Sputnix, part of AFK Sistema, was the first in Russia to launch a paid subscription for Earth remote sensing (ERS) data. The service receives thousands of requests monthly, but so far only dozens of clients purchase images, said Milana Elerdova, the company's First Deputy General Director.
The main audience consists of legal entities — enterprises in forestry and agriculture, and the oil and gas industry. Private individuals request images for evidence in court, to study the history of dacha plots, and to monitor construction. The main constraint is resolution. The company is betting on Kinosputnik with a 0.8 m camera, which shoots in multispectral and panchromatic modes. The launch of the spacecraft is planned in the near future.
A resolution of 0.8 m is a level at which individual cars and buildings are visible, not blurry spots. For agriculture, this means field control; for oil and gas, pipelines; for courts, evidence. Currently, foreign data dominates the ERS market, but access to it is limited. If Kinosputnik launches on schedule, Sputnix will fill a niche where previously one had to wait for foreign images.