The Contribution of Space Technologies to Arctic Policy Priorities

exactView Facts in Brief

Country: Canada Operations: exactEarth Ltd.

Status: Five satellites equipped with technology to collect satellite-received Automatic Identification System (S-AIS) signals are operational; exactEarth will have access to M3MSat data from Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC), when available Mission Duration: Continuous Coverage: Global Orbit: C ircular sun-synchronous low earth orbit at an altitude of 650 km Key Service Areas: Vessel monitoring, Maritime domain awareness, Surveillance and security, Data fusion with other sensors for environmental monitoring, Search and rescue, and Incident investigation. Web link: http://www.exactearth.com The satellites’ objective is to collect AIS transmissions from all the ships that are within their field of view of approximately 5,000 km in diameter. exactEarth’s initial service, exactAIS, is a global vessel tracking and maritime domain monitoring system based on S-AIS. The exactEarth constellation of microsatellites orbits the Earth in a north-south direction, continually passing over different areas as the planet rotates, and the satellites complete one orbit in 90 to 100 minutes. exactEarth uses a patented ground and space-based processing technology to minimize interference of collided AIS signals, therefore dramatically improving detection compared with all other satellite-based systems. As more satellites are launched, refresh rates will continue to increase, with the objective of achieving and then maintaining a global revisit time of less than 90 minutes. By policy, exactEarth normally limits AIS data sales to legitimate government agencies that are concerned with maritime affairs and national security agencies (161 countries). Commercial sales to information service providers are possible provided the buyer agrees to aggregate or filter the data in such a manner that it will not include the unique exactEarth-reported AIS positions for any vessel.

Mission Objectives

System Capabilities

AIS signals from vessels

Measured Parameters

The exactView satellites will contribute to the environment and sovereignty and security policy priorities in the Arctic. The exactAIS system provides crucial data and services for search and rescue operations, monitoring of environmental catastrophes and follow-up investigations, and to help protect the sovereignty of Canadian waters in the region.

Relevance to Arctic Interests

ORBCOMM Satellite AIS Facts in Brief

Country: United States Operations: ORBCOMM Inc.

Status: Six satellites equipped with equipment to collect Automatic Identification System (AIS) signals were launched in 2008 (3 remain operational); two dedicated AIS microsatellites, one in an equatorial orbit (VesselSat1) and the other in a polar orbit (VesselSat2), were launched in October 2011 and January 2012, respectively; 18 additional AIS-equipped next generation satellites will be launched beginning in the middle of 2012. Mission Duration: Continuous Coverage: Global Orbit: Low earth orbit Key Service Areas: Maritime domain awareness, Surveillance and security, Data fusion with other sensors, Search and rescue, Logistical tracking and reporting, Energy and commodity management, Incident investigation, Counter- piracy applications, Environmental monitoring, and Area of operation compliance. Web link: http://www.ORBCOMM.com/services-ais.htm To have commercially operational low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellites providing AIS data from space that overcome the limitations of terrestrial-based AIS systems, which provide only limited shore-based coverage and are not able to provide global, open ocean coverage. The ORBCOMM network uses low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellites to provide monitoring and messaging capabilities to and from anywhere in the world using two-way alphanumeric packets of data. The ground segment consists of 15 gateways strategically located around the world, which provide access to the satellite constellation and interface with public and private data networks including the Internet. ORBCOMM’s Satellite AIS service detects AIS signals emitted by vessels. ORBCOMM provides access to their global, regional and filtered satellite AIS data through annual subscription service agreements and user applications.

Mission Objectives

System Capabilities

AIS signals from vessels

Measured Parameters

The ORBCOMM Satellite AIS service will contribute to the environment and sovereignty and security policy priorities in the Arctic. The system provides crucial data and services for search and rescue operations, monitoring of environmental catastrophes and follow-up investigations, and to help protect the sovereignty of Canadian waters in the region.

Relevance to Arctic Interests

97 C. INVENTORY OF SPACE SYSTEMS