Catalogue of satellite missions

Introduction

This section gives details of the satellite missions of CEOS members and of the CEOS database from which much of the data in this handbook is derived.

Nearly all information contained in this catalogue has been gathered from and verified by CEOS agencies but it should be noted that the launch date and duration of some planned missions is uncertain (eg due to changes in funding or policy, changes in requirements, etc) hence, the accuracy of timelines relating to these missions cannot be guaranteed. If the month of the launch of a planned mission has not been specified the timeline is shown to commence at the beginning of the planned year of launch. It should also be noted that missions currently operating beyond their planned life are shown as operational until the end of 2002 unless an alternative date has been proposed.

The catalogue of CEOS agency EO satellite missions is arranged chronologically by launch date. For each of the missions, the following information is supplied:

Recent events

2002 marks a significant year for new Earth observation satellite missions. At the time of writing, a total of 18 missions had been planned for launch by the end of the year; of those, 5 had already been launched and are in service:

Current missions

68 different Earth observation satellite missions are estimated to be currently operating (June 2002). Many of these comprise series of missions planned to provide the continuity which is essential for many observations and applications. The principal satellite series are highlighted below:

Geostationary meteorological satellites:

There is a world-wide network of operational geostationary meteorological satellites which provide visible and infra-red images of the Earth's surface and atmosphere. Countries/regions with current geostationary operational meteorological satellites are the USA (GOES series), Europe (METEOSAT series), Japan (GMS series), India (INSAT series), China (FY series) and Russia (GOMS).

DMSP series:
The long-term meteorological programme of the US Department of Defense (DoD) – with the objective of collecting and disseminating worldwide atmospheric, oceanographic,
solar-geophysical, and cloud cover data
on a daily basis.

NOAA polar orbiters:
The current series of operational polar orbiting meteorological satellites is provided by NOAA. Two satellites are maintained in polar orbit at any one time, one in a ‘morning’ orbit and one in an ‘afternoon’ orbit. The series provides a wide range of data of interest, including sea surface temperature, cloud cover, data for land studies, temperature and humidity profiles and ozone concentrations.

METEOR series:
Roshydromet maintains two or three satellites in orbit at any time mainly for operational meteorological purposes. Other applications include experimental measurement of ozone and Earth radiation budget.

ERS & Envisat series:
ERS-1 was launched by ESA in July 1991, ERS-2 in April 1995, and Envisat in March 2002. This series concentrates on global and regional environmental issues, making use of active microwave techniques that enable a range of measurements to be made of land, sea and ice surfaces independent of cloud cover and atmospheric conditions. In addition, the ATSR/AATSR instruments on these missions provides images of the surface or cloud top and the GOME instrument on ERS-2 provides measurements of ozone levels. ERS-1 and ERS-2 operated in tandem for around 1 year in 1995 and 1996 providing data for topographic applications such as differential interferometry. Envisat features a range of new sensors for land surface and atmospheric studies.

RADARSAT series:
Launched in November of 1995, RADARSAT provides researchers and operational users with a range of SAR data products which are used for marine applications such as ship routing, and ice forecasting as well as land applications such as resource management and geological mapping. Data continuity will be ensured through the planned launch of RADARSAT-2.

SPOT and Landsat series:
The SPOT satellites operated by French, Swedish and Belgian space agencies, and the Landsat satellites operated by USGS provide high resolution imagery in a range of visible and infra-red bands. They are used extensively for high resolution land studies. Data from these satellites is supplemented by availability of very high resolution imagery (up to 1m) from various commercial satellites.

IRS series:
The Indian IRS satellites provide high resolution imagery in a range of visible and infra-red bands. Their primary objectives are national mapping of various resources. The series was supplemented by IRS-P4 (for ocean colour studies) in May 1999.

CBERS series:
A joint mission series of China and Brazil, aimed at environmental monitoring and Earth resources. The latest in the series was launched in April 2002.

KOMPSAT series:
Korean missions aimed at cartography, land use and planning and ocean and disaster monitoring – starting from December 1999.

