International study on cost-effective Earth observation missions - Outcomes and visions

Kurzfassung

Cost-effective Earth observation missions – how can it be achieved, what are the cost drivers and what the application areas, what are the possible obstacles and how to overcome them? The study (Sandau, 2006) intends to provide a single reference of all aspects connected with cost-effective missions from background material like previous studies and organisational support, that is institutions having related programs or supporting up-to-date information exchange through conferences, to Earth observation application areas which gain from the information and approaches presented in this study. This paper concentrates on some of the outcomes of the study. User communities which start to conduct or participate in Earth observation missions using small, economical satellites, and associated launches, ground stations, data distributions structures, and space system management approaches will gain from this information the most.