Arctic Space Resilience Node

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European Resilience from Space (ERS)

The European Resilience from Space (ERS) initiative is a strategic effort by the European Space Agency (ESA) and its Member States to strengthen their resilience, security and strategic autonomy through space-based capabilities and to address critical capability gaps jointly and rapidly. ERS-EO is the Earth Observation pillar of the ERS initiative. (see https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Keywords/System/ERS-EO/(result_type)/images)

Space Resilience Nodes (SRNs)

Space Resilience Nodes (SRNs) are a user-driven component within ESA’s ERS-EO Programme. SRNs comprise digital (e.g. software, data), physical (e.g. hardware, facilities), and human (i.e. expertise) components, which offer users swift, decentralised, and easy access to a suite of space-enabled solutions in support of safety and security. The SRNs are “unclassified” insofar as they do not by default process and store classified information, or interface to classified information systems.

SRNs are being developed for different geographic areas and topics, including:

  • Arctic
  • Canada
  • Finland
  • Denmark

These four northern nodes will coordinate to ensure that common needs are addressed efficiently and without duplication.

Arctic SRN Study

The Arctic Space Resilience Node (Arctic SRN) study examines how space-enabled capabilities could support safety and security across the Arctic. The study responds to the region’s distinctive operating environment, characterised by long distances, sparse infrastructure, limited communications, severe weather and ice conditions, and rapidly changing environmental and security risks. Relevant applications include search and rescue, maritime safety, emergency response, critical infrastructure protection, and situational awareness.

The study covers Greenland, Finland, Canada and Norway as its primary geographical scope. International organisations are also considered where they are important for cross-border coordination and the wider Arctic safety and security landscape. This provides a basis for comparing national governance models, stakeholder ecosystems, operational practices, existing capabilities and capability gaps across jurisdictions.

The work combines a review of existing policies, plans, services and systems with stakeholder interviews and a stakeholder workshop. It maps the principal safety and security authorities, service providers and end users, and assesses priority hazards and operational scenarios against existing Earth observation, satellite communication, positioning, navigation and timing, surveillance, modelling and terrestrial capabilities. The analysis will identify opportunities for interoperability, pooling and sharing of resources, and integration with national, European and international services.

The results will be used to define high-level requirements and an initial architecture for an Arctic SRN. The study will also recommend an organisational model and a phased deployment roadmap, while providing Arctic-specific input to the wider ESA SRN Reference Framework and the harmonisation of user needs across regional nodes.

Arctic SRN Study Team

The Arctic SRN Study is being conducted by a team consisting of:

Arctic SRN Study Objectives

The Arctic SRN Study will be engaging with Arctic safety and security stakeholders to:

  • Understand their needs,
  • Obtain advice on the direction of the Arctic SRN, and
  • Solicit their involvement in providing future capabilities to the Arctic SRN.
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