The use of remote sensing to support the application of multilateral environmental agreements

There is a growing realisation of the increasingly varied and interesting possibilities for the use of Earth observation data to ensure compliance with international obligations generally, and treaty obligations in particular. Most examinations of the application of Earth observation data to monitoring states’ compliance with international obligations focus on the environmental sector. This paper proposes the use of remote sensing satellites for the support of multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs), especially land monitoring MEAs such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (1992) and the Kyoto Protocol (1997). It discusses the uses of remote sensing for treaty implementation or enforcement in general, and the admissability of satellite imagery as legal proof, before examining how Earth observation-derived data could be of benefit to specific MEAs. As sensors become increasingly sophisticated the use of remote sensing in this area should grow but it needs to be supported by its more widespread legal recognition as proof.     

Legal analysis of Sea Launch license: National security and environmental concerns

This paper analyzes the national security and environmental concerns surrounding the Sea Launch consortium's international license from a legal perspective. The growing market demand for a more affordable, reliable, and convenient commercial satellite launching service has led to the idea of Sea Launch—launching satellites from the sea near the Equator. However, this can pose potential conflicts between national security and foreign policy interests, and between environmental conservation and economic growth because of the international technology development issues around launching from the sea. This paper illustrates a case for balancing such multiple constraints via legal interpretation. The analysis is conducted in reference to 49 U.S.C. § 70101–70119 Commercial Space Launch Activities and 42 U.S.C. § 4321–4345 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969. The paper also examines weather the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea is binding on Sea Launch operations. Although the scope of this paper is limited mostly to the US law and the national security and environmental aspects of Sea Launch, it provides a useful example for policy making of an international collaborative technology development project.     

Education curricula of the UN-affiliated regional Centres for Space Science and Technology Education

Since 1988 the United Nations, through its Programme on Space Applications, has been supporting the establishment and operation of regional Centres for Space Science and Technology Education in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Western Asia. Simultaneously, education curricula have been developed for remote sensing and geographic information systems, satellite communications, satellite meteorology and global climate, and space and atmospheric science. The report briefly reviews these developments and highlights the most recent updated education curricula in the four disciplines that have been made available in 2002, in the six official languages of the United Nations, for implementation at the regional centres and beyond.     

Super View-1-China's First Commercial Remote Sensing Satellite Constellation with a High Resolution of 0.5 m

Super View-1 satellite constellation(Super View-1 for short) is the first commercial remote sensing constellation with a resolution down to 0.5 m. It's an important part of the national spatial information infrastructure construction. It will play an important role for the global users providing remote sensing data, application solutions and remote sensing value-added services with its high-resolution and 24-hour observation capability. At present, 4 satellites of the constellation have been successfully launched and networked on orbit. The services cover surveying and mapping, land resource surveying, urban planning, agriculture, forestry, water conservancy, geological mining, environmental monitoring, defense, disaster reduction along with other traditional industries. There are also great potential applications in Mobile Internet, LBS, Smart city, insurance and other emerging professions. The successful operation of Super View-1 breaks the overseas monopoly for commercial high-resolution remote sensing satellite imagery in the China market. It's one of the major achievements in China space science and technology by actively exploring the development of commercial remote sensing markets, which is of strategic significance to the development of China remote sensing satellite business.     

The role of Venesat-1 satellite in promoting development in Venezuela and Latin America

Built in cooperation with China, at the end of 2008 the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela launched its first telecommunications satellite which operates in C, Ku and Ka bands. Using published and unpublished information, this report describes the potential role of the Venesat-1 satellite in promoting development in Venezuela and Latin America. The core of Venezuelan space policy has deep social roots and includes several applications in order to provide telecommunications services to people in all areas of the country. Potential roles of the Venezuelan Satellite in local and regional development include: strengthening environmental tele-education and telemedicine programs; improving disaster management through short-term development of broad networks to monitor environmental and meteorological features; coordination of emergency responses and humanitarian assistance using data and satellite communications; poverty reduction; and biodiversity conservation – communication networks could also be used to relay information about detected fires within protected areas faster, and to improve surveillance activities within them with in order to reduce illegal hunting, logging, habitat loss and fragmentation. Because the area covered by the satellite goes beyond Venezuela’s borders, its applications could have enormous relevance for human development at the regional level; they could be fundamental tools for bringing sustainable development into Latin America, by building capacity and increasing awareness among decision makers and lay people.     

