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MINSK, 18 April (BelTA) – The Belarusian satellite BKA will start feeding data to members of the international alliance of remote Earth sensing satellite operators PanGeo in mid-2018, BelTA learned from Sergei Zolotoi, Director of the Geoinformation Systems enterprise of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus (NASB), Chief Designer of the Belarusian space system for the remote sensing of Earth, on 18 April.

The official said: “We officially became members of the PanGeo alliance last year. We will be able to install the relevant software and really start feeding data from the BKA to members of the alliance in real time. It is necessary to work out the relevant services, which will be synchronized with services of the alliance members. Agreements on sharing experience and software products were reached during a conference in Madrid.”

Sergei Zolotoi stressed that feeding up-to-date information from satellites is important. “At present the BKA satellite can provide information once every four to five days while we need it daily. Over 20 satellites for various purposes work as part of the alliance and this information can be acquired in a timely manner. It is particularly important for Belarus where natural fires and floods are highly probable. Upon our request we’ve received information about the basins of the Pripyat River and the Neman River from members of the alliance and Russian partners,” said Sergei Zolotoi.

In his words, Belarus receives remote Earth sensing data not only from PanGeo Alliance satellites. “Agreements have been signed with Kazakhstan, Russia, and Ukraine at the government level. We interact with the national operators, which deal with tasks of national importance,” explained the director of the Geoinformation Systems enterprise.

An international seminar of PanGeo Alliance members opened in Minsk on 18 April. The event has been arranged to discuss topical problems on the global market of remote Earth sensing data as well as new technological solutions in the interests of potential consumers. Representatives of the largest companies from China, Spain, the UAE, Kazakhstan, Singapore, and Canada will take part in the seminar.

PanGeo Alliance is the first global consortium of Earth observation satellite operators. It was established in September 2014. It has implemented several projects since then, including making maps of territories of various countries. At present the alliance comprises 13 operators of space systems for the remote sensing of Earth in Europe, Asia, and America. The operators offer multiple-spectrum images in a broad spatial resolution spectrum. With seven satellites with an extremely high resolution in orbit, PanGeo Alliance operates the world's largest constellation of Earth remote sensing satellites with resolutions under one meter. This unique fleet assures a daily global imaging capability, with multiple revisits of any target per day. Images sent by different satellites are totally compatible, allowing users to use the PanGeo Alliance data without hindrances.