SpaceX Satellite Project Boosted by $1 Billion Google, Fidelity Investment
By Caleb Henry | January 21, 2015 | Feature, Launch, North America, Regional, Satellite TODAY News Feed, Technolog
SpaceX haedquarters in Hawthorne, Calif. Photo: SpaceX
[Via Satellite 01-21-2015] Google and Fidelity have confirmed an investment of approximately $1 billion inSpaceX, powering the second large-scale Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite communications constellation announced in a mere five days. Together the two new investors own slightly less than 10 percent of SpaceX — a company founded by serial entrepreneur Elon Musk, CEO and chief engineer, who said he has no intention of making the company public until it is regularly launching to Mars.
In a statement, SpaceX said the funding will bolster space transport, reusability and satellite manufacturing, the latter of which remained largely a rumor until announced at a Jan. 16 presentation at the Seattle Center. The event was closed to media, but a video recording of Musk’s speech was uploaded to YouTube by an attendee.
Joking that the talent-laden city’s residents are too stubborn to move to Los Angeles, Musk announced the creation of “SpaceX Seattle,” which will become the nucleus of the company’s satellite development program. SpaceX plans to build and launch a constellation of approximately 4,000 satellites in LEO to provide worldwide access to broadband with a latency of 20 to 30 milliseconds. To meet the cost of building human-rated residencies on Mars, Musk anticipates the project will create a significant source of revenue for infrastructure on the Red Planet.
SpaceX hopes to launch version one of the satellite constellation in roughly five years. Musk acknowledged previously underestimating the timing for massive undertakings like this, and noted that the first version would not feature all of the capabilities of later iterations. The full constellation would handle about 10 percent of the world’s business and consumer direct traffic, and more than half of the long distance traffic. New, more advanced satellites would be launched about every five years.
Musk also said there are important differences between SpaceX’s project and the undertakings of Teledesic, a failed company that originally planned a constellation of 840 LEO satellites in the 1990s. He attributed the company’s undoing to not planning for terrestrial network improvement, and the challenge of getting a satellite signal through buildings and other infrastructure.
“In the case of Teledesic, they were trying to talk to phones and that gets back to that problem of a roof-penetrating situation. Particularly when stuff is coming from space, if you’re in a skyscraper, it’s got to go through 27 floors to reach you. It’s not going to happen,” Musk said at the conference. “In the case of Teledesic there were some environmental issues there.”
Tim Farrar, president of TMF Associates, cautioned that there were other bigger challenges to Teledesic that SpaceX is also likely to face.
“Teledesic didn’t proceed because the technology wasn’t there to meet the business plan. The biggest issue was really in terms of their terminals. You couldn’t make terminals at a cost effective price that were going to be suitable. Low-end users (small businesses or consumers) were the primary target for Teledesic, and having mechanically steered dishes that track satellites across the sky was an expensive business then and it’s still an expensive business now,” Farrar told Via Satellite.
Musk envisions the terminals would cost between $100 and $300 dollars each, depending on the version. The goal would be to make the broadband from SpaceX satellites accessible to people in both developed countries and those with limited resources. According to Farrar, this technology is still a ways off, especially at the proposed price point.
“That’s a challenging target, which is pretty difficult to achieve with a mechanically steered antenna, if not impossible. That’s an enormous challenge and I still don’t know that we have a comprehensive answer to that. Kymeta is heading in that direction, but we have not got a working two-way system up and running at this point in time in terms of end user terminals,” Farrar said.
SpaceX expects the mammoth satellite constellation to cost roughly $10 to $15 billion dollars overall. Musk described the project as being similar to “rebuilding the Internet in space,” adding that satellites constitute as much or more space-based activity as rockets. While the primary goal of the constellation will be satellite communications, Musk said there could be other applications in Earth science and space science that the company could potentially offer to others.
For Google, the SpaceX investment follows its earlier acquisitions of Skybox Imaging and Titan Aerospace. The company’s continued interest in aerospace technologies has fueled speculation about its own telecommunications ambitions, and how satellite fits into them.
“Google is looking to provide Internet access anywhere in the world, and they’ve tried out a large number of options, whether it’s balloons or drones,” said Farrar. “Satellite is clearly another one of those potential options and, if Musk can fulfill his ambition to be able to manufacture satellites at low cost, then that would be a good way forward.”
With more satellites announced this year than in any prior, these plans could stir up action among incumbent operators.
