Session
Technical Session I: National Needs & Objectives
Abstract
TopSat is an unclassified collaborative mission between DERA, SSTL, RAL and InfoTerra, funded by the UK MoD and the British National Space Centre Mosaic Programme. The mission will demonstrate provision of rapid response 2.5 m ground sampled imagery to fixed and mobile ground targets using a low cost SSTL microsatellite. The platform provides accurate target selection via agile off-pointing from nadir by ± 30°. On-board computers, GPS and sophisticated attitude and data handling systems enable safe semi-autonomous operations. End users for this mission range from the UN and environment agencies to mining companies, farm consultants and town planners. Continuing the theme of all SSTL Next Generation Constellations, this mission could effectively enhance the infrastructure of the Disaster Monitoring Constellation, currently under construction at Surrey and due for launch in 2003. This may be implemented either singly, or in constellations, via a ‘plug and play’ constellation approach. The total contract cost for the mission is 13.5 million GBP, which includes R&D. Therefore, repeat-build TopSat units make a constellation of such satellites economically feasible, enabling high resolution imaging at high temporal frequency. This would be of particular benefit for crisis management activities, among others. The paper describes the TopSat microsatellite mission and assesses the feasibility of a constellation of these platforms to offer global daily revisit at 2.5 metre ground sample distance.
An EO Constellation based on the TOPSAT Microsatellite: Global Daily Revisit at 2.5 Metres
TopSat is an unclassified collaborative mission between DERA, SSTL, RAL and InfoTerra, funded by the UK MoD and the British National Space Centre Mosaic Programme. The mission will demonstrate provision of rapid response 2.5 m ground sampled imagery to fixed and mobile ground targets using a low cost SSTL microsatellite. The platform provides accurate target selection via agile off-pointing from nadir by ± 30°. On-board computers, GPS and sophisticated attitude and data handling systems enable safe semi-autonomous operations. End users for this mission range from the UN and environment agencies to mining companies, farm consultants and town planners. Continuing the theme of all SSTL Next Generation Constellations, this mission could effectively enhance the infrastructure of the Disaster Monitoring Constellation, currently under construction at Surrey and due for launch in 2003. This may be implemented either singly, or in constellations, via a ‘plug and play’ constellation approach. The total contract cost for the mission is 13.5 million GBP, which includes R&D. Therefore, repeat-build TopSat units make a constellation of such satellites economically feasible, enabling high resolution imaging at high temporal frequency. This would be of particular benefit for crisis management activities, among others. The paper describes the TopSat microsatellite mission and assesses the feasibility of a constellation of these platforms to offer global daily revisit at 2.5 metre ground sample distance.
