Land Applications of the DMC Satellite Constellation
Holmes, Gary
DMC International Imaging Ltd, UNITED KINGDOM

This paper presents an update on the Disaster Monitoring Constellation (DMC) 3rd Party Missions and examples of how they are being exploited for Land Applications in Europe and around the world.
The DMC is constellation of small satellites, each carrying a wide swath (650km) optical sensor. It is an international programme with joint campaigns being coordinated centrally by DMC International Imaging (DMCii). The original constellation provided a daily global imaging capability at 32m resolution in three Vis/NIR spectral bands, for applications requiring large area coverage and rapid repeat. Since 2009 the 2nd generation sensors have captured imagery at 22m resolution with the same 650km-wide swath. The primary applications for these satellites are agricultural monitoring, forest monitoring, land cover mapping and disaster response. The newest DMC satellite also carries a 2.5m sensor which opens a new range of high resolution applications.
The DMC satellites have been exploited widely for GSCDA and DWH in recent years and a summary will be presented. Interesting examples of wider exploitation in countries such as USA, Brazil, Russia and Australia will also be presented. Looking further ahead, DMCii will launch a constellation of 1m resolution sensors in 2014, built by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL). During the same period we will also be designing and building the next generation of DMC wide-swath sensors for enhanced agricultural and environmental applications, along with our first SAR mission.