Canada to Pay for Ditched Launch Contract with Russia for key military satellite

Moscow (RIA Novosti) Apr 29, 2014

Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozhin.

Canada will have to pay - both in terms of money and reputation - for a decision to ditch the launch of its satellite by a Russian rocket, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said Friday.
Commenting on the Canadian media reports that the government's hard line on sanctions against Russia has scuttled the launch of what was described to be a "key Canadian military satellite," Rogozin wrote in his Twitter that Canada will "certainly" have to pay the forfeit.
In addition, the Canadian government exposed the true military purpose of its satellite, claimed to be a civilian one, he said.
"The Canadians screwed things up. They refused to launch the satellite and admitted that it was a military one, despite earlier assurances of its civilian purpose," Rogozin said.
The M3MSat was to be launched from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan on June 19. The spacecraft is intended for sea surveillance and was to operate jointly with the RADARSAT-2 orbiter.
Canadian media said the government was currently looking for another state or private space contractor to carry out the launch.

DigitalGlobe Foundation: Fostering the Vision of “Seeing a Better World”

Thursday, April 24th 2014

By Joe Francica

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Summary: The DigitalGlobe Foundation was established to support university research and the next generation of geospatial technology users through grants of satellite imagery. In this interview, Editor in Chief Joe Francica discusses the mission of the Foundation with its executive director, Mark Brender.
Directions Magazine(DM): Can you provide some background on the foundation, its history and original mission? 

Mark Brender (MB): The DigitalGlobe Foundation is now seven years old. We established it to support the development of the next generation of geospatial users and leaders who share in our purpose of “Seeing a Better World.”  This is the vision of Jeff Tarr, the CEO of DigitalGlobe and it is the driving force behind the Foundation’s mission. The Foundation is just one part – but an important part - of DigitalGlobe’s overall corporate social responsibility effort. The Foundation makes archive imagery grants to students or faculty at civilian and military educational institutions who need access to high-resolution commercial satellite imagery to support research projects. Typically an image award is about 1,000 square kilometers of archive imagery over a research area.

DM: How many universities are currently taking advantage of the imagery provided by the Foundation and are you activity seeking to grow this list?

MB: In 2013 we made imagery grants to 60 universities around the world. While we expect to make a similar number of awards this year, if the quality of the applications is high and research projects unique and interesting enough, then we are open to making more. For us it’s a matter of quality over quantity. I might add that the Foundation has a special relationship with the eight USGIF accredited schools and provides their students and faculty with even larger amounts of imagery. During the last month, we have made imagery awards to the University of Punjab in India for a GIS research project involving land cover; University of Redlands for environmental studies over two separate lakes in the High Sierras to show the differences in phosphate loading during different seasons; Chinese Academy of Sciences for a study on the impact of open space in urban areas on the health and well-being of a population; and Dartmouth College for faculty and students who are studying the spatial distribution of a rare plant found only in one area of Namibia. So you can see that the research subject areas just in the last month are quite diverse.

New Catalog Brings NASA Software Down to Earth

Washington DC (SPX) Apr 08, 2014

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From the rudimentary but effective Apollo Guidance and Navigation System that landed the first humans on the lunar landscape to the code used to manage robotic missions to explore other planets, software has always been at the core of NASA's mission successes.
When NASA develops this software, we know the code may have uses beyond the original mission. One of our missions is to ensure that the technologies we create for aeronautics and space missions, including software, have the opportunity to be turned into new products and processes that can benefit the lives of people on Earth. Technology transfer allows us to offer added value to taxpayer investment in cutting edge research and development.
Much of this NASA-developed code will be available for public use through a new software catalog starting April 10.
With over 1,000 codes organized into fifteen broad subject matter categories, the new software catalog offers a large portfolio of software products for a wide variety of applications. These codes represent NASA's best solutions to a wide array of complex mission requirements.
"Software is an increasingly important element of the agency's intellectual asset portfolio, making up about a third of our reported inventions every year," said Jim Adams, NASA's deputy chief technologist. "We are excited to be able to make that software widely available to the public with the release of our software catalog."
The technologies featured in the software catalog cover project management systems, design tools, data handling, and image processing, as well as solutions for life support functions, aeronautics, structural analysis, and robotic and autonomous systems.
Each NASA code is available at no cost and has been evaluated for access restrictions and designated for a specific type of release, ranging from codes that are open to all US citizens to codes that are restricted to access by other federal agencies.
"NASA is committed to the principles of open government," said Adams. "By making NASA resources more accessible and usable by the public, we are encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship. Our technology transfer program is an important part of bringing the benefit of space exploration back to Earth for the benefit of all people."
NASA's Technology Transfer Program, managed by the Office of the Chief Technologist at NASA Headquarters, ensures that technologies developed for missions in exploration and discovery are broadly available to the public. For more information on NASA's Tech Transfer program, visit here.

