Earth observation

The Scottish Space Strategy to achieve a £4 billion share of the global space market for the Scottish economy, was launched at Expo 2020 Dubai yesterday. The Strategy aims to make Scotland an end-to-end space system provider.  Scotland’s space sector is currently specialised in satellite and rocket manufacturing, launch facilities and research and data analysis.

For the 80th edition of Space Café, SpaceWatch.Global Publisher Torsten Kriening caught up with Dr. Agnieszka Lukaszczyk, a Brussels based space policy expert who is a Vice President of Governmental Affairs EMEA at Planet, a global satellite imagery and insights provider. Well regarded in the space sector, the Polish-American policy expert previously worked for the European Commission,

KTN and the Space and Geospatial Virtual Pavilion is calling for organisations to pay them a visit to better understand the use of location intelligence. The technology can help companies working to tackle climate change sustainably to improve operations and meet global climate targets.

Planet Labs announced the launch of Pelican, a new line of imagery satellites to upgrade the company’s existing constellation of the 21 SkySat spacecraft. With the new, higher-resolution satellites the company can provide faster and near-real time data to customers, Planet said.

SpaceWatch.Global is pleased to present the 38th episode in our podcast series The Space Cafe Podcast: Joellen Russell, Mayday Mayday, an oceanographer's passionate cry for help to the space community. Episode 038 features a special guest Joellen Russell. 

Iceye on Copernicus: the company announced it has become a Contributing Mission to the Copernicus Programme, the largest Earth observation programme in the world. According to the agreement, Copernicus services will have access to Iceye’s synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) imagery. The collaboration will be funded by the European Commission and operated by ESA.

LatConnect 60 is to use Spire Global’s Automatic Identification System (AIS) vessel-tracking data as a foundation for better predicting maritime traffic patterns, the companies announced. LatConnect will layer other data sources like satellite imagery, drones, and IoT sensors on Spire’s maritime data.

In this Space Café Radio - on tour in Geneva, SpaceWatch.Global event coordinator Chiara Moenter spoke with Aila Raquel from Alya Nanosatellites Constellation Brazil during the UNIDIR Outer Space Security Conference 2021 about her company, the need for space data for local farmers, and her expectations and lessons learned from the conference.

The market for Earth Observation is to grow steadily to $7.5 billion by 2030, with defense as the most significant driver, Euroconsult says in a new study. Value-added services represent the largest part and are expected to undergo an accelerated growth driven by constellation supply, topping $5 billion by 2030 with 7% CAGR through the decade, Euroconsult says.

The Austrian Space Forum awarded the thirteenth Polar Star Award to Thomas Grübler, M.Sc., CEO and co-founder of OroraTech. The company uses satellite imaging for early detection of wildfires. First awarded in 2009, the Award honours personalities who are committed to get people excited about space.