Development Trends of Satellite Based Remote Sensing

All along, the applications of the three major sectors of satellite communication, satellite navigation, and satellite based remote sensings have been independent of each other. Although "communication, navigation, and remote sensing" each play a critical role in their respective fields, they have not formed an integrated whole in the past, resulting in inefficient information acquisition and utilization.

How Can Satellite Based Remote Sensings Achieve Significant Progress?

With the united efforts of the nation, China has built the Beidou navigation constellation. Coincidentally, the Beidou constellation adopted a construction model that combines communication and navigation. In addition to its basic navigation and timing functions, Beidou also has a short-message narrowband communication capability. This unique integration of communication and navigation has become a distinguishing feature of Beidou compared to GPS, offering greater value in scenarios such as navigation, emergency response, and satellite IoT.

Satellite based remote sensings network development should not rely solely on the government, military, and some specialized industries. The commercial application of satellite based remote sensings has become the key to the success of satellite networks. For satellite based remote sensings to achieve significant progress, it needs to expand from specialized industry applications to billions of ordinary users and various sectors.

How Can Satellite Based Remote Sensings Realize Greater Value?

Satellite based remote sensings, especially in the commercial remote sensing market, has broad applications. However, to realize greater value, existing remote sensing precision and real-time capabilities need significant improvements. Spatial resolution needs to improve from 0.5 meters to 0.3 meters or even 0.1 meters. The demand for real-time capabilities is also increasing. Currently, most high-resolution commercial remote sensing satellites are in sun-synchronous orbits, ensuring global coverage and high spatial resolution, but they can only capture images at fixed times each day. This makes it difficult to capture the same target multiple times at different times of the day, let alone provide continuous monitoring. Future remote sensing constellations will use a mixed model of sun-synchronous and medium-inclination oblique orbits for networking. Sun-synchronous orbits will ensure global coverage, while medium-inclination oblique orbits will provide multiple high-frequency observations of low and mid-latitude regions at different times of the day. Real-time and rapid data unloading capabilities of remote sensing satellites also pose higher demands on remote sensing constellations. By developing an integrated approach for communication and remote sensing using LEO satellite platforms, many challenges in commercial remote sensing development can be effectively addressed. Features such as real-time remote sensing and satellite interconnectivity will provide global satellite communication services and instant image data services for markets like emergency rescue, disaster warning, and environmental monitoring.

Integrating satellite based remote sensings with the booming satellite internet allows the two to mutually promote each other. On one hand, it improves remote sensing precision and timeliness; on the other, the combination of communication and remote sensing enhances satellite internet application capabilities, better serving various industries. Future integrated communication and remote sensing solutions can draw from the experiences of 5G-A and 6G's seamless integration of communication and sensing, achieving exponential value growth from satellite interconnectivity and satellite based remote sensings.

With the inclusion of satellite technology in 3GPP standards, 5G NTN and 6G will target billions of individual terminals and various industry markets. The standardization and openness of interfaces will break the siloed approach of the satellite industry. Integration of communication and navigation, as well as communication and remote sensing, will gradually dissolve the fragmented, self-contained state of "communication, navigation, and remote sensing." In the future, integrated development of "communication, navigation, and remote sensing" satellites will become the trend. More precise spatiotemporal positioning, finer satellite images, and higher communication bandwidth will further double the value of satellite based remote sensings, satellite interconnectivity, and satellite spatiotemporal applications. Openness and integration will undoubtedly bring satellite applications out of their ivory towers and into every household and industry.