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source: space-travel.com
Related Links Technology Transfer Program at NASA

Orbital physics is child's play with 'Super Planet Crash'

by Tim Stephens for UCSC News Santa Cruz CA (SPX) Apr 08, 2014

This screenshot from the online game Super Planet Crash shows a six-planet system. PLAY THE GAME.

Super Planet Crash is a pretty simple game: players build their own planetary system, putting planets into orbit around a star and racking up points until they add a planet that destabilizes the whole system. Beneath the surface, however, this addictive little game is driven by highly sophisticated software code that astronomers use to find planets beyond our solar system (called exoplanets).
The release of Super Planet Crash (available online at www.stefanom.org/spc) follows the release of the latest version of Systemic Console, a scientific software package used to pull planet discoveries out of the reams of data acquired by telescopes such as the Automated Planet Finder (APF) at the University of California's Lick Observatory.
Developed at UC Santa Cruz, Systemic Console is integrated into the workflow of the APF, and is also widely used by astronomers to analyze data from other telescopes.
Greg Laughlin, professor and chair of astronomy and astrophysics at UC Santa Cruz, developed Systemic Console with his students, primarily Stefano Meschiari (now a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Texas, Austin). Meschiari did the bulk of the work on the new version, Systemic 2, as a graduate student at UC Santa Cruz. He also used the Systemic code as a foundation to create not only Super Planet Crash but also an online web application (Systemic Live) for educational use.
"Systemic Console is open-source software that we've made available for other scientists to use. But we also wanted to create a portal for students and teachers so that anyone can use it," Laughlin said.
"For the online version, Stefano tuned the software to make it more accessible, and then he went even further with Super Planet Crash, which makes the ideas behind planetary systems accessible at the most visceral level."
Meschiari said he's seen people quickly get hooked on playing the game. "It doesn't take long for them to understand what's going on with the orbital dynamics," he said.
Educational tools The educational program, Systemic Live, provides simplified tools that students can use to analyze real data. "Students get a taste of what the real process of exoplanet discovery is like, using the same tools scientists use," Meschiari said.

'StratoBus' drone-satellite hybrid to provide new level of surveillance

Moscow (Voice of Russia) Mar 21, 2014

StratoBus has the potential to include a wide range of applications like "border and maritime surveillance, boosting GSM network capacity for public events and GPS augmentation over areas of dense traffic," Thales Alenia Space said.

A new project of an autonomous airship - a hybrid between a drone and a satellite - has been developed in France. The 'StratoBus' dirigible drone will be able to carry out long endurance observation operating at an altitude of about 20 kilometers.
The new breed of autonomous zeppelin has a mission of "observation, security, telecommunications, broadcasting, and navigation," developers said.
Designed to be between 70 and 100 meters long and 20 to 30 meters in diameter, made of carbon fiber, and equipped with two motors, the StratoBus will be able to operate at an altitude of about 20 kilometers in the lower reaches of the stratosphere - above air traffic and jet streams.
The airship will be able to take higher resolution images and maintain a stronger communications system, as it will roam airspace much lower than actual satellites.
StratoBus has the potential to include a wide range of applications like "border and maritime surveillance, boosting GSM network capacity for public events and GPS augmentation over areas of dense traffic," Thales Alenia Space - the organization leading the project alongside partners Airbus Defence and Space, Zodiac Marine, and CEA-Liten - said in a press release.

DMCii help Dutch company eLEAF provide much needed crop information to African farmers

Guildford UK (SPX) Apr 08, 2014

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eLEAF, a Netherlands-based high-tech company that supplies reliable, quantitative data on water and vegetation in order to support sustainable water use, increase food production, and protect environmental systems have recently called upon DMCii satellite imagery to provide satellite images of four pilot areas located in West- Noubaria (Egypt) Arata Chufa irrigation scheme, Oromiya (Ethiopia), the spate irrigation area of the Gash Delta (Sudan) and Office du Niger (Mali) to help improve the livelihoods and income of millions of farmers.
Water scarcity and food security are topics of utmost importance amongst the ever-expanding population of Africa. Due to a general lack of water resources availability and/or development in the semi-arid and arid zones, water is generally the limiting factor for agricultural production.

