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Key Concepts

This page gives you a working mental model for how ClearSKY fits together.

End-to-End Flow (Mental Model)​

  1. Define area and time for an order.
  2. Choose model and input constellations.
  3. Create order and wait for availability.
  4. Download imagery with the settings you need.
  5. Manage credits, storage, and recurring lifecycle.

Product Concepts​

  • Model: Specific selectable processing model in ordering/API (for example, Stratus2, Stratus2Fast, Nimbus variants such as Nimbus-NDVI where available). Stratus2NoSnow is planned for deprecation and is not recommended for new orders.
  • Model family: Architecture grouping that contains related models (for example, Stratus family, Nimbus family).
  • Constellations: Input satellite sources used by the model configuration.
  • Required source attribution notice: Source-data notice that must be preserved/passed through when outputs are shared externally; can vary by source inputs used.
  • Sentinel-2-compatible output: Outputs designed to fit Sentinel-2-style workflows.
  • TOA / BOA: Top-of-atmosphere vs bottom-of-atmosphere style output workflows.

See: Models: Stratus and Nimbus, Data product overview, Source attribution and external use.

Ordering Concepts​

  • AOI (Area of Interest): Geography you order for.
  • Polygon order: AOI defined by submitted geometry (Wkt / GeoJson).
  • Tile order: AOI defined by predefined tile GUIDs.
  • Minitile order: AOI defined by smaller predefined units.
  • Historical order: Fixed range using From and To.
  • Recurring order: Ongoing order where To is omitted.
  • Image frequency: Revisit cadence (daily to weekly style settings).
  • Reference date: Anchor date that aligns cadence behavior.

See: Ordering overview, Historical vs recurring orders.

Availability Concepts​

  • Coverage: Whether your orders/geographies include a location.
  • Availability: Whether imagery is ready for the exact date/settings requested.
  • Fully available: All required data for a request is ready.
  • Partially available: Some required data exists; full output may not be complete.

See: Check availability, Availability endpoints.

Order Status Concepts​

  • Order status: Lifecycle progression state of an order (for example Completed or UpToDate).
  • Completed: Historical/non-recurring order has finished production lifecycle.
  • UpToDate: Recurring order is caught up for the latest cycle.

See: Check order status, My Orders.

Download Concepts​

  • Composite download: Download for custom geometry.
  • Tile/minitile download: Download by predefined GUIDs.
  • Band selection (bandnames): Choose RGB, all bands, custom bands, or index expressions.
  • EPSG / UTM: Projection choices for output geometry and quality.
  • Data type: Output encoding such as INT16 or UINT8.

See: Download with the API, Bands, formats, scaling, and metadata.

Billing Concepts​

  • Order credits (EUR): Used when creating orders.
  • Processing units: Used when downloading data.
  • Monthly spend tiers: Determine effective EUR/km2 rates.
  • Storage duration: Retention window for downloadable order data.

See: Pricing overview, Order credits vs processing units.

Commonly Confused Terms​

  • Coverage vs availability: Coverage means ordered footprint; availability means data ready for the exact request.
  • Order status vs availability: Status tracks lifecycle progression; availability tracks date-level download readiness.
  • Order credits vs processing units: Order credits create orders; processing units retrieve outputs.
  • Historical vs recurring: Historical ends at To; recurring continues month-to-month.
  • Polygon vs composite: Polygon is an order mode; composite is a download mode.

Next Step​

Go to Choose your path and follow the track that matches your goal.