Earth Observation Data Management

Serco provides an expert Earth Observation Helpdesk and an Engineering Support to Operations of the ESA Ecosystem of Earth Observation applications. These key user-facing functions provide ESA’s dynamic and diverse user community all the support they need to develop innovative applications of Earth Observation data. It includes activities to support scientific users, answering queries on which products fit their research purposes, how to retrieve them and all the issues relevant to systems and tools required for access and use of such products.

Serco also provides 24/7 operations to manage incoming requests for the International Charter for Disasters, an inter-agency organisation which responds to emergencies (earthquakes, floods, major social events, etc.) providing Earth Observation data in support to local institutions for the management of the event. All activities are undertaken as part of the various ESA Earth Observation Missions and missions managed on behalf of third parties and other European agencies.

Data Services Initiative (DSI) - Serco has in-depth knowledge of Earth Observation data and this capability is fully exploited within DSI service that provides a fully managed service with respect to activities related to the Processing and Management of Earth Observation Data Sets. Our mission is to provide a coherent set of dedicated data configuration management processes and tools embedded as an integral part of the operational production process, ensuring efficient and effective change control, product traceability, quality information and knowledge, enabling data users to identify and evaluate the suitability of Earth Observation data products.

Support to Sensor Performance, Products Quality and Algorithms (SPPA - IDEAS) - Serco provides management, scientific and engineering teams to execute end-to-end operational data quality control services for a wide scope of ESA and Third Party missions and instruments, using our extensive experience of Earth Observation products Quality Assurance. Serco covers several expertise areas, such as : Electric and magnetic field, Atmospheric Composition, Altimetry, Gravitometry, Scatterometer.

Open Access Hub (Copernicus)

Serco is Prime Contractor to ESA for the management of the Copernicus Open Access Hub (previously known as Sentinels Scientific Data Hub) providing complete, free and open access to Sentinel-1, Sentinel-2, Sentinel-3 and Sentinel-5P user products, starting from the In-Orbit Commissioning Review (IOCR). Our activities encompass all aspects of the management of the Data Hubs system operations; data publication and dissemination; coordination and interfacing with the payload ground systems operations teams and user helpdesks; and assisting end-users.

ONDA (Copernicus)

Through its consortium led-platform ONDA, Serco has been chosen to provide Copernicus Data and Information Access Service (DIAS). ONDA is a platform enabling users to host data and to build their applications in the Cloud. We achieve this by fostering the exploitation of the freely available Earth Observation satellites Data and geospatial Information and by providing Access to Services for the development of new solutions.

PRISM (Copernicus) 

Serco is a partner within the Telespazio led consortium to operate the Copernicus Contributing Missions access support functions and platform (PRISM) for the provision of the Coordinated Data Access System (CDS) service, which includes the operations, maintenance and evolution of the ensemble of existing supporting functions, processes, tools and infrastructures that coordinate the overall data access and information flow between the Copernicus Contributing Missions and the Copernicus Services and also eligible European Union Institutions, Public Authorities, Union Research Projects.

RUS (Copernicus)

The main objective of the RUS (Research and User Support for the Sentinel Core Products) service is to promote the uptake of Copernicus data by offering a dedicated help desk supported by a team of experts, free access to a powerful computing environment based on scalable virtual machines and training activities. The service provides support at various levels of complexity and the aim is to help mitigate the digital and knowledge divide, which may impair the access and use of Sentinel data. In particular, Serco is responsible for organising and delivering face-to-face “hands-on” training sessions and webinars, targeted on the needs of different users communities along with marketing activities to advertise and promote the RUS service and training events, including participation at major Earth Observation events and conferences. 

The Data Engineering and Data Operations services are responsible for the design, implementation, maintenance, and evolution of ground segment data processing applications. The introduction of this service is to ensure that Earth Observation missions have a proper data processor in place for near real-time data processing.

We can support you in ensuring that all observations are processed efficiently and effectively by the time they reach their respective customer (e.g. user or client). We will also be designing new components that may not exist yet due to changes in technology or requirements.

We offer Data Engineering and Data Operations services to organisations who need the help of experts in this field. We provide you with an in-house team that will ensure that your organisation has accurate data, whatever your goal is with.

• Development and maintenance of Data Processors for Earth Observation missions

• Definition, implementation and integration of architectures or elements of architectures for data processing ground segments and their components; – with special emphasis on level 0, level 1, and level 2 near real-time data processing;

• Maintenance and evolution of existing operational data processing ground segments applications or application components especially for those under configuration control.