Planned 40-satellite Constellation Would Monitor Earth and Space

摘要

A Canadian company is targeting commercial and government markets with a proposed constellation of 40 low Earth orbiting satellites designed to keep tabs on the environment both in space and on the ground. NorStar Space Data's planned NorthStar satellites would fly in an orbit that is similar to - but higher than - the one in which the Iridium communications satellites operate, company officials said, providing near-ubiquitous coverage using sensors that look both up and down. The dual nature of the mission means the company will not have to depend on a single customer set or sector for revenue, they said. Government agencies like the U.S. and Canadian defense departments are viewed as the most likely users of the space situ-ational awareness data, according to Stewart Bain, president and chief executive of Montreal-based NorStar. Commercial-sector businesses, primarily in agriculture, mining, fishing and fossil-fuel energy, comprise the anticipated customer set for the hyperspectral and infrared data collected by the downward-looking sensors, he said.