David González

By Jonathan Becedas, María del Mar Núñez and David González

Conventional Earth Observation Payload Data Ground Segments (PDGS) continuously receive variable requests for data processing and distribution. However, their architecture was conceived to be on the premises of satellite operators and, for instance, has intrinsic limitations to offer variable services. In the current chapter, we introduce cloud computing technology to be considered as an alternative to offer variable services. For that purpose, a cloud infrastructure based on OpenNebula and the PDGS used in the Deimos-2 mission was adapted with the objective of optimizing it using the ENTICE open source middleware. Preliminary results with a realistic satellite recording scenario are presented.

Part of the book: Multi-purposeful Application of Geospatial Data

By Silvia Rodriguez-Donaire, Miquel Sureda, Daniel Garcia-Almiñana, Eloi Sierra, Jose S. Perez, Peter C.E. Roberts, Jonathan Becedas, Georg H. Herdrich, Dhiren Kataria, Ronald Outlaw, Leonardo Ghizoni, Rachel Villain, Alexis Conte, Badia Belkouchi, Kate Smith, Steve Edmondson, Sarah Haigh, Nicholas H. Crisp, Vitor T.A. Oiko, Rachel E. Lyons, Stephen D. Worral, Sabrina Livadiotti, Claire Huyton, Luciana A. Sinpetru, Rosa M. Domínguez, David González, Francesco Romano, Yung-An Chan, Adam Boxberger, Stefanos Fasoulas, Constantin Traub, Victor Jungnell, Kristian Bay, Jonas Morsbøl, Ameli Schwalber and Barbara Heißerer

After decades of traditional space businesses, the space paradigm is changing. New approaches to more efficient missions in terms of costs, design, and manufacturing processes are fostered. For instance, placing big constellations of micro- and nano-satellites in Low Earth Orbit and Very Low Earth Orbit (LEO and VLEO) enables the space community to obtain a huge amount of data in near real-time with an unprecedented temporal resolution. Beyond technology innovations, other drivers promote innovation in the space sector like the increasing demand for Earth Observation (EO) data by the commercial sector. Perez et al. stated that the EO industry is the second market in terms of operative satellites (661 units), micro- and nano-satellites being the higher share of them (61%). Technological and market drivers encourage the emergence of new start-ups in the space environment like Skybox, OneWeb, Telesat, Planet, and OpenCosmos, among others, with novel business models that change the accessibility, affordability, ownership, and commercialization of space products and services. This chapter shows some results of the H2020 DISCOVERER (DISruptive teChnOlogies for VERy low Earth oRbit platforms) Project and focuses on understanding how micro- and nano-satellites have been disrupting the EO market in front of traditional platforms.

Part of the book: Satellites Missions and Technologies for Geosciences