Satellite launches are multiplying and giving rise to increased cooperation between space agencies and private companies. One of the most successful areas of collaboration is tracking greenhouse gas emissions.
Canada's GHGSat currently has nine satellites in orbit, the size of a microwave. Their mission: to fly over the sites of the oil and gas industries, looking for methane leaks. The company then sells its information to oil operators – such as Total, Chevron, ExxonMobil, or Shell. But government agency constellations, made of large, very expensive satellites, remain the backbone of the Earth observation system.