27 July 2015

Earth Observation

Markets and applications

Nick Veck

Earth observation

is the gathering of

information about

the Earth's

physical, chemical

and biological

systems

• Natural resource management

• Agriculture and Food security

• Risk assessment & Emergency

response

• Environmental protection &

Climate services

• Urban planning

• Insurance & Financial services

• Transportation & Communication

• Consumer, Retail & Tourism

• Defence

Where are the satellites? 4

Remote Sensing

Remote sensing systems make use of the electromagnetic spectrum in two ways:

1. Collecting the radiation that is reflected, emitted or scattered by a target (passive systems)

2. Illuminating a target with a pulse or beam of radiation and collecting the signal that is reflected

or refracted back to the sensor (active systems).

5

Radar- Microwaves(Active Sensors)

Visible Light

K X C S L P

1cm 1m+400 nm 700nm+

Wavelength (µm)

10-6 1 108

Infrared Thermal

6

Optical Imagery at LEO

8

Radar Imagery

9

Centre for Landscape and Climate Research

Microwave Spectrum

• Shorter frequencies penetrate deeper into a vegetation (forest or crop) canopy.

10

Austrian pineVHF > 3 m

P band= 70 cm

L band= 24 cm

X band= 3 cm

The main direct backscatter comes from elements having

dimension of the order of the wavelength.

This has strong implications for what radar intensity and

coherence tell us about the forest.

Where are the scatterers in a forest canopy?

UTILISATION OF THE ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM BY EARTH OBSERVATION SENSORS (1)

P-BandP-Band SAR(Biomass)

DORIS-NG (CryoSat, SPOT)

L-BandPALSAR (ALOS)

PALSAR-2 (ALOS-2)

SAR-L(SAOCOM-1A,1B, 2A, 2B)

L-band Radar & L-band Radiometer

(SMAP)

MIRAS(SMOS)

S-BandNovaSAR

DORIS-NG (CryoSat, SPOT)

C-BandC-Band SAR

(Sentinel-1A,B,C)

SRAL(Sentinel-3A,B,C)

Poseidon-4 SAR(Sentinel 6A,B)

AMSR-E(Aqua)

X-BandX-Band SAR

(TerraSAR-X, TanDEM-X)

AMSR-E(Aqua)

Frequency (GHz)1 2 4 8 12.5

P-Band(0.299 – 0.999GHz)

L-Band(1– 2GHz)

S-Band(2 – 4GHz)

C-Band(4 – 8GHz)

X-Band(8 – 12.5GHz)N

OM

INA

L R

AN

GE

420-450MHz

890-942MHz

1.215–1.4GHz

2.3-2.5GHz

2.7-3.7GHz

5.25–5.925GHz

8.5–10.68GHz

SPEC

IFIC

B

AN

DS

PRELIMINARY / DRAFT (JULY 2015)

AP

PLI

CA

TIO

NS

(PA

SSIV

E)(A

CTI

VE) Imager (6MHz) Scatterometer (5-500kHz)

Imager (20-85MHz)Altimeter (200MHz)Imager (20-200MHz)

Scatterometer (5-500kHz)Altimeter (320MHz)Imager (20-320MHz)

Scatterometer (5-500kHz)Altimeter (100, 300MHz)

Imager (20-100, 20-600MHz)

(BW: 100MHz)Soil moisture, Ocean Salinity,

agriculture, forest biomass, carbon stocks

(BW: 45MHz)Soil Moisture, agriculture, change

detection

(BW: 200MHz)Earthquakes and strain rates, ice and sea ice, forest height, REDD+,

deforestation, agriculture, climate, oceanography

(BW: 100MHz)Rain rate, snow water content, ice

morphology, sea state, ocean wind speed, sea surface

temperature

Sen

sor/

Sate

llite

C

om

mu

icat

ion

RadiosondesSatellites: Geostationary &

Polar orbiting (data)

Satellites: Geostationary & Polar orbiting (data & uplink)

