BRIDGING THE GAP

BRIDGING
THE GAP
MethaneSAT will find and measure methane emissions with unparalleled precision – including emissions that other satellites simply can’t see.
Some satellites can track methane on a global scale but can’t detect emissions from countless smaller sources responsible for much of the total. Others provide excellent data from known sites with larger emissions but can’t see beyond small areas.
With high precision and a wide view path, MethaneSAT will track emission rates and locations and show how those emissions are changing over time – making it easier to track performance against legal and voluntary targets, and prioritize solutions for maximum benefit.
The MethaneSAT mission objective is to both motivate and enable reduction of methane emissions from the global oil and gas sector by 45% by 2025, and 70% by 2030.
MethaneSAT will:
  • Quantify regional-scale methane emissions from oil and gas operations worldwide down to areas of ~1 km2
  • Identify and quantify emissions from large sources (> 500 kg/hour)
  • Quantify aggregate emissions from thousands of smaller sources, as well as large intermittent sources.
  • We will also track emissions from agriculture and other sources with the goal of fostering methane reductions.
    MethaneSATTM
    TWO PASSIVE INFRARED LITTROW SPECTROMETERS
    Wavelengths
    Wavelengths 1249 – 1305 nm 1598 – 1683 nm
    Target species
    Target species O2 CH4 / CO2
    Spectral resolution / sampling
    Spectral resolution / sampling 0.20 nm / 0.06 nm 0.25 nm / 0.08 nm
    Signal to noise ratio
    Signal to noise ratio 190 190
    Detector
    Detector HgCdTe 2k x 2k HgCdTe 2k x 2k
    Payload / Observatory mass
    Payload / Observatory mass 183 kg / 362 kg 183 kg / 362 kg
    Orbit altitude
    Orbit altitude 525 km 525 km
    Field of view / swath width
    Field of view / swath width 21 deg / 200 km 21 deg / 200 km
    Ground sampling distance
    Ground sampling distance 100 m across track X 400 m along track 100 m across track X 400 m along track
    MEASUREMENT
    MethaneSAT will detect both concentrated point sources and dispersed area sources, in turn quantifying total emissions – not possible with today’s satellites. It will have a wide field of view along with a very high level of precision and fine spatial resolution to identify and measure even small amounts of excess methane.
    ANALYSIS
    MethaneSAT will process observed spectrographic data to calculate quantitative emission rates, revealing how much methane is emitted and how it varies across the landscape. MethaneSAT analytics are developed with much lower latency than for other satellites. Our groundbreaking analytics will track emissions based on winds and atmospheric conditions, determining location and volume from individual point sources, as well as cumulative emissions across larger areas.
    Stakeholders and the public will be able to access the results freely, in a timely manner.
    ACTION
    MethaneSAT is specifically designed to catalyze methane reductions by creating unprecedented transparency. Our data platform will be accessible free of charge. The cloud-based data platform means fast turnaround, providing key insights in an actionable timeframe. That means anyone – regulators, investors, buyers and the public – will now be able to see and compare emissions results by company, country or production basin.
    Officials and operators around the world will be able to find and fix problems faster, while stakeholders can see and compare progress against goals, commitments, and legal obligations.