Montreal, Quebec: Montreal-based GHGSat announced June 22 that it had successfully launched its first satellite, named Claire, to measure greenhouse gas emissions from industrial facilities around the world. Claire was launched to a polar orbit around the Earth at 23:57 on 21 June 2016 aboard a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle by the Indian Space Research Organization.
Claire is the world’s first satellite capable of measuring greenhouse gas emissions from sources on the scale of industrial facilities. GHGSat’s innovative sensor technology has also been miniaturized to fit on a low-cost nanosatellite, enabling the company to offer commercial GHG measurement and monitoring services with better accuracy at a fraction of the cost, the company says.
GHGSat will use its technology to help industrial emitters in sectors such as oil & gas, power generation, mining, waste management and agriculture to measure, control and ultimately reduce their emissions.
“Today’s launch is a milestone for Canadian space technology and for human environmental responsibility. Until now, measuring GHG emissions from industrial facilities has often been difficult and costly. Claire has the potential to offer consistent, objective greenhouse gas emissions measurements for everyone in the world,” said Stéphane Germain, President of GHGSat. “Now that our satellite is in orbit, we look forward to demonstrating and validating this exciting new technology.”
Claire’s launch follows three years of research and development at GHGSat supported by Sustainable Development Technology Canada, Boeing, LOOKNorth, the Canadian Space Agency, and several other customers and suppliers.