Πηγή: GIF, Jul/Aug 2010
20100915
Astrium And ScanEx Sign An Exclusive Deal On New Spot Birds
 This latest partnership builds upon Spot Image's long standing collaboration with ScanEx that began with distribution rights for imagery from the SPOT 2 and 4 satellites. |
Astrium Services has signed a ten-year partnership with the Russian research and development centre ScanEx for the reception and distribution rights on the upcoming SPOT 6 and 7 satellites. This partnership, which also provides ScanEx the exclusive reception and distribution rights on the SPOT 5 satellite, is part of a long term cooperation programme between Astrium and Russian industry. ScanEx is a remote sensing company offering a complete set of services ranging from the acquisition to the processing of Earth observation images from space.
ScanEx is now the exclusive regional partner throughout the Russian Federation for the SPOT 4 and 5 satellites and the upcoming SPOT 6 and 7 satellites, guaranteeing continued access to high-resolution optical data. This exclusivity over the next ten years will enable ScanEx to secure access to high-resolution data until 2019.
20100907
20100904
Critical Polar Data Flows Briskly To Researchers
 On Oct. 31, 2009, researchers with NASA's Operation IceBridge mission used the Airborne Topographic Mapper instrument to compile data for this elevation map of Antarctica's Crane Glacier. Similar data has been archived, available to researchers, at the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Credit: Kyle Krabill and the NASA ATM team |
Operation IceBridge - a NASA airborne mission to observe changes in Earth's rapidly changing polar land ice and sea ice - is soon to embark on its fourth field season in October. The mission is now paralleled by a campaign to bring data to researchers as quickly as possible and to accelerate the analysis of those changes and how they may affect people and climate systems. "Anyone can access the wealth of IceBridge data online, and do so free of charge and without a formal request," said Michael Studinger, IceBridge project scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "It's critical for data to be free and accessible so scientists can conduct timely studies of ice dynamics and a changing climate."
In 2009, mission scientists and crew flew 41 flights and collected data over about 143,000 miles - equivalent to 5.7 trips around the Earth. NASA and its designated archive for IceBridge data, the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) at the University of Colorado at Boulder, have teamed to move that data from the aircraft and instruments to researchers' computers.
In the Arctic, they used laser altimeters to collect surface elevation information for ice sheets and sea ice previously observed by NASA's Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite (ICESat). Radar turned up measurements of snow depth on sea ice during a cross-Arctic flight.
LockMart Advancing on Next-Gen Commercial Remote Sensing System For GeoEye
 File image: GeoEye-2. |
The Lockheed Martin team developing GeoEye's next-generation, high-resolution commercial Earth-imaging satellite system known as GeoEye-2, has successfully completed on-schedule a System Requirements Review (SRR), an important program milestone that precedes the Preliminary Design Review. With launch scheduled to support start of operations in 2013, Lockheed Martin is developing GeoEye-2 under a fixed price contract to support the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency's (NGA) EnhancedView commercial imagery program. GeoEye was awarded an EnhancedView contract worth up to $3.8 billion on Aug. 6, 2010.
EnhancedView is designed to provide critical geospatial situational awareness and global security information to intelligence analysts, war fighters and decision makers. GeoEye's commercial users will also benefit from access to imagery from GeoEye-2.
The successful SRR verified the maturity of Lockheed Martin's system design for meeting the key user requirements and the team's readiness to proceed with the Preliminary Design Review phase scheduled for completion later this year.
ESPI Report 25 on “Current Legal Issues for Satellite Earth Observation” online
| ESPI Report 25 on “Current Legal Issues for Satellite Earth Observation” online |  |  |  |
 | 25 August 2010. ESPI Report 25 addresses the crucial legal questions on the use of satellite imagery data for treaty monitoring and on privacy conflicts derived of satellite data collection and use. The report rises the issues that are now beginning to sprout and will be at the spotlight of legal experts and EO application developers in the coming years. |
The full title of this report is “Current Legal Issues for Satellite Earth Observation: Treaty Verification and Law Enforcement Through Satellite Observation, Privacy Conflicts from High Resolution Imaging”. It gathers contributions from leading legal and technical experts on those two main topics. Starting by a general overview on emerging legal issues of satellite EO imagery, the contributions expose practical examples such as the legal concerns to be taken into account by GMES and those involved in disaster management to follow with the use of Satellite EO imagery for treaty verification and enforcement. Contributions lined up in the second part of the publication bring forward privacy issues already raised in other contexts which are also applicable to satellite EO imagery, move then to analysing the general understanding of privacy and the challenges to apply it to a global instrument and finalise with the application of the European Convention on Human Rights and EU law to this space application. The report is the outcome of the conference that was held in ESPI on 8-9 April 2010 (related webnews here) and is composed by the contributions of the speakers on their topics as well as a report of the roundtable and conference conclusions. The publication (as the conference) is a joint endeavour of ESPI with the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS, represented by Rainer Sandau, who is also a co-editor of the Report) including the cooperation with the International Institute of Space Law (IISL) and the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA), which was led on ESPI’s side by Resident Fellow Matxalen Sánchez Aranzamendi.
Contributors to ESPI Report 25 (from left): Kai-Uwe Schrogl (ESPI), Ray Purdy (Faculty of Laws, University College London Bentham House), Catherine Doldirina (McGill University, Montreal), Jean-Michel Contant (IAA), Matxalen Sánchez Aranzamendi (ESPI), Gunter Schreier (DLR), Ed Parsons (Google Earth), Herbert Allgeier (Chairman of the ESPI Advisory Council), George Cho (Law Faculty of Applied Science, University of Canberra), Frans G. von der Dunk (Space and Telecommunications Law Program, University of Nebraska), Sai'd Mosteshar (London Institute for Space Policy and Law), Atsuyo Ito (Researcher, Tokyo), Rainer Sandau (ISPRS-IPAC), Jean-Francois Mayence (Belgian Federal Office for Science Policy), Tanja Masson-Zwaan (IISL), Jana Jentzsch (Attorney-at -law, Hamburg)
Download:
ESPI Report 25 : “Current Legal Issues for Satellite Earth Observation: Treaty Verification and Law Enforcement Through Satellite Observation, Privacy Conflicts from High Resolution Imaging”
20100901
Center For Satellite Based Crisis Information (ZKI) Gets New Web Portal
 All mapping activities of ZKI at a glance: Activations world map |
The Center for Satellite Based Crisis Information (ZKI) of DLR has celebrated the relaunch of it's web-portal. The old portal, that existed since the very beginning of this DLR service, has been fundamentally overhauled, both in visual and technical respect. It is offering now contemporary and comfortable access to the products of ZKI and to the information about recent activities and projects.
