Session
Session IV: Recent and Future Missions
Abstract
RapidEye is a complete end-to-end commercial earth observation system comprising a constellation of 5 small satellites, each with a 5 band multi-spectral camera providing 6.5 m GSD and an approximate 78 km swath, a dedicated Spacecraft Control Center (SCC), a data downlink ground station service, and a full ground segment designed to plan, acquire and process millions of square kilometres of imagery every day to generate unique land information products. The system is owned and operated by RapidEye AG, a commercial company providing global geo-information services and data, located in Brandenburg, Germany. MDA is the mission prime contractor and was responsible for the delivery of the space and ground segments, launch of the constellation, and on-orbit commissioning and camera calibration. On August 29 , 2008, the RapidEye constellation was successfully launched. Spacecraft and ground segment commissioning have taken place, and since 30 January 2009 , RapidEye AG has taken control of the constellation to begin full commercial operations. The overall RapidEye system is performing well and is capable of collecting more than 4 M km2 of high quality multi-spectral imagery every day and can acquire an image of any location on earth every single day. The paper describes the overall system commissioning activities that were undertaken and provides a summary of the actual in-orbit performance of the constellation and the system as a whole.
Presentation Slides
RapidEye System Commissioning and On-Orbit Performance
RapidEye is a complete end-to-end commercial earth observation system comprising a constellation of 5 small satellites, each with a 5 band multi-spectral camera providing 6.5 m GSD and an approximate 78 km swath, a dedicated Spacecraft Control Center (SCC), a data downlink ground station service, and a full ground segment designed to plan, acquire and process millions of square kilometres of imagery every day to generate unique land information products. The system is owned and operated by RapidEye AG, a commercial company providing global geo-information services and data, located in Brandenburg, Germany. MDA is the mission prime contractor and was responsible for the delivery of the space and ground segments, launch of the constellation, and on-orbit commissioning and camera calibration. On August 29 , 2008, the RapidEye constellation was successfully launched. Spacecraft and ground segment commissioning have taken place, and since 30 January 2009 , RapidEye AG has taken control of the constellation to begin full commercial operations. The overall RapidEye system is performing well and is capable of collecting more than 4 M km2 of high quality multi-spectral imagery every day and can acquire an image of any location on earth every single day. The paper describes the overall system commissioning activities that were undertaken and provides a summary of the actual in-orbit performance of the constellation and the system as a whole.