France helps Peru with first optical satellite

by Richard Tomkins Paris (UPI) Apr 25, 2013

disclaimer: image is for illustration purposes only

France and Peru signed a bilateral agreement Friday for the building and launch of Peru's first optical satellite system, the French Ministry of Defense said.
The satellite is for use by Peru's Ministry of Defense, with Airbus Defense and Space performing the work.
"This agreement covers the supply of an optical high resolution satellite, a ground control, reception and image processing segment, as well as a comprehensive training program," France said. The project will allow Peru to have a tool that will help increase its sovereignty and security with the support of France, to accompany the implementation of the program in accordance with the agreement."
Airbus Defense and Space, in a separate announcement, said the satellite program will be based on its Astrobus platform, using technologies that combine performance, rapid construction and value for money. The system also benefits from the expertise developed by Airbus Defense and Space in the field of silicone carbide space structures and instruments.
"With this first satellite system, Peru will acquire space capability at a very high level, and we are delighted to have been selected for our technology and expertise, particularly in the field of silicon carbide," said François Auque, Head of Space Systems at the company.
The satellite is to be delivered in 2016.

source:  spacedaily.com

45th Space Wing launches NRO Satellite on board Atlas V

Cape Canaveral AFB FL (SPX) Apr 11, 2014

File image.

The 45th Space Wing successfully launched a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 here at 1:45 p.m. April 10 carrying a classified national security payload.
The payload was designed and built by the National Reconnaissance Office. It will be the second Atlas V from the Cape this year and ULA's 81st launch overall. The 45th Space Wing commander was pleased with the performance of the team for this launch.
"I am proud of the persistence and focus of the launch team, the wing, NRO, ULA and other mission partners, to make this launch happen," said Brig. Gen. Nina Armango, 45th Space Wing commander, who also served as the Launch Decision Authority for the launch. "Our entire team worked together flawlessly once again to ensure mission success."
Aerojet Rocketdyne Propulsion Supported Atlas V Launch Aerojet Rocketdyne, a GenCorp (GY) company, played a significant role in successfully launching a national security payload into orbit for the U.S. government. The mission was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket, with an Aerojet Rocketdyne RL10A-4-2 upper-stage engine, four AJ60 solid rocket boosters, five helium pressurization tanks and a dozen Centaur upper-stage thrusters used for roll, pitch, yaw and settling burns.
"Today's success

Israel launches cutting-edge satellite to spy on MidEast adversaries

Moscow (Voice of Russia) Apr 11, 2014

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Israel's Defense Ministry has successfully launched Ofek 10, a next-generation satellite that will provide highly-targeted surveillance of specific locations - such as Iran's nuclear sites.
"We continue to increase the vast qualitative and technological advantage over our neighbors," said Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon at the launch at a test site in central Israel, Israeli media reported.
"Our ability to continuously reach new levels of accomplishment, as with this launch, is what allows us to live a productive and prosperous life. Blessed is the state, and its people."
Ofek 10 is the seventh Israeli satellite currently in space, and the first launched by the Defense Ministry since its predecessor, Ofek 9, four years ago.
But it functions in a fundamentally new way - instead of automatically sweeping through vast swathes of territory with its cameras, it can momentarily switch between different locations.
This is due to the fact that its operators can alter the orbit of the 330 kilogram satellite between 400 kilometers and 600 kilometers from the Earth's surface in its 90-minute circumnavigation of the planet, while zooming in to take high-resolution images of objects as small as 18 inches across.