高速率数据接收存储系统设计

在遥感系列卫星进行地面联试时,需要对大量有效载荷和平台数据进行处理及高速持续大容量记录,以达到测试卫星有效载荷和平台数据的目的。针对以上需求,提出了基于高级在轨系统(AOS)协议的高速率数据处理、存储及测试验证方案,阐述了其实现过程,并做了性能分析。该方法已经运用到某型号分系统地面测试中。     

地表双向反射特性对遥感图像的影响分析

在进行空中和地面遥感观测时,从不同高度和方位观察同一地物,会发现其亮度和对比度等特征将发生明显的变化。而且,这种差异不仅与太阳入射角及观测角度有关还随物体空间结构要素的变化而变化。文章通过6S辐射传输模型仿真分析了土壤、植被、水体以及城市的双向反射特性及其对遥感成像的影响,重点结合Quick Bird图像和真实场景比较...     

“资源三号”卫星三线阵影像几何质量分析

文章首先简要叙述了基于＂资源三号＂（ZY-3）卫星三线阵TLC影像的严格几何成像模型,然后建立了针对外方位角元素的系统误差补偿模型与相机视向量几何检校模型。经地面系统检校后,采用地面高精度控制点数据对非同时相影像进行试验,并对影像平面精度进行分析评价。结果显示ZY-3三线阵TLC影像无控制点状态下外部定位精度优于6像元,内部几何变形优于1.5像元。     

Expanding global access to civilian and commercial remote sensing data: implications and policy issues

Current and planned developments in the field of civilian and commercial satellite imagery promise a major expansion in international accessibility to remote sensing data and technologies. This paper addresses the implications of the expanding global access to land remote sensing data and their derived products. While atmospheric, meteorological, and oceanographic data is also widely available at cost or free of charge, it is land remote sensing - specifically the unique systems with high-resolution and frequent revisit times - that are of primary concern for international and regional security issues. Military and intelligence satellites are not addressed in this discussion of expansion due to their inherently controlled access, unless such systems also provide commercially available imagery or products (as is the case with some Russian systems).     

卫星图像采集任务调度系统的设计与实现

随着卫星遥感技术的高速发展 ,卫星图像在众多领域有了广泛的应用。文章给出了一个卫星图像采集任务调度系统的总体结构及其功能 ,讨论了该系统实现过程中的卫星资源描述、卫星图像采集任务描述、调度引擎、卫星时间窗口的仿真计算、调度结果的可视化展现等关键技术 ,归纳了系统的特点 ,并总结了今后系统的研究方向     

CBERS-02B卫星HR相机遥感影像区域网平差技术

针对CBERS-02B卫星HR相机遥感影像的几何定位精度不高,不能满足有些用户的要求,提出了基于有理多项式（Rational Polynomial Coefficient,RPC）模型的区域网平差技术,并利用多幅CBERS-02B卫星HR相机遥感影像进行了区域网平差试验,结果表明该方法能有效地提高遥感影像的几何定位精度...     

The Chinese GNSS—System development and policy analysis

As the most successful dual-use technology at present the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) also has extensive recognition in China. China began developing navigation satellites in 1967 and now has 45 years' experience in the field. 2012 was a crucial year for China's GNSS: the first-stage project of the second-generation global navigation satellite system was rounded off, and it entered service for regional area navigation and positioning. This paper discusses the development history of China's satellite navigation, analyzes the background to China's decision to develop an independent GNSS and investigates the formation of its three-step development strategy. It reviews the system construction and industrial policy of the BeiDou system and the actions taken by various government departments at different times.     

