India's EO infrastructure for disaster reduction: Lessons and perspectives

India has established a ‘critical mass’ in terms of EO infrastructure for disaster management. Starting from IRS 1A in 1980s to the most recent CARTOSAT-2, India's EO series of satellites are moving away from the generic to thematic constellations. The series of RESOURCESAT, CARTOSAT, OCEANSAT and forthcoming Radar Imaging Satellite (RISAT) satellites exemplifies the thematic characters of the EO missions. These thematic constellations, characterized with multi-platform, multi-resolution and multi-parameter EO missions, are important assets for disaster reduction. In the more specific term, these constellations in conjunction with contemporary EO missions address the critical observational gaps in terms of capturing the catastrophic events, phenomena or their attributes on real/near real time basis with appropriate spatial and temporal attributes.Using conjunctively the data primarily emanating these thematic constellations and all weather radar data from aerial platform and also from RADARSAT as gap-fillers has been a part of India's EO strategy for disaster management. The infrastructure has been addressing the observational needs in disaster management. The high resolution imaging better than one-meter spatial resolution and also Digital Elevation Models (DEM) emanating from Cartosat series are providing valuable inputs to characterize geo-physical terrain vulnerability. Radar Imaging Satellite, with all weather capability missions, is being configured for disaster management. At present, the current Indian EO satellites cover the whole world every 40 h (with different resolutions and swaths), and the efforts are towards making it better than 24 h. The efforts are on to configure RESOURCESAT 3 with wider swath of 740 km with 23 m spatial resolution and also to have AWiFS type of capability at geo-platform to improve the observational frequencies for disaster monitoring.India's EO infrastructure has responded comprehensively to all the natural disasters the country has faced in the recent times. As a member of International Charter on Space and Major Disasters, India has also been instrumental in promoting the related UN initiatives viz., RESAP of UN ESCAP, SPIDER of UN OOSA, Sentinel Asia of JAXA initiative and also of GEOSS initiative. The paper intends to illustrate India's EO strategy for disaster reduction.     

The mitigation, management, and survivability of asteroid/comet impact with Earth

The chances that Earth will collide with a significant near earth object (NEO) within the next century are very small, but such a collision is possible, would be catastrophic, and could happen at any time. Much discussion has been devoted to methods of diverting these objects away from Earth through the use of space technology. However, if these efforts are unsuccessful, we would need to implement effective strategies to survive the event, no matter how cataclysmic. To date, disaster management for various impact scenarios has not been addressed (except in novels and Hollywood films). An impact disaster may be many orders of magnitude greater than any disaster the human species has ever experienced. Initially, technology and experience gained in other large-scale disasters will most likely form the foundation of how these impact events will be managed and classified. Given the size and energy of the projectile, the estimated area of damage, and whether impact effects might be localized or global in nature, we can begin to build basic disaster response scenarios, anticipate public health concerns, and formulate questions in need of answers. Questions we must deal with include: what will be required technologically, sociologically, and medically to survive? What types of evacuation plans and warning systems might be required? Capabilities in need of further investigation include: technological protection strategies related to ‘impact winter’, expanded chemical hazard control methodologies, food storage and production, roles of national governments, and international cooperation. Whatever the magnitude and severity of the event, we must reflect on what we know, what capabilities we can apply, develop or adapt, and seriously investigate what might be done to manage it and survive.     

Supporting multilateral environmental agreement with satellite Earth observation

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the potential contribution of satellite Earth observation (EO) to implementing and ensuring compliance with Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) from the institutional and legal point of view. EO has recently been recognized as an effective means to satisfy the demand for environmental information required by MEAs; however, actual usage of EO data in MEA implementation and compliance assurance has not yet made significant progress. While EO's legal and technical characteristics appear relevant to such applications, institutional linkage and technical reliability are still missing. Further efforts to promote EO data use for MEAs are needed through initiatives that link the EO system and data supplier with decision makers in the MEA community. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA) Kyoto and Carbon Initiative may be one example of such efforts. Recent movements, such as the Group on Earth Observation (GEO), could also provide an ideal focal point for coordinating and developing globally integrated EO and data utilization systems that could facilitate MEA implementation and compliance.     