Ever since 2003 the ZKI offers to users via its web-portal fast, cost-free, and public access to its products.
Numerous relief organizations, decision makers and situation rooms have made use of the opportunity to download overall maps, damage maps, and reference material, derived and cartographically pre-processed from satellite- or aerial imagery, and to integrate this information into their aid- or prevention measures.
Since 2006 the portal has also granted free access to data from the ZKI fireservice, offering maps, satellite images and statistics about recent fire events in Europe, derived by automatic data processing from MODIS data, received at DLR.
The new portal will facilitate the access to both data and value added products, and built up the technological base for advanced services.
From there, by the end of this year, registered users will have the opportunity to use a web-mapping component, supporting accelerated access to recent satellite images for situation assessment, interactive determination of image crop and scale, and the overlay of available supplementary layers of geo-information.
The Face Of The Earth
 Mount Teide, Tenerife. 3D view of a TanDEM-X digital elevation model combined with radar intensity data. Credit: DLR. To see the other images mentioned in the body of this article please go here. |
For a month now, we have been acquiring altitude models with the TanDEM-X and TerraSAR-X satellite pair. Already, over 1000 products have come out of our operational processing chain. Alongside many test images, some of the data also give an insight into how humankind has shaped the surface of the Earth - and how the highs and lows around them have determined the course of their lives. Many of the interferometric images created over the last few weeks have used test data acquired over flat areas to enable us to test the stability and precision of our imaging and processing chains with minimal altitude changes. Some of the images, on the other hand, have been of exceptionally complicated terrain, in order to test the transformation of interferograms into altitude data.
The satellites are still not flying in close formation with synchronous data acquisition, so the ultimate altitude precision cannot yet been achieved. Also, the final steps for calibrating the processing chain have not yet been performed. Nevertheless, the images are already of impressive quality and are showing us details that were not previously visible from space.
We in the processing team have always enjoyed activating the display software in the processor and looking not just at a dry series of numbers but also at the 3D elevation models (Digital Elevation Models; DEMs) that the software produces.
There are several ways we can look at the 3D structure of the terrain. The images on this page use the radar signal (backscatter) intensity to determine the brightness of the image and the altitude of the terrain to select the colour (from blue-green to red-brown and then white).
Of course, the computer can also 'look' at the DEM from an oblique angle to achieve a 3D-effect, with the heights exaggerated for clarity.
The example of the 3718-metre high Mount Teide, on the island of Tenerife, shows particularly well how the two radar satellites perceive the landscape. The satellites imaged the island at an angle from the left, and the dark shadows in the valleys are areas that the radar signals could not reach, while the bright sides of the mountain were fully illuminated.
Need to blend free satellite images with paid ones
Publish Date: 27 August 2010
Bangalore, India: Blending free distribution of satellite images with paid images was essential to ensure a sustainable business model, according to Tom Snitch, Senior Advisor, Global Issues, Geoeye.
Speaking on 'Commercialisation of Space-Remote Sensing Systems Applications and Value Additions' in the ongoing Bengaluru Space Expo-2010, he said one of the major issues was the question of "distribution of low-price or free images from public imaging systems in direct competition with commercial providers. Satellite imaging was very expensive. Hence there was need for building up a viable business model to generate a steady revenue stream.”
Bangalore, India: Blending free distribution of satellite images with paid images was essential to ensure a sustainable business model, according to Tom Snitch, Senior Advisor, Global Issues, Geoeye. Speaking on 'Commercialisation of Space-Remote Sensing Systems Applications and Value Additions' in the ongoing Bengaluru Space Expo-2010, he said one of the major issues was the question of "distribution of low-price or free images from public imaging systems in direct competition with commercial providers. Satellite imaging was very expensive. Hence there was need for building up a viable business model to generate a steady revenue stream.”
Google the ‘sole-source’ for the NGA’s project
Publish Date: 23 August 2010
US: The United States’ National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) has announced that it intends to make Google the “sole-source” for the NGA’s Geospatial Visualization Enterprises Services project.
A “sole-source” provider means that the NGA believes that Google is the only qualified provider and is the only company that can bid on the project. Competitors can voice their objections by August 24.
The NGA’s Geospatial Visualization Enterprises Services contract is for a, “secured, hosted environment that provides web-based access to geospatial visualisation services and Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) complaint web service interfaces.” The contract is for at least one year with two option years.
The announcement comes days after GeoEye and DigitalGlobe were awarded multi-billion dollar contracts by the NGA to provide satellite imagery.
Source: TNW
US: The United States’ National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) has announced that it intends to make Google the “sole-source” for the NGA’s Geospatial Visualization Enterprises Services project. A “sole-source” provider means that the NGA believes that Google is the only qualified provider and is the only company that can bid on the project. Competitors can voice their objections by August 24.
The NGA’s Geospatial Visualization Enterprises Services contract is for a, “secured, hosted environment that provides web-based access to geospatial visualisation services and Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) complaint web service interfaces.” The contract is for at least one year with two option years.
The announcement comes days after GeoEye and DigitalGlobe were awarded multi-billion dollar contracts by the NGA to provide satellite imagery.
Source: TNW
GeoEye amongst ‘100 Fastest-Growing Companies’
Publish Date: 25 August 2010
Virginia, US: GeoEye announced that it has been ranked 84th on FORTUNE Magazine's 2010 "100 Fastest-Growing Companies" list. The complete list and related stories will appear in the September 6, 2010 issue.
GeoEye qualified for the 100 Fastest-Growing Companies list by meeting several criteria which include posting an annualised growth in revenue and earnings per share of at least 15 per cent annually over the three years ended on or before April 30, 2010; trading on a major US stock exchange continuously since June 30, 2007; filing quarterly reports with the SEC; having a minimum market capitalisation of USD 250 million; and having a stock price of at least USD 5 on June 30, 2010. The company also had revenue and net income of at least USD 50 million and USD 10 million respectively, for the four quarters ended on or before April 30, 2010.
Companies that met the above criteria were ranked by revenue growth rate; EPS growth rate; and three-year annualised total return for the period ended June 30, 2010. To compute the revenue and EPS growth rates, FORTUNE used a trailing four quarters log linear least square regression fit. The overall rank was based on the sum of the three ranks.
