“GMES space component: Programmatic status”

Through a unique combination of satellite, atmospheric and Earth-based monitoring systems and models to convert observations into information services, GMES will provide vital new insight into the state of the land, sea and air, providing policymakers, scientists, businesses and the public with accurate, up-to-date, global information in domains such as land, marine, atmosphere, emergency response, climate change and security. GMES overall is led by the European Union (EU). Regarding the GMES space component (GSC), coordinated by the European Space Agency (ESA), the dedicated Sentinel satellites, and relative ground segment, are currently in the final stage of their development and are getting ready for launch from end 2013 onwards. Pre-operational data delivery from existing national and third party missions is well under way. What is most urgently needed now is securing the operational funds and consolidating the governance including Sentinel ownership and data policy in order to guarantee the programme´s long term sustainability.