Four days after successfully launching into orbit, our three new methane monitoring satellites have delivered their ‘first light’ – their first detection of methane from a fugitive emission source.
GHGSat’s Mey-Lin (C6), Gaspard (C7), and Océane (C8) lifted off on 15th April, expanding our constellation of high-resolution methane satellites to 9 in orbit today. All three satellites separated from the SpaceX Transporter-7 vehicle around 63 minutes after launch and contact was made within 90 minutes – a new record for the Satellite Operations team.
All three satellites have captured a landfill methane leak as their first detection, two sites in India and one in Uzbekistan. Landfill sites are persistent methane emitters and enable us to validate the performance of the satellites’ greenhouse gas detecting instruments. Whilst oil & gas facilities are the primary contributors to industrial greenhouse gas emissions, unregulated landfills are a known methane source and emit methane as the waste accumulates and decomposes.
Growing our constellation to 9 satellites means we can now double our facility measurement capacity to over 2 million site measurements per year, with the ability to revisit facilities every 1 to 2 days, anywhere in the world.
Our technology performance is unparalleled – our sensors in space are best-in-class. They can detect and quantify emissions smaller than other satellite systems and deliver measurements to customers within days of the detection.
To date, our data-driven greenhouse emission monitoring has enabled GHGSat customers to mitigate over 10 million tons of CO2 equivalent – which is equivalent to over 2.2 million passenger vehicles being driven on roads for a year. With a further three hosted payloads currently in testing – we are ready to help our customers raise their methane emission reduction ambitions.
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