Case Studies - Marine

Ships in the North Atlantic can sail safely with the latest imagery technology from QinetiQ. We have won a one year contract to supply near real-time satellite imagery to the US Naval Ice Centre (NIC). The imagery will be used to provide bulletins to help shipping in the North Atlantic avoid ice flow hazards.

QinetiQ is supplying the imagery from its West Freugh satellite ground station in Scotland. The images originate from the Canadian-owned radar satellite RADARSAT, which has a polar orbit.

They are generated by synthetic aperture radar, a microwave instrument that sends pulsed signals to earth and collects the reflected radar energy. The technology means that imagery can be captured day or night in all weather conditions.

RADARSAT downloads data to the West Freugh ground station in real-time, where it is processed and then sent digitally to the NIC for analysis. West Freugh has a unique North Atlantic/Arctic footprint which spans from the East coast of Canada right across to Norway, taking in Greenland and Iceland.

The NIC is using the images to study ice formations off the East coast of Canada and Southern and Eastern Greenland, and provide global ice analyses and forecasts. The centre can release shipping bulletins within a couple of hours of receiving the images from West Freugh.

Rob Freeman, RADARSAT project manager, said: "QinetiQ has already proved that it can meet the commercial requirement for fast, high-quality satellite imaging. This contract win is the result of an excellent working relationship with NIC and demonstrates that QinetiQ is world-leading in the development and exploitation of space technology and data."

"Our West Freugh facility can download satellite data from most orbiting satellites but it's the quality and professionalism of our customer services and support that sets QinetiQ apart."

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