The telemedicine frontier: going the extra mile

Telemedicine has the potential to have a greater impact on the future of medicine than any other modality and will profoundly alter the medical landscape of the twenty-first century. In the most remote areas, it can bring high-quality health care where none is now available. In global health care, it can enhance and standardize the quality of medical care, including developing countries. In the realm of space flight, it can provide a lifeline to medical expertise and monitoring. Through its mobility, it can provide urgently needed health care in instances of natural disaster. However, a number of challenges exist in its coordination and implementation on a global scale, specifically in the international and remote disaster scenarios. In the area of spaceflight, telemedicine capability will remain a consultation/information ‘lifeline’, but additional onboard medical capability and expertise will become crucial complements as missions become more advanced and remote from Earth.     

Reflections on the quest for international cooperation

Changed political objectives, straitened economic circumstances and an altered balance of capability and expertise in space endeavours have together produced more discussion of the need for international cooperation than ever before, but the meaning of the term has subtly shifted. Insisting on US ‘leadership’ is self-defeating; what is instead firmly desired by the USA's potential partners is a balanced relationship in which each nation makes an identifiable contribution and takes the lead in at least one of a package of projects. If this is going to happen, there must be an international forum or framework in which projects can be discussed and agreed. This in turn requires initiative at governmental level.     

Survey of mission evolution and flexibility in the Space Shuttle program

Given the diversity of missions it has accomplished and the myriad of adaptations it has undergone, the US Space Shuttle is widely regarded as a highly flexible space vehicle. With the Shuttle’s upcoming 2011 retirement, it is instructive to survey the history of this vehicle’s flexibility for the insights it can provide to the design and characterization of flexibility in future space systems. Data are presented on the evolution of mission requirements over time for 120 missions performed by the Space Shuttle over a period of some 27 years. Distinct trends in the time domain – as well as their causes – are identified and discussed, and early manifest plans from 1982 serve as a confirmation that these trends were not originally anticipated. Eight examples are then presented of engineering modifications that allowed the Shuttle to adapt and accommodate these requirement changes. Several additional instances of Shuttle flexibility are explored, such as post-Columbia disaster modification, upgrade programs and derived vehicles, and one case in which flexibility was inhibited by an early design decision.     

Increasing the use of Earth observations in developing countries

Earth observation (EO) data have numerous applications that would improve the still dire conditions of life in parts of the developing world. The under-utilization of such information is a result of three perceived inadequacies–inadequate local capacity, inadequate awareness of potential users and inadequate financing. Arguing that none of these problems is as significant as made out, this viewpoint highlights some of the viable EO applications that could be (and at last in some cases are being) used in developing countries and urges the EO community to be more proactive in disseminating information and in matching projects with areas of need.     

The Indian EO Programme-national and global drivers

The Indian Earth Observations Program, over the past three decades, has been mainly driven by the national need for natural resources management, environment monitoring and disaster support. With an array of seven Indian Earth Observation Satellites, national development support has been provided through a well-knit institutional framework of a National Natural Resources Management System (NNRMS). A wide variety of applications have been developed as an inter-agency effort over the past 15 years. Now, the capacity of the programme has extended into the global arena and is providing operational data services to the global user community. Positioning of relevant policy guidelines for the EO program to contribute to national endeavor and its transitioning for global outreaching and development of a commercial enterprise — both at national and global levels has been an area of constant attention within ISRO.Issues related to defining the space and data acquisition as a national “public ground”, costing of data products and services and evolving a commercial Earth Observation policy have been addressed for providing the overall thrust of the Indian Earth Observations program. The paper discusses the evolution of the policy in the early stages and its transition today to support a two-pronged strategy of supporting national development support and at the same time, developing a commercial program. The paper also illustrates the success of these policy endeavors through specific cases of applications and development of value added services. The paper also brings out the potential policy adjustments that will be called for in the coming years.     

The UN space treaties and the common heritage principle

The Moon Treaty, adopted by the UN's Outer Space Committee by consensus in 1979, has never been ratified by the major space powers — although it is essentially only an elaboration of the non-controversial Outer-Space Treaty. The author discusses the international political and economic climate of the time to explain the West's apparent withdrawal into self-interest. The controversy over the exploitation of lunar resources is preventing agreement on the other, more important issues covered by the Moon Treaty. The author argues that the successful INMARSAT organization could serve as a model for cooperation in exploiting the Moon's resources. A greater degree of understanding, humility, realism and generosity is needed before the problems can be resolved.     

