The REMSAT Demonstration
ESA placed a contract with Mac Donald Dettwiler (British Columbia, Canada),a company with extensive expertise in space based operations and in transportable equipment, who teamed with the British Columbia Forest Service (BCFS) Protection Program (B.C. - Canada). The work covers the system architecture and optimisation, and integration of a REMSAT system and pilot demonstrations.
The BCFS Protection Program is tasked with fighting forest fires in BC protecting communities and timber resources in an area of over 1 million square kilometres, which represent a $15 billion of annual economic activity. The Program responds to an average of over 3,000 fires annually, almost guarantying a real forest fire demonstration of REMSAT within this activity. REMSAT is seen to provide a missing link in BCFS fire suppression activities.
Although, forest fires is the selected application for this first REMSAT demonstration, care will be taken to make the REMSAT system compatible with the generic needs of other types of emergencies such as earthquakes, floods, exceptionally heavy winter conditions, hazardous materials related emergencies etc. Specific attention will be given in operational and the financial sustainability of the system.
The resulting REMSAT based system will be a working model for other emergency management systems, capable of being implemented anywhere in the world.
Following completion of two real size simulations and evaluation, foreseen in spring 2000, the system will be fully tested through deployment to support fighting a major fire. This is expected to happen in the summer months in 2000, when an average of 25 new fires occur in BC each day.
Summary Description of the planned REMSAT system
In order to demonstrate the REMSAT functions using existing satellite systems, a configuration consisting of Hand-Held User Terminals, communicating via more powerful, transportable, Intermediate Satellite Mobile Terminals with an emergency management Control Centre is used. A multiple components satellite system configuration is foreseen in this demonstration providing for localisation via a navigation satellite system, messaging via a LEO satellite system and low/high data rates, voice and video services via a GEO satellite system.Within the time frame of this REMSAT demonstration in Canada, GPS, ORBCOMM and ANIK satellite systems are respectively baselined, however the REMSAT concept will be adaptable to alternative satellite systems, their selection depending on the geographical area of interest.
A wide range of functions will be demonstrated, as several key elements in the requirements for leading edge emergency management have been identified: improved local field communications are needed (between the fire crews in the field and fire fighting control centers), augmented with data, video images and geographical location capabilities; up to date position and status information for all resources including aircraft , heavy equipment and fire crews is required for fire attack planning; high speed communications between mobile fire control resources and Fire Centers is needed for suppression of large fires; and additional background information on the fire area, in the form of satellite or air photos imagery is essential to aid in fire modelling, prediction and suppression.