Exemplar City: A Model for Geospatial, Energy and Cyber Security

Tuesday, April 15th 2014

Comments

By Chris Johnson, Joe Francica, Jay Newkirk

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Summary: Exemplar City is a model that municipal governments can follow when faced with a wide variety of challenges such as responding to a local emergency or crisis, mitigating economic impacts, dealing with workforce skill or capacity issues, or facing overwhelming infrastructure demands. This article provides the framework for pilot projects supported by the City of Huntsville, Alabama and three of the city’s non-profit economic development organizations.
Huntsville, Alabama experiences quite a few threats, as well as damage, each year from tornados, which bring the possibility of downed power lines and put the safety of the public at great risk. For example, on April 27, 2011, 59 tornados touched down in the state and 249 lives were lost. Two EF5 tornados ripped across northern Alabama that day. Huntsville and surrounding communities lost power for several days. That put an enormous strain on critical infrastructure and the city’s support services.
Because Huntsville is home to the Army Materiel Command, the Missile Defense Agency, the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, and the Missile and Space Intelligence Center, plus over 40 other federal agencies and departments, the power cannot just go out on some of the most strategic military centers in the United States. Huntsville is unique in that its workforce is intimately involved in supporting the backbone of our national security. The April 27^th event was also unique in that it effectively simulated a cyber-attack on the city’s power and Internet infrastructure.
Huntsville’s Unique Position
Recognizing Huntsville’s unique situation, Mayor Tommy Battle created three technology-centered economic and workforce development initiatives in geospatial information, cybersecurity and energy so that professionals in these disciplines could support the public safety interests of both the city and the nation. These initiatives, GEO Huntsville, Cyber Huntsville and Energy Huntsville, both separately and collaboratively, are raising awareness of the need to establish best practices and policies to respond to natural or man-made threats to national security. Now, Huntsville wants to foster collaboration with other cities by sharing and expanding this knowledge through an innovative approach called Exemplar City.

European Space Imaging and Skybox Imaging High-Res Challenge opens for ideas

Tuesday, April 15th 2014

European Space Imaging |

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The Copernicus Masters “European Space Imaging & Skybox Imaging High-Res Challenge” launched today and is open for submissions worldwide.

“The European Space Imaging & Skybox Imaging High-Res Challenge” is looking for new, viable application ideas for this sub-daily availability of very high-resolution (VHR), multispectral data from the Skybox Imaging satellites.

Skybox Imaging is the new kid on the block in the satellite business. Founded in 2009, it is launching an innovative constellation of more than 20 very high-resolution satellites with sub-meter color imagery and high definition video capability. This new Challenge is calling for ideas using the unique qualities of this new satellite constellation.

The Skybox Imaging satellite constellation offers new potential. Worldwide each point will be monitored at a revisit rate of more than 5-7 times per day at regular intervals between 9:00 and 16:00. The unique ability of sub-daily access is that it is easily accessible, affordable, and timely, and it will not only augment the capabilities of existing applications, but will also have the potential to enable a new generation of applications that require high-resolution, high-revisit imagery to emerge. Example applications areas include: insurance modelling, financial trading intelligence, observing refugee movements, coordinating relief efforts, and agricultural health monitoring.

The two Challenge partners are hoping researchers and developers will think laterally and propose ideas that have real potential. The winner will receive a European Space Imaging data package of Skybox Imaging satellite data valued at EUR 20,000 to apply in realizing their application idea.

“As a global competition the Copernicus Masters opens its Challenges to a world of new thinkers and their ideas. We hope our High-Res Challenge will give application developers inspiration and scope to come up with groundbreaking new proposals for VHR satellite imagery,” says Michaela Weber, Director Sales & Marketing, European Space Imaging. “We are not asking for prototypes or prior testing. We are searching for good, viable, creative, even crazy proposals.”

Anyone who has a viable suggestion is encouraged to participate. The companies are keen to hear about your idea, what makes it different and why it is possible.

Submissions open worldwide on the 15^th April until 13 July 2014. Register at www.eusi-skybox.copernicus-masters.com.

DigitalGlobe and MDA to Offer Combined Optical and Radar Satellite Solutions to Select Defense & Intelligence Customers

Tuesday, April 15th 2014

DigitalGlobe | Longmont, CO

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Common Ground Systems Enable Rapid, Secure Access

