2012
2012 – Dual Purpose EO/RS
Many remote sensing satellites have dual military and civil or commercial purposes. India launched its indigenously developed radar imaging satellite, RISAT-1, in April 2012. The satellite will join RISAT-2 and will provide India with the ability to image features on the ground even if covered by clouds or foliage due to its use of a C-band microwave synthetic aperture radar. RISAT-2, a radar-based reconnaissance satellite, was purchased from Israel and deployed before RISAT-1 to help track and prevent terrorist activity, such as the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks.
2012 – Meteorology
Weather satellites form another major segment of remote sensing satellites, typically operating in GEO or polar LEO orbits. These systems are primarily operated by national governments for forecasting near-term weather patterns. Delays and funding issues could endanger the robustness of some weather satellites programs, as several existing polar satellites are operating near or beyond their design life and are in need of replacement. One program in particular, the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS), is set to replace the aging Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite (POES) fleet.
2012 – Land Imaging
Land imaging satellite performance is described using a variety of characteristics, including differences in spatial resolution (as measured by how many pixels compose an object), positional accuracies (as measured by the extent to which objects are represented accurately), and spectral capabilities (as measured by wavelengths of light captured, including visible and beyond-visible spectra). High-resolution land imaging satellites have resolutions below 1 meter (3 feet) per pixel, allowing users to distinguish cars from trucks, for example.
2012 – Earth Observation and Remote Sensing Overview
Satellites can also carry advanced payloads that can observe, measure, and produce valuable scientific data regarding land, sea, and air. Such satellites can provide detailed images of the Earth and collect a wide variety of measurements from space, such as ocean temperature, vegetation coverage, or pollution levels. These remote sensing satellites have civil, scientific, and military applications, such as providing aerial views on Google Earth, forecasting potential hurricane paths, or tracking enemy movements on a battlefield.
2012 – ESA: SSA
Europe is investing in a pan-European SSA capability through an ESA program that was initiated in 2009. Investment of €## million (US$## million) was initially requested for full-scale development, but ESA governments decided to spend only €## million (US$## million) over three years. So far, ESA has spent €## million (US$## million) on development. Some of that funding supported construction of ## prototype space surveillance radars. The first radar, located in Spain and built by Germany, was completed in October 2012 with validation and testing beginning in November.
2012 – U.S. Space Surveillance Network
Space situational awareness (SSA) is the detection and tracking of objects in space to ensure they do not pose a collision threat to other objects, such as operational spacecraft. Objects are detected using a combination of ground-based optical telescopes and radar. The optical telescopes have finer resolution than radar and can detect smaller objects further away, but they work only at night. Radar can operate at night or during the day, but with a lower resolution than optical sensors. However, unlike optical sensors, radar systems can automatically scan the sky and identify and track targets.
2012 – Ground Networks
Satellite teleports are permanent ground-based satellite uplink facilities. Teleports consist of several satellite dishes sited near a major terrestrial communications backbone, and they serve as the link between terrestrial communications infrastructure and in-orbit telecommunications satellites. According to WTA’s teleport industry report, a total of ## teleports were operated by commercial and broadcast companies worldwide as of 2010.
2012 – Remote Sensing Ground Networks
Ground facilities support space infrastructure by controlling spacecraft or processing the data that satellites gather and send to Earth. Remote sensing satellites orbit the Earth, gathering data that then needs to be archived, processed, and analyzed while the satellites themselves need to be tasked and targeted to collect imagery in the most efficient manner possible. To perform these tasks, commercial remote sensing satellite operators have established networks of satellite control stations, data reception stations, and data processing centers.
2012 – Chinese Spaceports
China is also in the process of building a new spaceport, the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center (WSLC), on the Chinese island of Hainan, in the South China Sea. It will host the new Long March 5 rocket series, as well as successor vehicles. Construction started on the center in late 2007 and is expected to be completed in 2013, allowing for a first launch in 2014.
2012 – Russian Spaceports
Russia operates orbital flights from two main spaceports, Baikonur and Plesetsk, and is in the process of building a new spaceport. Baikonur is by far the most important Russian spaceport, even though it lies within the territory of another country. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia struck a deal with newly independent Kazakhstan to retain control over the site.