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MARKHAM, Ontario, Canada – March 30, 2016: PCI Geomatics, a world leading developer of remote sensing and photogrammetric software and systems, announced today the release of its Geomatica 2016 – the latest version of the company’s complete and integrated desktop, geo-image processing software featuring tools for remote sensing, digital photogrammetry, geospatial analysis, mosaicking and more.

Geomatica 2016 improves accuracy and speed for key geo-image processing steps, including aerotriangulation and bundle adjustment, automatic contrast control and mosaic touch-up. This new version also provides enhanced support for airborne scanners, SAR data handling and compact polarimetric tools.

“We’ve designed this release around the concepts of sensor support and overall workflow with the goal of making Geomatica more accurate and more flexible for different customers” said David Piekny, Product Marketing Manager at PCI Geomatics “We see a lot of diversity in how our customers use Geomatica. In Geomatica 2016 we’re able to work with even more types of geospatial data through specific additions to the software, but at the same time have improved on widely-used tasks like tie-point collection, DEM extraction and automatic color balancing.”

Geomatica 2016 is available for 64-bit versions of Microsoft Windows (7, 8.x, 10) and CentOS/RHEL Linux (7.x) starting today. For more information on Geomatica 2016, please visit www.pcigeomatics.com/geomatica.

About PCI Geomatics

PCI Geomatics is a world-leading developer of software and systems for remote sensing, geo-image processing, and photogrammetry. With more than 30 years of experience in the geospatial industry, PCI is recognized globally for its excellence in providing software for accurately and rapidly processing satellite and aerial imagery. There are more than 30,000 PCI licenses, in over 150 countries worldwide.

Find out more about PCI Geomatics at www.pcigeomatics.com.

The blight of illegal timber removal from fragile rainforests could be alleviated by a “CCTV in the sky” being developed by Scottish-based, internationally-operating space services and management company Astrosat.

The blight of illegal timber removal from fragile rainforests could be alleviated by a “CCTV in the sky” being developed by Scottish-based, internationally-operating space services and management company Astrosat.

The Edinburgh-based company, which specialises in innovative space technology, is working on a UK Space Agency project to stop deforestation of vast tracts of land in Guatemala in Central America, particularly where the country borders Mexico.

Forests, of which nearly 40% are primary forests, cover one third of Guatemala’s land area. The annual rate of deforestation was 1% for the period 2010-15 and illegal logging is a widespread problem in the country.

Astrosat specialises in earth observation, using earth-viewing instruments, and it has teamed up with UK and US-based company Earth Observation Ltd to monitor forests and detect illegal activity. This will allow law enforcement agencies to take action against offenders.

Steve Lee, Astrosat CEO and founder, said: “What we are working on here is could be described as a CCTV system which operates from space. With the data and information we can garner, we can help countries and communities which are at the mercy of unscrupulous operators.

“This, in effect, brings space – and space companies and organisations – into the Fair Trade arena, by helping local farmers and villagers to manage sustainable timber reserves. Illegal logging not only undercuts markets, but has a devastating effect on vital ecosystems.”

Astrosat’s technology will help the Guatemalan government agencies to monitor large forested areas such as the rich and diverse Reserva de Biosfera Maya and a series of important national parks along the border.

Working with Earth Observation, it will monitor areas of jurisdiction and particular types of trees to ensure that only permitted timber felling is allowed, creating a legal market for sustainably-managed forestry products.

In the worst cases, such as clear-cutting, illegal logging destroys entire areas of forest habitat, with the consequent loss of important species, damage to the ecosystem and loss of fresh water sources on which local communities rely.

Steve Lee said: “Data and information from space sources is increasingly important in allowing countries which do not have significant satellite resources to implement action programmes on issues such as this which directly affect the lives of their citizens.”

Multi-award winning Astrosat employs 24 people and has a growing turnover in excess of £1.6 million.

For further information, visit www.astrosat.biz or contact us on info@astrosat.biz.

A new NASA airborne field experiment planned for this summer will make key airborne measurements of clouds and smoke particles over the southeastern Atlantic Ocean to help scientists understand a major challenge to our understanding of climate science.

