Glacier Ice, Arctic Ice & Iceberg Wars

As the UK is basking in its first prolonged spell of sunshine for some time, we’re focusing on colder parts of the world in the blog looking at the latest news in terms of ice monitoring. We’re starting with some … Continue reading

Importance of Dataset Continuity

Two reports this week demonstrating the issues and importance of maintaining dataset continuity. Firstly, the Canadian firm, MDA, announced at the beginning of February that they were making progress with the RadarSat-2 Continuity Mission. MDA, who own and operate Radarsat-2, … Continue reading

Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich Launches

The latest satellite of the Copernicus Sentinel family was launched last Saturday, 21st November, at 17.17 GMT. Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich was taken into orbit by SpaceX via the Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, USA, … Continue reading

Future Launches, Current Launches and Data from Launches Past!

  This week we start in the future with ESA’s announcement of an online press conference on Friday 16th October to discuss the November launch of the Copernicus Sentinel-6 ‘Michael Freilich’ ocean-monitoring satellite; scheduled to take off on the 10th … Continue reading

Phytoplankton Blooming

Phytoplankton are microscopic organisations that live in both fresh and seawater and form one of the lowest levels of the aquatic food chain, with many marine creatures eating them. Phytoplankton contain chlorophyll, like plants, and therefore require sunlight to survive … Continue reading

Ocean Measurements Getting Ready, Going Out and Trying Somewhere New

This week we’re putting the focus on the current developments in ocean remote sensing – in the widest sense of the word! Firstly, last Thursday, China launched the Haiyang 1D (HY-1D) satellite, from China’s Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre on the … Continue reading

Celebrations & Commiserations

Earth Observation (EO) satellite launches are currently few and far between, so today we’re going to celebrate one that’s hit ten years in space, and commiserate with two satellites that have reached end of life. The celebration is for ESA’s … Continue reading

Earth Observation Satellites Planned for 2020

As we begin the New Year we thought we’d look at some of the satellite launches that the Earth Observation (EO) community should be watching out for in the coming twelve months. Possibly the most anticipated launch will keep us … Continue reading

Two New EO satellites & One For The Future

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) today launched the Cartosat-3 Earth Observation (EO) satellite from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Cartosat-3 was the major payload on the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle … Continue reading

Up, Up, Away & AI

One of the latest Earth Observation (EO) satellite launches occurred on the 29th June when Rocket Lab launched seven small satellites into low-Earth orbits from its New Zealand’s Māhia Peninsula launch site. The largest satellite of the Electron rocket’s payload … Continue reading