Case studies - CODE-DE

Cloud platform for the German Aerospace Agency providing Earth Observation data. A new version of CODE-DE, a platform providing data on Germany from the European satellites has been developed and is operated by CloudFerro, which won the DLR's tender.

The customer

German Aerospace Center

Founded in 1969, the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) is the national aeronautics and space research centerof the Federal Republic of Germany,  with HQs in Cologne. It conducts extensive research and development work in aeronautics, space, energy, transport, digitalization, and security. Its mission is the exploration of Earth and the Solar System as well as research for protecting the environment.

The challenge

A new face of the platform

The Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) represented by the DLR Agency already managed a platform providing data from European satellites, Copernicus Data and Exploitation Platform Germany (CODE-DE). Given growing demand for satellite products, DLR Space Management looked for a solution that would ensure the continuation of the platform with a new face: interactive applications, new data products, improved individual user support with new services, and optimized security.

The solution

CloudFerro, together with its subcontractor Erteco Technologies, was entrusted with the implementation of this project. Solutions used in the new version of CODE-DE were developed by an experienced team of CloudFerro specialists, who previously worked on similar projects for the European Space Agency, EUMETSAT, and ECMWF.

CODE-DE platform - EO Finder Tool

CODE-DE functionalities

CODE-DE platform provides users with extensive functionality. Users can visualize satellite data and Copernicus products provided by European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Commission. They also receive a number of applications and data processing tools.

Moreover, thanks to an efficient cloud infrastructure, users can publish and reuse generated products on CODE-DE.
The platform offers unlimited access to images from Sentinel-1, -2, -3, and -5P satellites. The images from Sentinel-2 are provided in an atmosphere-corrected version and can be further analyzed. Every month, the platform will provide a current mosaic, created from current photos of Germany, showing changes in ground movement, soil moisture, or damage to the ground surface.

The Jupyter Hub application enables the creation of programming codes and projects based on satellite data, prototyping solutions, and use in education as a teaching tool.

Synergy with European DIAS platform

CODE-DE cloud computing infrastructure and satellite data for Germany are stored in the local data center in Frankfurt am Main. Users can also benefit from synergy with the CREODIAS platform, which is one of the European Copernicus DIAS (Data and Information Access Services) systems and collects more than 16 petabytes of satellite data. Both platforms work together to ensure efficient use of resources but the autonomy for key national processes has also been maintained.

Security

The new platform is optimized in terms of cloud security. CODE-DE meets the provisions of the German Federal Data Protection Act and will be certified by BSI, the Federal Office for Information Security. This guarantees that German authorities and other institutions can implement their applications securely on CODE-DE.  

Summary

CODE-DE is a public cloud with an integrated repository of satellite images for Germany operated by CloudFerro. CODE-DE contains applications allowing users to search, browse and process satellite data products. The platform enables various stakeholders to take advantage of Earth Observation data for Germany in their value chains. It creates an environment suitable for researching and creating EO-based services and applications.

The CODE-DE platform provides access to the Copernicus data and services in Germany from the beginning of 2017. It enables the processing of Earth observation data obtained under the European Copernicus program. Access to the CODE-DE platform is free for government administration and research centers.

The new version of the CODE-DE platform is available at code-de.org since April 2020.

Customer benefits

• Open, accessible to the public and free satellite data for Germany in one place
• Always up-to-date mosaic of photos of Germany
• Safe work environment and a wide array of processing tools
• Satellite images for Germany available online for free - unlimited access to images from Sentinel-1, -2, -3, and -5P satellites
• New applications and data processing tools - efficient cloud infrastructure
• Synergy with European DIAS platform
• Synergy with the CREODIAS platform with more than 16 petabytes of satellite data