We must harness space for sustainable development

Many UN agencies use space data as a tool to promote global sustainable development, yet the use of space has barely been acknowledged, let alone understood, by decision makers at the various UN and international meetings on the environment and development. Following discussions held at a side-event to the 2012 Rio+20 conference, the author highlights the various ways space applications can be used to meet the challenges (in resource use, disaster management, environmental protection and climate change) of sustainable development and urges policy makers to inform themselves of the benefits of space applications.     

Development of reliability-corrected cost model for Small Earth Observation satellites

In this study, a novel reliability-corrected cost model for estimating the development cost of highly agile small EO (Earth Observation) satellites is presented. In order to develop the cost model of highly agile small EO satellites, a database has been constructed consisting of 49 satellites carrying electro-optical payloads and having a launch mass between 100 kg and 1,000 kg that have either been developed or being developed within a time frame from 1991 to 2011. The cost model of top-down type was developed by analyzing the database statistically. The reliability-corrected CER (Cost Estimating Relationships) developed in this study implement multiple parameters-based complexity indexes. In addition, the Cost Correction Factor (CCF) and Low Cost Small Satellite (LCSS) adjustment factor were newly introduced as additional parameters for cost estimation. The reliability-corrected CERs for 26 EO satellites were used for verification of the cost model developed in this study. It was observed that there are approximately 7% of absolute average errors in the reliability-corrected CER. It is concluded that this cost model can provide cost estimates with a higher accuracy, as compared to conventional cost models such as USCM and SSCM. Finally, this paper also describes the results of cost estimation obtained by applying the developed cost model to highly agile small electro-optical satellites having specific performance requirements.     

Assessing the impact of space on society

There have been surprisingly few studies of the societal impact of space exploration, yet the impact has been considerable, and wide ranging. After briefly reviewing what has been published, the author reports on activities by NASA to improve our understanding of this issue. In accordance with the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, the NASA History Division has initiated a series of special studies and conferences on the societal impact of spaceflight. The first conference, held 19–21 September 2006 in Washington, DC and co-sponsored by the National Air and Space Museum, included some 35 speakers who addressed six main categories, spanning international, commercial, cultural, environmental and national security impacts. For both the conferences and the special studies, the goal is to examine the multifaceted impacts of spaceflight with rigorous historical research.     

Towards an effective and adequately verifiable PPWT

The 2008 Russia–China proposal to the Conference on Disarmament on preventing space weapons has attracted wide attention. Lengthy debates have been made on the need for such a treaty and for two of its most disputed elements, namely prohibition of ground-based anti-satellite weapons and verification. This article argues that, regardless of verifiability, such a treaty is urgently needed for the benefit of international peace and security, and for the security interests of spacefaring countries. But in order to serve these purposes effectively, the treaty should at least explicitly prohibit testing, deployment and use of space-based weapons and ground-based anti-satellite weapons. Given the necessary political will, it is feasible to “adequately verify” these constraints. The verification regime should permit the incorporation of new measures in the future, combine international technical means and national technical means, combine remote-sensing technologies and on-site inspections, and be complemented by transparency and confidence-building measures.     

Sino-Latin American space cooperation: A smart move

Sino-Latin American space cooperation has grown in the past several years, contributing to debates over China’s rising influence in the region. Much of what has been written about this phenomenon is overly simplistic and denotes a lack of understanding of the interplay between the domestic and the international when decisions of international cooperation are taken. This paper argues that calculations of both domestic and international interest are important in Sino-Latin space relationships, with the former of particular importance to Latin American countries. It explores these interests as demonstrated in the cooperative programs of four Latin American countries. It concludes that, while the US relationship is not a major factor in their decisions to cooperate or not with China, the USA could benefit from a greater understanding of this phenomenon to expand its relationships with the emerging space nations of the region to its benefit.     

Dream project: Applications of earth observations to disaster risk management

The field of disaster risk management is relatively new and takes a structured approach to managing uncertainty related to the threat of natural and man-made disasters. Disaster risk management consists primarily of risk assessment and the development of strategies to mitigate disaster risk. This paper will discuss how increasing both Earth observation data and information technology capabilities can contribute to disaster risk management, particularly in Belize. The paper presents the results and recommendations of a project conducted by an international and interdisciplinary team of experts at the 2009 session of the International Space University in NASA Ames Research Center (California, USA). The aim is to explore the combination of current, planned and potential space-aided, airborne, and ground-based Earth observation tools, the emergence of powerful new web-based and mobile data management tools, and how this combination can support and improve the emerging field of disaster risk management. The starting point of the project was the World Bank’s Comprehensive Approach to Probabilistic Risk Assessment (CAPRA) program, focused in Central America. This program was used as a test bed to analyze current space technologies used in risk management and develop new strategies and tools to be applied in other regions around the world.     

