TheInternational Charter Space and Major Disasters[a] is a non-bindingcharter which provides for thecharitable andhumanitarian acquisition and transmission ofsatellite data to relief organizations in the event of major disasters. Initiated by theEuropean Space Agency and the French space agencyCNES after theUNISPACE III conference held inVienna, Austria, in July 1999, it officially came into operation on November 1, 2000, after theCanadian Space Agency signed onto the charter on October 20, 2000. Their space assets were then, respectively,ERS andENVISAT,SPOT andFormosat, andRADARSAT.
The assorted satellite assets of various corporate, national, and internationalspace agencies and entities provide for humanitarian coverage which is wide albeit contingent. First activated for a landslide in Slovenia in November 2000,[1] the Charter has since brought space assets into play for numerous floods, earthquakes, oil spills, forest fires, tsunamis, major snowfalls, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes and landslides,[2][3] and furthermore (and unusually) for the search forMalaysia Airlines Flight 370[4] and for the2014 West Africa Ebola outbreak.[5] As of 2015, fifteen space agencies are signatories; dozens of satellites are available withimage resolutions ranging from 8 kilometres (5 mi) per pixel to about 0.3 metres (1 ft) per pixel.[6] As of August 2018, it had had 579 activations, from 125 countries, and had 17 members, which contributed 34 satellites.[7] It won the prestigiousWilliam T. Pecora Award in 2017.[8]
United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) – (POES), (GOES) and Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) (September 2001)[9] – (the Indian Remote Sensing satellite series)
Argentine Space Agency (CONAE) (July 2003)[9] – (SAC-C)
February 2005 – Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)[9] – (ALOS)
22 February 2011: Both COGIC (French Civil Protection) andU.S. Geological Survey requested the activation of the Charter on the behalf ofMCDEM New Zealand, thus readily providing satellite imagery for aid and rescue services following the2011 Christchurch earthquake.[18]
8 November 2013: The Charter was activated by Philippine authorities as super-typhoonHaiyan made landfall.[20]
11 March 2014: The Charter was activated by Chinese authorities to aid in the search forMalaysia Airlines Flight 370 which disappeared on March 8, 2014, en route from Kuala Lumpur International Airport to Beijing Capital International Airport.[4][21] As of 2025, the aircraft was still lost.
13 August 2016: The Charter was activated by the U.S. Geological Survey in response to the2016 Louisiana floods.[25]
24 August 2017: The Charter was activated by the U.S. Geological Survey forHurricane Harvey.[26]
5 September 2017: The Charter was activated by the Comisión Nacional de Emergencias in theDominican Republic forHurricane Irma;[27] Haiti and the United States followed suit shortly thereafter.[28][29]
^abcInternational Charter on Space and Major Disasters // International Symposium on Remote Sensing Applications to Natural Hazards, Washington, D.C. 12 September 2007, Barbara J. Ryan (Associate Director for Geography, U. S. Geological Survey)
