Capella Space has expanded their Open Data Program, making a selection of the firm’s SAR (synthetic aperture radar) imagery freely and openly accessible through the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Open Data Sponsorship Program.
Capella’s Open Data Program, originally announced in September of 2021, is designed to give researchers, nonprofits, developers, and disaster response organizations direct access to high quality Earth Observation (EO) data from the industry leader in high-performance, commercial SAR intelligence from space.
Working with the AWS Open Data Program will encourage innovation and discovery of the next game-changing applications of SAR. This expansion enables any individual to have free access to a growing selection of open data imagery from Capella on AWS, furthering its mission to make EO an essential tool for problem solving.
Given the current economic and geopolitical environment, it’s clear that EO monitoring is vital to the well-being of the entire planet. Capella’s SAR technology can penetrate all weather conditions – clouds, fog, smoke, rain – and capture clear imagery 24-7, day and night. From providing timely data around the Russia-Ukraine conflict, to detecting glacier changes in the Karakoram and uncovering storm damage in Scottish forests; Capella provides accurate and timely data to inform mission-critical decisions.
The Capella Open Data program offers a wide range of imagery from every continent, with examples from agriculture and aquaculture, energy and natural resources, infrastructure, maritime, environmental, as well as humanitarian and natural disaster use cases.
Capella is also announcing further evolution of its Open Data Program by introducing a tiered system, with three levels of access: Open Data, Data Cooperative and Data Grant.
- Open Data: In collaboration with AWS, this tier gives any interested individual free access to a growing selection of Capella’s data through the Registry of Open Data on AWS.
- Data Cooperative: The cooperative gives qualified parties access to the Capella Console to view and download its open data image gallery directly along with archive data for their area of interest. Users must apply for this cooperative and meet Capella’s criteria for acceptance into the program based upon panel review.
- Data Grant: Under this program, interested users can submit a formal research proposal for expanded access to the Capella Console. If selected by a panel, these users will be provided tasking capabilities within the Capella Console to secure imagery of their particular area(s) of interest.
Anyone who wishes to explore Capella’s open data on AWS can do so without needing to pay to store their own copies of the dataset, and do not need to purchase storage to start a project using the dataset. Through its Open Data Sponsorship Program, AWS is covering the costs of the storage and transfer of the data, so that it can be accessed and analyzed in the cloud by individuals around the world.
“Our mission to democratize access to timely, high-quality SAR data is accelerated through this work with Amazon, and I couldn’t be more excited,” said Payam Banazadeh, CEO and founder of Capella Space. “By making our data available on AWS, it encourages more people around the world to get acquainted with SAR data and create applications that can improve the world around us.”
Capella Space is an information services company that provides on-demand, industry-leading high-resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) Earth observation imagery. Through a constellation of small satellites, Capella provides easy access to frequent, timely, and flexible information affecting dozens of industries worldwide. Capella’s high-resolution SAR satellites are matched with unparalleled infrastructure to deliver reliable global insights that sharpen our understanding of the changing world – improving decisions about commerce, conservation, and security on Earth.
