Billionaires Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk are usually last frontier rivals, but both play a role in MethaneSAT, a privately supported satellite mission to monitor methane emissions.
Last November, the Bezos Earth Fund awarded the Environmental Defense Fund a $ 100 million grant to aid in the completion and launch of the satellite. This grant was part of a $ 791 million round that Bezos said was “just the beginning of my $ 10 billion commitment” to addressing the challenges posed by climate change.
Now MethaneSAT LLC – a subsidiary of the Environmental Defense Fund – announces that it has signed a contract with Musk’s SpaceX to launch the satellite into orbit with a Falcon 9 rocket as early as October 2022.
“This is a unique mission on an ambitious timeline,” said Steven Hamburg, co-leader of the MethaneSAT project, in a press release on January 13th. “SpaceX provides the readiness and reliability we need to get our instrument into orbit and stream emissions data as quickly as possible. We couldn’t ask for a more capable launch partner. “
MethaneSAT aims to fill an important niche in locating and reducing industrial emissions of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. Methane emissions are believed to be the second largest cause of global warming, with much of the concern targeting the oil and gas industry.
Experts estimate that a 45% reduction in methane emissions from the oil and gas industry by 2025 would have the same 20-year climate benefit as shutting down a third of the world’s coal-fired power plants.
The idea behind MethaneSAT was presented in a 2018 TED talk by EDF President Fred Krupp in Vancouver, BC. This began an effort that drew on seed funding from The Audacious Project, a TED initiative. Last September, MethaneSAT announced the completion of the critical design review of the project and moved into the production phase of the project.
Other satellites such as TROPOMI and GHGSat’s commercial constellation are already monitoring atmospheric methane levels, but MethaneSAT is expected to offer higher sensitivity and better spatial resolution than TROPOMI and a much wider field of view than the GHGSat spacecraft. Mission managers plan to stream MethaneSAT’s data online for free for non-commercial users.
Data from MethaneSAT and the other satellites will help companies and governments focus their efforts to reduce emissions.
“Reducing methane emissions from the oil and gas industry is the fastest, cheapest way to slow the rate of warming right now, even as we continue to decarbonise the energy system,” said Mark Brownstein, EDF senior vice president of energy. “MethaneSAT aims to create transparency and accountability to ensure companies and governments don’t miss out on this opportunity.”
SpaceX says the satellite launch will be organized through the SmallSat Rideshare program, which regularly offers the opportunity to launch small payloads into orbit for as little as $ 1 million.
Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos, privately owned space company Blue Origin, is widely considered a competitor to SpaceX, of which Elon Musk is founder and CEO. The two men are tied for the world’s “richest” title, but Bezos is way behind Musk when it comes to orbital launch ability. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 has been sending payloads into orbit since 2010, while Blue Origin’s New Glenn orbital-class rocket has not yet been commissioned.
Main picture: An artist’s conception shows MethaneSAT in orbit. Photo credit: MethaneSAT LLC
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