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Remote sensing has often been cited as
the next big space industry. After many years of promise
and struggle, it can now be said that RS has become
a real industry with significant revenues and strong
growth.
Several commercial high-resolution satellites
were launched in the past few years. Companies have
merged and/or changed their names as well.
Such satellites provide high resolution
images for commercial and governmental applications.
Satellites with radar imagers, that can see at night
and through clouds, are also coming to market.
BlackBridge (formerly RapidEye in Germany) is a
Canadian company that launched five remote sensing satillites.
These satellites can provide daily images of the same
areas with a resolution of (21.3 feet) 6.5 meters, and
a picture strip width of roughly 48 miles (78 km). The
primary markets include insurance companies and forestry
and agricultural users.
The RS industry has the following broad
segments:
- In Space -
- Optical photo quality images - High-resolution
images, e.g. can separate objects of 1 meteror
less in size, were originally for spysat reconaissance.
Now, however, they are offered by commercial
firms for many non-military applications such
as urban planning, flood and other disaster
assessments, environmental monitoring, etc.
- Space
Imaging,
ImageSat International, GeoEye
- Fully commercialized - i.e. the satellites
are financed, built, launched and operated as
purely commercial enterprises. The market consists
of about %50 governmental, 50% private customers.
- Multi- and hyper- spectral images -
most non-military remote sensing satellites
do not look for small features but instead look
a broad swaths of the earth and divide the light
into different wavelengths (i.e. like a prism).
The intensities of each band provide a fingerprint
that reveals many details such as the mineral
identity of a mountain or the health of a wheat
field. These satellites are used for all kinds
of applications in environmental, geological,
oceanographic and many other areas.
- Spot Image
- Partially commercialized - i.e the
satellites are subsidized or fully paid for
by government funds but they are operated and
marketed by private companies and the image
post-processing and enhancements are also done
by private companies.
- Radar - lower resolution than optical
satellites but can see at night, through clouds,
and into deep overgrowth.
- RadarSat International
- Partially commercialized - i.e the
satellites are subsidized or funded by governments
but they are operated and marketed by private
companies and the image post-processing and
enhancements are also done by private companies.
- On the Ground
- Post-processing of raw image and data
from RS satellites has long been a commercialized
industry. The value-added post processing ranges
from basic image enhancements to adding map
coordinates to the images to image interpretation,e.g..
identifying promising oil and mineral deposits.
Many such companies work on both satellite and
aerial imaging and combine complimentary aspects
of both.
- Fully commercialized
- GIS
(Geographic Information Systems) combines remote
sensing with all types of ground information,
e.g. census, demographic, etc., to create multi-dimensional
databases.
- Fully commercialized
- Earthsat
More info:
- Eyes
in the Sky section contains for lots more
information on remote sensing and the companies involved
in it
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- AstroVision
- this company wants to provide a "continuous,
true color image stream of Earth from space, AstroVision
will revolutionize the delivery of weather, news,
and environmental information. We will capture and
track catastrophic events such as hurricanes, volcanoes,
forest fires, and a multitude of other continuous
and unforeseen events—live."
- DMC
International Imaging Ltd - Remote Sensing Data Solutions
- Eomag!
- European Association of Remote Sensing Companies
Newsletter
- Reviews:
- Remote Sensing/Satellite Imagery:
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Currently the U.S. and Russia have constellations of
satellites that transmit continuous signals that receivers
(typically called navigator devices) can use to determine
their locations. (A European system named Galileo is
under construction.) A receiver can triangulate its
position if there are at least 4 satellites in range.
The GPS satellites can provide 15 meter horizontal
location accuracy to civilian GPS receivers. The deliberate
degradation of the civilian signal to 100m accuracy
was recently stopped.
Handheld consumer GPS devices are now available for
under $100. Boats and aircraft have long used GPS postioning
and now there are systems also available for cars.
The signals are provided free (the satellites originally
were aimed for military use), although the European
Galileo system will charge for signals that provide
the highest precision.
The growth of the commercial GPS industry has begun
to accelerate as new applications and capabilities appear.
The total GPS industry now had revenues of about $12
billion per year as of 2002. (Economist Magazine - March
14, 2002).
- GPS
section offers lots more information on GPS applications
and commercial developments.
- Tracking
Systems - GPS and comsat based systems for tracking
trucks, railway cars, containers, etc.
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