Virtual Constellations-as-a-Service and Virtual Image Catalogs
Virtual Constellations-as-a-Service and Virtual Image Catalogs
Sharing remote sensing assets among multiple tenants is crucial to unlock the value of new space earth imaging constellations. In these schemes, a tenant has access to a so-called virtual constellation consisting of dedicated access to a number of assets as well as automated mechanisms to procure additional imagery from other assets. Access to this virtual constellation is mediated through a virtual catalog client-side that looks to the user as if it comes from its own dedicated assets and is fully interoperable with open-source standards for cloud optimized pipelines, such as STAC and COG.
Satellogic Inc., a leader in sub-meter resolution Earth Observation data collection recently reached a three-year agreement with the Government of Albania to develop a Dedicated Satellite Constellation. This unique program derives from Satellogic's Constellation-as-a-Service model and will provide Albania with responsive satellite imagery capabilities across its sovereign territory. Two satellites, ALBANIA1 and ALBANIA2 were launched in January 2023, to provide imagery for national map generation to support emergency response, land use management as well as environmental monitoring of sustainability goals.
To support this government effort we have developed a secure, encrypted end-to-end data platform, continuously updated archival imagery in dedicated client-side cloud along with support for open source standards such as STAC and COG. We also discuss future directions in terms of the resulting ability to build integrations with external image processing platforms and open source data exploitation projects.