“The new competition could be a [Merger and Acquisition] M&A catalyst,” Andrew Spinola, senior analyst at Wells Fargo wrote in a Jan. 20 research note. “To the extent that SpaceX and OneWeb can improve cost per bit economics for satellite broadband, the existing players will need to respond.”
ViaSat selects SpaceX to launch ViaSat-2 satellite
(12 January 2015) ViaSat is taking another step forward in the transformation of satellite broadband with the selection of SpaceX to launch ViaSat-2, the next generation of high-capacity broadband satellite.
ViaSat-2 is scheduled for a late summer 2016 launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Falcon Heavy is the world's most powerful rocket, with the ability to lift more than twice the payload of the next closest launch vehicle at only one-third the cost. Falcon Heavy is an evolution of the flight-proven Falcon 9 that is used to launch commercial satellites as well as cargo missions to the International Space Station.
Beginning with ViaSat-1, ViaSat began a transformation of satellite communications into a network technology that can provide high-performance services competitive with terrestrial alternatives, rather than being merely a last resort. ViaSat-2 is designed to provide another leap ahead in broadband service quality for residential, mobile, and enterprise satellite services.
"One of the primary objectives for ViaSat-2, beyond higher speeds, is to offer more data with all of our service plans. That's what customers want from any wireless service," said Mark Dankberg, ViaSat chairman and CEO. "We can do that by building a network with lots more network capacity at a cost that will attract more customers, and that's what this new class of satellite is designed to do."
ViaSat-2 is expected to cover seven times the geographic area and offer twice the bandwidth economics advantage of ViaSat-1, which is already the highest capacity satellite in the world. Planned coverage includes North America, Central America, and the Caribbean basin. The satellite will also provide a bridge of coverage across the North Atlantic, connecting North America with high-capacity coverage in the UK and Europe for high-speed in-flight internet and other mobile services.
Now under construction by Boeing, ViaSat-2 will become the fourth satellite in the ViaSat fleet.
Since high-capacity satellite services were launched with Exede® Internet in January 2012, the technology has re-ignited satellite internet subscription growth and gained industry recognition for high-performance and innovation:
February 2014 FCC report showed Exede Internet outperforming all other ISPs in delivering promised speeds for the second year in a row, with 90 percent of Exede subscribers receiving 140 percent or better of the advertised 12 Mbps speed during peak periods.
2013 World Technology Network Award for Communications Technology.
Avion Best Achievement in Technology Award for its Exede In The Air in-flight connectivity.
Guinness World Records title for world's highest capacity satellite.
About SpaceX
SpaceX designs, manufactures, and launches the world's most advanced rockets and spacecraft. The company was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk to revolutionize space transportation, with the ultimate goal of enabling people to live on other planets. Today, SpaceX is advancing the boundaries of space technology through its Falcon launch vehicles and Dragon spacecraft. SpaceX is a private company owned by management and employees, with minority investments from Founders Fund, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, and Valor Equity Partners. The company has more than 3,000 employees in California, Texas, Washington, D.C., and Florida.
About ViaSat
ViaSat creates satellite and other wireless networking systems that efficiently deliver the most bandwidth for fast, secure, and high-performance communications to any location for consumers, governments, enterprises, and the military. The company offers Exede services in North America, which feature ViaSat-1, the world's highest capacity satellite; worldwide mobile satellite services, including global tracking and messaging as well as high-speed in-flight internet; satellite broadband networking systems; Wi-Fi and other hotspot operations, support, and management systems; and network-centric military communication systems and cybersecurity for the U.S. and allied governments. ViaSat also offers communication system design and a number of complementary products and technologies. Based in Carlsbad, California, ViaSat employs over 3,300 people in a number of locations worldwide for technology development, customer service, and network operations.
Hunter Communications Eyes Mobility Market with Ku-band Hosted Payload
By Caleb Henry | December 9, 2014 | Feature, North America, Regional, Satellite TODAY News Feed, Telecom
Hunter Communications’ Ku-4 EIRP footprint on Eutelsat 115 West B. Photo: Hunter Communications
[Via Satellite 12-09-2014] Hunter Communications, a satellite communications provider in Canada, is readying for the launch of its first hosted payload on the Eutelsat 115 West B satellite early next year. The company, which provides satellite capacity from the “Big Four” and the majority of regional operators, has been operating over North America on Satmex 5 (later renamed Eutelsat 115 West A) as one of the spacecraft’s original clients for several years. As it neared the end of its life expectancy,Satmex shifted the satellite into an inclined orbit approximately a year and a half ago. Hunter Communications has carved a niche in the Canadian market through the inclined satellite, and is preparing for a push into mobility with its high-power Ku-band hosted payload next year.
