Ever since the Explorer 6 satellite captured in 1959 the first Earth photo from Space, the Earth observation market has witnessed an impressive growth. With the quality, quantity and cost of data becoming more competitive, the technology has moved from a niche market, serving traditional sectors such as defence and intelligence, and started muscling into value chains. These include, amongst others, renewable energy, agriculture, land use classification, security and disaster management, natural resource management and maritime surveillance.
Reliable and timely space data are critical to improving everyday life. But which are the main roadblocks that are preventing space data from making a bigger impact and how can these challenges be addressed?