FORTUNE Managing Editor Andy Serwer has written in the September 6, 2010 issue, "The troubled economy is on all of our minds these days, but sometimes we forget that even in the long slog we seem to be in, entrepreneurs are hard at work, creating the next Cisco or Amgen or Starbucks."
Matt O'Connell, GeoEye's Chief Executive Officer and President, said, "The worldwide demand for satellite imagery, change monitoring and surveillance continues to resist recessions and budget pressures. This, along with GeoEye's ability to collect and disseminate imagery with the world's highest resolution and unmatched accuracy in a timely, reliable and cost-efficient manner, will continue to drive the growth of our business."
Source: GeoEye
Virginia, US: GeoEye announced that it has been ranked 84th on FORTUNE Magazine's 2010 "100 Fastest-Growing Companies" list. The complete list and related stories will appear in the September 6, 2010 issue. GeoEye qualified for the 100 Fastest-Growing Companies list by meeting several criteria which include posting an annualised growth in revenue and earnings per share of at least 15 per cent annually over the three years ended on or before April 30, 2010; trading on a major US stock exchange continuously since June 30, 2007; filing quarterly reports with the SEC; having a minimum market capitalisation of USD 250 million; and having a stock price of at least USD 5 on June 30, 2010. The company also had revenue and net income of at least USD 50 million and USD 10 million respectively, for the four quarters ended on or before April 30, 2010.
Companies that met the above criteria were ranked by revenue growth rate; EPS growth rate; and three-year annualised total return for the period ended June 30, 2010. To compute the revenue and EPS growth rates, FORTUNE used a trailing four quarters log linear least square regression fit. The overall rank was based on the sum of the three ranks.
FORTUNE Managing Editor Andy Serwer has written in the September 6, 2010 issue, "The troubled economy is on all of our minds these days, but sometimes we forget that even in the long slog we seem to be in, entrepreneurs are hard at work, creating the next Cisco or Amgen or Starbucks."
Matt O'Connell, GeoEye's Chief Executive Officer and President, said, "The worldwide demand for satellite imagery, change monitoring and surveillance continues to resist recessions and budget pressures. This, along with GeoEye's ability to collect and disseminate imagery with the world's highest resolution and unmatched accuracy in a timely, reliable and cost-efficient manner, will continue to drive the growth of our business."
Source: GeoEye
Canadian PM supports GenNext RS satellites
Publish Date: 26 August 2010
Canada: Stephen Harper, Prime Minister, Canada, announced support for the next phase of the RADARSAT Constellation Mission (RCM), a system of three advanced remote sensing (RS) satellites.
Through Budget 2010, the Harper Government announced additional support for the Canadian Space Agency to develop the RADARSAT Constellation Mission. Government support for the RCM will advance the Government’s priority to position Canada as a key player in advanced research and space technology development.
“By supporting the world-class RADARSAT Constellation Mission, our Government will ensure Canada maintains its role as a world leader in aerospace technology,” Prime Minister Harper said. “This cutting-edge project will create highly-skilled jobs, and attract the world’s best scientists, technicians and engineers to Canada’s world-renowned space industry.”
From the unique vantage point of space, the RADARSAT Constellation will provide National Defence with daily coverage of Canada’s land mass and ocean approaches from coast-to-coast-to-coast, especially in the Arctic, and support our troops deployed on active service in Canada and abroad.
“The RADARSAT project has consistently allowed us to defend our Arctic sovereignty, protect the Arctic ecosystem, and develop our resources,” said Prime Minister Harper. “This new phase of RADARSAT will ensure we stay at the forefront of these priorities.”
Source: pm.gc.ca
Canada: Stephen Harper, Prime Minister, Canada, announced support for the next phase of the RADARSAT Constellation Mission (RCM), a system of three advanced remote sensing (RS) satellites.Through Budget 2010, the Harper Government announced additional support for the Canadian Space Agency to develop the RADARSAT Constellation Mission. Government support for the RCM will advance the Government’s priority to position Canada as a key player in advanced research and space technology development.
“By supporting the world-class RADARSAT Constellation Mission, our Government will ensure Canada maintains its role as a world leader in aerospace technology,” Prime Minister Harper said. “This cutting-edge project will create highly-skilled jobs, and attract the world’s best scientists, technicians and engineers to Canada’s world-renowned space industry.”
From the unique vantage point of space, the RADARSAT Constellation will provide National Defence with daily coverage of Canada’s land mass and ocean approaches from coast-to-coast-to-coast, especially in the Arctic, and support our troops deployed on active service in Canada and abroad.
“The RADARSAT project has consistently allowed us to defend our Arctic sovereignty, protect the Arctic ecosystem, and develop our resources,” said Prime Minister Harper. “This new phase of RADARSAT will ensure we stay at the forefront of these priorities.”
Source: pm.gc.ca
Japan loses spy satellite
 disclaimer: image is for illustration purposes only |
Japan's only working radar satellite has malfunctioned and officials say they may not be able to save it. The intelligence-gathering satellite aimed at North Korea and China started acting up Monday, The Yomiuri Shimbun said Sunday.
Officials at Japan's Cabinet Satellite Intelligence Center said the likelihood of the orbiter being saved is "extremely grim." A replacement satellite can't be launched until 2011.
Its loss will hamper Japan's intelligence-gathering activities over North Korea and China at a time when both countries are expanding military capabilities, the report said.
Japan has three optical intelligence-gathering satellites, one of which has already passed its life expectancy; its other radar satellite quit working in 2007.
Officials said the radar satellite's batteries could be causing the problem. It was launched in 2007 and should have operated until 2012, the report said.
Japan plans to launch four intelligence-gathering satellites in fiscal year 2012, two for photo-reconnaissance, and two cloud-penetrating radar satellites.
20100828
First Successful Corona Remote Sensing Satellite Marks 50 Year Anniversary
 First Imagery Taken By CORONA - Mys Shmidta Air Field, USSR. |
Lockheed Martin has congratulated the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) and National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) on the 50-year anniversary of the first Corona photo reconnaissance satellite image from space, which ushered in new space-based capabilities for the nation. First developed as a joint U.S. Air Force and Central Intelligence Agency program to provide surveillance from space of denied territories, Corona achieved mission success on August 18, 1960 when an Air Force C-119 aircraft recovered in mid-air the satellite's capsule containing imagery captured by the satellite's panoramic camera system.
Corona, which had to surpass technical barriers never crossed before, served as a foundation program for the NRO. Launched into polar orbits by U.S. Air Force Thor boosters, the spacecraft flew at approximate altitudes of 100 nautical miles to take pictures of selected target areas. The exposed film, some 2.1 million feet, was returned to earth in capsules ejected from the satellites.
