Space Products & Innovation

Energy, Resources, and Environmental Management


OCO Failure to Launch

Environmental monitoring satellites provide decision-makers with critical information on climate change and natural disasters. The loss of a single satellite can cause significant gaps in Earth observation capabilities, as was the case in February 2009 when NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) was destroyed in a launch failure.

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Observing Ocean Effects on Fisheries from Space

Remote sensing satellite data is used increasingly by the fishing industry to understand ocean conditions and their effect on fisheries. Remote sensing satellites provide real-time data on sea surface temperature and surface winds.

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Detecting Poachers in Africa

Satellite technology can be critical to managing resources and protecting endangered species in natural areas with little existing infrastructure. The use of satellite images allows researchers to study patterns of deforestation caused by logging and land-clearing in remote areas of Africa and South America.

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Watching the Polar Ice Caps from Space

Space assets are also responding to environmental challenges. In 2007, satellite monitoring of the polar ice caps by the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) in Boulder, Colorado, showed that the cap of floating sea ice on the Arctic Ocean shrank more than one million square miles below the average minimum of previous years.

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Collaring and Tracking Coyotes

Among the examples of the role of space in wildlife and resource management, New York State is sponsoring a study on the behavior of coyotes, which have become an increasingly visible part of life in many suburbs. The study involves the use of GPS collars to track the patterns of coyote movement.

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Exploring the Use of Space Resources

As the space infrastructure continues to grow, it is possible to expand the sphere of economically useful resources into space and neighboring planetary bodies. NASA, ESA, and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) are among the space agencies that have conducted studies or workshops to address the feasibility of using extra-terrestrial resources, or In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU).

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Concerned about Space Debris

Of growing concern to the international community is orbital debris— ranging from paint flecks to entire upper stages— resulting from half a century of space access. It is estimated that 100,000 to 150,000 objects larger than one centimeter remain in orbit.

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Hoping to Nip Disease in the Bud and Keep Electricity Flowing

65 countries, the European Commission (EC) and more than 40 international organizations are supporting the development of a Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) during the next decade. GEOSS is proposed as an overarching system of existing and future earth observations systems.

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Virtual World Courtesy of the Internet

A novel application of satellite capabilities that supports retail operations came online in 2005 with the launch of Google Earth—an interactive, 3D map of the Earth’s surface constructed entirely of satellite images, taken by using various instruments and at various times in a mosaic fashion.

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