“Canada is a bit of a unique market. There is certainly less demand for traditional Ku-band data services in comparison to the U.S. — because the U.S. has about 10 times the population,” Brent Perrott, president of Hunter Communications told Via Satellite. “The supply is just that limited in Canada and has been for so long that our small payload is probably coming at an opportune time.”
The hosted payload will provide Ku-band capacity over the United States and Canada with a footprint that is tweaked from the original Satmex beam. Perrott said the power and focal point of the beam is much further north than other satellites today, providing capacity over the Northwest Passage trade route as it opens. The hosted payload’s coverage also highlights Alaska and the Aleutian Islands.
“We really wanted to cover the maritime market on that West Coast. Cruise ships ply up and down the Inside Passage on the West Coast of British Columbia,” said Perrott. “We have a lot of fishing and shipping vessels around the Aleutian Islands, and over to the Pacific for more shipping.”
Perrott added that Hunter Communications is also planning a greater emphasis on In-Flight Connectivity (IFC) for aircraft transiting through Canada.
“Internet on commercial aircraft is going to soon become a norm and a requirement, and so for any airline traffic going transpacific or transatlantic, many of those planes are flying quite far north in Canada and Alaska. Having an entire beam with concentrated northern coverage is important,” he said.
Hunter Communications has worked with Panasonic Avionics in the past, whose eXConnect platform is based on Ku band. Perrott said the company is in discussions with Panasonic Avionics on using the hosted payload’s capacity.
Another benefit of having the dedicated hosted payload on Eutelsat 115 West B is that the spacecraft’s orbital position has four degrees of spacing between the next satellite with Canadian coverage. Perrott said adjacent satellite constraints made it difficult to place a traditional Ku-band beam over Canada on the Satmex 6 or Satmex 8 satellites. He expressed optimism that the strength of the beam would make the payload well suited for mobility.
“[There are] a lot of technical advantages when you are four degrees away from your nearest neighbor,” he said. “In terms of being able to use more power, that advantages smaller antennas — the sub one-meter antennas — so for anything aeronautical, or land-mobile antennas of 60 cm, it is a particular advantage that translates into lower operating costs on the satellite.”
OmniEarth Starts Product Development, Lands First Customer
By Caleb Henry | December 2, 2014 | Feature, North America, Regional, Satellite TODAY News Feed, Technology
Lars Dyrud, CEO of OmniEarth. Photo: OmniEarth
[Via Satellite 12-02-2014] Data and satellite imagery startupOmniEarth has inked East Bay Municipal Utility District(EBMUD) as its first customer. The company is in the process of raising capital for a constellation of 18 Earth imaging satellites to collect space-based data. Ball Aerospace is contracted to build the satellites, and Spaceflight Inc. is assisting in finding rideshare opportunities to bring the constellation online by 2018. But even without any spacecraft in orbit, OmniEarth has created a product to address a growing need in California.
“Right now the big initial product that we are rolling out, that we already have our first customer for is a water-resource management product,” Lars Dyrud, president and CEO of OmniEarth told Via Satellite. “EBMUD, San Francisco’s municipal water management utility, has already signed up to use this product and we are excited to bring it to the rest of the state over the course of the next year.”
Dyrud said California has lost $2.2 billion due to its ongoing drought, and a legal requirement has been placed upon municipalities to reduce water consumption by 20 percent by 2020. OmniEarth created a product that uses aerial imagery in lieu of satellite imagery — which comes with the added benefit of higher resolution — combined with parceled plot-line information and water meter data to help municipalities understand where and how water gets used. By combining automatic land classification with predictive analytics, the company is able to identify the top drivers of water use.
“In California it’s dominated by the number of square feet of grass that a homeowner has,” Dyrud explained. “The other factors that are important, besides the house, the square footage of trees plays the second most effect, probably because of shading. More shaded lines evaporate less water, for example.”
