Satellite Remote Sensing
Market Watch: Remote Sensing Skies Filling with Satellite Plans
The next two years could see the launch of nearly a dozen new satellites. Here's the line-up.
By Kevin P. Corbley

After a decade of dominance by only two systems Ñ the U.S. Landsat and European SPOT satellitesÑcommercial remote sensing is suddenly attracting quite a crowd. The next two years could see the launch of nearly a dozen new satellites.
      In the past two years, commercial remote sensing has changed dramatically and swiftly. Major aerospace corporations such as Lockheed Martin, Ball Aerospace and Boeing have stepped forward to back high resolution satellite initiatives. And national governments seem more eager than ever to get into the Earth observation game.
      Canada and India both launched advanced new satellites late last year. At least six U.S. and one Israeli organization are planning separate commercial high-resolution satellites. Meanwhile, the U.S. government and Japan are each launching remote sensing R&D satellites that will undoubtedly offer some benefits to commercial users. And the SPOT consortium will soon launch an upgraded satellite.       For those of you scoring at home, here is todayÕs line-up of new and planned remote sensing satellites.

The New Satellites
In November 1995, Canada launched RADARSAT, the first operationally oriented satellite to carry a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging sensor. In addition to SARÕs inherent abilities to image in virtually any weather conditions, RADARSAT also offers the advantages of adjustable incidence angles and a variety of beam modes, spatial resolutions and scene sizes. RADARSAT International (RSI) of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, handles all distribution of RADARSAT data.
      In late December, India launched IRS-1C which boasts a spatial resolution of 5.8 meters in its panchromatic sensor, the best now available commercially. In addition, the Indian satellite has a multispectral sensor capable of acquiring three bands of visible and near IR imagery with 23.5 meter resolution and short wave IR at 70 meters. A third instrument acquires Wide Field imagery with 188 meter resolution covering a 774 km swath. EOSAT of Lanham, Md., distributes data from IRS-1C and three other Indian satellites.

Enhanced SPOT
The SPOT consortium will launch an upgraded version of the SPOT satellite in 1997. SPOT 4 will acquire 10-meter panchromatic and 20-meter multispectral, similar to its predecessors. A major enhancement will be the addition of a mid-infrared band. The satellite will also carry a vegetation monitoring sensor similar to the AVHRR that flies aboard U.S. weather satellites. Its resolution will be 1 kilometer. SPOT data is distributed through SPOT Image Corp. of Reston, Va.

The Planned Commercial Sats
EarthWatch of Longmont, Colo., plans to jump start the market for high resolution imagery late this year by launching its EarlyBird satellite, which will acquire 3-meter panchromatic and 15-meter multispectral imagery. In early 1998, EarthWatch will launch QuickBird, with 1-meter pan and 4-meter multispectral imagery. EarthWatch is a partnership of Ball Aerospace and WorldView Imaging Corp.
      Space Imaging of Thornton, Colo., was formed by Lockheed Martin, E-Systems and Mitsubishi. Space Imaging looks to be the first in orbit with a 1-meter satellite scheduled for launch late next year. Its platform will acquire 1-meter panchromatic and three bands of 4-meter multispectral imagery. Space Imaging is now seeding its market with a database of high-resolution aerial photography.
      Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va., once involved in the now defunct Eyeglass Consortium has regrouped to form OrbImage. Its satellite, called OrbView, will acquire two sets of panchromatic imagery at 1- and 2-meter resolution. Four bands of multispectral data will also be collected. OrbImage will also serve as distributor of data from the SeaStar Ocean Color Satellite, developed by Orbital Sciences and scheduled for launch this year. SeaStar will acquire low-resolution, multispectral images of the EarthÕs oceans, lands and atmosphere for use in commercial fishing, agriculture and weather services.
      Resource21 of Denver, Colo., plans to target the huge agriculture industry as its primary market. With backing from Agrium USA, Farmland Industries and Boeing Commercial Space Co., Resource21 expects frequent revisit to be its stock in trade, acquiring imagery at least twice a day any place on Earth. Plans call for launching four satellites by 2000. Each will collect 10-meter multispectral imagery in four bands and 20-meter imagery in one short wave IR band.
      GDE Systems of San Diego, once a member of the Eyeglass group and now the ground segment developer for Resource21, also received its own license to launch a 1-meter resolution satellite. Executives at GDE remain tight-lipped about their plans and would only acknowledge having completed a preliminary design plan with a target launch date around 2000.
      Geophysical & Environmental Research Corp. (GER) of Millbrook, N.Y., a long-time developer of airborne sensors, has also kept its satellite plans close to the vest. GER also plans to target the precision farming market with a constellation of satellites, dubbed GEROS (GER Earth Resource Observation System), which will acquire medium-resolution multispectral imagery.
      Israel Aircraft Industries Ltd. of Tel Aviv offers a unique entry into the high-resolution market. It is building a commercial 2-meter imaging satellite identical to one it has already developed for Israeli military applications. The satellite could be ready for launch in 1997. Core Software Technology of Pasadena, Calif., has formed a joint venture with IAI to distribute the data commercially.

Research Satellites
NASA and NOAA are jointly developing Landsat 7. The satellite will not be operated commercially Ñ instead NOAA will assume control, and the data will be sold to researchers in support of Mission to Planet Earth through the EROS Data Center (EDC) in Sioux Falls, S.D. The satellite payload will be similar to Landsat 6, which exploded after launch in 1993. Landsat 7 will carry an Enhanced Thematic Mapper sensor with a 15 meter pan, six 30-meter multispectral and one 60-meter thermal band. Launch is slated for mid-1998.
      NASAÕs Lewis and Clark satellites grew out of a dissatisfaction with NASAÕs notoriously long program development time. In 1994, NASA announced plans to develop and launch two small remote sensing satellites within 24 months. To NASAÕs credit, both are very close to schedule.
      Clark, which will carry a 3-meter sensor developed by EarthWatch is slated for launch in November 1996. Lewis, a satellite built by TRW and capable of collecting 384 bands of hyperspectral imagery, should follow in January 1997. After a six-month period of analysis and calibration at the Stennis Space Center, Lewis and Clark data will be made available to the public at no cost through EDC.
      Japan is following its JERS series of satellites with the Advanced Earth Observation Satellite (ADEOS), which was successfully launched in late August. ADEOS carries eight sensors, most of them oriented toward environmental research. Some commercial remote sensing customers, however, are anxious to acquire imagery from the Ocean Color and Temperature Scanner and the Advanced Visible and Near-infrared Radiometer. RESTEC of Tokyo handles distribution of data from all Japanese Earth observation satellites.

About the Author:
Kevin Corbley is principal in Corbley Communications which provides PR, marketing and writing services to firms involved in remote sensing, GIS and GPS. He is located in Denver and may be reached at 303-987-3979.

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