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| Data from the Norwegian AIS satellite is offered to Japanese authorities. Credits: FFI/NASA/Norsk Romsenter/Nyhetsgrafikk.no. |
Today AISSat-1 is used by the Norwegian Coastal Administration to monitor Norwegian waters, but the satellite has some capacity for global monitoring as well.
After the earthquake and tsunami disaster in Japan recently, data from the satellite has been made available for Japanese authorities.
Shortly after the catastrophic earthquake last week, the AISSat-1 steering committee decided to reprogram the satellite so it could be of use in vicinity of the areas where the disaster struck. The steering committee consists of members from the Norwegian Coastal Administration, the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment and the Norwegian Space Centre, which is the owner of the satellite.
Continuous data
- We are giving the Japanese coast guard the opportunity to use these data continuously. They have the responsibility for maritime search and rescue operations, and we hope that this may be a small contribution to get a better overall picture of the situation in these extreme conditions, says Arve Dimmen, Director, Maritime Safety at the Norwegian Coastal Administration.
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| Historical AIS traffic data off the coast of Japan, fom 8 March to 15 March. Credits: Kystverket/CMR. |
AISSat-1 collects data on position, course, speed and identification from ships in its path. It covers Japanese waters once or twice every 24 hours. The satellite can be particularly useful in open sea and in areas lacking land based infrastructure.
Data from AISSat-1 also helps Norwegian authorities in tracking Norwegian vessels off the coast of Japan. The Norwegian Coastal Administration distributes data directly to the Joint Rescue Coordination Centres. From here, rescue operations all over the world can be coordinated and information can be shared with partners.
Coordinated data
Data from the satellite is coordinated with data from other systems, such as the Long Range Identification and Tracking system.
- This is useful in situations where ships could be in danger to be exposed of radioactive pollution or other environmental hazards, says Dimmen.
According to Terje Wahl, Deputy Director General for Space and Earth Sciences at the Norwegian Space Centre, the recent events show that the small Norwegian satellite is very flexible.
- The satellite was originally developed to cover ship traffic in the High North, but we now see that it can be made useful for other purposes as well, he says.
Wahl adds that the Norwegian AIS instrument on board the International Space Station also has been mobilized to help keeping track of ship traffic off the coast of Japan.
AISSat-1 was launched in July 2010. The satellite is equipped with technology developed and built in cooperation between the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment, Kongsberg Seatex, the Norwegian Coastal Administration and the Norwegian Space Centre. It is financed by the Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry. The Kongsberg Satellites Service’s ground station at Svalbard is used for downloading of data.