LONGMONT, CO, Apr 15, 2014 - DigitalGlobe, Inc., (NYSE: DGI), a leading global provider of commercial high-resolution earth observation and advanced geospatial solutions, today announced that DigitalGlobe and MDA will cooperate to offer combined optical and synthetic aperture radar satellite data solutions to their respective defense and intelligence customers around the world. This solution will provide customers the ability to task and collect with DigitalGlobe's constellation of high-resolution earth imaging satellites, along with ability to receive and process near real-time data from the RADARSAT-2 synthetic aperture radar satellite within a common architecture.
"This partnership provides near real-time access to the RADARSAT-2 synthetic aperture radar satellite, which can acquire data regardless of light or weather conditions," said Jeff Kerridge, DigitalGlobe's SVP of International Defense and Intelligence Programs. "With the addition of synthetic aperture radar data, our customers will benefit from an improved ability to regularly monitor large regions to identify change and human activity."
"By combining access to RADARSAT-2 and the DigitalGlobe constellation, our customers will see enhancements from high-resolution optical data applied to land and maritime applications, including change detection across national territories, wide area ship and oil detection, target detection and classification, forestry management, and disaster recovery," said Don Osborne, MDA's Group Vice President of Information Systems.

Surrey Satellite US Introduces Next-Generation Color Video-Imaging Small Satellite

Tuesday, April 15th 2014

Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. | Englewood, CO

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ENGLEWOOD, COLO., April 15, 2014 — Surrey Satellite Technology US LLC(SST-US) today introduced the Surrey V1C color video-imaging satellite, a new compact design with high-quality imaging at sub-one-meter resolution. Priced at less than $20 million, the V1C design has significant space heritage and provides a 10-kilometer color video imaging swath.

The Surrey V1C satellite will collect high-definition, natural-color (red, green, blue) video with better than one-meter ground sample distance (GSD) resolution over a 10-kilometer-wide swath at up to 100 frames per second. In addition to video, the camera can operate in still scene imager mode. The Surrey V1C spacecraft is based on the new SSTL-X50 satellite bus derived from mission-proven Surrey spacecraft designs. The satellite has large onboard data storage capabilities for store and forward as well as real-time downlink technology.

SST-US announced plans for the Surrey V1C satellite in booth #2090 at the GEOINT 2013* Symposium being held this week in Tampa, Fla.

“The demand for high-quality, wide-swath video solutions from customers engaged in business analytics and U.S. geospatial intelligence missions has been a key driver behind the development of our current suite of affordable, high-value small imaging satellites. The V1C delivers next-generation video capability at a very low cost, helping close the video-derived products business case and serve intel mission profiles that require constellations for a robust end-user information products,” said Doug Gerull, SST-US’s chief operating officer.

Egyptian sensing satellite placed in orbit

Moscow (Voice of Russia) Apr 17, 2014

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An Egyptian land remote sensing satellite, Egyptsat, launched from Baikonur cosmodrome on Wednesday has successfully separated from Soyuz-U launch vehicle and entered terrestrial orbit, Interfax-AVN was told at the press service of the Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos).
"At 8:28 pm the satellite successfully separated from the third stage of the launch vehicle," a spokesman said. Soyuz-U took off from pad 31 in Baikonur at 8:20 pm.
Egyptsat was designed and manufactured by Energia rocket and space corporation at orders from the Egyptian State Committee for Land Remote Sensing and Space Studies.
The satellite weighs 1,050 kilos and has a service life of 11 years. The equipment installed on it will permit taking pictures of the Earth with a resolution of 1 meter in panchromaitc mode and 4 meters in multispectral mode.
As a rule land remote sensing probes operate in solar synchronized orbits close to polar.

Source: spacedaily.com  Voice of Russia

First radar vision for Copernicus

Paris (ESA) Apr 17, 2014

Acquired on 12 April 2014 at 17:18 GMT (19:18 CEST), just nine days after launch, this first image from Sentinel-1A captures Brussels and surrounds in Belgium. It was acquired in the satellite's 'strip map' mode, which has a swath width of 80 km, and in dual polarisation. The image also shows a more detailed view of the city in the 'zoom in'. Antwerp harbour is also visible in the top left. The green colours correspond to vegetation, red-blue to urban areas, white to high-density urban areas and black to waterways and low-reflective areas such as airport runways. Image courtesy ESA. For a larger version of this image please go here.