OmniEarth focuses on building datasets and using them to create enterprise insights. Dyrud, a founding member of the company, said the miniaturization of satellite components and the improvement of computing technologies made now the opportune time to pursue this business idea. OmniEarth is designing its satellite system, which will consist of 15 active satellites and three in-orbit spares, and leveraging partners like Ball Aerospace to detail designs that can be built. This allows the company to focus on desired core competencies and create more products.
“Agriculture is our next product focus. [There is] substantial growth in digital agriculture and most of the major agriculture companies are realigning and establishing their next generation digital agriculture strategy for the future. Making measurements using satellites for very large areas of land is something that’s right in our wheelhouse,” said Dyrud.
OmniEarth has not limited its focus to satellites either. As evidenced by the use of aerial imagery to serve the company’s first customer, OmniEarth is looking at other devices that carry sensors, which can then be used to take measurements and create or supplement datasets.
“We are currently working on a project with cell phone sensors with another company to create fleet management tool sets that not only tell where drivers are, but helps them understand driver behavior and things like that using the sensors on the phone,” said Dyrud. “Cellphone sensors are something just as exciting.”
To create valuable datasets using satellites, OmniEarth is emphasizing accuracy in geo-referencing down to a couple of centimeters. The constellation plan calls for each satellite to orbit seven minutes behind the next, each covering a 200-kilometer swath. The coverage will overlap by 20-kilometers, creating a constant flow of data that can be compared to calibrate for accurate and precise measurements. Together, the satellites will image the entire Earth once per day at a two-meter panchromatic and five-meter multi-spectral resolution.
Following water-management and agriculture, OmniEarth is eyeing the energy sector for future products. Dyrud said OmniEarth is working with several players in the energy sector that are guiding product development as part of the startup’s energy board. Other target markets include forest management, border security and emergency response.
[SatNews] There's an object in space, now classified as a satellite by the U.S., that could be a real killer.
A mysterious Russian object is currently being tracked by space agencies, giving new life to fears about the increase of space weapons. The satellite, dubbed Object 2014-28E, has grabbed the interest of official and amateur satellite-watchers as it is taking a confusing path and its purpose has not been identified, said the Financial Times in their published news story. The satellite can be tracked online. Amateur satellite-trackers have been doing just that and have been watching the path of the satellite. Some believe the satellite could be collecting space junk, helping to clean up the useless satellites that are floating around space. Or, it could be providing fuel or repairs to other satellites. However, others fear that the satellite could be used to destroy enemy satellites.
"Whatever it is, (Object 2014-28E) looks experimental," Patricia Lewis, research director at think-tank Chatham House and an expert in space security, told the Financial Times. "It could have a number of functions, some civilian and some military. One possibility is for some kind of grabber bar. Another would be kinetic pellets which shoot out at another satellite. Or possibly there could be a satellite-to-satellite cyber attack or jamming."
The satellite was launched in May on a rocket that carried three other packages, but the launch of the mysterious satellite was not declared as to its purpose. The initial thought was that the object was space debris, but after performing complex maneuvers, the U.S. re-classified it as a satellite and Russia increased the reported amount of satellites that had been launched on the mission. After some confusing moves between August and October, the satellite moved towards another object last weekend. That could mean that Object 2014-28E has finally intercepted its target and the mission has come to an end, this according to some who are watching the satellite.
Anti-satellite weapons began to be developed in the 1950s. Russia developed its Istrebitel Sputnik (fighter satellite) in the early 1960s — the satellite was designed to fly close to other satellites and then detonate a warhead that would bring destroy its target. Russia officially called off the program, though other anti-satellite weapons have been demonstrated by other countries.
Boeing Completes Testing on New Anti-Jamming Technology
By Veronica Magan | November 5, 2014 | Government, North America, Regional, Satellite TODAY News Feed, ST Briefs
ViaSat-1 in the Compact Antenna Test Range (CATR). Photo: SSL
[Via Satellite 11-05-201] Boeing has completed testing on its new anti-jamming communications technology, proving it is capable of operating as either a ground-based user terminal or satellite-based networking hub, enabling the military to send and receive secure communications at a lower cost by using existing terminals and satellites. The anti-jam technology uses a protected tactical waveform, which shields signals from interference by adversaries or cyber-terrorists.
This demonstration complements previous on-orbit demonstrations over satellites such as ViaSat 1 and the sixth Wideband Global Satcom (WGS 6), showing the ability to operate anti-jam waveforms over existing commercial and military spacecraft.