Data distribution

Ground based RADARSatellites: Geostationary &

Polar orbiting (data)

Satellites: Polar orbiting (data)Data distribution

Radiosondes

(BW: 100MHz)Forest biomass, carbon stocks ,

REDD+, sub-surface sensing

PRELIMINARY / DRAFT (JULY 2015)

Ku-BandSIRAL

(CryoSat)

SRAL(Sentinel-3A,B,C)

Poseidon-4 SAR(Sentinel 6A,B)

K-BandAMR

(Jason-2. Jason-3, SWOT)

AMSR-E(Aqua)

AMSU-A(NOAA-15,16,17,18, Metop-

A,B,C)

SSM/I(DMSP F-14,15)

Ka-BandAMR

(Jason-2, Jason-3, SWOT)

KaRIN(SWOT)

AMSR-E(Aqua)

AMSU-A(NOAA-15,16,17,18, Metop-

A,B,C)SSM/I

(DMSP F-14,15)

13.4–14.0GHz

15.7–17.7GHz

24.05-24.25GHz

33.4-36.0GHz

V-Band(40 – 75GHz)

W-Band(75 – 110GHz)

V-BandAMSR

(Adeos-II)

AMSU-A(NOAA-15,16,17,18, Metop-

A,B,C)

ATMS(NPP, NPOESS)

CMIS(NPOESS)

W-BandCPR

(CloudSat)

ICI(EPS-SG)

AMSR-E(Aqua)

AMSU-B(NOAA-15,16,17)

SSM/I(DMSP F-14,15)

59-64GHz

76–81GHz

92–100GHz

NO

MIN

AL

RA

NG

ESP

ECIF

IC

BA

ND

S

Ku-Band(12.5 – 18GHz)

K-Band(18 – 26.5GHz)

Ka-Band(26.5 – 40GHz)

MillimeterICI

(EPS-SG)

AMSU-B(NOAA-15,16,17)

Frequency (GHz)7526.518 40 110

UTILISATION OF THE ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM BY EARTH OBSERVATION SENSORS (2)

12.5

AP

PLI

CA

TIO

NS

(PA

SSIV

E)(A

CTI

VE)

Scatterometer (5-500kHz)Altimeter (500MHz)

Precip. radar (0.6 - 14MHz)

Precip. radar (0.6 – 14MHz) Scatterometer (5-500kHz)Altimeter (500MHz)

Precip. radar (0.6 – 14MHz)

Cloud profile radar (0.3-10MHz)

(BW: 200MHz)Water vapour, rain rate,

weather forecasting, climate

(BWs: 200, 300, 400MHz)Rain rates, sea state, sea ice,

water vapour, ocean wind speed, soil emissivity, humidity

(BWs: 0.5, 1GHz)Sea ice, water vapour, oil spills,

cloud, liquid water, surface temperature

(BWs: 0.2, 6.7GHz)Atmospheric temperature

profiling, weather forecasting, climate

(BWs: 2, 6GHz)Clouds, snow, rain, weather

forecasting

Sen

sor/

Sate

llite

C

om

mu

icat

ion

Satellites: data reception Satellites: data reception Satellites: data reception

ESA Sentinel Space Segment – use of EDRS

14

15

AWS data pipeline &

Storage

Web

GS

server

GS

server

GS locations

● Australia

● New Zealand

● UK (x2)

● Germany

● Hawaii

● USA (x2)

UHF Tx/Rx

Commissioning,

telemetry, tracking

& scheduling

X & S-band

Image downloads &

software uploads

GS

server

GS

server

GS

server

1995

1991

2002

2007

1999

2001

2002

2008

2014

Spatial Resolution Trend over the past 15 years

Ikonos

Quickbird

SPOT 5Worldview 2

Worldview 3

ERS 1

Radarsat 1

Envisat ASAR

TerraSAR X

1990

2015

1993

Landsat 6

SPOT 2

Ikonos was the first commercial satellite to collect publically available data at 1m

DigitalGlobe launched Quickbird in 2001 had the capability of imaging at 0.61m

Legislation change in the States saw the launch of Worldview 3 with 0.31m resolution

2014

TerraSAR X (new mode)

Radarsat 1 , the first commercial SAR Mission

TerraSAR X, launched in 2007 with an advertised top resolution of 1m, in 2014 Airbus released a new mode capable of 0.25m imaging

© DigitalGlobe, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Image © Satellite Applications Catapult Ltd 2014.

