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Tag: Sentinel satellites

  • Copernicus Sentinel-3B delivers first images

    News from the European Space Agency

    Less than two weeks after it was launched, the Copernicus Sentinel-3B satellite has delivered its first images of Earth. Exceeding expectations, this first set of images include the sunset over Antarctica, sea ice in the Arctic and a view of northern Europe.

    One of the Copernicus Sentinel-3B’s first images featured Greenland. Captured on May 7, 2018, at 13:20 GMT (15:20 CEST), the image shows sea ice swirled into eddies caused by the wind and ocean currents. The image was taken by the satellite’s ocean and land colour Instrument, which features 21 distinct bands, a resolution of 300 m and a swath width of 1270 km. The instrument can be used to monitor aquatic biological productivity and marine pollution, and over land it can be used to monitor the health of vegetation. (Image: ESA)
    One of the Copernicus Sentinel-3B’s first images featured Greenland. Captured on May 7, 2018, at 13:20 GMT (15:20 CEST), the image shows sea ice swirled into eddies caused by the wind and ocean currents. The image was taken by the satellite’s ocean and land colour Instrument, which features 21 distinct bands, a resolution of 300 m and a swath width of 1270 km. The instrument can be used to monitor aquatic biological productivity and marine pollution, and over land it can be used to monitor the health of vegetation. (Image: ESA)

    The very first image, captured on May 7 at 10:33 GMT (12:33 CEST), shows the transition between day and night over the Weddell Sea in Antarctica. The satellite also captured swirls of sea ice off Greenland on the same day. Another in this first set of images offers a rare cloud-free view of northern Europe.

    They were taken by the satellite’s ocean and land colour instrument, which features 21 distinct bands, a resolution of 300 m and a swath width of 1270 km. The instrument can be used to monitor aquatic biological productivity and marine pollution, and over land it can be used to monitor the health of vegetation.

    Josef Aschbacher, ESA’s Director of Earth Observation Programmes, said, “The launch of Sentinel-3B completed the first batch of Sentinels that we are delivering for Copernicus.

    “We finished the launch and early orbit phase in a record time and we are now getting on with the task of commissioning the satellite for service.

    “These first images from the ocean and land colour instrument already show how the satellite is set to play its role in providing a stream of high-quality environmental data to improve lives, boost the economy and protect our world.”

    The Copernicus Sentinel-3B satellite captured this rare cloud-free view of Northern Europe on May 8, 2018, at 09:33 GMT (11:33 CEST). Features over land and water can been seen clearly such as different types of land cover, snow and also a plume of phytoplankton in the North Sea. The image was taken by the satellite’s ocean and land color Instrument. (Image: ESA)
    The Copernicus Sentinel-3B satellite captured this rare cloud-free view of Northern Europe on May 8, 2018, at 09:33 GMT (11:33 CEST). Features over land and water can been seen clearly such as different types of land cover, snow and also a plume of phytoplankton in the North Sea. The image was taken by the satellite’s ocean and land color Instrument. (Image: ESA)

    The Sentinel-3B satellite lifted off from Russia on 25 April and joins it identical twin, Sentinel-3A, in orbit. This pairing of satellites increases coverage and data delivery for the European Union’s Copernicus environment programme.

    As the workhorse mission for Copernicus, the two satellites carry the same suite of instruments to systematically measure Earth’s oceans, land, ice and atmosphere.

    Over oceans, it measures the temperature, colour and height of the sea surface as well as the thickness of sea ice. These measurements are used, for example, to monitor changes in Earth’s climate and for more hands-on applications such as for monitoring marine pollution.

    Over land, this innovative mission monitors wildfires, maps the way land is used, checks vegetation health and measures the height of rivers and lakes.

    European Commissioner for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs Elzbieta Bienkowska, said, “This new satellite will deliver valuable images of how our oceans and land are changing.

    “This will not only speed up the response to natural disasters, but also create new business opportunities. Earth observation is a larger market than you would think – a driver for research discoveries, a provider of highly skilled jobs and a developer of innovative services and applications.”

