ROOM
26
Astronautics
Gil Denis
Airbus Defence &
Space, Toulouse,
France
Alain Claverie
Airbus Defence &
Space, Toulouse,
France
Xavier Pasco
Fondation pour
la Recherche
Stratégique, Paris,
France
Jean-Pierre Darnis
Istituto Affari
Internazionali, Rome,
Italy
Benoît de Maupeou
Airbus Defence &
Space, Toulouse,
France
Murielle Lafaye
Centre National
d’Etudes Spatiales,
France
Eric Morel
Airbus Defence
& Space Geo-
Intelligence,
Toulouse, France
S
ince the launch of Landsat 1 in 1972 and
the failed attempt at privatisation of the
Landsat programme by EOSAT (Earth
Observation Satellite Company), different
types of Earth observation (EO) models have been
developed and several disruptive events have
shaped EO history, bringing significant changes
in paradigms.
France’s decision, in 1986, to use a commercial
model for the distribution of SPOT (Satellite Pour
l’Observation de la Terre) system for distribution
of EO imagery was a revolution. Two months after
its launch, SPOT 1 was tasked with acquiring the
first 10 m images after the explosion of Reactor 4
at the Chernobyl nuclear plant in Ukraine. SPOT 1
demonstrated one of the main benefits of commercial
Space invaders and
the usual suspects -
disruptive trends in
Earth observation
Earth observation systems for the most critical institutional needs, including
defence intelligence, have historically been dedicated assets predominantly
owned and operated by governments or public organisations. Now, the high
degree of convergence between defence needs and commercial capacities,
together with the NewSpace revolution, is challenging this paradigm and
affecting all stakeholders, from established commercial operators to
NewSpace actors and nations with new ambitions in space.
