Really solid roundup on the Sentinel-6B first light. The sea-level data quality coming off that first pass is genuinely impressive, especially the consistency between 6A and 6B in the Gulf Stream coverage. I worked with some of teh early Sentinel-3 SRAL datasets back in the day and the calibration headaches were real, so seeing a smooth handoff like this is honestly refreshing. One thing that caught my attention is how quickly they're pushing TLM markers into the JPEG2000 workflow for S2. Feels like a small techncial tweak but could really change how we handle large AOI extractions across multiple tiles.
This is where science missions really shine. Sentinel-6 is doing what gold-standard reference missions are meant to do: continuity, calibration discipline, and a clean handover.
On the TLM markers, I haven't worked with JPEG2000. My understanding was always that its main advantage is compression, so I’m curious whether that benefit is significant enough for JPEG2000 to be used operationally at scale today.
From what I can tell, the current geopolitical climate is a major driver. Daily coverage from PlanetScope, very-high-resolution tasking with SkySat/Pelican, and what’s coming with Owl align very well with defence and intelligence demand. Those contracts are sizeable, especially at a time when Europe and others are pushing for greater strategic autonomy. So the stock move isn’t that surprising.
Really solid roundup on the Sentinel-6B first light. The sea-level data quality coming off that first pass is genuinely impressive, especially the consistency between 6A and 6B in the Gulf Stream coverage. I worked with some of teh early Sentinel-3 SRAL datasets back in the day and the calibration headaches were real, so seeing a smooth handoff like this is honestly refreshing. One thing that caught my attention is how quickly they're pushing TLM markers into the JPEG2000 workflow for S2. Feels like a small techncial tweak but could really change how we handle large AOI extractions across multiple tiles.
This is where science missions really shine. Sentinel-6 is doing what gold-standard reference missions are meant to do: continuity, calibration discipline, and a clean handover.
On the TLM markers, I haven't worked with JPEG2000. My understanding was always that its main advantage is compression, so I’m curious whether that benefit is significant enough for JPEG2000 to be used operationally at scale today.
PlanetLabs is on fire! It's stock languished around $3 for years and has now shot up to $17
From what I can tell, the current geopolitical climate is a major driver. Daily coverage from PlanetScope, very-high-resolution tasking with SkySat/Pelican, and what’s coming with Owl align very well with defence and intelligence demand. Those contracts are sizeable, especially at a time when Europe and others are pushing for greater strategic autonomy. So the stock move isn’t that surprising.