Today, the geospatial domain is undergoing a transition, which I think is quite positive, as people are seeing the power of geospatial data for a variety of applications.
Historically, the geospatial industry has been limited to a niche group since both data and computing were prohibitively expensive for widespread adoption. It was only in 2008 that NASA opened up its archive for free use (later ESA would also provide open access to their satellite imagery).
In the decade after that, many New Space data providers emerged with unprecedented supplies of low-cost, high-resolution satellite imagery. Cloud processing also became more widely available. The combination of these advancements allowed geospatial data to become a valuable tool across many industries.
Data as a social good
In present times, the evolution of “New Space” further democratizes access to critical data extracted from satellite imagery, which was previously limited to governments. This shift has fueled expansion and innovation within the commercial space sector, creating more accurate and accessible insights than before.
At Satellogic, we are able to provide low-cost, affordable access to high-quality imagery. These advancements would have seemed impossible when I began my career in remote sensing.
Addressing environmental challenges
One of the reasons why it’s so exciting to witness this “geo-transition” is the ability of these technologies to tackle environmental challenges. It’s impossible to change what you can’t see, and the fact that we now have regular, global coverage of the Earth means that there is transparency into what is happening to our broader environment.
With satellite data and other geospatial data sources, it’s possible to track supply chains to ensure sustainable sourcing and equitable distribution of resources. A great example is some of the work Satellogic is doing with the GREEN+ Jurisdictional Programme to monitor protected areas across the world.
Innovative offerings
Satellogic’s Constellation-as-a-Service (CaaS) is the product I’m most excited about as we enter 2023. It allows governments who do not have a space program to develop the skills to use satellite imagery.
Rather than investing in their own satellites, ground stations, and processing facilities, they can leverage what we’ve already built at Satellogic.
The CaaS offering can also expand the capacity of governments with a space program currently in place. Specifically, it enables a government (or other entity) to purchase capacity from our constellation and task our satellites over its sovereign territory.
The capacity can be used across our entire fleet, enabling customers to optimize collection windows to capture exactly what they need. Recently, Albania purchased the capacity equivalent of two NewSat spacecraft but can allocate that capacity across 30 satellites however they need.
Satellogic will also launch the next iteration of our Mark V satellite model, which has a native resolution of 70cm (compared to our current fleet which has a native resolution of 1m). Thanks to vertical integration, we can improve our technology while keeping the cost low for the end user.
Disclaimer: Views Expressed are Author's Own. Geospatial World May or May Not Endorse it
