How To Approve and Fulfill Taskings – SkyWatch

When operating your satellite constellation(s), you may receive specific tasking requests.

The taskings can be fulfilled using the following steps, either using the front end, or API endpoints.

Workflow

TS_tasking_workflow.drawio.png

Note: This workflow shows a simplified process for the purpose of this article. If you wish to visualize the entire API workflow, please see the steps and API endpoints available: here

An example of a tasking request is the following:

{
  "start_date": "2023-05-31",
  "end_date": "2023-06-03",
  "geometry": {
    "type": "Polygon",
    "coordinates": [
      [
        [
          57.8200723213,
          63.9618211942
        ],
        [
          57.7200723213,
          63.9618211942
        ],
        [
          57.7200723213,
          64.0418211942
        ],
        [
          57.8200723213,
          64.0418211942
        ],
        [
          57.8200723213,
          63.9618211942
        ]
      ]
    ]
  },
  "cloud_cover_percent": 80,
  "tags": {
    "Tags_are": "Optional",
    "Created_for": "Tutorial",
    "Provider_reference": "Madeupvalue123"
  },
  "product_definition_id": "c0c9eba7-e223-4209-bd9a-fac1a64313a8"
  "source_name": "SatFeld"
}

Within the request above, we can see the following fields, that represent requirements for the tasking:

start_date: The first available date for the data (the imagery must be taken on or after this date)

end_date: The last available date for the data (the imagery must be taken on or prior to this date)

geometry: The imagery should represent the defined Polygon

cloud_cover_percent: The minimum percentage of the geometry, that must have cloud free data (i.e. a maximum of 20% of the area can be missing, or covered by cloud)

tags: Optional tags for the user to track the order. These do not form part of the tasking requirements.

product_definition_id: A product definition further defines attributes of the order (e.g. tasking priority SLA)

source_name: The name of the constellation, to use for the tasking.

1. Login

Using the Front End

(a) Navigate to your provider Ops Center page (i.e. https://{{provider_name}}.terrastream.space/) and log in

Using the APIs

(a) Navigate to your provider specific API endpoints (i.e. https://api.{{provider_name}}.terrastream.ca/docs):

(b) And click 'Authorize' to log in:

2. Order Approval

Using the Front End

(a) Select Tasking → Pending Approval, to list the tasking requests that are pending approval:

(b) Obtain the details for the tasking, by selecting the tasking request → Download → CSV File:

Using the APIs

(a) Scroll to the 'List Tasking Requests' API endpoint, select 'Try It Out', the status 'pending_approval' from the dropdown menu, and select 'Execute'.

(b) Scroll down to see the response.

Note the "id" field(s) in the response is the "request_id"(s) to reference later in the workflow.

(d) Note: The requirements for each tasking are also available using the 'Get Tasking Request' API endpoint. This uses the request_id from the previous step. This is the same data is available in the 'List Tasking Requests' API endpoint above, however only for a single tasking request.

(e) Approve or decline the tasking request, using the 'Decline Tasking Order' or 'Approve Tasking Order'

3. Schedule the tasking

Using the Front End

(a) Once the tasking has been scheduled with your mission control, update the order status in TerraStream, by selecting the 'Mark as Scheduled' button, for end-user visibility.

Using the APIs

(a) Once the tasking has been scheduled with your mission control, update the order status in TerraStream, by executing the 'Schedule Tasking Request' API Endpoint, for end-user visibility.

4. Capture and Process the Product

Using your satellite constellation, capture the imagery, and process it into a product in the required format. This step is performed outside of TerraStream.

This contents of this step will vary by satellite provider, but will typically consist of the following components:

(a) Select the orbit and satellite to perform the capture, subject to satellite capacity, weather predictions, and delivery SLA (see article on tasking priorities)

(b) Downlink the raw data to your ground station

(d) Generate the metadata file according to the STAC standard

(e) Perform internal quality control on the product

(f) Process the product in the zip file format, and publish

5. Upload the data

Your TerraStream instance can only be configured for one of the following two ways:

(a) Manual upload

(b) Automated upload

Manual upload

Note: This requires the source to have the `manual_upload` field = true.

Using the Front End:

(i) Navigate to the tasking request, and click on it

(ii) Click on the upload button to display the 'Upload file' menu, fill in the menu fields, and click Upload.

Remain on the page, while the upload completes.

Using the APIs

(a) Navigate to the 'Create Custom Product' API endpoint, enter the information representing the product, and click 'Execute'.

Automated upload

Upload a product that satisfies the requirements of the tasking, using the standard product upload workflow (i.e. Upload the product to your designated S3 bucket). TerraStream will automatically recognize that the product satisfies the tasking requirements, and deliver the result. No further action is required.