Tasking order
A tasking order represents a single data acquisition request that will happen in the future. The order defines the tasking parameters but also includes information about the current status of the request.
Tasking order parameters
Tasking order parameters differ based on the tasking product. SatVu currently offers two tasking products, standard priority tasking, and assured priority tasking. The main difference is the Assured priority tasking product does not allow specifying desired imagery parameters such as off-nadir angle, ground sample distance or estimated cloud coverage.
Standard priority tasking order
A Standard priority tasking order has the following parameters, which can be provided using the web app or API:
| Parameter name | Description |
|---|---|
| Geometry | Your location of interest defined as a point. |
| Time frame | The closed date-time interval of the tasking order request. Required to be at least two weeks in the web app. No restrictions at the API level. |
| Off-nadir angle | The range of angles from the sensor between the nadir and the scene centre. Measured in degrees. Values are between 0 and 45 degrees. Cannot be specified together with the “Ground sample distance”. |
| Ground sample distance | The range of ground sample distance values. Measured in metres. Values are between 3.5m and 6.8m. Cannot be specified together with “Off-nadir angle” as there is a trade-off between these two parameters. |
| Imaging mode | The mode of data capture - imaging during an astronomical day, night or both. |
| Cloud coverage | The maximum acceptable percentage of the scene which is obscured by cloud. |
Assured priority tasking order
An Assured priority tasking order requires only geometry to return available passes. Selecting a pass from the web application does not require any other parameters to choose. On the API level, you must provide a signature - a unique identification of the pass.
Catalog withholds
While placing a tasking order, you can choose whether to withhold data from being published into the SatVu catalog. While an image is withheld from the catalog, it is not visible to any users outside of the contract that placed the tasking order
The contract defines the withhold options for tasking data ordering. Each option represents a duration for which the image is withheld and has an associated label and the price uplift value. More information about finding this information for the web app and API users is described under Accessing SatVu platform.
Catalog withholding starts after the image has been processed, and the order has been fulfilled. At this point, this image is only visible to a user of a contract that was used to place an order. This image will be available in the Orders, and also visible in the Catalog search results.
After the selected withholding timeframe ends, the image becomes visible to everyone who browses catalog and has access to this geographical area.
Order statuses
You can easily track the progress of a tasking order through the platform; currently, it supports the following statuses:
| API Name | Description |
|---|---|
| created | The order has been created. |
| staged | The order has been transmitted to the satellite order management system. |
| committed | The order has been added to the satellite data collection plan. |
| fulfilled | The order has been successfully fulfilled. |
| failed | The order could not have been added to the satellite order management system. We recommend creating a new one or communicating with the customer success team. |
| cancelled | The order has been successfully cancelled on the user’s request. |
| expired | The order end time has passed, and no valid data has been delivered. |
You can see order statuses by using the web app, Python SDK or the RESTful API.
Order delivery
Tasking data delivery happens after data has been received, transferred, and processed. At the delivery stage, SatVu checks if the data matches the parameters you provided.
Area of delivery
SatVu tasking only supports targeting of point geometry. In order to ensure that a substantial area around the provided point geometry is captured, we perform an additional validation step on the captured image. An order is only fulfilled if a circle with a 1km radius around the target point is fully within the scene.
This circle is displayed within the web app when the target point is provided
Changing order parameters
Currently, the platform does not provide the functionality to change an order at any stage. We recommend cancelling the order and creating a new one.
Cancelling an order
SatVu platform enables order cancellation via the web app, Python SDK or the RESTful API. Cancellation is possible when the order has the status staged and is free of charge. Once the order is cancelled, you will not be invoiced for this order.