The GMES Space Component Data Access System: Harmonizing Earth Observation Products Flows and Services for GMES

The Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) Space Component relies on a constellation of dedicated space missions (called the Sentinels, scheduled for first launch by 2013), as well as on a set of space missions not dedicated to GMES but contributing to it. In charge of optimizing access and usability of the available space-based remote sensing resources for the pre-operations, the European Space Agency has elaborated the GMES Space Component Data Access concept, implementing mechanisms for aligning the data access across the GMES contributing missions, harmonising user information services, ordering and data delivery processes, and monitoring the data and service quality. Overall, this is a large-scale integrated system of systems, involving today more than 10 different ground segments and 20 space missions, serving users according to different modes of operations derived from pre-identified users' needs.