GeoVille Advances Earth Observation Services One Year into OneWeb Copernicus Data Hubs Project and enables complete Copernicus Sentinel archives over SatCom
One year after the launch of the OneWeb Copernicus Data Hubs initiative, GeoVille, together with Eutelsat and the European Space Agency (ESA), presents a major step forward in delivering scalable, high-performance Earth Observation (EO) services. Particularly through enabling complete Copernicus Sentinel archives over SatCom, a key feature has successfully been implemented. By combining smart data compression together with Eutelsat's OneWeb satellite connectivity, the feature delivers EO data quickly and reliably, even where fibre or mobile networks are unavailable.
Developed under the Sunrise Partnership Project, within ESA's programme of Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems (ARTES), and supported by the Austrian Space Agency, the platform focuses on making EO data more accessible, actionable, and efficient regardless of location or connectivity constraints. The project addresses a key challenge: even in well-connected regions, handling large volumes of satellite data can be time-consuming. By allowing users to select only the data relevant to their task, the platform eliminates the need to search through entire archives or manage heavy processing independently.
New EO Services Now Available
SatAlert Service for Proactive Risk Monitoring
The SatAlert Service provides automated, satellite-based monitoring of environmental hazards for user-defined Areas of Interest. Using Copernicus data, it delivers early warnings for wildfire, drought, and flood risks. By evaluating multiple forecast sources daily and applying a conservative highest-risk approach, the service ensures reliable alerts and automatic user notifications for timely decision-making.
Wildfire: The fire danger alert system is based on the Fire Weather Index (FWI) from the Copernicus Global Wildfire Information System (GWIS), forecasts at 8 km resolution with up to 9 days lead time. Fire risk levels (Low to Very Extreme, FWI <11.2 to >70.0) are determined by the highest FWI value among all pixels intersecting the Area of Interest.
Drought: The drought risk alert system uses the Global Drought Observatory’s ensemble indicator for unusually wet and dry conditions, based on a 1-month forecast at ~110 km resolution. Alerts are assigned according to the highest drought risk level detected among all pixels intersecting the Area of Interest and are updated monthly.
Flood: The flood risk forecast service is based on the Copernicus Global Flood Awareness System (GloFAS), providing 1–30 day probabilistic forecasts at ~5.5 km resolution. Flood alerts reflect the highest probability of exceeding 2-, 5-, or 20-year return period thresholds within the Area of Interest.
EO Streaming Service for Fast and Efficient Data Access
The EO Streaming Service enables users to instantly access and explore multi-year satellite archives directly in the browser. Advanced compression technologies significantly reduce data volumes while preserving quality, allowing smooth streaming even in low-bandwidth environments. Users can interactively navigate through time and space and download data in multiple spectral bands to support advanced analysis and the creation of indices such as vegetation or water indicators. Experience real-time visualizations, smooth playback, and blazing-fast downloads especially for low-bandwidth connections.
Archive Builder Service for Tailored Data Archives
The Archive Builder Service lets users create customized Earth observation data archives for Sentinel 1, Sentinel 2 and Sentinel 3 by defining areas of interest and selecting specific time ranges. It supports multiple storage options, including local file systems and S3-compatible cloud storage, and delivers data in GeoTIFF, Zarr, or native stream formats.
Combining the EarthStreamer technology, enabling high-efficiency data compression and streaming with the satellite connectivity from Eutelsat’sOneWeb network, the platform ensures reliable EO data access even in remote and bandwidth-constrained environments.
Next Steps: Expanding the Platform
GeoVille continues to enhance the platform with upcoming features:
Marketplace Integration: Allowing third-party providers to onboard and offer EO-based services
Adaptive Video Streaming: Enabling compressed video streams (e.g. drone data) that dynamically adjust to available bandwidth conditions
With the successful implementation of these services, OneWeb Copernicus Data Hubs demonstrates how advanced streaming, compression, and satellite connectivity can transform access to Earth Observation data.
About ESA's ARTES Partnership Projects programme
The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe's gateway to space, coordinating the financial and intellectual resources of its Member States to conduct space programmes and activities. The Partnership Projects programme line of ESA's Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems (ARTES) drives innovation by federating ambitious large-scale, long-term collaborations between ESA, private companies, and satellite operators. The programme establishes ESA as a key partner in developing major satellite communication systems, new value-adding solutions and services, and providing in-orbit validation. It focuses on substantial, industry-shaping initiatives that require significant investment spanning over several years.
By closely aligning technological ambition with commercial strategy, ARTES Partnership Projects enable European and Canadian organisations to push the boundaries of satellite communications and strengthen their competitiveness on the global market.
Learn more at Partnership Projects – ESA CSC: Connectivity & Secure Communications.
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