Airborne High-Resolution Methane Monitoring
In addition to our planned constellation of satellites, a high-resolution airborne sensor is commercially available. Aircraft monitoring, which provides much higher resolution because it is deployed significantly closer to the ground, is offered as a complementary service to GHGSat satellite monitoring in high-risk areas or in regions with a larger density of sites. GHGSat is the only company in the world that can offer satellite and aircraft monitoring as a single service for customers.
The instrument is installed in a small fixed-wing survey airplane, with future plans for drone operations.
Aircraft Variant Instrument
Design complete – second GHGSat-AV sensor currently in manufacturing
Successful first flight of GHGSat-AV in December 2019
Same instrument concept as satellites (Fabry-Perot spectrometer optimized for CH4)
Adapted for airborne operations:
- Custom fore-optics with wide angular field of view
- Stray light control including input baffle
- Vibration isolation for airborne environment
- Design (mass, volume) can be adapted for drone operations
Airborne Parameters:
- Flight Altitude: up to 3,000 m (10,000 ft) above ground level (AGL)
- Across-track Swath Width: up to 750 m swath width
- Area Surveys: up to 385 km2/day (150 mi2/day)
- Linear Surveys: up to 800 km per day (500 miles per day)