Patent ID: 8384778
Filing Date: 2013-02-26
Classification: B64G,H04B

Abstract:
1. Instrument for acquisition and distribution of observation images of the Earth of mean circumference C comprising: a constellation of satellites, called a spatial images acquisition layer, each satellite exhibiting a swath F and a low orbit so that it can describe a number ORB (ORB>1) of orbits in one day, and being equipped with at least one optical images acquisition device, a plurality of terrestrial devices for processing and distribution images, called terrestrial images processing and distribution devices, said plurality being called a terrestrial images processing and distribution layer, a data-transmission network, called a telecommunications layer, that is suitable to ensure a transfer of the images captured by said spatial images acquisition layer to said terrestrial images processing and distribution layer, said telecommunications layer comprising: wherein: said spatial images acquisition layer comprises, for each satellite, at least one optical images acquisition device having a fixed aiming directed towards the Earth and exhibiting a high spatial resolution, said terrestrial images processing and distribution layer includes, for each terrestrial images processing and distribution device, at least one communications line coupling said terrestrial images processing and distribution device and at least one immediately adjacent terrestrial images processing and distribution device so as to enable overlaps of the images received by said terrestrial images processing and distribution device with images received by said at least one immediately adjacent terrestrial images processing and distribution device(s), said images received by said immediately adjacent terrestrial images processing and distribution devices being representative of neighbouring terrestrial regions, each terrestrial images processing and distribution device comprises: said spatial images acquisition layer comprises at least N satellites, where said terrestrial images processing and distribution layer comprises at least M terrestrial images processing and distribution devices distributed over the surface of the Earth, where  r being the mean radius of the circles of visibility of antennas linked with the receiving modules of the terrestrial images processing and distribution devices, and a being a predetermined coefficient.