Hexagon-Intergraph deal: (Re)defining geospatial ecosystem
TOUTED AS THE MOST SIGNIFICANT ACQUISITION EVER IN GEOSPATIAL DOMAIN, THE HEXAGON-INTERGRAPH DEAL IS RAISING AN INTERESTING DEBATE OVER THE FUTURE OF THE INDUSTRY. SANJAY KUMAR, CEO, GIS DEVELOPMENT GIVES AN EXHAUSTIVE ANALYSIS...
As geospatial industry entered a phase of consolidation and expansion, there have been several acquisitions and mergers over the past five years. Apart from a few core 'GIS companies', rest of the industry has been busy finding ways and means to expand their product portfolio and integrate their offerings to the geospatial user base. Several innovative approaches by companies towards business development have led to increasing the utility and relevance of geospatial industry.
As geospatial industry entered a phase of consolidation and expansion, there have been several acquisitions and mergers over the past five years. Apart from a few core 'GIS companies', rest of the industry has been busy finding ways and means to expand their product portfolio and integrate their offerings to the geospatial user base. Several innovative approaches by companies towards business development have led to increasing the utility and relevance of geospatial industry.
China Launches New Mapping Satellite
 A mapping satellite, "Mapping Satellite - I," is launched from the northwestern Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, at 3:10 p.m. (Beijing time) on Aug. 24, 2010. The satellite, which was launched on a Long March 2-D carrier rocket, had entered into the preset orbit, according to the center. (Xinhua/Liang Jie) |
China successfully launched a mapping satellite, "Mapping Satellite - I," from the northwestern Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at 3:10 p.m. (Beijing time) Tuesday. The satellite, which was launched on a Long March 2-D carrier rocket, had entered into the preset orbit, according to the center.
The satellite, developed by a company under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), would be mainly used to conduct scientific experiments, carry out surveys on land resources, and mapping, said a statement on the Ministry of National Defense website.
The remote sensing information and test results from the satellite would promote the country's scientific research and economic development, said the statement.
The launch was the 128th for China's Long March series of rockets since April 24, 1970, when a Long March-1 rocket successfully sent the country's first satellite Dongfanghong-1 into the space.
Source: Source: Xinhua
20100818
TanDEM-X Answers Its First Call For Crisis Assistance
 Left: brightness data. Centre: interferometric phase. Right: incoherent areas marked in blue. Credit: DLR. |
We were able to help not only with radar images but we also used TanDEM-X for interferometry in formation with TerraSAR-X for the first time. This has provided a more reliable technique to map floods instantaneously and more accurately, in one pass and without the need for archived data.
Radar imaging is a well-established tool for distinguishing smooth surfaces, which appear dark in radar data, from the rougher, brighter surroundings. This characteristic of radar can be used to detect an area flooded with calm water or to identify oil spills - where the water surface is flat, in contrast to the wind-induced ripples on the unpolluted sea surface.
20100816
RS technique locates ancient burial sites
Publish Date: 13 August 2010
Nagpur, India: Using remote sensing imagery in a unique way, a scientist at the Maharashtra Remote Sensing and Applications Centre (MRSAC), India, has located two burial sites of about 3000-3500 years back. Junapani, one of these megaliths (large stones), found 9 km far from the Nagpur city. Though, the site is known to the archaeologists, it has last been mentioned in the Nagpur Gazetteer in 1930. There is no mention of the settlement after that in the government’s toposheets.
"Remote sensing imageries are rarely used for studying archaeological sites. It is interesting that the satellite can pick up the exact number and location of the burials. In fact we can even locate other burials or any other archaeological site specifically through satellite images. It is emerging area in use of remote sensing technology," said Sapna Deotale, an associate scientist at MRSAC who is studying the place as part of her doctorate degree. She presented her work at the "remote sensing day' programme organised by MRSAC to mark Vikram Sarabhai's birth anniversary.
Spread in an area of about 6-7 km, the megaliths can be of much historical importance and have potential of being converted into a heritage site. The megaliths were located using "quick bird" remote sensing satellite. Vinod Bothale, Director, MRSAC, said that the megaliths of Junapani like all burial sites in Nagpur and adjoining districts of Gadchiroli, Chandrapur and Bhandara districts in Vidarbha are made of basalt rocks. Basalt being black the megaliths appears as small black rings on the satellite image. The Junapani burial site has about 100-125 megaliths. "This is one of the most unique uses of remote sensing imagery," Bothale added.
Source: Times of India
Nagpur, India: Using remote sensing imagery in a unique way, a scientist at the Maharashtra Remote Sensing and Applications Centre (MRSAC), India, has located two burial sites of about 3000-3500 years back. Junapani, one of these megaliths (large stones), found 9 km far from the Nagpur city. Though, the site is known to the archaeologists, it has last been mentioned in the Nagpur Gazetteer in 1930. There is no mention of the settlement after that in the government’s toposheets."Remote sensing imageries are rarely used for studying archaeological sites. It is interesting that the satellite can pick up the exact number and location of the burials. In fact we can even locate other burials or any other archaeological site specifically through satellite images. It is emerging area in use of remote sensing technology," said Sapna Deotale, an associate scientist at MRSAC who is studying the place as part of her doctorate degree. She presented her work at the "remote sensing day' programme organised by MRSAC to mark Vikram Sarabhai's birth anniversary.
Spread in an area of about 6-7 km, the megaliths can be of much historical importance and have potential of being converted into a heritage site. The megaliths were located using "quick bird" remote sensing satellite. Vinod Bothale, Director, MRSAC, said that the megaliths of Junapani like all burial sites in Nagpur and adjoining districts of Gadchiroli, Chandrapur and Bhandara districts in Vidarbha are made of basalt rocks. Basalt being black the megaliths appears as small black rings on the satellite image. The Junapani burial site has about 100-125 megaliths. "This is one of the most unique uses of remote sensing imagery," Bothale added.
Source: Times of India
South Africa, Russia sign agreement on earth observation
Publish Date: 09 August 2010
South Africa: South Africa and Russia have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on collaboration in the area of earth observation. Dr Sandile Malinga, Chief Executive of the South African National Space Agency (SANSA) and Professor Alex Perminov, President of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), signed the MoU.
The Department of Science and Technology, South Africa, said that the MoU allows for South Africa and Russia, to collaborate through joint initiatives in the area of earth observation and also in other important areas of space science and technology. It paves the way for South Africa to access historic Russian satellite data collected over southern Africa, thus complimenting and adding to the richness of archived satellite imagery.
