in the period May to September
2020
CosmoSkymed 2nd Flock 2g (x5) &
CartoSat-3A Generation 2 Flock 2i (x1)
Operator: ISRO Operator: Italian MoD Operator: Planet
Operator status: Government Civil Operator status: Government Defense Operator status: Commercial
Country: India Country: Italy Country: United States
Payload: Optical Payload: SAR Payload: Optical
Launch date: Launch date: Launch date:
2020 (Exact date unknown) 2020 (Exact date unknown) 2020 (Exact date unknown)
0.25m resolution panchromatic, An upgraded, more powerful follow-on
Provides global coverage with daily
multispectral and hyperspectral to CosmoSkymed, with 8 different
revisit. Strong partnership with NGA.
earth observation mission. capture modes and 0.35m resolution.
Landsat-9 Taranis GHGSat C1
Operator: USGS (United States Operator: CNES Operator: GHG Global
Geological Survey) Operator status: Government Civil Emissions Monitoring
Operator status: Government Civil Country: France Operator status: Commercial
Country: US Payload: Optical Country: Canada
Payload: Optical Payload: Optical
Launch date: Launch date: Launch date:
2020 (Exact date unknown) 2020 (Exact date unknown) 2020 (Exact date unknown)
Precursor to a commercial
Will largely replicate the functions Will study magnetosphere- constellation of greenhouse gas
of its predecessor Landsat 8. 30m ionosphere-atmosphere coupling monitoring satellites demonstrating
resolution on 8 spectral bands, via transient processes. an advanced miniature hyperspectral
panchromatic with 15m resolution.
SWIR imaging spectrometer.
Launched
Confirmed
Exact date unknown
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