The recent test was conducted between a Boeing ground terminal using a programmable modem, designed and developed by ViaSat using one of its commercial off-the-shelf platforms, and a ground terminal designed and built by MIT-Lincoln Laboratory. This testing was conducted under contract for the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center and supervised by the U.S. government.
“We’ve confirmed this technology can be applied quickly and affordably to existing assets, especially operational WGS satellites and ground terminals,” said Dan Hart, vice president of Boeing Government Satellite Systems.
Electron to Launch at Least Once Per Week, Says Rocket Lab CEO
By Caleb Henry | October 23, 2014 | Feature, Launch, North America, Regional, Satellite TODAY News Feed
Model Electron rocket at the launcher’s unveiling. Photo: Rocket Lab.
[Via Satellite 10-23-2014] Rocket Lab, manufacturer of the Electron small satellite launch vehicle, has set its sights on launching no less than once per week when commercial operations begin. The company grabbed headlines after announcing that it had already signed 30 customers for the as-of-yet proven launch vehicle. With a price tag of $5 million or less per launch, Peter Beck, CEO of Rocket Lab, said the company is “frantically” putting together contracts and lining up a manifest they didn’t expect to have so soon.
“There are more in the works everyday. We were totally unprepared for the level of interest in the system. We expected not to have any commitment whatsoever until the vehicle had flown,” Beck told Via Satellite.
Having roughly the same mass as a Ferrari, the Electron rocket is slated to carry 110-kg payloads to a 500-km sun-synchronous orbit from a private launch site in New Zealand. Beck said these parameters were set based off conversations with customers — and, to his credit, they appear quite profitable. Rocket Lab’s goal was to set a price point for a dedicated launch that is roughly equivalent to the cost of a rideshare. And SmallSat owners have shown an enthusiastic response to having the same price with the added benefit of dictating their own orbit.
“We are aiming for our first test flight to be at the end of 2015, and to begin commercial operations in mid 2016. We have a multiple test-flight campaign over that six-month period before we go commercial,” he said.
Beck added that all the 30 customers currently signed are commercial businesses. Though Rocket Lab is talking to potential government customers, the entire manifest to date is for private satellites. Carolyn Belle, an analyst at NSR, said SmallSat operators are typically less risk-averse compared to operators of larger, more expensive spacecraft. This intense backing by commercial operators could be indicative of the pent up demand for low-cost dedicated launches of this nature.
“Considering the near-ubiquitous use of consumer-grade, [Commercial Off the Shelf] COTS materials and low [Technological Readiness Level] TRL instruments as a way to reduce costs and achieve rapid development cycles, it is a logical step for this market to employ an untested launcher with the potential to drive down costs and provide better launch opportunities,” she said. “The SmallSat market is in desperate need for more (and more flexible) launch options, hence the willingness to try an untested vehicle at likely attractive price points.”
Beck said the two goals in mind from the beginning were to address both the cost and frequency of launching with equal concern given to both. Rocket Lab will look to produce no less than one rocket per week to maintain a 52-per year launch pace.
“We build a launch vehicle like you would build a car,” he explained. “When we look at fasteners, or nuts and bolts, we try to standardize on one fastener wherever possible. What that means is on the assembly line you’ve only got one fastener so you can’t mess that assembly up.”
Other considerations included launch sites and reusability. Rocket Lab was originally a New Zealand company, but switched to the United States after raising money from sources such as Silicon Valley venture firm, Khosla Ventures. Electron is now considered a U.S. launch system, and Rocket Lab New Zealand is owned by Rocket Lab USA. Beck said the launch site and range are what tethers Rocket Lab to New Zealand because, after speaking with U.S. launch ranges, none could accommodate the company’s projected launch cadence.
Belle said that, while New Zealand would not be an ideal launch site for traditional satellites due to its distance from the equator, its access to high inclination and sun synchronous orbits is a major benefit for SmallSats, which are predominantly LEO-based. Plus, New Zealand has a smaller amount of air and sea traffic that could raise safety concerns and potentially cancel or delay launches.
Rocket Lab also opted for an expendable system after deciding that the cost of refurbishing would be greater than the potential savings
“We did the trades and there is a lot of added mass and complexity to reusable systems. When your booster is worth $20 or $30 million, then to have the infrastructure required to retrieve, service and refurbish it makes sense. But when your booster is worth single-digit millions or less, the cost equation doesn’t close. It’s more cost effective to not reuse,” he said.
