The Contribution of Space Technologies to Arctic Policy Priorities

Sentinel 3 Facts in Brief

Country: 26 European member states Operations: European Space Agency Status: Mission development began in 2007, with a two satellite configuration; launch planned for 2013 Mission Duration: Design life of 7 years Coverage: Global coverage, with a revisit time of less than two days for OLCI, less than one day for SLSTR at the equator, and a 27-day repeat for the topography package, with a 4-day sub-cycle. Orbit: Sun synchronous polar orbit at 800 km altitude Key Service Areas: Ocean forecasting, sea-ice charting, and maritime safety services; measurements of the state of the ocean surface, including surface temperature, ocean ecosystems, water quality and pollution monitoring; and land services to monitor land-use change, forest cover, photosynthetic activity, soil quality and fire detection. Web link: http://www.esa.int/esaLP/SEMBRS4KXMF_LPgmes_0.html The main mission objective is to measure sea-surface topography, sea- and land-surface temperature and ocean- and land-surface colour with high-end accuracy and reliability in support of ocean forecasting systems, and for environmental and climate monitoring. The Sentinel 3 global land and ocean monitoring mission provides 2 day global coverage Earth observation data (with 2 satellites) for sea and land applications with real-time products delivery in less than 3 hours. Its innovative instrument package includes: a Sea and Land Surface Temperature Radiometer (SLSTR), with 9 bands and a resolution of 500 m to determine global sea-surface temperatures to an accuracy of better than 0.3 K; an Ocean and Land Colour Instrument (OLCI), with 21 bands and a resolution of 300 m over all surfaces and a swath overlap with SLSTR; and a dual-frequency (Ku and C band) advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar Altimeter (SRAL), which provides measurements at a resolution of ~300 m in SAR mode along track. SRAL is supported by a microwave radiometer for atmospheric correction and a DORIS receiver for orbit positioning. The combined topography package will provide exact measurements of sea-surface height, which are essential for ocean forecasting systems and climate monitoring, and accurate topography measurements over sea ice, ice sheets, rivers and lakes.

Mission Objectives

System Capabilities

Multispectral and radar images

Measured Parameters

The Sentinel 3 will contribute to environment, economic development, and sovereignty and security policy priorities in the Arctic, providing beneficial data for monitoring of changes in land cover, pollution monitoring, northern shipping, and disaster response.

Relevance to Arctic Interests

RADARSAT Constellation Mission Facts in Brief

Country: Canada Operations: Canadian Space Agency Status: Mission development began in 2005, with satellite launches planned for 2014 and 2015

Mission Duration: Design life of 7 years (each satellite) Coverage: Global coverage, with a revisit time of 1-4 days Orbit: Low earth orbit at 600 km altitude

Key Service Areas: Maritime surveillance (ice, wind, oil pollution and ship monitoring); disaster management (mitigation, warning, response and recovery); and ecosystem monitoring (forestry, agriculture, wetlands and coastal change monitoring). Web link: http://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/satellites/radarsat/default.asp The RADARSAT Constellation is the evolution of the RADARSAT Program with the objective of ensuring C-band data continuity, enhanced operational use of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data and improved system reliability over the next decade. Instead of launching a single satellite, the capabilities of the system will be distributed across several satellites, increasing revisit, and introducing a more robust, flexible system that can be maintained at lower cost and launched into orbit using smaller, less expensive launch vehicles. The three-satellite configuration (designed to be scalable up to six satellites) will provide complete coverage of Canada’s land and oceans offering an average daily revisit, as well as daily access to 95% of the world to Canadian and International users. While the mission design initially focused on maritime security requirements, land security, particularly in the Arctic, will be dramatically enhanced. The system offers up to four passes per day in Canada’s far north and several passes per day over the Northwest Passage. The increase in revisit frequency introduces a range of applications that are based on regular collection of data and creation of composite images that highlight changes over time. Such applications are particularly useful for monitoring changes such as those induced by climate change, land use evolution, coastal change, urban subsidence and even human impacts on local environments. The system will offer a variety of resolution modes, ranging from 3 m with a 20 km swath to 100 m with a 500 km swath. There is also a secondary payload allocation for a potential Automated Identification System for ships (AIS) which is not planned as part of the baseline mission but is being considered by Department of National Defence. A feasibility study of a design of an Integrated AIS Sensor that could eventually be built and placed on the RCM satellites is scheduled to be completed by March 31, 2012.

Mission Objectives

System Capabilities

C-band radar images

Measured Parameters

The RADARSAT Constellation will contribute to environmental, economic development, and sovereignty and security policy priorities in the Arctic, providing beneficial data for environmental monitoring, resource development and northern shipping in the region. If the AIS capability is added to the mission, the satellite could also contribute to search and rescue operations, monitoring of environmental catastrophes and follow-up investigations, and help protect the sovereignty of Canadian waters in the region.

Relevance to Arctic Interests

95 C. INVENTORY OF SPACE SYSTEMS