Highlighting the importance of the MoU, Malinga pointed out that it would benefit remote sensing applications geared towards addressing South Africa’s socio-economic problems that rely on the use of such datasets. “This initiative will certainly help bolster our extensive archive of satellite imagery collected over the Southern African Development Community region and facilitate the development of human capital in South Africa,” Malinga said.
Minister of Science and Technology, Naledi Pandor, said, “Striking international partnerships of this nature bode well for South Africa’s standing and positioning in the global space arena and, on the regional front, place us as leaders in the strategic area of remote sensing.”
Naledi Pandor also revealed South Africa's ambition to enter the space launch business and Cabinet in February approved the acquisition of a majority stake in the Sun Space and Information Systems company that built the R26 million, 81kg Sumbandilasat low-earth orbit earth observation satellite for Pador's department.
Source: DefenceWeb
South Africa: South Africa and Russia have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on collaboration in the area of earth observation. Dr Sandile Malinga, Chief Executive of the South African National Space Agency (SANSA) and Professor Alex Perminov, President of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), signed the MoU.The Department of Science and Technology, South Africa, said that the MoU allows for South Africa and Russia, to collaborate through joint initiatives in the area of earth observation and also in other important areas of space science and technology. It paves the way for South Africa to access historic Russian satellite data collected over southern Africa, thus complimenting and adding to the richness of archived satellite imagery.
Highlighting the importance of the MoU, Malinga pointed out that it would benefit remote sensing applications geared towards addressing South Africa’s socio-economic problems that rely on the use of such datasets. “This initiative will certainly help bolster our extensive archive of satellite imagery collected over the Southern African Development Community region and facilitate the development of human capital in South Africa,” Malinga said.
Minister of Science and Technology, Naledi Pandor, said, “Striking international partnerships of this nature bode well for South Africa’s standing and positioning in the global space arena and, on the regional front, place us as leaders in the strategic area of remote sensing.”
Naledi Pandor also revealed South Africa's ambition to enter the space launch business and Cabinet in February approved the acquisition of a majority stake in the Sun Space and Information Systems company that built the R26 million, 81kg Sumbandilasat low-earth orbit earth observation satellite for Pador's department.
Source: DefenceWeb
DigitalGlobe, GeoEye bag NGA contract
Publish Date: 10 August 2010
US: The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) awarded GeoEye and DigitalGlobe, 10-year contracts worth a combined USD 7.35 billion to fulfil intelligence needs of the US government.
DigitalGlobe said that it has entered into a USD 3.55 billion agreement with NGA, under the EnhancedView procurement, effective September 1, 2010 upon expiration of the company’s NextView Agreement. On the other hand, GeoEye confirmed that it has won a USD 3.8 billion contract award from the NGA for increased commercial satellite-imaging capacity. This competitively awarded contract supports the EnhancedView programme by providing products and services that will help meet the increasing geospatial intelligence needs of the intelligence community and Department of Defense.
The award for DigitalGlobe includes supply of satellite imagery from the WorldView satellite constellation under a Service Level Agreement ("EnhancedView SLA") in a total amount of USD 2.8 billion. The agreement also provides for up to USD 750 million for value added products, infrastructure enhancements and other services.
The award for GeoEye includes:
- USD 2.8 billion for commercial satellite imagery purchases over the next ten years.
- USD 337 million cost share for the development and launch of GeoEye-2.
- USD 700 million for value-added products and services to include the design and procurement of additional infrastructure to support government operations. This also includes our EyeQ Web Mapping Services to be delivered under the Service Level Agreement (SLA).
Matt O'Connell, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), GeoEye, said, "With this award, we will continue the accelerated development of our GeoEye-2 satellite so that it is operational in 2013. We will also upgrade our infrastructure and continue expanding our Web-delivery systems so that we can deliver the world's best commercial imagery to the NGA and our other customers anywhere, anytime."
Source: GeoEye & DigitalGlobe
US: The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) awarded GeoEye and DigitalGlobe, 10-year contracts worth a combined USD 7.35 billion to fulfil intelligence needs of the US government.DigitalGlobe said that it has entered into a USD 3.55 billion agreement with NGA, under the EnhancedView procurement, effective September 1, 2010 upon expiration of the company’s NextView Agreement. On the other hand, GeoEye confirmed that it has won a USD 3.8 billion contract award from the NGA for increased commercial satellite-imaging capacity. This competitively awarded contract supports the EnhancedView programme by providing products and services that will help meet the increasing geospatial intelligence needs of the intelligence community and Department of Defense.
The award for DigitalGlobe includes supply of satellite imagery from the WorldView satellite constellation under a Service Level Agreement ("EnhancedView SLA") in a total amount of USD 2.8 billion. The agreement also provides for up to USD 750 million for value added products, infrastructure enhancements and other services.
The award for GeoEye includes:
- USD 2.8 billion for commercial satellite imagery purchases over the next ten years.
- USD 337 million cost share for the development and launch of GeoEye-2.
- USD 700 million for value-added products and services to include the design and procurement of additional infrastructure to support government operations. This also includes our EyeQ Web Mapping Services to be delivered under the Service Level Agreement (SLA).
Matt O'Connell, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), GeoEye, said, "With this award, we will continue the accelerated development of our GeoEye-2 satellite so that it is operational in 2013. We will also upgrade our infrastructure and continue expanding our Web-delivery systems so that we can deliver the world's best commercial imagery to the NGA and our other customers anywhere, anytime."
Source: GeoEye & DigitalGlobe
Terra Satellite Sees Intense Fires And Smoke Over Western Russia
 The MODIS instrument on NASA's Terra satellite detected two clusters of intense fires when it acquired a photo-like image. The fires are outlined in red. Credit: NASA Goddard/MODIS Rapid Response Team, Jeff Schmaltz |
The MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. created the composite image, and diagonal lines mark the seams between each image.
The first cluster of fires is southeast of Moscow.
Though the fires were producing thick smoke when MODIS captured the image on August 12, the smoke was blowing away from the city.
Moscow appeared to have relatively smoke-free skies compared to previous days.
The second cluster of fires is in the Ural Mountains.
The smoke from these fires extends south into Kazakhstan.
Apart from the thick plume of smoke that seems to connect the two fire regions, a lighter pall of smoke hangs over southern Russia and northern Kazakhstan.
20100814
China Orbits New Remote-Sensing Satellite
 File image. |
Western experts believe, though, that this class of satellites could be used for reconnaissance and other military purposes.
