1. A story of starting a satellite mission by Kaupo Voormansik
It all started in November 2021 when TalTech space programme manager Rauno Gordon invited all the interested parties to discuss the idea of a new „Estonian satellite“. We and the other enthusiasts met on a several occasions to discuss ideas – the common denominator being the desire to develop a mission useful for Estonia. Soon enough I was able to convince everyone that building a new satellite to observe just Estonia is not the way to go. Instead, we should think about how to use satellite remote sensing to benefit the world. Most of the other participants at the meeting seemed to agree.
At KappaZeta, we had been thinking of the idea of enriching the Sentinel-1 dataset for a long time. At first, we hoped ESA would do it by developing accompanying missions to Sentinel-1 that would add the height dimension and make the next generation fully polarimetric. Discussions on this topic showed that ESA was not planning to do it themselves but would be willing to support third parties developing the mission. OK, great – I pitched this idea at the next „Estonian satellite“ meeting and it was received quite well. Adding a small and relatively inexpensive accompanying satellite to enhance the data of a large and important mission seemed both feasible and meaningful.
After one or two more meetings, I realized that in order to make it actually happen, I have to take the lead. I needed to stand up and say that we (i.e., KappaZeta) will start organising it, and others would then join us. We had what was necessary to get the snowball rolling – systematic knowledge about SAR, personal experience from developing ESTCube-1, an understanding of the Earth observation market and about the importance of the dataset to be developed. As the last and very important component, we also had a decent network within the Estonian and other European countries’ space technology and remote sensing communities. Today’s KappaZeta could not do it alone, but with help from friends – absolutely!
At the beginning of the story, I referred to the „Estonian satellite“ using quotation marks, but despite all our national pride, we shouldn’t emphasize its nationality. The more countries that consider the Sentinel-1 accompanying satellite constellation to be their own, the better. Satellite remote sensing is inherently global and international cooperation its key to success, helping to avoid unnecessary fragmentation and duplication, and helping to progress further together. A satellite that is suitable for gathering data about Estonia is just as capable of doing the same for all other countries of the world.
- If you’re interested in the technical content of the planned mission, please see the abstract from the Finnish Satellite Workshop Remote Sensing seminar: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rhppDdSWLjU7CXeanmLWo1Vl4xLE3h8_/view
- The story will be continued on our Medium blog next week, where Kaupo will share his experience receiving feedback to the mission concept and will explain how far along the mission preparations are.
Kaupo Voormansik, CEO
2. Collaboration with 1MTN
We are delighted to work together with 1MTN (https://www.1mtn.com/) on nature-based carbon credit projects. KappaZeta’s role is to assist 1MTN with satellite remote sensing expertise and solutions. Currently we are collaborating on a bamboo planting project in Africa. It has provided us with valuable insight into the remote sensing and GIS needs of the voluntary carbon market. We see that correct adoption of remote sensing solutions facilitates transparency of the voluntary carbon market and reduces costs of the carbon project developers.
We wish Anete Garoza and Kristjan Raude a lot of energy for the development of carbon projects!
Jürgen Lina, business development manager
