(Open Cosmos PR) — Open Cosmos – the leading SpaceTech startup simplifying access to space to help solve the world’s biggest challenges is today launching DataCosmos, its multi-satellite data platform that will provide advanced visualisation and data usage tools to transform access to critical space data. Publicly showcased today at the ESA Living Planet Symposium in Bonn, DataCosmos marks a paradigm shift in how companies and organisations can access satellite data and turn it into actionable information.
The platform, which has been in development over the past year, offers a powerful interface with different types of imagery, data from complementary sources such as vectors, drones and sensors, results from algorithms and a roster of applications that can make satellite imagery useful and valuable from monitoring climate change to providing insights to agricultural companies. Not only that, the cloud-based platform provides users with high-speed access to full-resolution imagery so they can search, visualise, download and process satellite imagery as well as run algorithms to draw as much insight as possible to make more informed decisions.
Transforming access to space through data
Previously, satellite operators would only be able to access their own data and providers would only focus on narrow vertical areas and hide imagery sources, reducing access and insights that could be drawn from the data. As well, it would be expensive for an organisation to create a complete picture as they would need to be using two or three data platforms. Instead, DataCosmos provides a full-service alternative, adopting the newest geospatial standards, such as STAC (SpatioTemporal Asset Catalog) and COG (Cloud Optimised GeoTIFF), in a state-of-the-art architecture designed for security and scalability.
DataCosmos makes it easier to unlock this critical, previously siloed, space data by bringing it into one accessible platform where it is easy to navigate between different data sets. As well, it makes it easier for organisations to put this data to use by hosting an array of applications from an ever-growing list of providers, with a focus on enabling earth observation to monitor and improve the environment. These include NAX Solutions which provides satellite image processing and AI to provide agricultural producers with valuable insights; Orbital EOS which offers advanced oil spill detection, identification and measurement; Quasar which tracks climate change effects including soil humidity, water turbidity and algae blooms; Carbon Space, which provides valuable carbon flow estimations worldwide; and GeoAlert which can measure construction progress and detection, urban population visualisation and energy consumption for the construction industry. The platform will add more partners over time to tackle a variety of global challenges.
The easy-to-use platform integrates with developer environments so users can easily use DataCosmos imagery in Python projects and Jupyter notebooks. A tasking system means that customers can also request imagery from a range of satellite operators within the tool to build as broad a picture as they need. In addition, all interactions with the platform are protected using end-to-end encryption so any data exchange is confidential.
“Open Cosmos is taking satellite imagery out of its silos and making it available to visualise in innumerable ways, to mix and combine it, feed applications with it, transform it interactively in Python and get a result back. In summary, Open Cosmos is creating an environment to finally unleash the actual, enormous value of satellite imagery with DataCosmos. We can’t wait to see how governments and organisations use and gain insights from this exceptional data to tackle problems such as climate change and growing urbanisation.”
— Carlos Fernández de la Peña, VP of Business Development, Satellite Data and Services
Learning more about the world through space
DataCosmos is part of Open Cosmos’ mission to democratise access to space by opening up this critical data to multiple partners. Since launching in 2017, Open Cosmos has become the go-to company for operating space missions from start to finish including manufacturing and building satellites as well as handling the mission, satellite operation and services so more companies and governments can tap into this wealth of information about the world. Recently, Open Cosmos partnered with the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), the Institute of Astrophysics in the Canary Islands to develop and launch the Alisio-1 satellite with the aim to collect data about the islands including monitoring the state of vegetation and crops to supporting fire fighting.
DataCosmos is today opening up slots in its private beta program for 10 new customers and 10 new value-added providers and satellite operators who will be granted early access to the programme. It is currently operating in a closed beta with customers currently using the platform to detect vegetation changes and water leaks as well as explore high-resolution images of an area to detect changes or extract features. The aim is to fully launch the platform later this year in Q4 2022 so more organisations can use space data to make informed decisions.
“The technology we’ve used to build DataCosmos is at the forefront of cloud-native approaches to dissemination and exploitation of satellite data, empowering a wider group of people to turn that information into actionable insights more easily than ever. Having a single platform where data from diverse sources can be accessed and processed together in a uniform manner is an industry first, and will help to unlock the power of these data in a totally new way. We’ve been careful to keep the system as open and flexible as possible, so we look forward to bringing new sources of satellite imagery and IoT data, new operators for satellite image acquisition and new providers of innovative algorithms into DataCosmos very quickly in future.”
— Scott Smith, Technical Project Manager at Open Cosmos who is leading the development of the DataCosmos product
DataCosmos provides access to imagery from different satellites and sources including;
European Commission-ESA: Sentinel-1/2
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS): Landsat-8/9
Spacewill: Superview-1/2, Gaofen-1/2/3/6/7
21AT: Triplesat constellation
Geosat: Geosat-1 and Geosat-2
Drone imagery from various providers
Vector layers in multiple formats
More satellites and sources will be added to the platform in the future
About Open Cosmos
Open Cosmos designs, manufactures and operates satellites to solve the world’s biggest challenges. Open Cosmos is the perfect partner for those who want to monitor changes on Earth at a global scale, those who want to provide telecommunications services based on satellite constellations and those who want to test innovative space technologies in orbit. For more information visit www.open-cosmos.com, our Twitter and LinkedIn.