The previous satellite in the series, Yaogan IX, was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern Gansu Province on March 5.
China, which has unveiled comprehensive space exploration plans, launched its first Yaogan class satellite in 2006.
Inauguration Of First DLR Ground Station In Canada
 On 10 August 2010, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) inaugurated its first satellite data receiving station in Inuvik, Canada. DLR will use the new ground station particularly to receive data for the German TanDEM-X satellite mission. Using the large, 13-metre antenna, partner countries Germany and Canada as well as scientists from around the world and other external users will be able to access important satellite data, process and evaluate them. Credit: DLR. |
Cooperation between DLR, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing (CCRS) has existed for many years and will be taken a step further with this new receiving station.
"The commissioning of the first DLR ground station in Canada opens a new chapter in German-Canadian cooperation in space. For the first time, facilities of both countries will use their competencies together to receive Earth observation data at a joint location," said Prof. Johann-Dietrich Worner, Chairman of the DLR Board.
Reliable and close to the pole Located in the western Arctic, Inuvik is the northernmost settlement in Canada that is accessible by road throughout the year. The new DLR ground station is located inside the Arctic Circle. This guarantees that the antenna can achieve long duration, multiple daily contacts with all Earth observation satellites in polar orbits and ensures seamless data reception.
WISE Spacecraft Warming Up
 WISE completed its primary mission, a full scan of the entire sky in infrared light, on July 17, 2010. The mission has taken more than 1.5 million snapshots so far, uncovering hundreds of millions of objects, including asteroids, stars and galaxies. |
One of WISE's infrared detectors, the longest-wavelength band most sensitive to heat, stopped producing useful data once the telescope warmed to 31 Kelvin (minus 404 degrees Fahrenheit).
The primary tank still has a healthy supply of coolant, and data quality from the remaining infrared detectors remains high.
WISE completed its primary mission, a full scan of the entire sky in infrared light, on July 17, 2010. The mission has taken more than 1.5 million snapshots so far, uncovering hundreds of millions of objects, including asteroids, stars and galaxies.
It has discovered more than 29,000 new asteroids to date, more than 100 near-Earth objects and 15 comets.
WISE is continuing a second survey of about one-half the sky as originally planned.
It's possible the remaining coolant will run out before that scan is finished. Scientists say the second scan will help identify new and nearby objects, as well as those that have changed in brightness. It could also help to confirm oddball objects picked up in the first scan.
First Satellite Measurement Of Water Volume In Amazon Floodplain
 Aerial view of the Brazilian Amazon and Amazon River. Credit: iStockphoto. |
But it accounts for only 5 percent of the water flowing through the Amazon River every year, and it is a much smaller amount than researchers were expecting to find in the largest drainage basin in the world.
Doug Alsdorf, associate professor of earth sciences at Ohio State University, and his colleagues report their study online in the journal Remote Sensing of Environment, in a paper to appear in a future print edition.
Until now, researchers could only estimate the amount of water in the Amazon floodplain using a few sporadic field studies and crude assumptions about water flow. In fact, water volumes on any floodplain are poorly known, if at all. Yet this information is critical to predicting the floods and droughts that could accompany global climate change, explained Alsdorf.
Much of Earth's available fresh water resides in remote rivers, lakes and wetlands, and also underground.
"Nobody knows exactly how much water there is on the planet," he said. "We need to understand how our water supply will change as the climate changes, and the first step is getting a handle on how much water we actually have."
NASA Video Shows Global Reach Of Pollution From Fires
 The concentration and global transport of carbon monoxide pollution from fires burning in Russia, Siberia and Canada is depicted in two NASA animations created with data from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument on NASA's Aqua spacecraft. Image credit: NASA/JPL. View the animation here. |
The abundance of carbon monoxide is shown in parts per billion, with the highest concentrations shown in yellows and reds.
The first movie, centered over Moscow, highlights the series of wildfires that continue to burn across Russia. It covers the period between July 18 and Aug. 10, 2010.
The second movie is centered over the North Pole and covers the period from July 16 to Aug. 10, 2010. From this vantage point, the long-range transport of pollutants is more easily visible.
UA-Operated Stereo Camera Selected For Mars Mission
 The UA's High Resolution Stereo Color Imager, or HiSCI, features an innovative rotation drive for three-dimensional imaging. As the instrument orbits the Red Planet, it snaps pictures once a feature of interest on the surface below comes into view. HiSCI then swings around and takes more pictures of the feature as it passes overhead. |
The mission will focus on trace gases, including methane, which could be potentially geochemical or biological in origin and be indicators for the existence of life on Mars. It also will serve as an additional communications relay for Mars surface missions beginning in 2018.
A stereo camera called the High Resolution Stereo Color Imager, or HiSCI, operated by the UA, will be a part of the orbiter.
NASA Spacecraft Camera Yields Most Accurate Mars Map Ever
 Valles Marineris, the "Grand Canyon of Mars," sprawls wide enough to reach from Los Angeles to nearly New York City, if it were located on Earth. The red outline box shows the location of a second, full-resolution image. Credit: NASA/JPL/Arizona State University. The new map is available here |
The pictures have been smoothed, matched, blended and cartographically controlled to make a giant mosaic. Users can pan around images and zoom into them. At full zoom, the smallest surface details are 100 meters (330 feet) wide. While portions of Mars have been mapped at higher resolution, this map provides the most accurate view so far of the entire planet.
20100811
First US woman intelligence agency chief appointed
 This undated photo courtesy of the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency shows Letitia Long. The US government has appointed its first female chief of a major intelligence bureau, with Letitia Long taking over August 9, 2010 as director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.The NGA is responsible for collecting and analyzing information from satellite imagery and works with the Pentagon and other departments on defense issues, homeland security, and navigation safety. It's motto is "Know the Earth, shows the way." Long has spent more than three decades in military and intelligence fields, beginning her career in the US Navy in 1978. Photo courtesy AFP. |
Part of its mission is to support combat operations by providing timely Geospatial intelligence, or GEOINT, to soldiers and officers on the battlefield or in theater.
Long has spent more than three decades in military and intelligence fields, beginning her career in the US Navy in 1978.
Prior to her appointment, Long served from 2006 until July 2010 as deputy director of the larger Defense Intelligence Agency, which specializes in military intelligence-gathering abroad, and before that as deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence.
An engineer by training, she was also number two in US Naval Intelligence and worked for the CIA director.
