Eutelsat OneWeb partners with Imperial College London for space weather monitoring

Written by Copernical Team Thursday, 07 December 2023 06:40

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London UK (SPX) Dec 06, 2023

Eutelsat OneWeb, part of the Eutelsat Group and a pioneer as the world's first GEO-LEO satellite operator, has announced a groundbreaking collaboration with Imperial College London. This partnership aims to leverage the power of its Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite constellation to enable comprehensive global space weather monitoring. Such monitoring is essential to safeguard satellite operations

Eutelsat OneWeb partners with Imperial College London for space weather monitoring
by Sophie Jenkins
London UK (SPX) Dec 06, 2023

Eutelsat OneWeb, part of the Eutelsat Group and a pioneer as the world's first GEO-LEO satellite operator, has announced a groundbreaking collaboration with Imperial College London. This partnership aims to leverage the power of its Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite constellation to enable comprehensive global space weather monitoring. Such monitoring is essential to safeguard satellite operations and vital terrestrial systems like power, communications, navigation, and transportation.

Space weather, characterized by changing conditions in near-Earth space, presents significant threats to a multitude of technologies that are integral to global daily life. Effects of space weather include disrupting satellite electronics and orbits, affecting communications, and causing disturbances in Earth's power grids, among other risks to critical infrastructure. Global monitoring of space weather is vital not only for real-time mitigation but also for enhancing the understanding of these phenomena.

Dr. Martin Archer from Imperial College London has been awarded a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship to spearhead this initiative alongside Eutelsat OneWeb. They plan to investigate data from the magnetometers aboard Eutelsat OneWeb's satellites, primarily used for orientation control. These instruments might also detect subtle magnetic signals induced by space weather. Successfully identifying these signals would unveil the evolving global patterns of space weather, paving the way to preempt disruptions to terrestrial and space-based technologies and enriching research to refine future space weather forecasts.

Dr. Martin Archer, Advanced Research Fellow at Imperial College London, emphasized the significance of this fellowship. "This project will transform space weather monitoring by tapping into the data from hundreds of satellites orbiting Earth, thanks to Eutelsat OneWeb's constellation," he stated. "This global distribution of data will greatly enhance our monitoring capabilities, bolstering our resilience against space weather and providing invaluable insights into its mechanisms, improving our predictive capabilities."

Maurizio Vanotti, VP of New Markets at Eutelsat OneWeb, highlighted the space industry's role in addressing critical global challenges. "Space weather is a significant challenge, even modest events can affect satellite operations. We're committed to fostering this ambitious research, bridging academia and industry, and utilizing our extensive data capabilities to inform future strategies."

Dr. Archer will utilize data from Eutelsat OneWeb's Gen1 satellite Magnetometer for this fellowship, supporting researchers from 2024 through 2028. This collaboration exemplifies Eutelsat OneWeb's dedication to innovation and scientific discovery, reflecting its ongoing commitment to contribute to solving some of the world's most pressing challenges.

Eutelsat OneWeb has released data services to deepen intelligence and improve decision making in the areas of financial analysis, insurance, national security, space management, environmental analysis and Earth observation. It's the first data stream to be made commercially available from a low Earth orbit satellite constellation and ground network and can be accessed via AWS Marketplace: AWS Marketplace: Satellite Constellation Flight Data by Eutelsat OneWeb.