Imaging Science Seminar: A personal journey into Earth Observation practicalities at the Speed of Light
Image Formation - A personal journey into Earth Observation practicalities, at the speed of light
Dr. Ignacio Zuleta
Consultant: optical payload and mission design for small satellites
Abstract:
Earth Observation is a powerful tool to drive decisions, react to the unknown and establish a baseline for understanding change in our planet. Most space innovation and science over the postwar years has come from government R&D. But unprecedented innovation since the 80s created a massive backlog of commercial technology that could transform how we imagine our Earth from space data. The advent of brokered, abundant, de-regulated commercial access to space laid the ground to a series of experiments in orbiting platforms for serving earth from Space. Following on the steps of the GPS and Iridium constellations, Planet in 2017 built and launched a daily constellation of 150 small satellites. What did we learn? What should we be working on? What skills will be needed?
Speaker Bio:
Dr. Ignacio Zuleta is a leading consultant in optical payload and mission design for small satellites. Dr. Zuleta led the Payload Group at Planet Labs, Inc. where he helped launch into orbit many generations of EO satellites with increasingly complex payloads. This resulted in the launch of over 300 satellites, including in 2017 the largest EO mission ever launched to image the earth every day. More recently he led a team focused on designing and launching a satellite and sensor fusion product/mission interoperable with Sentinel-2 but with increased cadence and resolution. His research experience spans imaging mass spectrometer design, pharmaceutical chemistry and systems biology and has co-authored publications in major journals. Dr. Zuleta is a native of Argentina, where he obtained his BS/MS in Chemistry, holds a Doctorate degree from Stanford University in Physical Chemistry and has served as a postdoctoral fellow at University of California, San Francisco.
Intended Audience:
Beginners, undergraduates, graduates. Those with interest in the topic.
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Event Snapshot
When and Where
Who
Open to the Public
Interpreter Requested?
No