ABSTRACT
The applications of commercial satellite imagery (CSI) have been wide-spread in non-peacekeeping domains such as mining, agriculture and forestry management, environment assessment, natural disaster damage assessment and urban planning for at least 25 years. With the successful launch of the IKONOS-2 high-resolution satellite borne sensor in September of 1999, the benefit of a high resolution sensor is now available from a commercial satellite platform. The UN has used commercial satellite imagery in several operations. The following technical information is provided to assist in identifying the CSI sensors that could best be used in a support role to UN operational peacekeeping and other assistance missions. These CSI sensors provide very large area coverage, nearly 32,000 sq km, at a reasonable spatial resolution (GSD) of 30 m. LANDSAT imagery collects data in the visible colour range of blue, green and red, three regions of the infrared range and one region of the thermal infrared.