    One of the Copernicus Sentinel-3B’s first images featured Greenland. Captured on May 7, 2018, at 13:20 GMT (15:20 CEST), the image shows sea ice swirled into eddies caused by the wind and ocean currents, and was taken by the satellite’s ocean and land color Instrument. (Image: ESA)
    One of the Copernicus Sentinel-3B’s first images featured Greenland. Captured on May 7, 2018, at 13:20 GMT (15:20 CEST), the image shows sea ice swirled into eddies caused by the wind and ocean currents, and was taken by the satellite’s ocean and land color Instrument. (Image: ESA)

    Bruno Berruti, ESA’s Sentinel-3 Project Manager, said, “We are extremely pleased to see these first images, which show that the satellite is in good health.

    “ESA will spend the next five months carefully calibrating the instruments and commissioning the satellite for service before it is handed over to Eumetsat for routine operations.”

    During this commission phase the two Sentinel-3 satellites will be flown in a tandem formation, separated by about 30 seconds.

    Sentinel-3B will then be phased to reach its final position – flying in the same orbit, but adjusted to be separated by 140° with respect to Sentinel-3A.

    Once commissioned, ESA will hand over satellite operations to Eumetsat. It will then be managed jointly, with ESA generating the land products and Eumetsat the marine products for application through the Copernicus services.

    Alain Ratier, Director-General of Eumetsat, added, “The Sentinel-3 constellation establishes the European backbone of a space-based, global ocean-monitoring system.

    “These first images are the first demonstration that Sentinel-3B will deliver on its promise to usher in a new era for operational oceanography and flow-on benefits for human safety, businesses and industry.

    “They will amplify the benefits of the Sentinel 3 mission for ocean forecasting and the blue economy.”

    Sentinel-3B is the seventh Sentinel satellite launched for Copernicus. Each mission carries different state-of-the-art technology to deliver a stream of complementary imagery and data to monitor the environment.

  • Sentinel-2B satellite launched for Europe’s Copernicus program

    Artist's rendering of Sentinel-2B.
    Artist’s rendering of Sentinel-2B.

    The Sentinel-2B satellite was launched for the European Commission on Monday, March 6, at 10:49 p.m. local time from the Guiana Space Center (CSG), Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.

    Following the successful launches of Sentinel-1A, Sentinel-2A and Sentinel-1B, the mission with Sentinel-2B marks the fourth satellite in the European Commission’s Copernicus Earth observation program to be orbited by Arianespace from the Guiana Space Center, within the scope of a contract with the European Space Agency (ESA).

    The Sentinel-2B Earth observation satellite mainly focuses on monitoring land masses and coastal zones around the world. It will be positioned in an orbit opposite that of Sentinel-2A to ensure optimum coverage and data delivery. The pair of Sentinel-2 satellites will cover the Earth’s entire surface in five days. This high frequency means they will capture brand-new views of the Earth, driving considerable progress in monitoring and predicting changes in vegetation and aquatic pollution.

    Sentinel-2B combines a multispectral, wide-swath, very-high-resolution optical imaging instrument with a dedicated platform developed by Airbus, a long-standing partner to Arianespace. It is the 61st Earth observation satellite to be launched by Arianespace.

    ESA’s Sentinel program includes six families of satellites:

    • Sentinel-1 will ensure data continuity with the ERS and Envisat radar satellites.
    • Sentinel-2 and Sentinel-3 are designed to help provide a better understanding of how climate change impacts our daily lives.
    • Sentinel-4 and Sentinel-5 are dedicated to meteorology and climatology, with a special focus on studying the composition of the Earth’s atmosphere.
    • Sentinel-6 will measure ocean topography, mainly for operational oceanography and climatology.

    This was the third launch of the year for Arianespace and the first in 2017 with the Vega light launcher. It also marked the ninth successful launch in a row for Vega, which made its debut at the Guiana Space Center in 2012.

  • USGS partners with European Space Agency on Copernicus Earth data

    The Sentinel satellites developed by ESA are designed to meet the operational needs of the Copernicus program. (ESA illustration)
    The Sentinel satellites developed by ESA are designed to meet the operational needs of the Copernicus program. (ESA illustration)

    The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the European Space Agency (ESA) have established a partnership to enable USGS storage and redistribution of Earth observation data acquired by Copernicus program satellites.

