Capella Space Goes All-In On AWS
June 30, 2020
Amazon Web Services, Inc.
announced that Capella Space, a provider of on-demand
Earth observation data via satellite-based radar, is
going all-in on AWS. Capella runs its entire IT
infrastructure on AWS to automate and scale its
operations, including satellite command and control
using AWS Ground Station. AWS Ground Station service
makes it easy and cost-effective for customers to
control satellites and download satellite data directly
onto AWS using a fully managed network of ground station
antennas located in AWS Regions around the world. Using
AWS, Capella provides its customers with access to
satellite data within minutes of its capture – far
faster than traditional satellite data delivery
services, which can take up to 24 hours – and at a lower
cost. In addition, Capella leverages the breadth and
depth of AWS services to process satellite data in real
time as it is received, helping its customers in
agriculture, infrastructure, defense, and disaster
response immediately analyze and extract value from
their data.
By leveraging and communicating directly with AWS
Ground Station antennas, Capella’s Earth observation
solution is able to provide organizations with timely
access to images of the Earth, while freeing them from
the cost and complexity of managing their own ground
station infrastructure, which includes ground antennas
to communicate with the satellites, as well as servers,
storage, and networking infrastructure in close
proximity to process, store, and transport the satellite
data. Capella’s synthetic aperture radar (SAR)
satellites also see through clouds and darkness to
collect high-resolution imagery 24x7 in all weather
conditions. The company uses AWS to manage the enormous
amount of raw data that this persistent monitoring
generates – an average of two to five terabytes per
satellite per day – which Capella must prepare for
analysis before it can be used by customers. Capella
leverages AWS compute, storage, database, machine
learning, and analytics services
vices to process this data
immediately upon downlink, helping its customers quickly
gain insights for dynamic applications such as detecting
illegal maritime activities and assessing the impact of
natural disasters. In addition, Capella is developing a
searchable archive of Earth observation data in the
cloud, providing its customers with benchmark data so
they can track subtle changes to the environment,
discerning patterns over time to help them inform
business and policy decisions.
“Our customers rely on us to
deliver precision satellite imagery quickly. Working
with AWS and leveraging the global coverage provided by
AWS Ground Station, we are redefining what is possible
in the satellite industry and reducing the cost and time
required for organizations to benefit from satellite
data,” said Payam Banazadeh, CEO of Capella Space.
“Combining Capella’s automated and real-time approach to
collecting Earth observation data with AWS’s proven
infrastructure and unparalleled portfolio of services
helps our customers achieve timely insights that can
save lives and protect the health of the planet. We look
forward to continuing to grow and innovate on AWS to
create new opportunities for our customers who depend
upon space technologies.”
“Capella Space leverages the
breadth and depth of AWS services to provide its
customers with on-demand access to data from space, as
well as analytics to help them address some of the
biggest challenges on Earth,” said Teresa Carlson, Vice
President of Worldwide Public Sector at AWS. “Using AWS
Ground Station, customers like Capella can connect the
power of satellites with AWS’s reliable, global
infrastructure and unmatched portfolio of services to
automate and scale their operations on demand. By
removing the need for organizations to build and
maintain their own ground stations, AWS is putting the
power of satellite data into the hands of more customers
in order to derive insights that potentially can improve
our understanding of space and life on Earth.”
Subscribe to talksatellite weekly newsletter -
circ@talksatellite.com
|