Copernicus Sentinel-1B SAR Problems

News of problems for Copernicus Sentinel-1B, and a glimpse of the Earth Observation (EO) priorities for NASA, this week. Starting in Europe, the concerning news is that Copernicus 1B suffered an anomaly on the 23rd December, as reported on the … Continue reading

Over 75 Satellites Hitching A Ride Together

The first rideshare launch of 2022 should see over seventy-five satellites put into orbit by SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Transporter 3 this week. Taking off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, in Florida, the launch is scheduled for Thursday after 15.25 … Continue reading

New European Space Programme & USA and Russia Launches

Last week the European Union (EU) and European Space Agency (ESA) signed a new Financial Framework Partnership Agreement (FFPA) that marks the start of a new EU space programme covering the period to 2027. The programme includes investment in space … 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

Earth Observation Continues To Attract Investment

Investment in Earth Observation (EO) hit the headlines this week, particularly two announcements from Spain. Firstly, a consortium of twenty-three Spanish companies, led by Open Cosmos, covering the entire upstream and downstream value chain has come together with an ambition … 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

New Launches, New Images & an 8th Anniversary

A new Chinese launch vehicle had its inaugural flight last weekend from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China. The Smart Dragon-1, also known by its Chinese name of Jielong-1, was developed by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology … Continue reading

Using SAR in the Arctic & Antarctic

Two recently published scientific papers show uses of SAR data to measure different characteristics of ice in both the Arctic and Antarctic. Firstly, a paper in the IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing demonstrated how CryoSat data has been … Continue reading

EO Satellite Launches, Planned Launches and Deorbits

Whilst we’ve been talking about the exciting things from ESA’s Living Planet, there’s been quite a number of launches, planned launches and de-orbits within the industry. To start with, on the 22nd May, India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) took … Continue reading