Spectral Reflectance Newsletter #84
Weekly newsletter on Earth Observation
Celebrating nine years of Copernicus Sentinel-2A [link]
"On 23 June 2015, the first Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite was launched. It was the second Copernicus satellite sent to space, just a little over one year after the launch of Sentinel-1A. Copernicus’ first ‘colour-vision’ mission, Sentinel-2, aimed to improve our capabilities in monitoring land and vegetation cover as well as crop growth, tracking changes in agricultural practices, managing forests, and supporting disaster relief efforts by mapping floods and burned areas. Last week's Observer, took a close look at Sentinel-2 and celebrated its important contribution to the understanding of our planet."
Level-2 News
Planet lays off 17% of workforce [link]
"Planet announced June 26 it is laying off about 180 employees, or 17% of its workforce, in an effort to reduce costs.
The layoff is the second major one by Planet in less than one year. In July 2023, the company laid off 117 employees, which it said was about 10% of the company’s employees at the time."
Hydrosat to launch its first thermal infrared sensor [link]
"Hydrosat is preparing to send its first thermal-infrared instrument into orbit July 8 on SpaceX’s Transporter-11 rideshare flight. The instrument, designed to measure water stress in agriculture, will fly on Loft Orbital’s YAM-7 mission."
Urban Sky wins NASA award to develop balloon-borne fire sensors [link]
"Urban Sky, a startup developing stratospheric balloons to take high-resolution imagery, has won a multimillion-dollar NASA grant to develop a wildfire monitoring system.
The Denver-based company announced June 26 it received a contract from NASA’s Earth Science Technology Office for a system that will use stratospheric balloons to detect and monitor wildfires and relay that information to firefighters on the ground. The three-year award is worth about $2.6 million."
NOAA GOES-U Satellite Launches From KSC [link]
"NOAA’s weather prediction capabilities got a boost Tuesday night with the successful launch of the GOES-U satellite aboard a Falcon Heavy.
As the fourth and final satellite in NOAA’s GOES-R series, it will keep an eye on the eastern side of the Americas beginning in the fall under its new name GOES-19, or GOES East.
The satellite has seven instruments that will help NOAA track and predict weather conditions on Earth and in space. These instruments fall into three categories:
Nadir-pointing: Instruments that point down and monitor Earth’s weather, oceans, and environment with 16 different spectral bands, 11 more than previous GOES satellites. GOES-U also has a lightning mapper that will help forecasters determine the severity of weather events, and predict electrical activity that can spark wildfires.
Solar-pointing: Instruments that monitor space weather from solar activity, including extreme ultraviolet and X-rays that can disrupt communications. GOES-U also carries a tool to detect the Sun’s coronal mass ejections, which are harmful for astronauts in orbit and disruptive to communications and electrical grids on Earth.
In-situ: The Space Environment In-Situ Suite monitors proton, electron, and heavy ions in the magnetosphere, and is critical to detect and mitigate radiation hazards to astronauts and satellites in orbit."
LiveEO Raises €25Mn to Leverage AI-powered Satellite Data [link]
"LiveEO has raised €25 million in a Series B funding round led by NordicNinja and DeepTech & Climate Fonds (DTCF).
LiveEO’s solutions help businesses detect and respond to extreme weather events and deforestation in near real-time, and monitor and manage environmental risks that affect infrastructure, such as vegetation encroachment on power lines or ground deformation near railways. Also, it can help companies reduce their carbon footprint, remain compliant in the face of ever-evolving regulations and increase their climate resilience."
Snapshots
Hurricane Beryl Hurtles into the Caribbean [link]
"The first Atlantic hurricane of 2024 produced dangerous winds and life-threatening storm surge as it barreled into the Caribbean’s Grenadine Islands. On the morning of July 1, Hurricane Beryl made landfall on Carriacou Island as a Category 4 storm with maximum sustained winds of 150 miles (240 kilometers) per hour."
Earth from Space: Meteor Crater [link]
"Around 50 000 years ago, an iron-nickel meteorite, estimated to be 30-50 m wide, smashed into North America and left a massive hole in what is today known as Arizona. The violent impact created a bowl-shaped hole of over 1200 m across and 180 m deep in what was once a flat, rocky plain."
Interesting reads
New satellite to show how AI advances Earth observation [link]
"Artificial intelligence technologies have achieved remarkable successes and continue to show their value as backbones in scientific research and real-world applications.
ESA’s new Φsat-2 mission, launching in the coming weeks, will push the boundaries of AI for Earth observation – demonstrating the transformative potential of AI for space technology.
Measuring just 22 x 10 x 33 cm, ESA’s Φsat-2 satellite is equipped with a multispectral camera and powerful AI computer that analyses and processes imagery in real-time – promising to deliver smarter and more efficient ways of monitoring our planet.
With six AI applications running onboard, the satellite is designed to turn images into maps, detect clouds in the images, classify them and provide insight into cloud distribution, detect and classify vessels, compress images on board and reconstruct them in the ground reducing the download time, spot anomalies in marine ecosystems and detect wildfires."
Floodbase is Using EO to Fix Flood Insurance [link]
"Amid climate change and rising waters, Floodbase is seeking to use space data to streamline the flood insurance process, reducing the load for insurers and getting money into people’s hands for damages more quickly."
The EO Revolution is Yet to Hit Top Speed Despite its Obvious Potential [link]
"The inaugural EO Summit in London in June brought together Earth Observation leaders along with finance and insurance executives to get the pulse on the evolving satellite imagery and sensing market."
Here are the key highlights from that article:
Technological Advances: The EO industry has seen significant technological progress, playing a crucial role in combating climate change.
Tightened Financial Conditions: Higher interest rates have reduced company valuations and funding availability, with recent funding rounds for EO companies falling below $100 million.
Investor Optimism: Despite financial challenges, there is optimism in public equity markets which might positively impact private investments in EO companies.
Government Contracts: EO companies rely heavily on government revenue, which provides stable cash flow and attracts private investors seeking lower-risk opportunities.
Commercial Potential: The insurance sector, particularly parametric insurance, presents significant opportunities for EO technology to enhance claims processing and risk modeling.
Fragmented Market Challenges: The EO market's fragmented nature poses difficulties for companies to scale and necessitates customer education on the benefits of EO technology.
Diverse Applications Needed: Investors prefer EO companies with multiple use cases to ensure growth and mitigate sector-specific risks.
Future Growth Strategies: The industry needs to focus on cost reduction, user education, and last-mile analytics to unlock the full potential of EO technology across various sectors.
LinkedIn Highlights
"When job seeking, don't buy the pessimism for Earth observation, especially from a job-seeking point of view" [link]
Head to this LinkedIn post by
, prompted by the recent layoffs at Planet.1. "There are a lot of commercial EO use cases"
2. "EO has a software problem and a story-telling problem"
3. "If you are a scientist or researcher in an EO-related subject, you are in demand"
"See the unseeable… with a radar… from space!" [link]
From Spectral Reflectance
Spectral Reflectance 2024 Calendar - Greece from above [link]
July 2024: Crete
Happy Birthday Sentinel-2! It has certainly been a boon to my work and I look forward to the launch of Sentinel-2C.