Currently Rocket Lab is in the process of qualifying hardware to ready for the 2015 test flights. Beck said there are no other rocket variants planned beyond the current three-stage carbon-composite launch system. Should demand shift to necessitate a different system, Beck said they would only then evaluate other options. Otherwise there is no launcher family — only Electron.
“We are about commercializing access to space,” said Beck. “That’s all we are about.”
(6 October 2014) With the commissioning of Sentinel-1A completed and the satellite’s transfer to the team in charge of its exploitation, its data are available as of today to all users.
This marks the beginning of the satellite’s operational life, delivering radar coverage for an array of applications in the areas of oceans, ice, changing land and emergency response.
Project Manager Ramón Torres, who led the development team, formally handed over the satellite to the Mission Manager, Pierre Potin.
“The time has arrived for the satellite to exploit its extraordinary capabilities and start helping users,” said Ramón.
“A leap forward from ESA’s earlier Envisat, the unprecedented quality of Sentinel-1A will ensure that all users’ needs are fully met.
“Of course, saying farewell is always difficult, but I am confident that it is in capable and safe hands for the next stage of its journey.”
Sentinel-1 (courtesy: ESA)
Launched on 3 April, Sentinel-1A completed commissioning on 23 September – an important process that ensures the satellite, instruments, data acquisition and data processing procedures are working well.
Not only did Sentinel-1A pass these tests and reach its target orbit on 7 August, eight anticollision manoeuvres to avoid space debris were performed during this phase.
The satellite will now begin delivering radar scans for an array of operational services and scientific research.
“My main objective is to ensure that Sentinel-1 fulfils the high expectations from the various operational services and scientific users,” notes Pierre.
“Looking at the satellite and ground segment performance – as demonstrated during the commissioning – as well as the preliminary results achieved so far, I’m confident that the mission will be a great success.”
The satellite will continue to be monitored, operated and controlled from ESA’s Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany.
The Sentinels are a new fleet of ESA satellite poised to deliver the wealth of data and imagery that are central to Europe’s Copernicus programme.
By offering a set of key information services for a broad range of applications, this global monitoring programme is a step change in the way we manage our environment, understand and tackle the effects of climate change, and safeguard everyday lives.
Sentinel-1 – a two-satellite constellation – is the first in the series and carries an advanced radar to provide an all-weather, day-and-night supply of imagery of Earth’s surface.
The biggest earthquake in 25 years struck California’s Napa Valley in the early hours of 24 August 2014. By processing two Sentinel-1A images, which were acquired on 7 August and 31 August 2014 over this wine-producing region, an interferogram was generated. The two round shapes around Napa valley, which are visible in the central part of the image show how the ground moved during the quake. Deformation on the ground causes phase changes in radar signals that appear as the rainbow-coloured patterns. Each colour cycle corresponds to a deformation of 28 mm deformation. The maximum deformation is more than 10 cm, and an area of about 30x30 km was affected significantly. Interferograms like these are being used by scientists on the ground to help them map the surface rupture and model the earthquake. This interferogram very clearly shows the fault that caused the earthquake, which had not been identified as being particularly hazardous prior to the event. Despite this interferogram being computed with images acquired in the satellite’s ‘stripmap mode’, which is not going to be the default mode when operational, this result demonstrates the capability of Sentinel-1A and marks the beginning of a new era for our ability to map earthquakes from space. (courtesy: Copernicus data (2014)/ESA/PPO.labs/Norut/COMET-SEOM Insarap study)
Even during commissioning, Sentinel-1A demonstrated its potential in the various applications domains.
Just days after launch, its results were included in maps of the floods that hit Namibia, as well as those in the Balkans the following month. This information was then used by authorities involved in flood response.
Radar images were also used to map the rupture caused by the 24 August earthquake that shook northern California – the biggest the area has seen in 25 years.
The towing of the Costa Concordia cruise ship off the west coast of Italy was captured by the radar, demonstrating Sentinel-1’s ability to survey the marine environment.
This and many other services will now start benefiting from Sentinel-1A’s operational status. These include services related to monitoring Arctic sea-ice extent, routine sea-ice mapping, surveillance of the marine environment, monitoring land-surface for motion risks, mapping for forest, water and soil management and mapping to support humanitarian aid and crisis situations.
The mission’s contributions will further improve once the satellite’s identical twin, Sentinel-1B, is launched in 2016.