Launched on 3 April, ESA's Sentinel-1A satellite has already delivered its first radar images of Earth. They offer a tantalising glimpse of the kind of operational imagery that this new mission will provide for Europe's ambitious Copernicus environmental monitoring programme.
Rather aptly, the first image shows Brussels in Belgium, the seat of the European Commission.
The European Commission leads the Copernicus programme and coordinates the broad range of services to improve the management of the environment and to safeguard everyday lives. ESA is responsible for developing the family of Sentinel satellites and for ensuring that the stream of data are available for these services.
This first image of Belgium was captured on 12 April, just one day after the satellite was put into its operational attitude, and demonstrates the potential of Sentinel-1A's radar vision.
Since it was launched from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana, Sentinel-1A has undertaken a complicated routine to deploy its 12-m long radar and two 10-m long solar wings, as well as passing a series of initial instrument checks.
The satellite is not yet in its operational orbit, nor is it calibrated for supplying true data. These tasks will be carried out during the commissioning phase, which will take about three months to complete. This preliminary set of images simply offer a taster of what's to come.
However, they are an extremely pleasing taster as ESA's Director of ESA's Earth Observation Programmes, Volker Liebig, commented, "We are exceptionally happy with this first set of images."
He continued, "We are in very early days of the satellite's life in orbit and ground segment operations, but these images certainly demonstrate the calibre of data this advanced radar mission will bring from its different imaging modes, and how it will provide essential data for Copernicus services to benefit us all."

ADS sets new accuracy standards for global elevation models with WorldDEM launch

Paris, France (SPX) Apr 22, 2014

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High accuracy and homogenous coverage of WorldDEM is set to boost effectiveness for military applications such as fighter aircraft, helicopters and UAVs. It will also deliver more precise customer applications in various sectors from commercial aviation to oil, gas and mining
Airbus Defense and Space has commercially launched WorldDEM, a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) that provides pole-to-pole coverage of unprecedented accuracy. It allows customers to improve the quality of DEM applications in a host of industries including defense and aviation, oil, gas and mining.
The new model is based on data acquired by the high-resolution radar satellites TerraSAR-X and TanDEM-X, whose mission is to produce a global DEM at HRTE3 level, representing a significant jump forward in accuracy.
In terms of resolution, it is setting new standards by providing 12-metre grid spacing globally, compared to 90-metre grid spacing on the existing global dataset from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM). The German Aerospace Center (DLR) is operating the mission and generating the global TanDEM-X DEM as a basis for WorldDEM.

MDA provides RADARSAT-2 information to the Malaysia Remote Sensing Agency

Wednesday, March 26th 2014

MDA - Geospatial Services | Richmond BC Canada

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MDA’s Information Systems group (MDA) announced today that it has signed a contract with the Malaysian Remote Sensing Agency (MRSA) to provide RADARSAT-2 information that will be used to support a number of applications, such as agriculture monitoring, and natural disaster response. MRSA has used RADARSAT information to support various applications since 2003.
MRSA has been utilizing the recent access to RADARSAT-2 information to aid in the search of the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370.
The RADARSAT-2 satellite has global high-resolution surveillance capabilities that include a large collection capacity, high accuracy, and wide-area coverage that is extremely useful in imaging the vast tracts of territory. The satellite acquires data regardless of light or weather condition, provides frequent re-visit imaging options, and is supported by ground receiving stations that provide near real-time information delivery services. This versatility makes RADARSAT-2 a reliable source of information in multi-faceted intelligence surveying and monitoring programs.
Related Websites
www.mdacorporation.com
source: directionsmag.com

Space Observation Optics Cover from IR to X-ray Wavelengths

Surrey UK (SPX) Mar 31, 2014

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Optical Surfaces is a leading designer and supplier of high precision, ground telescope and satellite-based space observation optics operating over the entire spectral range from infrared to x-ray wavelengths.
Operating in a unique production environment, free from vibration and temperature variation, Optical Surfaces Ltd is able to regularly produce large, high precision aspheric optics; ultra smooth mirrors, high performance prisms, Schmidt camera and Laser launch telescope optics which stretch the limits of conventional optical fabrication techniques.
Investment in large aperture Zygo GPI, Twyman Green, Scatterplate, Fizeau and Laser Unequal Path (LUPI) interferometers allows one-to-one testing of even the largest diameter space observation optics.
Topographic and fringe analysis provides precise testing of surface roughness and confirms the wavefront of various surface forms. A rolling program for calibration of test optics where possible to national standards and production approval to ISO 9001-2000 ensures that the quality of space observation optics from Optical Surfaces Ltd. is second to none.
Notable projects assisted by Optical Surfaces' high precision optics include the UV Optical Telescope on the NASA Swift Explorer mission; the XMM Optical Monitor telescope for the European Space Agency (ESA); a Cassegrain camera for the NigeriaSat-2 satellite and the HROS Spectrograph for the 8m Gemini telescope (Chile). Visit here for details of these and other projects.

