EO-ALERT: an on-board data processing and handling architecture for a rapid alerts service

Kurzfassung

This paper presentsthe architecture and results achieved by the EO-ALERT H2020 project. EO-ALERT proposes the definition and development of the next-generation Earth Observation (EO)data processing chain, based on a novel flight segment architecture that moves optimised key EOdata processing elements from the ground segment to on-board the satellite, with the aim of delivering the EO products to the end user with very low latency (in almost real-time). This paper presents the EO-ALERT architecture, its performance and hardware. Performances are presented for two reference user scenarios; ship detection and extreme weather nowcasting/monitoring. The hardware testing results show that, when implemented using Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) components and available communication links, the proposed architecture can deliver EO products and alerts to the end user with a latency lower than one-point-five minutes, for both SAR and Optical Very High Resolution (VHR) missions, demonstrating the viability of the EO-ALERT concept and architecture.