The Capella tasking system will automatically plan and schedule the number of images required to cover your area of interest, complete the collects, and make the data available when ready. To set up an area task, follow these steps:
1. Set the area of interest
In the Capella Console, an area tasking request can be created by uploading an area of interest or drawing either a bounding box or a freeform polygon on the map.
To upload an area of interest, click the blue Upload button to the right of the search bar. This will launch a splash screen where you can upload a GeoJSON or JSON file.
To draw a polygon on the map, click either the rectangle or polygon icon to the right of the Explore bar. The rectangle icon will enable you to draw a rectangle on the map; the polygon icon will enable you to draw a more freeform shape.
Polygons must:
- Be a single line string
- Be the first Feature of a FeatureCollection
- Have less than 250 vertices (clicked points when creating an AOI)
- Have no holes
The system will not accept polylines, multi-polygons, or self-intersecting polygons. Capella recommends keeping the size of your AOI to 2,000 sq km or less.
2. Click the Tasking Request button
3. Set a Target Name and Target Description (optional) for your task request
The Collection Type is set Stripmap - 100 to maximize the coverage while minimizing the number of images required to cover the area. No other Collection Type is available.
4. Chose a Collection Tier
The tasking system supports specific tasking tiers for area tasking to give you additional control of new acquisition collect timeframe and tasking request priority.
5. Set the Window Open and Window Close date & time
The Window Open and Window Close dates set how long the Capella tasking system has to collect all the images needed over your area of interest. The default window for area tasking is 30 days, regardless of collection tier selected.
6. Set any additional Optional Parameters
If you chose to restrict the Orbital Plane, Orbit State, or Observation Direction, consider extending the Window Close date even further out than a month to increase the number of satellite access times available.
7. Click Create Task
8. Review the area task information and click Submit New Task, if correct
If you need to change any of the information, click the Modify button. Once submitted, the tasking request will move into a Received status while the system calculates the estimated cost.
9. Review the cost estimate and click Submit Request
The system will send you an email when your tasking request is ready for Review. Your tasking request will not be scheduled until you review and accept the cost estimate.
10. The scheduling system will run within 15 minutes and either accept or reject your request
If a new tasking request for an area is rejected, it may be too large to collect within the acquisition window duration (time between Window Open and Window Close). In this case, consider resubmitting your area task request with a larger window duration or reduce the size of your area of interest.
Once your request is accepted, the system will be begin scheduling the collections necessary to cover your AOI. You can check the status of your area task request at any time from the Tasks List page in Console. You will also receive an email when the request is completed and the data is ready for download.