The optimization of memory management in Earth observation constellations

Abstract The Earth observation market is a highly competitive business and one key to success is to optimize the image acquisition capacity of satellite constellations. This paper shows an optimization approach for the RapidEye constellation that is based on the knowledge of 3 years of operational data. A mathematical model derives compression settings for use aboard the satellites. It reflects changes depending on individual seasons of the year, as well as in the geographical regions that are imaged during the day. It will be shown that RapidEye could increase the acquisition capacity of their Earth observation satellites, based on the optimization presented, by more than 10% for certain months.