Table 1 Key characteristics of each participating satellite constellation, from lowest to highest swath width, which is roughly proportional to an instrument’s minimum methane detection limit.

From: Single-blind validation of space-based point-source detection and quantification of onshore methane emissions

Satellite

Coverage

Constellation size

Swath (km)

 ~ Revisit time (per satellite) (days)

Data availability

GHGSat-C222

Targeted

5 (C1–C5)*

12

14

Commercial

WorldView 324

Targeted

1

13.1

4.5‡

Commercial

PRISMA25

Targeted

1

3

7

Public

Landsat-826

Global

1

185

16

Public

Sentinel-227

Global

2

290

10

Public

  1. Global coverage refers to a configuration that passively covers most of Earth’s surface over some number of orbits, while targeted coverage refers to a “point-and-shoot” instrument that must be pointed to a particular location.
  2. *GHGSat-C3–C5 were launched after the conclusion of testing.
  3. ‡For best resolution within 20° off nadir. WorldView 3 has 1-day revisit time at lower guaranteed resolution.
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