GHGSat-D (CLAIRE)

The Space Flight Laboratory (SFL) designed and built the GHGSat-D (aka “CLAIRE”) satellite demonstrator for GHGSat Inc., a subsidiary of Xiphos Systems Corporation. Successfully launched on 22 June 2016, CLAIRE was a next-generation greenhouse gas monitoring satellite. After eight and a half years of successful operations, CLAIRE de-orbited naturally on December 9, 2024.

The satellite demonstrated an advanced miniature hyperspectral SWIR imaging spectrometer built by MPB Communications Inc. for monitoring targeted greenhouse gas emitters such as area fugitive sources (tailing ponds and landfills) and stacks (emissions such as flaring and venting).

A secondary instrument measured clouds and aerosols to enhance retrievals from the primary instrument. SFL’s low-cost and high-performance NEMO bus was an enabler for this mission.

The 15-kilogram CLAIRE satellite was the precursor to a commercial constellation of greenhouse gas monitoring satellites owned by GHGSat Inc.

GHGSat’s mission is to become the global reference for remote sensing of greenhouse gas (GHG) and air quality gas (AQG) emissions from industrial sites, using satellite technology.

Visit www.ghgsat.com for more information on GHGSat.