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Which satellites launched, and what do the numbers mean?
GHGSat-C18, named Eleanor, and GHGSat-C19, named Aidan, were deployed after launching aboard SpaceX’s Transporter-18 rideshare mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base on 1 October 2026. Their builder, SFL Missions, announced the deployment on 2 October and identified the spacecraft as 15-kilogram NEMO microsatellites integrated and tested in Vaughan, Ontario. SFL Missions
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The headline figures are rounded conversions: 15 kilograms is about 33 pounds, and 500 kilometers is about 310 miles. Those describe spacecraft launch mass and orbital altitude, respectively; neither figure tells you how much gas the satellites can measure. The World Meteorological Organization’s OSCAR record lists GHGSat at 15 kilograms and 500 kilometers, with methane and carbon dioxide as its main target species. WMO OSCAR
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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteWhy reports give different satellite counts
SFL said its work on C18 and C19 brought to 13 the number of spacecraft it had developed for GHGSat. GHGSat’s constellation page reported 16 satellites launched before this pair’s October launch. These totals use different scopes: 13 counts spacecraft developed by SFL, while 16 is GHGSat’s reported pre-launch constellation count. They should not be treated as competing estimates of the operating fleet after C18 and C19. GHGSat constellation
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How can a satellite detect a gas plume?
GHGSat’s satellites observe reflected sunlight in the short-wave infrared. Their wide-angle Fabry–Pérot imaging spectrometers capture how light interacts with gases in the atmosphere. Methane or carbon dioxide in a plume changes the signal compared with the surrounding background, allowing the instrument to map a plume signature over a target site. NASA describes the data as measurements of the difference between a plume and background concentrations. GHGSat technology NASA Earthdata
The orbit is sun-synchronous and approximately 500 kilometers high; a satellite circles Earth in about 90 minutes. A sun-synchronous orbit is designed to keep lighting conditions relatively similar on successive passes, making observations easier to compare over time. It does not mean the satellite continuously watches one facility: observations are made when a target falls within the sensor’s view during a pass.
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Detection is not the same as an emissions-rate reading
The instrument observes a gas signature, not a site’s emissions rate as a direct, simple onboard reading. Estimating a rate involves interpreting the observed plume and modeling its dispersion. That analysis depends on site information and weather data, which may come from global models or local stations. NASA notes that repeated observations can help identify activity or large changes against predetermined thresholds, while GHGSat describes repeat passes as a way to monitor sites and assess mitigation over time. NASA Earthdata GHGSat technology
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GHGSat states a methane detection capability of 100 kilograms per hour for its current fleet. That is a stated capability, not a guarantee that every plume at or above that rate will be observed: visibility and the quality of an estimate depend on conditions and observation opportunities. NASA describes typical spatial resolution below 30 meters for GHGSat satellites, compared with more than 50 meters for GHGSat-D, and a field of view of about 12 by 12 kilometers. GHGSat says its Vanguard carbon-dioxide measurements have 25-meter resolution. These figures describe different aspects of the system and should not be read as interchangeable performance thresholds. GHGSat technology NASA Earthdata
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Fine spatial resolution can help associate a plume with a particular facility, such as an oil and gas well or landfill, rather than only indicating a broad regional signal. Still, clouds, illumination, plume behavior, revisit timing and weather information affect what can be concluded from an individual observation. A sequence of observations is more useful for tracking activity or changes than treating one pass as a complete emissions inventory.
Who can use the measurements?
GHGSat is a commercial, facility-level monitoring service. NASA’s Commercial Satellite Data Acquisition program has obtained GHGSat datasets, but access through that program requires authorization and is subject to end-user license terms. The existence of NASA-held data does not mean the commercial feed is freely available to everyone. NASA Earthdata
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What comes next for methane monitoring?
GHGSat announced a second-generation satellite as a future mission planned for early 2028. The company says it is targeting a 50-kilogram-per-hour onshore methane threshold, versus 100 kilograms per hour for its first generation, and plans to double daily coverage per satellite. These are company-announced goals for a future system, not demonstrated results from an operating satellite. GHGSat CEO Stephane Germain called it “the next step in a decade of delivery” and characterized the existing system as the only commercially operating, independently validated methane monitoring constellation in the world; that exclusivity statement is the company’s characterization. GHGSat announcement, 21 September 2026
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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchA separate example of the broader field is ESA’s planned Tango Scout mission. ESA’s 2024 announcement says it is intended to observe methane, carbon dioxide and nitrogen dioxide at large industrial sites, with a plan to monitor 150–300 facilities every four days. Tango Scout is a planned mission in that announcement, not an operational counterpart to the GHGSat satellites. ESA
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