IRSUTE, a small satellite for water budget estimate with high resolution infrared imagery

The estimation of land surface fluxes has been recognized in the last ten years as a major scientific issue for the improvement of our knowledge on heat and water budgets and therefore of models in meteorology, hydrology, agriculture and environment. Remote sensing is an adequate mean for filling the gap which exists between small scale instruments or modeling (10m) and the regional or global scales where they have to be determined with a typical grid element of the order of 1 to 10 km. IRSUTE (for Infra Red miniSatellite Unit for Terrestrial Environment) is a scientific small satellite mission providing thermal imagery for the determination and analysis of soil/vegetation/atmosphere processes at the field scale and therefore for providing the necessary data for a scaling-up of these processes from local to regional scales. The main specifications, will allow this instrument to optimize the correction of the sensed radiance and to retrieve the fluxes with an accuracy of the order of 50w/m² (or 0.8mm/day). IRSUTE is designed to have high spatial resolution (50m), across and along track viewing capabilities, 5 channels : visible/NIR, 3.7 μ, and 3 TIR in the 8–11 μm band with a good radiometric sensitivity (NEΔT = 0.1 K). The instrument is to be implemented onboard a small satellite (typically a PROTEUS platform) placed on a sun-synchronous orbit allowing high repetitivity (1 to 3 days). It is based on the push-broom technique which uses IR-CCD linear array detectors positioned in the cryocooled focal plane of a large bandwidth collecting optics.     

Earth observation with MEO transmitters and UAS receivers: A potential utilization of Galileo constellation

Remote sensing application of Galileo upcoming constellation in the field of civil security is preliminarily analyzed, defining low resolution (25 m) and high resolution (7.5 m) working modes for a bistatic Synthetic Aperture Radar system utilizing Galileo satellites as transmitters and Unmanned Aerial Systems as receivers. Simulations offshore Somali coast and in a South Mediterranean Sea region showed that both low and high resolution acquisitions are feasible. For the low resolution mode a probability of successful image formation no matter the azimuth position of the receiving UAS has been estimated at nearly 100%. Whereas, for the high resolution mode it decreases to about 90%, which, if deemed unsatisfactory for the application, leads to the need for UAS to adapt its route to the actual Galileo satellite coverage.     

SATSIM—A real-time multi-satellite simulator for test and validation in formation flying projects

The satellite simulator SATSIM was developed during the experimental PRISMA multi-satellite formation flying project and was primarily aimed to validate the Guidance, Navigation and Control system (GNC) and the on-board software in a simulated real-time environment. The SATSIM system has as a main feature the ability to simulate sensors and actuators, spacecraft dynamics, intra-satellite communication protocols, environmental disturbances, solar illumination conditions as well as solar and lunar blinding. The core of the simulator consists of MATLAB/Simulink models of the spacecraft hardware and the space environment. The models run on a standard personal computer that in the simplest scenario may be connected to satellite controller boards through a CAN (Controller Area Network) data bus. SATSIM is, in conjunction with the RAMSES Test and Verification system, able to perform open-loop, hardware-in-the-loop as well as full-fledged closed-loop tests through the utilisation of peripheral sensor unit simulators. The PRISMA satellites were launched in June 2010 and the project is presently in its operational phase. This paper describes how a low cost but yet reliable simulator such as the SATSIM platform in different configurations has been used through the different phases of a multi-satellite project, from early test of onboard software running on satellite controller boards in a lab environment, to full-fledged closed-loop tests of satellite flight models.     

星载合成孔径雷达的目标定位方法

论述星载合成孔径雷达（ＳＡＲ）中，利用卫星星历表和雷达回波数据的距离－多普勒参数对目标定位的方法，并用解析法推导出目标相对于星下点位置的计算公式，以及目标的地球经纬度坐标公式。此方法的优点是不需要在星载ＳＡＲ的视场中使用任何位置确知的参考点，并且与卫星的姿态数据无关。还介绍了目标距离－多普勒参数的决定方法，并讨论了目标定位误差源，以及定位精度的评估。     

Expanding global access to civilian and commercial remote sensing data: implications and policy issues

Current and planned developments in the field of civilian and commercial² satellite imagery promise a major expansion in international accessibility to remote sensing data and technologies. This paper addresses the implications of the expanding global access to land remote sensing data and their derived products. While atmospheric, meteorological, and oceanographic data is also widely available at cost or free of charge, it is land remote sensing – specifically the unique systems with high-resolution and frequent revisit times – that are of primary concern for international and regional security issues. Military and intelligence satellites are not addressed in this discussion of expansion due to their inherently controlled access, unless such systems also provide commercially available imagery or products (as is the case with some Russian systems).     