TOPEX/POSEIDON and JASON series:
These satellites form a joint NASA/CNES precision radar altimetry mission to measure ocean topography and hence, the speed and direction of ocean currents.

NASA’s EOS missions:
Carrying the latest advanced sensors and each mission dedicated to investigation of particular Earth system issues – including the Terra and Aqua missions.

LAGEOS series:
These missions are designed to measure the Earth’s crustal motion and the Earth’s gravitational field. The space segment comprises corner cube laser retroreflectors and the ground segment is a global network of transportable laser sites. The design life of the space segment is 10,000 years.

Future missions

Current plans supplied by CEOS agencies estimate that of order 90 new satellite missions will be launched for operation between mid-2002 and 2018. The next few years mark a significant era for satellite Earth observations, with half of these new missions to be launched before the end of 2005.

These new programmes will ensure continuity of key measurements, provide improved resolutions and accuracies, and introduce several exciting new capabilities. Some of the highlights are described below:

Gravity and magnetic field studies:
The GRACE and GOCE missions are dedicated to providing more precise measurements of the geoid, while DEMETER and ESPERIA will study links between electromagnetic fields and earthquake predictability.

Polar ice cap studies:
Given the significance of information on changes in the continental ice sheets, two missions dedicated to their study are planned for the coming decade: NASA’s ICESat (late 2002) and ESA’s Cryosat (2004).

Cloud properties and climate links:
By 2006, a multiple satellite constellation will be in place (comprising CloudSat, Aqua, Aura, CALIPSO and PARASOL) and will fly in orbital formation to gather data needed to evaluate and improve the way clouds are represented in global models, and to develop a more complete knowledge of their poorly understood role in climate change and the cloud-climate feedback.

Operational meteorology:
The current geostationary programmes will continue operationally. With the launch of the METOP series in 2005, EUMETSAT and NOAA will share responsibility for the provision of polar orbiting meteorological satellites. The NOAA series of satellites will evolve to become NPOESS, featuring more advanced sensors and new capabilities. China will also operate the FY-3 series of polar orbiting satellites from late 2004.

Atmospheric studies:
New data on the chemistry and dynamics of the Earth’s atmosphere will be gathered by missions from many countries, including ADEOS-2 and GCOM-A1 (Japan), EOS Aura (USA), and SCISAT-1 (Canada). ADM-Aeolus (Europe) will provide new information on winds.

Radiation budget:
Continuity and new capabilities will be provided by NASA’s SORCE (late 2002) and Triana missions (launch TBD), and by operational meteorology missions, such as the MSG and NPOESS series.

Ocean observations:
Continuity and improvements in many current measurements are assured with the launch of missions such as Envisat, Aqua and ADEOS-2 in 2002. SMOS is worthy of special note – since it will provide new capabilities for measurements of ocean salinity from 2006.

Land surface observations:
A range of different sensors are planned for land surface observations, including advanced SAR systems such as ALOS and TerraSAR. From 2005, VCL will provide innovative new data on the vegetation canopy structure. SMOS will measure soil moisture from 2006.

CEOS Database

The information presented in the CEOS Handbook is a much condensed summary of the information provided in the CEOS Database. This database contains extensive information on the capabilities of both satellite and in-situ observing system capabilities, and relates them in some detail to the requirements of key user programmes. The database is maintained by WMO.

The database was established to support planning of future observing systems, with the primary aim of improving the extent to which space system capabilities meet user requirements for observations. Although many possible uses have been identified for the database, its structure and level of detail are designed primarily to assist in the assessment of conformance between users' requirements for observations and the potential capability of the space segments of satellite systems. To this end, the following information is included in the Database:

• from the user communities (‘Users’), a summary of their observational requirements, as available to CEOS through its partnerships with many user communities;
  
• from the in situ observing system operators and space agencies (‘Providers’), a summary of the potential performances of their in situ and satellite instruments, expressed in the same terms as the user requirements;
  
• instrument and mission descriptions sufficiently detailed to support the evaluation of their performances;
  
• programmatic information to permit assessment of service continuity aspects.

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Click here to download pdf list of satellite missions (chronological)