According to statistics from the office of the Director of National Intelligence, which oversees the country's largest spy agencies, women represent 38 percent of staff employed by the intelligence community.
earlier related report
20100810
NASA Images Show Continuing Mexico Quake Deformation
 UAVSAR interferogram of Southern California near the Mexican border, created by combining data from flights on April 13, 2010, and July 1, 2010. Image credit: NASA/JPL/USGS/California Geological Survey/Google. |
The data, from NASA's airborne Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAVSAR), reveal that some faults in the area west of Calexico, Calif., have continued to move at Earth's surface, most likely in the many aftershocks. This fault motion is likely to be what is known as "triggered slip," caused by changes in stress in Earth's crust from the main quake rupture.
The first image shows a UAVSAR interferogram swath measuring 87 by 20 kilometers (54 by 12.5 miles) overlaid atop a Google Earth image. Each colored contour, or fringe, of the interferogram represents 11.9 centimeters (4.7 inches) of surface displacement. The different shades in the image represent ground surface motions of up to a few inches upward or downward.
GeoEye Wins National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency Enhanced View Award
 - |
This competitively awarded contract supports the EnhancedView program by providing products and services that will help meet the increasing geospatial intelligence needs of the intelligence community and Department of Defense.
The award includes the following components with $2.8 billion for commercial satellite imagery purchases over the next ten years as follows:
+ An extension of the NGA's current ability to purchase commercial imagery from the Company's existing satellite constellation under a Service Level Agreement (SLA) for $150 million per year.
+ An additional award to purchase commercial imagery, when GeoEye-2 becomes operational in 2013, for approximately $184 million per year for seven years.
+ $337 million cost share for the development and launch of GeoEye-2.
+ $700 million for value-added products and services to include the design and procurement of additional infrastructure to support government operations. This also includes our EyeQ Web Mapping Services to be delivered under the SLA.
The period of performance for the contract runs initially from Sept. 1, 2010, to Aug. 31, 2011, with nine, one-year options. As with all government contracts, funding is subject to annual congressional budget approval.
Matt O'Connell, GeoEye's chief executive officer and president, said, "We are very gratified by this award. With this award, we'll continue the accelerated development of our GeoEye-2 satellite so that it is operational in 2013. We will also upgrade our infrastructure and continue expanding our Web-delivery systems so that we can deliver the world's best commercial imagery to the NGA and our other customers anywhere, anytime."
20100809
11 ways geolocation is changing the world
Tue, Jul 27 2010 at 6:18 PM EST
This post was written by Rob Reed (1-10). He is the founder of MomentFeed, a location-based marketing, strategy, and technology firm. Location technologies are transforming how we experience, navigate, and ultimately better our world. From the global to the local, here are #10Ways geolocation is a positive force for good.
Social media has changed the world. It has revolutionized communications on a global scale, and the transformation continues with every status update, blog post, and video stream. The global citizenry has become a global network. Since becoming widely adopted just a couple years ago, social media has supercharged social action, cause marketing, and social entrepreneurship. Indeed, the true value hasn't been the technology itself but how we've used it.
Remote sensing system for water conservatio
Publish Date: 03 August 2010
Spain: The team of Vincent Caselles, professor at the University of Valencia, has developed a remote sensing system for water conservation. Vincent expects that it would save 50% of the global irrigation water. For such innovative work, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has awarded the Norbert Gerbier-Mumm International 2010 award to Vincent. The award distinguishes the best scientific article influential in Meteorology.
Until now, estimates had agro-meteorological data whose validity is limited to the local level, a few square kilometres. The good thing about the new method is that it allows a global scale. The system operates from satellite imagery and a physical model that can determine the ground water per day lost through transpiration.
Farmers can avail this method through the website of the research group, which is currently under development.
Vicente Caselles born in Gata de Gorgos (Alicante). He studied Physics at the University of Valencia, specialising in Theoretical Physics, held a PhD in Remote Sensing. He is Director of Thermal Remote Sensing Group at the University of Valencia.
Source: ECOticias.com
Spain: The team of Vincent Caselles, professor at the University of Valencia, has developed a remote sensing system for water conservation. Vincent expects that it would save 50% of the global irrigation water. For such innovative work, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has awarded the Norbert Gerbier-Mumm International 2010 award to Vincent. The award distinguishes the best scientific article influential in Meteorology.Until now, estimates had agro-meteorological data whose validity is limited to the local level, a few square kilometres. The good thing about the new method is that it allows a global scale. The system operates from satellite imagery and a physical model that can determine the ground water per day lost through transpiration.
Farmers can avail this method through the website of the research group, which is currently under development.
Vicente Caselles born in Gata de Gorgos (Alicante). He studied Physics at the University of Valencia, specialising in Theoretical Physics, held a PhD in Remote Sensing. He is Director of Thermal Remote Sensing Group at the University of Valencia.
Source: ECOticias.com
Astrium to develop EO satellite for Vietnam
Publish Date: 03 August 2010
Toulouse, France: Astrium has signed a contract worth EUR 55.2 million with the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST) for the development, manufacture and launch of an Earth observation (EO) optical satellite system. This follows on from last November’s intergovernmental agreement on space co-operation between France and Vietnam, in which the French government affirmed its commitment to building a closer partnership with Vietnam in the domain of science and technology.The contract awarded by VAST – the national institution responsible for setting up Vietnam’s Earth observation space programme – relates to the Vietnam Natural Resources, Environment and Disaster Monitoring Satellite VNREDSat-1 and the corresponding ground systems. This programme is the result of an initiative by the Vietnamese government to create a space infrastructure enabling the country to better monitor and study the effects of climate change, predict and take measures to prevent natural disasters, and optimise the management of its natural resources. More generally, it will allow the country to advance its knowledge in the field of space engineering and benefit from the ensuing economic and technological growth to create new employment opportunities.
The space system comprises an optical satellite capable of capturing images with a resolution of 2.5 metres, the associated ground control, image receiving and processing stations and a co-operation and training programme for the Vietnamese engineers. The image receiving and processing terminals will be integrated in Vietnam’s existing ENRMS monitoring station, a multi-satellite ground facility operated by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. The satellite will be built in Toulouse by a team including 15 Vietnamese engineers.
Source: Astrium
3D models for intelligent urban planning
Publish Date: 02 August 2010
Karlsruhe, Germany: The potential offered by 3D urban models to cool off cities and towns will be on show at INTERGEO during October 5 to 7, 2010 in Cologne, Germany. “The world's largest trade fair and conference for geodesy, geoinformation and land management is being held under the motto 'Knowledge and action for planet Earth' and is therefore also tackling the challenges of climate change in urban centres,” explained Olaf Freier, CEO of HINTE GmbH and organiser of INTERGEO.