    The ESA-USGS collaboration will serve scientific and commercial customers interested in the current conditions of forests, crops and water bodies across large regions and in the longer term environmental condition of the Earth. Data acquired by the European Union’s Sentinel-2A satellite launched in June 2015 are highly complementary to data acquired by USGS/NASA Landsat satellites since 1972.

    “Landsat and Sentinel data will weave together very effectively,” said Virginia Burkett, USGS Associate Director for Climate and Land Use Change. “Adding the image recurrence of two Sentinel-2 satellites to Landsats 7 and 8 will increase repeat multispectral coverage of the Earth’s land areas to every 3 to 4 days. With more frequent views of the Earth, we will significantly improve our ability to see and understand changes taking place across the global landscape.”

    The agreement is part of a broader understanding between the European Union and three U.S. federal science agencies — NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and USGS — that was signed in October 2015. All parties are committed to the principle of full, free and open access to Earth observation satellite data produced by the European Union’s Sentinel program and by the respective U.S. agencies. An ESA article further describes the cross-Atlantic collaboration.

    “Free and open access to Landsat and Sentinel-2 data together will create remarkable economic and scientific benefits for people around the globe,” said Suzette Kimball, director of the U.S. Geological Survey. “At the outset of our partnership we can only imagine the synergies between our two perspectives from space. But I’m confident that the final product of our partnership will be an enriched knowledge of our planet.”

    Sentinel data are available at no cost from the Copernicus Scientific Data Hub. Additionally, in order to expedite data delivery around the globe, users may also download both Sentinel-2 and Landsat data at no charge in a familiar digital environment from USGS access systems such as EarthExplorer.

    Right now, only selected Sentinel data are available from the USGS in an early testing phase. Timely access to all Sentinel data will follow as the procedures for data transfer, user access and data delivery continue to be optimized at the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center.

    The MultiSpectral Instrument (MSI) sensor on board Sentinel 2A acquires 13 spectral bands that parallel and contrast to data acquired by the USGS Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) and Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+). Unlike the Sentinel-2 satellites, Landsat satellites also include a capability to collect thermal infrared data which is used in a variety of water and agricultural monitoring applications. NASA has published an online comparison of Sentinel-2A and Landsat bandwidths.

    For technical details such as data availability, geographic coverage, acquisition frequency and resolution, visit the Copernicus and Landsat websites.

    The Landsat program is a joint effort of USGS and NASA. First launched by NASA in 1972, the Landsat series of satellites has produced the longest, continuous record of Earth’s land surface as seen from space. Landsat data were made available to all users free of charge by the U.S. Department of the Interior and USGS in 2008.

  • European Space Agency’ Launches Land Observing Satellite


    The European Space Agency (ESA) on June 23 successfully launched its Sentinel-2A satellite, the second satellite to be launched in Europe’s Copernicus environment monitoring program. Above is a video of the Sentinel 2A lift-off.

    “We are very pleased to have such a talented new player join the team in watching Earth from space,” said Suzette Kimball, acting U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) director. “The aptly named Sentinel mission will help sharpen our focus on changes in Earth systems and contribute further insight to a great many global challenges at international to local scales, including food security, forest and wildlife conservation, and disaster response.”

    NASA has published a comparison of Sentinel-2A and Landsat bandwidths.
    NASA has published a comparison of Sentinel-2A and Landsat bandwidths.

    Sentinel-2 imagery is expected to supply valuable parallels and counterparts to Landsat imagery provided by the United States. Before Sentinel-2A launched, USGS and ESA staff worked together at length to ensure that Sentinel-2 data would be as compatible as possible with Landsat data.

    First launched by NASA in 1972, the Landsat series of satellites has produced the longest, continuous record of Earth’s land surface as seen from space. Landsat images have been used by scientists and resource managers to monitor water quality, glacier recession, coral reef health, land use change, deforestation rates, and population growth.

    Landsat is a joint effort of USGS and NASA. NASA develops remote-sensing instruments and spacecraft, launches the satellites, and validates their performance. USGS develops the associated ground systems, then takes ownership and operates the satellites (since 2000), as well as managing data reception, archiving, and distribution. Landsat data were made available to all users free of charge under a policy change by the U.S. Department of the Interior and USGS in late 2008.

