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Vantor Archive Imagery Added to Satellite Data Explorer
NASA’s Commercial Satellite Data Acquisition (CSDA) Program announces the addition of imagery from Vantor to its Satellite Data Explorer (SDX) data access and discovery tool. The imagery, which was obtained by Vantor’s Legion satellites, comes from Vantor’s 125-plus petabyte imagery archive, which dates back to 1999. The imagery from this archive contains a mix of panchromatic (black/white) and color imagery (up to 18 multispectral bands) and offers global coverage of up to 30 cm resolution.
There are three types of imagery available from this archive in SDX:
| System-Ready Level 1B Data | This data is idea for users who are looking to apply their own tools and models to fully process the data and extract the information that they need. It comes with all bands, full bit-depth, and requires further processing to be ready for deriving downstream analytics. This basic processing of this product offers an imagery product ready for custom orthorectification. | |
| View-Ready Level 2A Data | This processing level is intended for users who want to get straight to using the data to extract downstream analytical information. It provides a basis for deriving downstream analytics and has been orthorectified against a coarse digital elevation model (DEM). It comes with all bands and full bit depth. | |
| Map-Ready 3-D | This data product offers standardized and orthorectified (i.e., corrected to remove distortion caused by terrain variations, and sensor angle), imagery that has been radiometrically calibrated and geo-rectified to produce a highly accurate imagery product ready for seamless integration into workflows. Map-ready data is ideal for image viewing and locational referencing and offers a high degree of cartographic accuracy. |
Vantor’s Legion satellites offer 8-band visible and near-infrared multispectral imagery at a resolution of up to 30-centimeters for use in a wide variety of applications ranging from agriculture and natural resources monitoring to disaster response and environmental surveillance.
Further, the addition of these datasets to the CSDA Program’s SDX enhances the tool’s utility for users within the larger NASA’s Earth observation community to find high-resolution data that meets their needs.
“NASA established the CSDA Program is to identify, evaluate, and acquire data from commercial sources that support NASA’s Earth science research and application goals,” said CSDA Project Manager Dana Ostrenga. “The inclusion of these Vantor data products in SDX is an example of our focus on realizing that mission and marks yet another step to our goal of bringing high-quality data from NASA’s commercial partners to users within the Earth observation science community.”
About SDX
The SDX allows users to search, discover, and access a variety of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), digital elevation model (DEM), synthetic aperture radar (SAR), multispectral, and precipitation radar data acquired through the CSDA program. It also provides streamlined data download, automated quota tracking, and a new coverage map that provides a high-level overview of the spatial coverage of the data discoverable through the SDX for any specified month and year. For a summary of the NASA commercial partner datasets available in SDX, visit the SDX website.
Researchers interested in accessing these data in SDX can use their Earthdata Login for authentication and initiate data download requests. Data will be made available for download upon approval and acceptance of the end user license agreement (EULA).
To order data from SDX, users must create an account with and be logged in to NASA Earthdata. (The initial attempt to use SDX will redirect users to Earthdata Login, where they will be prompted to enter their Earthdata credentials and accept the terms of the EULA.) Users must agree to the terms of the EULA before any data can be requested. Note: All data requests must be approved by CSDA data managers.
About the CSDA Program
NASA’s Earth Science Division (ESD) established the CSDA Program to identify, evaluate, and acquire data from commercial providers that to support NASA’s Earth science research and applications. NASA recognizes the potential of commercial satellite constellations to advance Earth System Science and applications for societal benefit and believes commercially acquired data may also can augment the Earth observations acquired by NASA, and other U.S. government agencies, and NASA’s international partners.
All data from CSDA contract-awarded vendors are evaluated by the investigator-led CSDA project teams that assess the value of adding a vendor’s data to CSDA’s data holdings based on their quality and how they might benefit in the context of NASA Earth science research and applications. To learn more about the program, its commercial partners, data evaluation process, and more, visit the CSDA website.
Learning Resources
For more information on the CSDA Program’s SDX, see the tool’s user guide.