Assuring the sustainability of space activities

The growth of new space systems and the continued creation of orbital debris could in a few years make activities in Earth orbit unsustainable, so finding cost-effective ways to sustain space activities in Earth orbit is essential. Because outer space activities serve the needs of the military–intelligence, civil, and commercial communities, each with their own requirements, creating the necessary international agreements for reaching and maintaining a condition of sustainability will not be easy. This paper summarizes the primary issues for the international space community regarding our future ability to reap the benefit of space systems in Earth orbit. It explores several of the efforts to develop international agreements that would lead to or support the sustainability of space activities and examines the benefits and drawbacks of each approach. In particular, it reviews progress within the UN COPUOS, and examines the EU's proposal for an international Code of Conduct for Outer Space Activities. It also notes the need for states to establish or expand their own space legal infrastructure to conform to the UN treaties and guidelines for space activities.     

环境减灾卫星国际服务模式探索与成效

环境与灾害监测预报小卫星星座是我国对地观测系统的重要组成部分。2008年9月6日,我国成功发射环境与灾害监测预报小卫星星座A、B两颗光学小卫星（简称“环境减灾-1A、1B卫星”）。环境减灾-1A、1B卫星成功发射以来,民政部国家减灾中心（民政部卫星减灾应用中心）积极组织开展卫星在轨测试、运行管理、减灾应用、用户服务与宣传推广等工作。目前,卫星运行状态良好,各项指标正常。一年来,在成功应对国内数十场新发灾害监测与评估,积极开展国内应用服务的同时,也积极探索国际服务模式,拓展为国外救灾工作提供灾害监测产品服务,并先后成功应对澳大利亚森林大火、加拿大火灾、中缅边境火灾、海地特大地震等灾害应急监测与评估工作,在国际上获得好评,展示了我国空间技术在减灾救灾工作中的良好应用,树立了我国和平利用空间技术的大国形象。     

The case for envirosat: A space remote-sensing initiative in keeping with the ISY, 1992

The authors present proposals for establishing an international environmental resources satellite consortium. All countries share a need for data on the Earth and its resources, and economies of scale could be achieved through an international system. The formation of Inmarsat could serve as a model for setting up Envirosat. The role of Envirosat could expand as international confidence in it grows.     

Export control regime for space items in China: Opportunities and challenges in the new era

Export control system is vital to effective control of sensitive items and technologies and thus an appropriate system is indispensable to the realization of the goal of non-proliferation. The progress so far shows that China has made great efforts in constructing a domestic regime for export controls. Nevertheless, it has also been recognized that the mere existence of a domestic regime is not sufficient and that the realization of export control should be complemented with effective and efficient enforcement. The paper examines the effectiveness of the current export control regime in China and explores means to strengthen the current regime to dispel the concerns from other nations. The paper concludes that China has been committed to export controls in sensitive space items in the past years; yet further improvements could be made to better serve China's national interests and its commitments under international nonproliferation export control regimes.     

Space life and biomedical sciences in support of the global exploration roadmap and societal development

The human exploration of space is pushing the boundaries of what is technically feasible. The space industry is preparing for the New Space era, the momentum for which will emanate from the commercial human spaceflight sector, and will be buttressed by international solar system exploration endeavours. With many distinctive technical challenges to be overcome, human spaceflight requires that numerous biological and physical systems be examined under exceptional circumstances for progress to be made. To effectively tackle such an undertaking significant intra- and international coordination and collaboration is required. Space life and biomedical science research and development (R & D) will support the Global Exploration Roadmap (GER) by enabling humans to ‘endure’ the extreme activity that is long duration human spaceflight. In so doing the field will discover solutions to some of our most difficult human health issues, and as a consequence benefit society as a whole. This space-specific R&D will drive a significant amount of terrestrial biomedical research and as a result the international community will not only gain benefits in the form of improved healthcare in space and on Earth, but also through the growth of its science base and industry.