19

20Situational AwarenessHigh resolution Thermal Infrared Monitoring

Identification of Thermal anomalies

Hot Cold

Warmed up Cars

show a clear white

colour- indicating

their high relative

heat

Refrigerated and

Air-con buildings

are illustrated as

dark

The Illegal Fishing Virtual Watchroom

There are over 50 sites

worldwide proposed for

protection from industrial

fishing

Eyes on the Seas Overview

© 2014 Mission Blue mission-blue.org

Marine reserves are a great test case, zero fishing allowed.

Regulations can be set to facilitate enforcement.

Dark vessels are the primary concern.If a fishing vessel is not

directly transiting and

does not have its gear

fully stowed, or does not

have AIS on it should be

in violation of the reserve

Vessels colour coded by

type and depth of data

available.

Visualisation

Eyes on the Seas Overview

User can filter in various

ways to focus on fishing

activity.

Marine reserves and

surrounding areas

highlighted and vessel

activity monitored.

Computer highlights

vessels to the user via a

ring, with coloured

regions to convey

activity

23Interferometric SAR

How it works:

1. Two SAR images taken at different time intervals

2. Remove the amplitude from each Image, leaving the phase

3. Subtract the phase of the second image by the first

4. An interferogram!

Example

InSAR was used to predicted the

Mount Etna eruption of 1998 (Lanari et

al, 1998)

InSAR-Risk and Disaster Management 24

Using Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar

To map out highly accurate ground deformation, aiding disaster management and furthering academic

knowledge of Geohazards.

[ERS-2 data – 1992-2000] © ESA, JPL

Terrain Displacement of Mount Etna

Infrastructure Monitoring 26

Overview - Global EO Market

Size of the global EO market and growth rate

• EO commercial data market Value: $1.4Bn in 2011

• Over the next decade the number of EO satellites launched will

almost doubled (149 288 by 2021) (Euroconsult, 2012)

• Main targeted markets:

• Banking & Insurance

• Agri-food

• Oil & Gas

• Government remains the primary user of EO data and services,

accounting for over 80% of all commercial revenues.(Euroconsult, 2012)

• 70% of the Global EO commercial is captured by the 2 major

companies: Digital Globe (25%)(+25% from merger with GeoEye) and

Astrium GEO (20%).(Spacetec Partners, 2013)

• Mining

• Maritime

• Environment and Carbon monitoring

EO new trends and opportunities

• More Small Satellites…

Smaller (size), Cheaper (fraction of traditional manufacturing and

launching costs), Faster (deployment and technology adoption);

Between 2,000 and 2,750Nano/Micro-Satellites will require a launch

from 2014 through 2020 (Satellite Applications Catapult, 2014);

Size of commercial EO data market by 2020: £1.8Bn (£970m

nano/micro-satellite share) (Satellite Applications Catapult, 2014).

Nano/Micro-Satellite Launch Projection

…and Pressure on Business Models

“Including the launch, a nanosat of CubeSat dimensions might cost

$150,000-1m, rather than $200m-1 billion for a full-sized one.”

