GSSF: Satellite applications can boost humanitarian efforts

Merging multiple satellite technologies, such as communications, earth observation and navigation could benefit not only businesses but also society as a whole, according to senior UK Parliament Space Committee Adviser, John Yates.
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Speaking at the Global Space and Satellite Forum (GSSF) 2011 during a session on integrated systems as the future of satellite services, Yates revealed the potential advantages of this evolving business model.
 
In regions such as the Middle East, a core benefit is the higher benefit-to-cost ratio of integrated satellite applications, providing accessibility even in less-developed countries.
 
“If you want to go for the real value in the chain, integrated applications is the way to go – merging earth observation with satellite telecoms, for instance, in integrating two or more technologies.
 
“Businesses in the space and satellite sector have previously been busy exploiting the industry’s individual services, but now the market is maturing, it is time to look at how we can enhance these capabilities,” said Yates.
 
While satellites are traditionally dedicated to providing either, communication, navigation, climate, earth observation or military services, Yates highlighted the significant social advantages of merging one or more applications.
 
Among the humanitarian applications are clearing minefields, tracking of shipping routes for vessels of interest such as pirates or environmental monitoring such as water pollution detection.
 
One of the potential applications he referred to was the integration of earth observation and communication satellites. High-resolution satellite imaging, combined with positioning, could be used to identify areas for potential land-mine survey and clearance operations.
 
In another example, satellite imagery could be used to identify marine pollution, with satellite tracking monitoring shipping movement and a fusion of this data used in identifying the source of pollution.