Serving the whole planet with metric resolution data: The e-CORCE program status

1. Serving the whole planet with metric resolution data: The e-CORCE program status presented by Jean-pierre.antikidis@cnes.fr WGISS 27, Toulouse, 12th of may Wgiss27_e-CORCE

2. For some years, synergies between information society and spatial technologies have become tangible, generating new standards for customer demands: “I want to communicate with everyone at any time” (mobile telephony and Internet) “I want to know where I am and where I’m going to” (Personal Navigation Devices market) “I want to see everything at any time” (geolocalisation services e.g.: Google Earth, e-Globe…) Customer are pushing for new products that evolve rapidly

3. 1 meter, Full Earth in a 1 week time or less with e-CORCE • Can we imagine one may create a self-sustainable satellite system able to photograph the whole of our planet with one-meter resolution on a one-day time? • e-CORCE stand for "e-Continuous Observing system Relayed by Cellular processing Environment" • "e-" since aiming at feeding geocoded information to Internet based mass market operators • "Continuous Observing" since aiming at providing a continuously refreshed view of our full planet • "Relayed by Cellular processing Environment" since based on the intimate compound of 3 cellular layers Space,Telecom,Grid

4. The one-meter, one-day, one-Earth nightmare Some few figures extracted from current state of the art : • 5x10 +14 pixels/day = more than 10 000 000 000 000 000 bits • Overall satellite system raw throughout around 7000 Gigabits/s • According to present sensor technologies (20 000 pixels CCDs)means 125 satellites @67 Gb/s !!!20 receiving centre with 700 Gb/s dump speed !!!How to break the information wall? • We need to COMPRESS & DISTRIBUTE the information flow • COMPRESS: Psycho-visual image compression • DISTRIBUTE: Receive and treat the information in a fully decentralised fashion without having centric facilities (WAG)

5. E-CORCE, a multilayer space-ground network for 2014 • 13 satellites, 28 km swath, 250 kgs, 80Mb/s, 50 receiving/processing nodes • No end user distribution and no central facility, no full mosaic creation, end product is logically distributed but never “physically” available • Internet IP virtual products (eg: I-tune, I-tube or emule functionning)

6. Typical e-CORCE Micro-Satellites design Illustration Rationale • Flying geometry with sight direction perpendicular to speed vector • Along flight propulsion direction • Easy accomodation of donwlink antenna • Multi-plan compatibility • 10% Increased solar arrays dimension • Bidimensionnel TDI Speed Earth Instrument design: • Aperture Ø 300 mm • 14 stages TDI • 4 CCD arrays with 7 000 pixels • 3 mirors Korsch Télescope • SiC based opto-mechanical design • Mass < 40 kg • Power < 120 W

7. Psycho-visual image compression (gain=50) Rationale Illustration Psycho-visual data compression features (geared up for internet users): • No need for cloud cover handling • No need for sea surfaces on/off • Automatic bit budget • Compression over clouds / seas >100 • Compression over Towns <15 • Average compression all over the world >50 • Nearly no visual degradation for 1m resolution images • Quality for 10 meters or more data anyhow excellent thanks to statistical surface averaging

8. Wide Area Grid (WAG) :Satellite GRID= Networked Nodes & Middleware => Unified Satellite resources Nodes are receiving systems and computers

9. The Wide Area Grid NODE • Reception of compressed payload data • Uplink of TM/TC commands (Space IP flow/protocol emulation) • Image decompression (adaptative JPEG2000) • Image correction • Local Mosaic creation • Interaction with other Node under WAG supervision • Resulting data set seen as data stream serveur , WAG IP streaming protocol Local mosaic Distribution by peer to peer mechanism creating a full virtual metric Earth GeocodedPortal

10. Overall computerized capacity brought by 5000 PCs (1000 in 2012) spreaded over 50 to 100 receiving and processing centers may generate on a daily basis the world-mosaic at 1 meter resolution Typically any of the WAG node will make use of 20 PCs to create its local mosaic. Overall power close to the full CERN capability ! E-CORCE Ground cellular processing requirements

11. Lessons from Google, a precursor in mass geocoded information accessible to every-one

12. Emulated e-CORCE, 1meter resolution

13. 100 meters resolution over Africa

15. Today 1 meter resolution over 70% of the Globe !

16. 1 Meter/pixel 2,5Meter/pixel

17. Is one meter a good choice ? - Technical optimum for micro-sat techno - Well fitted to market usage - Good for visual navigation - Acceptable bandwidh and information sizing

18. Examples of e-CORCE added value for B2C market players enrichment of cartography content for GPS devices Address of local stadium : 5 Avenue de Matignons User help for last mile navigation through map enrichment Where is the stadium ? Here it is !

19. e-CORCE, “the easy way” for thematic users Without need for sfecific programming : • Déforestation • Drought • Pollution • Roads • Harvest evaluation • Mineral and oil serach • Urban monitoring • ... “Getting weekly metric colour high resolution pictures of any place all over the world is becoming affordable to every-one and as straightforward as being plugged on Internet”

20. Some revolutionary consequences on space Earth Observation utilization and business potential Rationale Illustration • The whole of the Earth is continuously accessible • No programming, no competition on satellite access • Any country will be covered the same way (poor and rich ) • e-CORCE, the system for development aid and monitoring • Psycho-visual quality trimmed to maximize utilisation while cutting costs • e-CORCE, the Earth Observation « MP3 » • The whole planet is constructed as a virtual globe complete, fresh and homogeneous • No more catalogues • The full data set is « on line » • Oversimplified distribution at minimum cost trough Internet: ”Imagery On Demand” (IOD)  • Fully automated process from satellite to users : • Commercialization platform , the « Amazon » way with small or large deliver of pictures from any place all over the Earth ! • And finally : • Imagery at much reduced cost by a factor of 4 at least inducing new markets opportunities and value added activities

22. Blue Planet, a new European space operator • Blue Planet objectives are to: • Involve European industry in the development and the operation of e-CORCE constellation • Operate and sale the worldwide metric images updated every week • Blue Planet will be a space imagery “wholesaler” supplying all users (Mass, Thematic, New) • Blue Planet ambition is to build an European dominant position thanks to its performance, its low cost and ease of access

23. e-CORCE: Innovation is not only technical ! 13 Sats Business unit Mass portal operators Classical thematic needs Space manufact Production Concepts & patents

25. These markets will be commercially addressed through 3 different sales channels. Production system Sales channels Markets Large clients Blue Planet direct sales • Mass market: major Web, Mobile and GPS players • Large institutions SPATIAL LAYER TELECOM LAYER GROUND LAYER Small / Medium clients Sales through indirect distribution network or value-added resellers Thematic clients • Low cost satellite • IP sensors • Re-use of existing telecom infrastructures • Low cost WAG hardware and software • Leverage of internet already installed capacity Distribution platform Open Commercial channel Blue Planet direct sales channels limited to few key account managers and fully automated distribution platform • Logic for profits relies on the ability of e-CORCE to deliver disruptive performances at low cost by severely cutting down: • Production costs • Distribution costs

26. Identified an « Massive needs » An unexpected business case ready to be caught ! =>No free alternative e-CORCE Low cost technology is entering the space manufacturing processes => No programmatic dependency !!

27. Any question ? Contacts: Jean-pierre.antikidis@cnes.fr jean-jacques.favier@cnes.fr