Rush 24/7 Services

A new era in civilian satellite Earth observation has just begun. The enormous efforts of public and private entities evident from the launch of many new remote sensing systems and constellations has given rise to a situation in which time-critical, on-demand geo-information from space is no longer just a dream, but can now be provided on an operational basis. Through our multisource data access capabilities, we at GAF are ready to exploit and leverage this impressive fleet of imaging systems in order to rapidly create time-critical geo-information products for urgent requirements – including delivery within just a few hours.

With our broad experience we are aware that requirements for such rush services can be very diverse. We are therefore more than happy to assist you in the definition of an appropriate service-level for your needs.

For some specific scenarios - especially in the emergency response context, it appears mandatory to have a full and assured 24/7/365 workforce on standby.  However in other cases it will be reasonable and cost-effective to opt for our response team availability with assured rush production in 12/7 mode (access 12 hours each day), 12/5 mode (access 12 hours on working days) or in rush mode during normal office hours.

From the beginning of our company operations back in the 1980s we have been involved in many projects supporting responses to large-scale disasters and emergencies. The range of events that can be addressed by remote sensing is large and includes floods, fires, storms, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, as well as technological disasters and humanitarian crises (e.g. displaced persons (IDP)/refugee camps).

With the recent growth in satellite systems and data availability, such EO response activities have entered into a full operational phase with much shorter reaction times and reliable emergency mapping concepts. In this context, GAF has been supporting the European Commission’s intensive efforts in civil protection and humanitarian aid for the last three years: In a European consortium we offer a 24/7/365 service for the “Rapid Mapping” activity of the Copernicus Emergency Management Service.

Rush and on-demand geo-information products are not limited to the civil protection and humanitarian aid domains. There are many other users that have considerable demand for rapid geo-information and assessments on local, regional or global levels. A typical application scenario is the damage assessment and situational mapping after disaster or accident events involving public and private property, such as industrial plants, storage space, real estate, forest stands, agricultural lands and other assets. Rapid and reliable information is then of crucial interest to owners and decision makers, asset managers, public institutions and insurance agents.

The need for a rapid up-to-date spatial information can also stem from such diverse domains like compliance monitoring, subsidy control, natural resources governance, law enforcement or the raw materials exchange markets. Our Rush 24/7 Team is ready to develop customised solutions with you to suit your specific needs.