Speaker
Description
The rapid expansion of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite constellations presents a new frontier for high-resolution Earth Observation, yet existing systems remain largely uncoordinated and incapable of producing unified, near-real-time mosaic images. Unlike geostationary satellites, LEO satellites operate at approximately 500 km altitude, move rapidly across the Earth’s surface, and possess limited instantaneous fields of view. These constraints make it difficult to generate large-area, synchronised imagery despite their superior spatial resolution. Current Earth Observation architectures lack the cooperative tasking algorithms, timing synchronisation, inter-satellite communication protocols, and tile-based imaging coordination required to combine multiple LEO captures into a single coherent mosaic in near-live conditions.
The research proposes a computational framework for enabling large LEO satellite constellations to function as a virtual “GEO-like” imaging system. The study investigates orbital dynamics, imaging geometries, and mosaic tiling standards to design a coordination algorithm in which each participating satellite captures an image tile defined strictly by four GPS boundary coordinates. The framework will introduce a constellation-level synchronisation protocol governing when and how satellites should cooperate to capture sequential or simultaneous tiles that, when combined, form a complete mosaic of a large geographic region. Simulation experiments evaluate coverage completeness, timing accuracy, and computational efficiency using constellation modelling and image-tiling techniques.
We will exploere the feasibility of near-real-time wide-area imaging using distributed LEO assets, with major applications in national Earth Observation missions such as disaster response, environmental monitoring, agriculture, and rapid national mapping. If successful, this framework represents a significant step toward coordinated multi-satellite imaging and a paradigm shift in how LEO constellations can be leveraged for high-value operational Earth Observation.
Keywords:
LEO constellations; coordinated imaging; near-real-time mosaics; satellite synchronisation; inter-satellite communication; Earth observation; tile-based imaging.
| Stream | Science or Engineering |
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