MethaneSAT, developed by a subsidiary of the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), is an Earth observation satellite launched on March 4, 2024, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. As a joint American-New Zealand mission, it monitors and measures global methane emissions, particularly from the oil and gas industry, with high precision to help mitigate climate change. MethaneSAT partners include the New Zealand Space Agency, Harvard University, and the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, and its data is made publicly available via a dedicated website and Google Earth Engine.
All verified mentions of this organization in source documents.
Ball Aerospace partnered with MethaneSAT, LLC, a subsidiary of the Environmental Defense Fund, on the MethaneSAT mission.
MethaneSAT, projected to launch in 2024, was built on a Saturn-class microsat by Blue Canyon Technologies for the Environmental Defense Fund to measure methane emissions.
Ball Aerospace designed and is currently building the methane monitoring instrument for MethaneSAT LLC, a subsidiary of the Environmental Defense Fund.
Ball Aerospace designed and is building a methane monitoring instrument for MethaneSAT, LLC, a subsidiary of Environmental Defense Fund, that will measure and track global methane emissions once launched.
MethaneSAT LLC, a subsidiary of the Environmental Defense Fund, is preparing to launch a 350-kilogram satellite in late 2022 or early 2023 to pinpoint faint methane emissions from oil and gas fields.
Rocket Lab will deliver the IT and software infrastructure necessary to task MethaneSAT on orbit, including tracking, pointing and positioning, and collision avoidance.
The New Zealand Government has committed NZD$26,000,000 to the MethaneSAT international program.
New Zealand’s commitment to MethaneSAT includes hosting the MOCC and providing overall project support and an expanded scientific research effort using MethaneSAT data.
The Mission Operations Control Center for MethaneSAT will be functional by mid-2022 ahead of on-orbit operations expected to begin in 2022-10-01.
MethaneSAT LLC signed a contract with SpaceX to deliver its satellite into orbit aboard a Falcon 9 rocket.
MethaneSAT has a launch window that opens on 2022-10-01.
The Bezos Earth Fund awarded a $100,000,000 grant to the Environmental Defense Fund to support work including completion and launch of MethaneSAT.
MethaneSAT, a subsidiary of Environmental Defense Fund, will launch its MethaneSAT spacecraft on a Falcon 9 in October 2022 through SpaceX’s smallsat rideshare program.
Environmental Defense Fund received a $100,000,000 grant on 2020-11-16 from the Bezos Earth Fund to support activities that include the completion and launch of MethaneSAT.
Blue Canyon Technologies is supplying X-SAT to MethaneSAT, a subsidiary of the nonprofit Environmental Defense Fund, for an environmental monitoring satellite scheduled to launch in 2022.
Approximately $4,000,000 of New Zealand’s $16,000,000 contribution is included in MethaneSAT’s $88,000,000 budget to reach orbit and begin operations, with the remaining funds dedicated to ongoing operations, ground control, and data handling.
The New Zealand government is providing $16,000,000 to support the MethaneSAT satellite program and to build a mission control center in New Zealand.
MethaneSAT plans to launch the 350-kilogram satellite in mid-2022 and has not yet selected a launch provider.
MethaneSAT will use X-SAT, Blue Canyon Technologies’ largest offered spacecraft bus, to carry a methane-detection payload from Ball Aerospace.
MethaneSAT selected Blue Canyon Technologies to supply the spacecraft platform for its donor-funded satellite.