Artist’s rendition of satellites orbiting the Earth – rottenman/123RF Stock Photo

Last week we wrote about how Earth Observation satellites were monitoring the changes in nitrogen dioxide levels in country’s placing restrictions on daily life. We’re going to start this week’s blog with a look at how night-time imagery has changed with the restrictions, and we’ll finish off with some of the other key impacts the pandemic is having on the industry.

Scientists from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and the Universities Space Research Association have used night-time data acquired by the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the NOAA–NASA Suomi NPP satellite to detect a reduction in the amount of energy being used in China, around the Hubei province that has been in lockdown. The images acquired on the 19th January and the 4th February respectively, particularly show how the cities and roads are dimmer in the later image. The sixteen-night difference is important as this is the repeat orbit for the satellite, which ensures that the images were taken at the same angle each time to minimise any distortions.

There are starting to impact on satellite launches from the pandemic, with:

• Argentina’s SAOCOM-1B remote sensing satellite, which was due to be launched on the 30th March from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket has been postponed. Travel restrictions mean the Argentinean officials and engineers are unable to get to the site. The launch site is still expecting other satellites to proceed.
• Launches from the ESA spaceport Centre Spatial Guyanais (CSG) in French Guiana were suspended on the 16th March, with no resumption planned until after approval by local health officials.
• Rocket Lab’s latest launch, scheduled from New Zealand on the 30th March, has been postponed. The mission, ironically called ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’, had a payload of a number of small satellites.

ESA, like many other businesses including Pixalytics, have staff working from home, and they have also temporarily stopped data collection on four solar system missions to mitigate the number of onsite staff it requires. The affected satellites, which are on long term missions and currently in stable orbits, are:

• Cluster: Four satellite mission to investigate Earth’s magnetic environment and the impact of solar wind.
• ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter: orbiting Mars investigating the planet’s atmosphere and providing data relay for surface landers.
• Mars Express: Has been imaging the Mars and sampling the planet’s atmosphere for over fifteen years.
• Solar Orbiter: ESA’s latest mission, launched in February is en route to Sun.

Note: The day after we published this blog, ESA reported that after a brief shutdown of science instruments all four of these missions were again gathering data.

Perhaps the biggest casualty of the current crisis in the space industry so far is OneWeb. The UK based satellite broadband provider has filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in the United States, blaming the pandemic for its failure to secure its next round of investor funding. It was only nine days ago that it launched thirty-four additional satellites, taking its constellation up to seventy-four.

The company is currently seeking a buyer for its assets that include the satellites themselves, radio spectrum rights, and around 20 ground stations. Of course, there are going to a fairly limited number of buyers for this sale – it will be interesting to see who comes forward. It is worth noting that if no buyer is secured the UK Government, as the licencing authority, will assume responsibility for the orbiting satellites.

However, it’s not all about postponements and problems as there are a number of satellite image and data companies who have indicated greater demand for their products, for example:

• Ursa Space Systems, a USA satellite data analytics firm, for its reports on oil storage tanks using SAR data.
• Canadian company, SkyWatch, uses remote sensing to monitor energy, utilities, construction, renewable energies and infrastructure.
• Planet is similar seeing greater enquires on remote monitoring of sites using satellite data.

Whilst the health of the world is the most immediate concern, the economic ripples it has caused and will continue to create in coming weeks and months, are certain to have further impacts on the space industry and the wider economy.