    Sentinel-2A in the gantry before launch.
    Sentinel-2A in the gantry before launch.

    “We are also pleased that a free and open data policy has been adopted for users of Sentinel data,” Kimball added. “Free, open access to Landsat and Sentinel-2 data together will create remarkable economic and scientific benefits for people around the globe.”
    Designed as a two-satellite constellation — Sentinel-2A and -2B — the Sentinel-2 mission carries an innovative wide swath high-resolution multispectral imager with 13 spectral bands. However, it will not fully duplicate the Landsat data stream, which includes thermal measurements. Sentinel-1A, a satellite with radar-based instruments, was launched April 3, 2014.

    Once it is fully operational following several months of on-orbit testing, Sentinel-2A alone could provide 10-day repeat coverage of Earth’s land areas. With Sentinel-2A data added to the eight-day coverage from Landsat 7/8 combined, users can look forward to better-than-weekly coverage at moderate resolution. Repeat coverage capabilities will further increase with the planned launch of a second Sentinel-2 satellite (Sentinel-2B) next year.

    The PDF “Landsat: Continuing to Improve Everyday Life” explains the program.

  • Copernicus Masters Competition Submissions Due by July 13

    The Coperinicus Masters Cup Photo: Anwendungszentrum GmbH
    The Coperinicus Masters Cup
    Photo: Anwendungszentrum GmbH

    Copernicus Masters submissions of ideas, applications or business concepts involving innovative uses of Earth observation data are due by July 13. Along with cash prizes, the winners will gain access to an international network, corresponding data, start-up funding and other support valued at more than €300,000 ($322,444) total.

    The amount of data produced by Copernicus, the European Earth observation program, and its Sentinel satellites opens the door to products and applications in a wide array of business sectors. The European Space Agency (ESA) and Anwendungszentrum GmbH Oberpfaffenhofen (AZO) have thus initiated the Copernicus Masters competition to aid visionary entrepreneurs in bringing their innovations to market.

    “Start-ups and SMEs in particular stand to benefit from the virtually limitless scope of the data Copernicus provides,” said Prof Dr Volker Liebig, director of Earth observation programs and head of the European Space Research Institute (ESRIN), ESA. “The ideas submitted to previous editions of the Copernicus Masters have already demonstrated this to impressive effect, as has the constantly growing number of companies that are developing products and services based on Earth observation data in ESA’s business incubation program.”

    These companies operate in a diverse range of fields, where they address subjects such as resource efficiency in agriculture, construction and renewable energy. The Copernicus Masters also is looking for new services and products in forward-thinking segments such as big data, cloud computing, crowdsourcing, data visualisation and mobile applications, to name a few.

    In this year’s edition, prizes will be awarded in topic-specific challenges sponsored by partners, including: ESA, the German Aerospace Center (DLR), T-Systems International GmbH, Satellite Applications Catapult Ltd., Greece’s National Cadastre and Mapping Agency (NCMA), CloudEO AG and European Space Imaging GmbH. The new University Challenge specifically addresses students and research assistants around the world.

    “We and our partners are offering the participants space for innovation in areas that are already shaping the future — the Internet of Things (IoT), Industry 4.0, smart cities and renewable energy, for example,” said Thorsten Rudolph, AZO managing director. “We want to support them in realising their creative solutions to these global challenges.”

    Research and industry experts will select the winner of each challenge. The overall winner and 2015 Copernicus Master will receive, along with their challenge prize, €20,000 ($21,478) in cash and a satellite data package worth a further €60,000 ($64,434), which is being provided with the financial support of the European Commission.

    “Taking part in the Copernicus Masters gave us the chance to make some key contacts and gather valuable feedback,” said John Smedegaard, a co-founder of Ceptu, which won the CloudEO Farming Challenge in 2014. “The whole process was a huge help in advancing our idea and developing it into a commercial product through our new start-up.”

    All of the winners will be announced this fall and recognized at an awards ceremony.

    For details on this year’s prizes, partners and terms of participation, view the event website.