Satellite operators waste valuable downlink bandwidth on corrupted or unusable data, compromising mission efficiency and increasing operational costs. Our solution provides autonomous validation of both SAR and optical payload data in real-time before downlink, ensuring you only transmit high-quality data that meets your mission requirements.
Bandwidth waste — Satellites blindly downlink all collected data, including images compromised by cloud cover (optical), speckle noise (SAR), or other quality issues
Storage burden — Ground systems must store and process massive amounts of data before determining what's actually usable, wasting infrastructure resources
Delayed insights — Quality issues aren't discovered until after downlink, causing costly delays in delivering actionable intelligence to end users
Missed opportunities — Limited downlink windows are wasted on poor quality data instead of high-value imagery, reducing effective mission capacity
Autonomous quality evaluation before downlink
As data is collected by optical or SAR sensors, our lightweight algorithms immediately analyze key quality parameters specific to each sensor type.
Each data product receives a quality score based on sensor-specific metrics (cloud coverage, blur, speckle noise, etc.) and is prioritized accordingly.
Based on configurable thresholds, low-quality data is filtered out or compressed, while high-quality data is preserved at full fidelity.
During downlink opportunities, the highest quality and most valuable data across all sensors is transmitted first, maximizing the value of limited bandwidth.
Quantifiable improvements to mission operations
Real-world results from implementing Onboard Quality Assessment
Reduced data storage requirements by 38% while increasing usable imagery by 22% through selective filtering of cloud-covered optical data and low-quality SAR acquisitions.
Decreased unusable data transmission by 42% through onboard speckle analysis and geometric quality assessment, resulting in more efficient use of limited downlink opportunities.
Extended operational life by 8 months through cloud-aware collection optimization and intelligent resource management without any hardware modifications.
A leading Earth observation company operating a multi-sensor constellation deployed Onboard Quality Assessment across their fleet. Before implementation, approximately 42% of downlinked optical imagery was significantly impacted by cloud cover, and 35% of SAR data had quality issues that made it unsuitable for customer delivery.
Immediate bandwidth optimization — Downlink volume decreased by 36% in the first month while maintaining the same amount of usable data delivered to customers
Improved SAR acquisition planning — Machine learning models trained on quality assessment data created improved acquisition plans, reducing collection in areas likely to produce low-quality data
ROI realization within 90 days — The solution paid for itself through reduced ground infrastructure costs and improved customer satisfaction within just three months of deployment
How Onboard Quality Assessment transforms satellite operations
Comprehensive quality evaluation for optical imagery
Specialized analysis for radar imagery quality
Intelligent data filtering based on quality metrics
Maximize mission efficiency through intelligent resource management
Simple deployment process with minimal impact to existing systems
We work with your team to define quality metrics and thresholds specific to your mission requirements and payload types.
Our lightweight software is integrated with your flight software or payload processor with minimal modifications.
After thorough testing in your test environment, the solution is deployed via standard software update procedures.
Typical integration timeline from initial engagement to operational deployment: