High Resolution Satellite Imagery:From Spies To Pipeline Management
Steve Adam
Director, Satellite Imaging
Canadian Geomatic Solutions Ltd.
1711 - 10th Ave SW
Calgary, Alberta, Canada, T3C 0K1
Abstract
In the past, high resolution satellite imagery was the domain of national security organizations.
However, this has recently changed with the launch of Space Imaging's IKONOS satellite.
Launched on September 24, 1999 it is the world's first commercial high resolution satellite,
collecting data at 1-meter black/white and 4-meter multi-spectral.
2000 has the scheduled launch of at least two more commercial high resolution satellites. If these
satellites are successfully launched, a buyer will be able to acquire imagery every day of the year
(barring cloud cover). As an added convenience, an image user no longer has to buy a massive
swath of imagery. For example, IKONOS scenes as narrow as 5km (3 miles) can be purchased.
This development has opened the door for corridor applications and has been thoroughly and
successfully implemented by TransCanada Pipelines in mapping over 1500km of their mainline.
Introduction
Over the past 30 years, Earth observing satellites have collected remarkable imagery of our planet
at greater resolution with each passing decade. Today we stand at the pinnacle of civilian satellite
technology with the successful acquisition of 1-meter digital imagery from Space Imaging’s
IKONOS satellite (www.spaceimaging.com). Launched on September 24, 1999 it is the world's
first commercial high resolution satellite, collecting data at 1-meter black/white and 4-meter
multi-spectral.
U.S. President Bill Clinton allowed this all to happen by issuing Presidential Decision-23 in 1994
which allows commercial development of high resolution satellites. However, these commercial
'spy' satellites do not come without some regulation. For example, the U.S. government can
exercise shutter control during times when they feel national security is an issue and imagery of
Israel has to be degraded to 2m.
Presently, the IKONOS satellite is the best source of high resolution satellite image data.
However, the Indian Space Agency's IRS-1 C/D satellites (5m resolution) may also be grouped
into the 'high resolution' category depending on ones operating scale. With nearly 5 years of
archive for North America, IRS-1 image data offers an excellent resource. Less reliable coverage
can be found with the Russian 2 m panchromatic SPIN-2 data set (http://www.terraserver.com/).
Table 1 outlines a selection present and future high resolution systems.
This year may see the launch of two more high resolution satellites. If these satellites are
successfully launched, imagery will be available on every day of the year (barring cloud cover
and polar winter darkness). As an added convenience, an image user no longer has to buy a
massive swath of imagery. For example, IKONOS scenes as narrow as 5km (3 miles) can be
purchased. As will be discussed below, this development has opened the door for corridor
applications and has been thoroughly and successfully implemented by TransCanada Pipelines in
mapping over 1500km of their mainline.
The new generation of high resolution sensors are also 'high information' sensors. Imagery is
acquired at 11-bits per pixel (0-2047 shades), as opposed to the more common 8-bits (0-255
shades), offering a larger dynamic range for image enhancements. For land cover and other
environmental applications, multi-spectral information can be extracted from the visible and nearinfrared
bands common to these sensors. A further exciting addition is OrbImage's OrbView-4 200-band hyperspectral sensor with 8 m resolution
(http://www.orbimage.com/satellite/orbview4/orbview4.html) and the multi-polar Radarsat-2 SAR with up to 3 m resolution
(http://radarsat.mda. ca).
Proliferation of high resolution satellite imagery should see the price of imagery eventually drop
from its present, and still reasonable, level (ranging from $12/km2 to over $50/km2 $USD).
Furthermore, the recent explosion of internet based distribution and e-commerce can only expand
the interest and demand for this new and exciting addition to the pipeline geomatics marketplace.