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source: spacemart.com
Related Links Optical Surfaces

Satellite Shows High Productivity from US Corn Belt

by Kathryn Hansen for Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt MD (SPX) Apr 01, 2014

The magnitude of fluorescence portrayed in this visualization prompted researchers to take a closer look at the productivity of the U.S. Corn Belt. The glow represents fluorescence measured from land plants in early July, over a period from 2007 to 2011. Image courtesy NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. For a larger version of this image please go here.

Data from satellite sensors show that during the Northern Hemisphere's growing season, the Midwest region of the United States boasts more photosynthetic activity than any other spot on Earth, according to NASA and university scientists.
Healthy plants convert light to energy via photosynthesis, but chlorophyll also emits a fraction of absorbed light as fluorescent glow that is invisible to the naked eye. The magnitude of the glow is an excellent indicator of the amount of photosynthesis, or gross productivity, of plants in a given region.
Research in 2013 led by Joanna Joiner, of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., demonstrated that fluorescence from plants could be teased out of data from existing satellites, which were designed and built for other purposes. The new research led by Luis Guanter of the Freie Universitat Berlin, used the data for the first time to estimate photosynthesis from agriculture. Results were published March 25 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
According to co-author Christian Frankenberg of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., "The paper shows that fluorescence is a much better proxy for agricultural productivity than anything we've had before. This can go a long way regarding monitoring - and maybe even predicting - regional crop yields."
Guanter, Joiner and Frankenberg launched their collaboration at a 2012 workshop, hosted by the Keck Institute for Space Studies at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, to explore measurements of photosynthesis from space. The team noticed that on an annual basis, the tropics are the most productive. But during the Northern Hemisphere's growing season, the U.S. Corn Belt "really stands out," Frankenberg said. "Areas all over the world are not as productive as this area."

Research suggests autumn is ending later in the northern hemisphere

Southampton UK (SPX) Apr 01, 2014

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A study by the University of Southampton suggests that on average the end of Autumn is taking place later in the year and Spring is starting slightly earlier.
A team of researchers examined satellite imagery covering the northern hemisphere over a 25 year period (1982 - 2006), and looked for any seasonal changes in vegetation by making a measure of its 'greenness'. They examined in detail, at daily intervals, the growth cycle of the vegetation - identifying physical changes such as leaf cover, colour and growth.
The project was led by University of Southampton Professor of Geography Peter Atkinson, who worked with his colleague Dr Jadunandan Dash and in collaboration with Professor Jeganathan Chockalingam from the Department of Remote Sensing at the Birla Institute of Technology in India.
Professor Atkinson says: "There is much speculation about whether our seasons are changing and if so, whether this is linked to climate change. Our study is another significant piece in the puzzle, which may ultimately answer this question."
The team was able to examine the data for specific vegetation types: 'mosaic' vegetation (grassland, shrubland, forest and cropland); broad-leaved deciduous forest; needle-leaved evergreen forest; needle-leaved deciduous and evergreen forest; mixed broad-leaved and needle-leaved forest; and mixed-forest, shrubland and grassland.

Monitoring air quality takes next step

Paris (ESA) Apr 01, 2014

Sentinel-5 is set to make a step change in monitoring and forecasting global air quality. Image courtesy ESA/DLR.

With air pollution linked to millions of deaths around the world, it has never been more important to monitor the air we breathe. And this week marks a significant step forward as a deal is secured to build a crucial space sensor for tracking the world's air quality.
The 144 million euro contract for the Sentinel-5 instrument of Europe's Copernicus programme was formally signed today with Airbus Defence and Space in Ottobrunn, Germany.
"The Sentinel-5 instrument will be very important to continue the monitoring of our atmosphere by an operational system," noted Volker Liebig, ESA's Director of Earth Observation Programmes.
"Together with the launch of Sentinel-1A just days away, the ambitious Copernicus programme is now on the road to realising its full potential."
The Sentinel satellites are dedicated to providing data for Europe's Copernicus initiative - the first operational environmental observation system worldwide. Through Copernicus, data from all the Sentinel missions are freely available to users.