(Economist, 2014*);

Google acquired SkyBox Imaging: high resolution satellite photos and

videos soon available for free (via Google Maps?); *http://www.economist.com/news/technology-quarterly/21603240-small-satellites-taking-advantage-smartphones-and-other-consumer-technologies

Technology improvements are opening up new business

model opportunities based on Small Satellite constellations:

Reconfigurable on-board electronics

Fractioned satellite architecture

Inter-satellite connectivity

Nano-tech and micro-sensors

Micropropulsion systems

201420132012201120102009 20192018201720162015

OVER THE PERIOD 2014 – 2020,

NANO/MICRO-SATELLITES ARE FORECAST

FOR LAUNCH

BETWEEN 2,000 AND 2,750

Copyright © Satellite Applications Catapult Ltd 2014.

10m

5m

3m

1m

Weekly Daily 5X Daily

GeoEyeWorldView Pleiades

EROS-B

Spot

RapidEye

SkySat

Flock-1

Average Data Prices ($/Km2)

50 25 5 0.5 0.05

3000Kg 300Kg 30Kg 3Kg

Spacecraft Mass

Res

olu

tio

n

Revisit TimeCopyright © Satellite Applications Catapult Ltd 2014.

EO imagery: data price trends

Very High (sub-meter) Resolution

73%

High Resolution

20%

Medium Resolution

7%

GLOBAL EO DATA SALES

(Booz&Co., 2012)

Copernicus’s Sentinels data policy: “Full and open access to

Sentinel data for all users.”

“Data from the Sentinel satellites will [have] […] data resolutions

down to 10m optical (Sentinal-2 series). At this resolution, free data

is encroaching on commercially available data (such as Deimo-1)

and can impact commercial distribution.” (Euroconsult, 2012)

US has allowed sales of satellite images up to 31cm

resolution;

Optical data overall comprises 80% of the market with high

resolution optical data retaining the largest share of the

market (35%).

Demand is strong for VHR and new satellites being launched

should push up the share of VHR data sales.

Price down (free data?) …and Resolution up

EO imagery: a small part in a Bigger (Data) market trend

(EARSC, 2013)

Hyperspectral data provide much

greater richness of information and can

have multiple applications on soil

analysis (mining, agriculture, hydrology)

ESA is working on a miniaturized and

cubesat-fit hyperspectral instrument.

New satellite missions will further

improve hyperspectral capabilities:

PRISMA (ITA) ~ launch in 2014

2017

EnMAP (GER) ~ lunch in 2017

HyspIRI (USA) ~ launch in 2022

Number speak for themselves: only

from EU companies a sales growth of

15,000%, from virtually 0 in 2006

(when only the public ERS-2 and

Envisat SAR data were available) to

20% of overall sales in 2012.

Current radar data EU sales revenue

contribution: £121.5M (€151.4 M).

(EARSC, 2013)

Radar (SAR) data

Hyperspectral data

UAVs (and aerial) data

Several industries and large companies

are attracted by UAVs’ cheaper prices, high

resolution and technology flexibility.

Currently, most of the competition

between sat, aerial and UAVs data is at the

0.3 m to 0.5 m range. (NSR, 2014)

(ESA, 2014)

Big Data

Fusion

x0.36

x0.3x3.8

x3.9

x0.48

EO Satellite Manufacturing Revenues

Commercial EO DataRevenues

EO Value AddedServices

Commercial EO Data

EO Consumer Applications

Upstream

DownstreamUpstream

Downstream

During the next 6 years, the Upstream/Downstream balance will reverse,

bringing the satellite manufacture and EO data markets merely a means

fo r enab l i ng much l a rger downs t ream app l i ca t i on marke t

M a r k e t S h a r e s o f N a n o / M ic r o - S a t e l l i t es

Downstream Applications enabled by

EO Nano/Micro-Satellites missions

could result in commercial revenues of

£1.5 b i l l ion in 2020

£1.1bn

£400m

£290m

£100m

£1.5bn

£1.6bn

£780m

EO Satellite Manufacturing

THE COMMERCIAL EO DATA MARKET IS PREDICTED

TO GROW AT AN AVERAGE OF 14% CAGR

OVER THE NEXT 6 YEARS

£390m

Copyright © Satellite Applications Catapult Ltd 2015.

Thank you!