Promoting research and education in basic space science: the approach of the UN/ESA workshops

UN-affiliated regional centres for space science and technology education are being established or are in operation in Africa (Morocco, Nigeria), Asia and the Pacific (India), Latin America and the Caribbean (Brazil, Mexico), and Western Asia (Jordan). Education curricula at the university level, embracing remote sensing, satellite communications, satellite meteorology, and space science have been developed for these centres. This article briefly reports on the structure of the most recent updated education curricula in the four disciplines that have been made available for implementation in 2002 and 2003, in the six official languages of the United Nations. This is also an effort to bridge the gap between such education curricula as they vary significantly between nations and among educational institutions in nations.     

Cost-driven design of small satellite remote sensing systems*

Earth remote sensing (alongside communications) is one of the key application of Earth-orbiting satellites. Civilian satellites in the LANDSAT and SPOT series provide Earth images which have been used for a vast spectrum of applications in agriculture, meteorology, hydrology, urban planning and geology, to name but a few. In the defence sector, satellite remote sensing systems are a critical tool in strategic and tactical planning – for the countries which can afford them. To date, remote sensing satellites have fallen into one of these two categories: military missions driven by the requirement for very high resolution and orbital agility; and multipurpose civil satellites using general purpose sensors to serve a diverse community of end users. For military-style missions, the drive to high resolution sets the requirements for optics, attitude control and downlink data bandwidth. For civil missions, the requirement to satisfy multiple, diverse user applications forces compromises on spectral band and orbit selection. Although there are exceptions, many small satellite remote sensing missions carry on in this tradition, concentrating on ultra high resolution products for multiple user communities. This results in satellites costing on the order of US $100 M, not optimised for any particular application. This paper explores an alternative path to satellite remote sensing, aiming simultaneously to reduce cost and to optimise imaging products for specific applications. By decreasing the cost of the remote sensing satellite system to a critical point, it becomes appropriate to optimise the sensor's spectral and temporal characteristics to fit the requirements of a small, specialised user base. The critical engineering trade-off faced in a cost driven mission is how to reduce mission cost while still delivering a useful product to the selected user. At the Surrey Space Centre, we have pursued an engineering path using two dimensional CCD array sensors, commercial off-the-shelf lenses and gravity-gradient stabilised microsatellites. In spite of the inherent limitations of such systems, recent successes with the Thai Microsatellite Company's Thai-Phutt satellite show that a system costing in the region of US $3 million, can approach the spectral and spatial characteristics of LANDSAT. Surrey's UoSAT-12 minisatellite (to be launched April, 1999) will further develop this cost-driven approach to provide 10 m panchromatic resolution and 30 m multi-spectral resolution. This paper describes the Thai-Phutt and UoSAT-12 imaging systems, explaining the engineering methods and trade-offs. Although Surrey is presently the only centre presently pursuing such implementations, our paper shows that they deserve wider consideration.     

Integrating European security through space

For decades, Western European nations have been comparatively uninterested in the military use of space, largely content to rely on the far greater resources of the USA in this area. Today, however, the traditional belief that the security requirements of ‘the West’ are synonymous with those of the USA is increasingly open to challenge. A new European defence identity is emerging, keen to achieve greater autonomy in the security field, albeit remaining within the overarching framework of NATO. Consequently there is a growing requirement for indigenous European capabilities in terms of military space assets. This requirement has been met in part by the establishment, by the Western Union, of a satellite centre in Spain, which currently analyses commercially procured satellite imagery. The centre's capabilities may be expanded if the WEU states decide to add a space-based element — either their own satellite system, or participation in an existing multinational programme. Such a decision is due to be taken towards the end of 1995. This paper concludes by briefly examining the political and security implications of such a decision.