GHGSat, the greenhouse gas emission detection company, announced today it would launch its next three satellites on the SpaceX Transporter-5 mission currently scheduled for June 2022.
The three new GHGSat satellites join 32 others were tracking for launch by Canadian organizations in 2022.
The company also announced it had begun the procurement process for seven additional satellites, GHGSat-C6 through GHGSat-C11 which will be used to detect methane emissions along with one satellite, GHGSat-C12, to be used for CO2 emission monitoring.
Stephane Germain, GHGSat CEO said “We were delighted to be an active participant at the recent COP26 conference. Not only did we announce $20 million in funding from Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC), but we also announced that GHGSat would provide the first commercial high-resolution satellite emissions data to the International Methane Emission Observatory (IMEO) to support environmental policy actions. Satellite data is critical for stakeholders globally to take immediate action for a sustainable future. GHGSat is serving this need with our growing constellation.”
As is the custom at GHGSat, the new satellites are named after the child of one of its team members. GHGSat says this “illustrates its commitment towards the environment and future generations.” GHGSat-C3 is know as Luca, GHGSat-C4 is known as Penny and GHGSat-c5 is known as Diako.
The company stated “the payload for Luca has been transferred to the Space Flight Laboratory (SFL), the satellite provider and integrator. Payload integration is now complete, and all tests have been finalized. The payloads for Penny and Diako will be delivered to SFL in the coming weeks to undergo the same process later this December.”
“The new satellites are based on the same design as GHGSat-C1 (“Iris”) and GHGSat-C2 (“Hugo”). However, several specific improvements are included to enhance data processing and communication capacity.”
The emission detection sensors are all being developed by ABB based in Quรฉbec City. Marc Corriveau, General Manager, ABB Measurement & Analytics Canada said “The GHGSat constellation sensor benefits from ABB’s unique expertise in gas leak detection. For many of our industrial customers, this monitoring capability can provide extremely valuable information with minimal infrastructure cost. We believe this solution is a critical part of the emission monitoring eco-system supporting global emission reduction targets, and ABB is very proud to be partnering with them.”
GHGSat has made some of the data available from its sensors on its open-date website, Pulse.