These models also depict the volume of buildings, which enables urban planners, architects and environmental experts to study both microclimate issues and the distribution of pollutants. High-resolution 3D models also enable experts to calculate areas of glazing and, to a certain extent, draw conclusions on the construction materials used.
Karlsruhe, Germany: The potential offered by 3D urban models to cool off cities and towns will be on show at INTERGEO during October 5 to 7, 2010 in Cologne, Germany. “The world's largest trade fair and conference for geodesy, geoinformation and land management is being held under the motto 'Knowledge and action for planet Earth' and is therefore also tackling the challenges of climate change in urban centres,” explained Olaf Freier, CEO of HINTE GmbH and organiser of INTERGEO. These models also depict the volume of buildings, which enables urban planners, architects and environmental experts to study both microclimate issues and the distribution of pollutants. High-resolution 3D models also enable experts to calculate areas of glazing and, to a certain extent, draw conclusions on the construction materials used.
20100722
A Mutual explosion of disciplines
 Lawrie Jordan Director Imagery Enterprise Solutions ESRI |
Historically, GIS and imagery have occupied separate worlds. For a long time, the tools of digital cartography and imagery had no common framework to merge. We saw early on that GIS could be that framework as other enabling technologies emerged like wider bandwidth, faster CPUs and GPUs, bigger storage capacity, and so forth. And now those technologies are well developed enough to handle today’s imagery demands and also make imagery fit comfortably in a unified environment like a GIS.
Imagery is becoming more prevalent on a very large scale, and that’s largely due to the explosion of sensor technology. As the sensors become better and less expensive, imagery output increases, and that means there’s that much more data that organisations must manage, analyse and serve. That can be scary without a platform specially designed to work with imagery data and extract the information value these datasets have.
And that's really what we are doing at ESRI and what our imagery partners are doing with us. It’s a mutual relationship of two enabling technologies. It’s not only good for science, helping both disciplines grow and expand the field of solutions to a huge extent but it’s also good for the imagery market.
Image processing: Detecting and monitoring change
Brad Skelton
CTO, ERDAS
Brad.Skelton@erdas.com
Technological innovations in image processing can be looked at from both the algorithmic and computational sides. On the algorithm side, automated feature extraction, while still the Holy Grail, is continuing to improve significantly. On the computational side, the availability of inexpensive massive multicore systems is changing the approach to algorithm implementation.
Multicore systems availability
Multisource data fusion, coupled with improved segmentation and objectbased metrics and Bayesian classification can now produce high quality building footprint extraction (for example) with the need for very little update or correction. Traditional high resolution optical sources can be combined with SAR imagery and LIDAR data to provide a much richer set of cues. For example, the addition of LIDAR improves the ability to distinguish between a flat roof and driveway. SAR data provides the ability to detect additional material differences that would not be visible in optical images. Working in object space after segmentation provides cues based on shape, such as roundness or squareness, and enables you to use proximity of different objects as a further cue, for example, as the presence of shadows next to buildings.
Data acquisition: Meeting demand from space
Prof. Ian Dowman
Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering
University College London
London (UK)
idowman@cege.ucl.ac.uk
Images from space-based platforms are now established as a useful and economic source of data for extracting information for mapping and geospatial data bases. The images which can be used for this purpose range from sensors such as MODIS with 250m, 500m and 1000m pixel size and wide global coverage with a short time frame, Landsat with 60m, 30m and 15m pixel size giving regular medium resolution coverage for monitoring, to high resolution images from sensors with 0.5m pixel size, with the ability to access any part of the globe within 24 hours but only giving irregular global coverage.
Another important group of sensors collects stereoscopic images for generation of digital elevation models (DEMs). The data also includes data from microwave sensors using synthetic aperture radar technology, now producing resolution of 1m, and being used interferometrically to give elevation data and to monitor tectonic movement and subsidence at the millimeter level. These imaging sensors are supported by Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) which are vital for providing positional information, both for mapping directly and for giving the position of other platforms. The combination of imaging system and positioning system, together with the use of inertial navigation systems, has been the driving force behind many important developments in recent years; particularly LiDAR, mobile mapping systems and interferometric synthetic aperture radar systems (IfSAR). GNSS is also essential for positioning satellite imaging sensors and has enabled images to be acquired with high georeferenced accuracy.
Israel launches Ofeq-9 satellite
 Defense News reported that Ofeq-9 will operate "in a constellation with the two other Ofeqs currently in orbit." It said that while precise imaging capabilities remain classified, all offered resolutions that were "much better than a half-meter." |
It has already begun transmitting high-resolution images, officials add.
With the Ofeq-9, Israel now has six operating remote sensing satellites in space.
"From now on, no country in the region will be able to conduct clandestine activities at times when there is no Israeli satellite above it, since there will be no such times," Yitzhak Ben-Israel, chairman of the Israeli Space Agency, said.
The estimated 600-pound Ofeq-9 is billed the twin of the Shavit-launched Ofeq-7 and Ofeq-5, which have been operational for 2 and 5 years, respectively. Ofeq-6 was destroyed in an ill-fated launch in September 2004.
Defense News reported that Ofeq-9 will operate "in a constellation with the two other Ofeqs currently in orbit." It said that while precise imaging capabilities remain classified, all offered resolutions that were "much better than a half-meter."
20100721
Satellite giving scientists 'ice' insights
 disclaimer: image is for illustration purposes only |
Scientists have a new satellite tool for studying changes in polar ice and the effect of those changes on the global climate, European space officials say. The European Space Agency's CryoSat-2 orbiting satellite is providing data which should lead to a better understanding of how Earth's ice fields are behaving and what those measurements might mean, an ESA release said Tuesday.
Data from CryoSat-2, launched in April, allow scientists to determine tiny variations in the thickness of ice floating in polar oceans and of the large ice sheets that cover Antarctica and Greenland, the release said.
The data has been made available to around 150 researchers from 40 scientific institutions around the world.
"This is the first release of CryoSat data to users outside our project team, and notably early for a mission of this type," ESA's CryoSat-2 Mission Manager Tommaso Parrinello said.
Mission planners say they're pleased with the satellite's performance.
"We have been very excited by the level of detail we find in the data. We are seeing things beyond what we had expected," Project Manager Richard Francis said.
"I'm pleased that we can share this excitement with the scientists who now have access, and look forward to the added insight they will be able to bring."
earlier related report
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