Earth Observation
Information generated from Earth Observation
(EO) programmes has become increasingly essential for decision
making, defining policies, and implementing management strategies
to ensure mankind has a sustainable future on Earth.
Telespazio VEGA has been involved in Earth
Observation (EO) programmes worldwide for both institutional and
commercial programmes, from feasibility studies to the operations
of remote sensing satellites. With almost 35 years’ heritage
working on Earth Observation (EO) programmes, we have a wealth of
knowledge and expertise to help provide innovative technologies to
monitor the ongoing effects of weather patterns, population growth,
security, biological and geological variation.
Earth Observation Studies
Clients often require advisory services to
help them identify and translate strategy into workable programmes
that help them achieve planned benefits while minimising risk.
This
requires a foundation based on sound business, management and
technical principles. Telespazio VEGA has been involved in several
analysis and market studies for ESRIN, ESTEC, EUMETSAT and other
Space organisations, including:
- ESA’s Earth Observation (EO) market
development industry studies
- ESA’s GMES ground segment architecture
studies
- EUMETSAT’s Phase A study to define a
reference architecture for the Meteosat Third Generation Ground
Segment programme.
Instrumentation Design and Development
Some organisations operate at the limits of
science and technology in order to deliver their mandate. This
requires them to stimulate innovation and lead research into
new
techniques and technologies that will yield important benefits for
the future.
Telespazio VEGA’s highly qualified staff
support clients’ early phase science and technology research
programmes that help instrumentation development, calibration and
science, including:
- Calibration and analysis of satellite
instruments
- Development of distribution and
archiving
- Systems for scientific data including virtual
observatory
Launch and Operations
The Launch and Early Operations Phase (LEOP)
of a satellite is one of the most critical aspects of a satellite’s
lifespan. Once launched, the operations team is the only means of
communicating with the satellite. Telespazio VEGA’s staff are
embedded within ESA’s Operations Centre (ESOC), providing
pre-launch and LEOP services for ESA satellites, as well as for
EUMETSAT, DLR and other commercial organisations. For almost 35
years, Telespazio VEGA has been involved in every ESA launch, as
well as MSG-1, MSG-2 and METOP. Our involvement includes:
- Almost 35 years of operations engineering
services
- Satellite operations preparation, validation,
execution and support
- Satellite operations team training
Support and Maintenance
The support and maintenance requirement for a
satellite is dependent on its mission and lifespan. Telespazio VEGA
can provide total ground segment support for any EO mission, from
developing the mission control and mission planning systems,
through to providing the ground segment infrastructure maintenance
and support.
Telespazio VEGA provides a comprehensive
service for ESA to manage the data quality aspects of all their
Earth Observation (EO) missions. This service is operated according
to strict service level agreements, providing all data users with
robust and reliable Earth Observation (EO) data. The service
supports the following ESA missions: ERS-2, ENVISAT, GOCE and the
following Third Party Missions: Landsat, SPOT, Orbview-2,
Terra/Aqua, ALOS, and more recently, Cryosat-2, SWARM and SMOS.
Downstream Data Delivery
End-users of Space data are typically
interested in a product that suits their needs, so there is much to
be done to convert satellite data into information services. The
skills needed to perform such a balancing act are many and varied.
Telespazio VEGA has gathered a unique combination of experience and
skills in all these areas and can help organisations bridge the gap
between satellite data and a providing usable data to the customer.
Our experience includes:
- Development of Space data communication
tools
- Payload data ground segments
- Development of ESA’s core visualisation tool
for data imaging including Catalogue, Metadata, Browse and Online
Ordering system capability
Contact Telespazio VEGA
for more information about our Earth Observation
capabilities