NASA-GSFC nano-satellite technology for Earth science missions

Esper, Jaime; Panetta, Peter V.; Ryschkewitsch, M. G.; Wiscombe, W. J.; Neeck, Steven P.

doi:10.1016/s0094-5765(99)00214-3

Cited by 34 publications

(17 citation statements)

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“…Satellite observations have made considerable progress in advancing such a capacity, but are inevitably constrained by optics, bandwidth, or orbital configurations that limit optimal spatio-temporal characteristics. One approach that has recently been proposed to overcome such limitations is the use of so-called constellations of nano-satellites i.e., a large number of small, compact sensor units (~10 kg) that are typically cheap, replaceable, and take advantage of economies of scale [2]. In recent years, the capacity to survey the entire Earth at very high spatial resolution and high frequency (daily) has approached operational reality, with a number of commercial efforts exploring such an observation strategy.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High-Resolution NDVI from Planet’s Constellation of Earth Observing Nano-Satellites: A New Data Source for Precision Agriculture

2016

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Planet Labs ("Planet") operate the largest fleet of active nano-satellites in orbit, offering an unprecedented monitoring capacity of daily and global RGB image capture at 3-5 m resolution. However, limitations in spectral resolution and lack of accurate radiometric sensor calibration impact the utility of this rich information source. In this study, Planet's RGB imagery was translated into a Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI): a common metric for vegetation growth and condition. Our framework employs a data mining approach to build a set of rule-based regression models that relate RGB data to atmospherically corrected Landsat-8 NDVI. The approach was evaluated over a desert agricultural landscape in Saudi Arabia where the use of near-coincident (within five days) Planet and Landsat-8 acquisitions in the training of the regression models resulted in NDVI predictabilities with an r 2 of approximately 0.97 and a Mean Absolute Deviation (MAD) on the order of 0.014 (~9%). The MAD increased to 0.021 (~14%) when the Landsat NDVI training image was further away (i.e., 11-16 days) from the corrected Planet image. In these cases, the use of MODIS observations to inform on the change in NDVI occurring between overpasses was shown to significantly improve prediction accuracies. MAD levels ranged from 0.002 to 0.011 (3.9% to 9.1%) for the best performing 80% of the data. The technique is generic and extendable to any region of interest, increasing the utility of Planet's dense time-series of RGB imagery.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High-Resolution NDVI from Planet’s Constellation of Earth Observing Nano-Satellites: A New Data Source for Precision Agriculture

2016

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“…The formation is composed of up to twelve spacecraft each equipped with a miniature imaging spectrometer. A number of advanced instrument and nanosatellite technology investments are producing enabling system and component-level technologies [6].…”

Section: Leonardo-brdfmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…From the recent successful launch of the Earth Orbiter 1 (EO-1) spacecraft to the selection of the Space Technology 5 (ST5), NASA's first full-service micro-satellite constellation, advances are ontrack to support the next class of Earth and Space Science missions. The importance of satellite constellations for the advancement of both Earth and Space Science has been summarized in a number of papers in the past [1,2]. With their flexibility and interoperability they are particularly well suited for international cooperation, offering an observational system that could tailor all measurement characteristics to the target of interest, to the intended data use, and to an evolving science understanding.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nano/Micro Satellite Constellations for Earth and Space Science

et al. 2003

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“…A variety of novel missions benefiting from these capabilities have been proposed in the fields of meteorology [14]; climate-science [14,15]; disaster warning and detection [16][17][18]; atmospheric, magnetospheric, and ionospheric measurement/observation [14][15][16][17]19,20]; and gravity and other Earth sciences [15]. Multi-satellite interplanetary exploration missions and constellations in orbit about other central bodies utilising small satellites are also being considered [16,17,21].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Launch and deployment of distributed small satellite systems

2015

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a b s t r a c tThe rise in launch and use of small satellites in the past decade, a result of improved functionality through technology miniaturisation and alternative design philosophies, has spawned interest in the development of distributed systems or constellations of small satellites. However, whilst a variety of missions based on constellations of small satellites have been proposed, issues relating to the launch and deployment of these distributed systems mean that few have actually been realised. A number of strategies have been proposed which enable multiple small satellites comprising a constellation to be launched together and efficiently separated on-orbit, thus reducing the total cost of launch. In this paper, two such strategies which have the potential to significantly increase the viability of small satellite constellations in Earth orbit are investigated. Deployment using natural Earth perturbations to indirectly achieve plane separations is analysed using a developed method and compared to deployment utilising the Earth-Moon Lagrange point L 1 as a staging area prior to return to LEO. The analysis of three example missions indicates that these two strategies can facilitate the successful establishment of small satellite constellations in Earth orbit whilst also reducing propulsive requirements, system complexity, and/or cost. The study also found that the method of nodal precession is sensitive to the effects of orbital decay due to drag and can result in long deployment times, and the use of Lunar L 1 is more suitable for constellation configurations where several satellites are present in each orbital plane.

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NASA-GSFC nano-satellite technology for Earth science missions

Cited by 34 publications

References 1 publication

High-Resolution NDVI from Planet’s Constellation of Earth Observing Nano-Satellites: A New Data Source for Precision Agriculture

High-Resolution NDVI from Planet’s Constellation of Earth Observing Nano-Satellites: A New Data Source for Precision Agriculture

Nano/Micro Satellite Constellations for Earth and Space Science

Launch and deployment of distributed small satellite systems

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