Introduction
The tasking of high-resolution and very high-resolution data allows you to obtain new images captured over a specific area and at a given time. This is particularly useful if the archive image collection has acquisition gaps or if you want to perform near real-time monitoring studies. Currently, only commercial geospatial datasets can be captured through tasking operations.
In this guide, you will first get familiarized with the main concepts and discover data based on collections, hosts, producers and data products. In the next step, you will select the desired data product and search for geospatial datasets that can be tasked for your area of interest. If tasking data is available, you can request access, activate tasking operations and download freshly-captured geospatial datasets.
Discovering data
If you prefer to explore and order tasking geospatial datasets through the user interface, please refer to Tasking: Catalog.
Main concepts
Before discovering the available tasking geospatial datasets, we recommend getting familiar with the main concepts. For more information, please refer to the table below.
| Product glossary | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Collection | A collection is a stack of images that have been captured by a particular sensor (satellite, aircraft, balloon etc.). Collections are separated according to the image capture mode (archive or tasking). The complete user guide associated to each sensor type can be found in the section Data discovery. | Capella SAR Tasking |
| Host | A host is the image provider (satellite, aircraft, balloon etc.) that offers access to data acquired by a producer. A host can also be a producer, but this is not mandatory. | OneAtlas |
| Producer | A producer is a company that owns airborne sensors or spaceborne platforms designated to image the Earth according to a specific set of requirements. The acquired geospatial data can be further distributed to various hosts. | Airbus |
| Data product | A data product is an image with a specific geometric and radiometric processing level and file format. | Stereo Analytic |
Currently, the following collections are provided by UP42: Capella Space, Pléiades Neo, Pléiades and SPOT 6/7. The table below shows a summary of the available geospatial datasets.
| Collections | Technical specifications | Archive | Tasking | Spatial resolution | Type | Restricted access |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capella Space | Click here | x | x | 0 - 20 m | radar | only tasking |
| Pléiades Neo | Click here | x | 0.3 m | optical | yes | |
| Pléiades | Click here | x | x | 0.5 m | optical | only tasking |
| SPOT 6/7 | Click here | x | x | 1.5 m | optical | only tasking |
| TerraSAR-X | Click here | x | 0-5 m & 5-40 m | radar | only tasking |
For more information about processing levels, please refer to the tables below.
| Geometric processing level | Definition |
|---|---|
| Monoscopic (mono) | Orthorectified image |
| Stereoscopic (stereo) | This product is closest to the natural image acquired by the sensor and it contains the RPCs and the sensor model for users who want to apply their own orthorectification or 3D modelling. |
| Tri-stereoscopic (tri-stereo) | Near-simultaneous images from three different views for the same area (forward-looking, backward-looking, nadir-looking). This configuration allows a better extraction of heights over terrains, compared to stereo image pairs. |
| Radiometric processing level | Definition |
|---|---|
| Analytic (reflectance) | Corrected from sensor calibration and systematic atmospheric effects. |
| Display | A true colour curve has been applied on the reflectance product to optimize the visual quality of the image. |
Requirements
In order to discover the available data products and place orders, users should set up a tool for making the API calls. Our recommended set of tools can be found here.
Authenticate
To make API requests, you need to authenticate with the access token. This token is generated from the project credentials (project ID and API key). For more information: Authenticate.
Data discovery
Browse the collections and data products available in the data platform list. To proceed, please refer to Data discovery.
Select the data product that suits your needs and request access by building a request body with the main information about the tasking operation (area of interest, acquisition interval, cloud cover etc.). Place an order that triggers the access request form, which you need to fill out and send to the customer support team. To proceed, please refer to Request access.
Data ordering
The customer support team will approve the access request and provide a quote with the final price. Upon agreement with the quotation details, the tasking operation is activated. To proceed, please refer to Data ordering.
Data delivery
A unique order identifier is generated for each active tasking operation. This order ID is used to monitor the order status and acquisition progress in real-time.
Each successful image acquisition generates an asset. An asset is a unique item associated to a fresh image captured through sensor tasking, and it contains the downloadable geospatial dataset.
When a tasking asset is delivered, you'll receive an email notification with information about the order and the delivered file, as well as a link to storage to download the data.
To proceed, please refer to Data delivery.
Storage
Storage allows you to have your own storage space where you can monitor the status of each order and download assets. To proceed, please refer to Storage.