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CLS, The first French collaborative SENTINEL-1 receiving station

May 20, 2015

CLS’s VIGISAT station, based in Brest (France), receives images from the Sentinel-1 satellite constellation. VIGISAT becomes the first French collaborative station and will continue to provide data and products with near real-time positioning services and sea states measurements for maritime surveillance applications.

From the beginning, CLS has been involved in the Sentinel -1A mission. Indeed, CLS contributed to the development of S-1 processor through the conception and development of Ocean level-2 products to measure sea surface conditions, as well as sensor performance monitoring under the “Sentinel-1 Mission performance Centre” (MPC- S1), located in CLS Brest, France. Since the beginning of 2013, CLS manages and operates the Sentinel-1 Mission Performance Centre in partnership with top-level experts.

With Sentinel-1 and CLS expertise, we now have the opportunity to observe the earth and get radar images of any place of the world. The Sentinel-1A satellite has already demonstrated its ability to be reprogrammed in an emergency, in case of a major event such as the flooding that affected Namibia. It will also be used to monitor our maritime space, detect oil slicks, help track vessels, fight against illegal trafficking (illegal fishing, piracy, etc.), understand ocean evolutions and support authorities in case of natural disasters.

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