RapidEye, a geospatial solutions provider, is to supply satellite imagery for monitoring and detecting changes in areas prone to natural disasters to the European Space Agency (ESA).

The firm will provide satellite imagery for a list of predefined, high-risk areas identified by ESA, before and after an emergency event and strengthen European capacity to better respond to emergency situations from storms, fires, floods, earthquakes or landslides.

RapidEye, which owns and operates a constellation of five identical earth observation satellites, will use them to revisit an area daily, and provide frequent monitoring and up-to-date information on environmental changes.

ESA will provide the satellite imagery for the project ‘Safer’, a security and emergency project of the global monitoring for environment and security (GMES) programme in Europe.

RapidEye sales and marketing head Michael Prechtel said that to support this project, RapidEye would offer a special emergency order service to ESA by providing satellite data within 12-24 hours following a request.