One of the primary goals of NASA’s ObseRvations of CLouds above Aerosols and their intEractionS (ORACLES) campaign is to understand the extent to which clouds and the smoke interact and the degree to which smoke particles serve as nuclei for cloud droplets. To address these issues, a research aircraft will make measurements of smoke and cloud layers.

In combination with extensive satellite mapping of smoke and clouds, ORACLES aircraft flights will allow scientists to gather the information needed to understand whether smoke from African fires is changing the way in which marine stratus clouds off the west coast of Africa cool the Earth.

This remote area is home to one of the largest layers of low clouds on Earth. These clouds reflect a large fraction of the incoming sunlight back to space and act as natural “reflectors” that help keep the planet cool. In these clouds, water droplets, each roughly 1/10th of the thickness of a human hair, form by condensation of water vapor onto even smaller particles called cloud condensation nuclei (CCNs).

Both natural and human sources of these nuclei can be important globally affecting the properties of clouds. Recent studies have shown how a lack of CCNs can make it difficult to form the bright clouds that reflect sunlight. Owing to the large distance from major aerosol sources, the remote southern Atlantic can be relatively starved of natural CCN sources.

NASA satellites, most notably the spaceborne CALIPSO lidar and other instruments in the A-Train constellation, have been observing a possible major additional source of cloud nuclei for a decade. This source of nuclei might extend the lifetime of Atlantic cloud decks.

Extensive regional burning of biomass – organic matter derived from recently living vegetation – due to both natural processes and human activities occurs in southern Africa during the dry season from July to October. This burning is responsible for approximately 30 percent of global biomass burning emissions, and produces extensive layers of smoke containing large numbers of cloud condensation nuclei transported by prevailing winds over the southern Atlantic west of Africa.

Smoke particles may also cause clouds to be brighter (i.e., more reflective). However, according to CALIPSO satellite lidar data (see figure), the smoke layers mainly reside above the clouds and may not actually get into the clouds to serve as CCNs. CALIPSO lidar data provide a tantalizing indication that smoke can reach down into the cloud decks at times. In addition, the smoke can obscure the clouds below, making it difficult to tell whether the clouds contain more droplets as the smoke descends into the cloud deck.

Data collected during the ORACLES campaign will begin to answer fundamental questions regarding the cooling effect of clouds on our planet and how that process may be affected by pollution and smoke from African fires in the southeast Atlantic Ocean region.

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Open Data Incubator for Europe (ODINE) for funding of SMEs with innovative ideas on how to use open data.

What is ODINE?

The Open Data Incubator for Europe (ODINE) is a 6-month incubator for open data entrepreneurs across Europe. The programme is funded with a €7.8m grant from the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme.

Our vision for the project

ODINE aims to support the next generation of digital businesses and support them to fast-track the development of their products. We are already championing the best of European digital talent and look forward to more outstanding companies to incubate.

We create a community

Open data is a new field, yet it is supporting a rapidly developing market for innovative business ideas. Startups and SMEs based on open data are creating an open data ecosystem, using data to build sustainable businesses that generate economic, social and environmental impact.

Within the six-months incubation programme, companies receive equity-free funding, mentoring, business and data training, high-quality media, visibility at international events and introductions to investors.

The ODINE incubation programme supports startups and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) that build sustainable businesses around open data.

European Network of Earth Observation Networks: Connecting Earth Observation in Europe


ENEON is a common network of Earth observation networks to provide integrated and harmonized perspective of observations, forecasting and projecting, helping to reduce redundancies and detect gaps in the European EO arena.

What is ENEON?

ENEON is the European Network of Earth Observation Networks funded by the European Union under the H2020 ConnectinGEO project, including space-based, airborne and in-situ observations networks. ENEON intends to increase the connection between the existing European EO networks and the S&T communities involved in defining the Sustainable Development Goals, as well as S&T communities engaged in assessments, forecasting, and projecting future developments. ENEON contributes to the development of GEOSS and Copernicus by extending them to all relevant European EO networks, keeping connection to other global initiatives.

Purposes

  • incorporate to ENEON all EO networks members currently active in Europe
  • consider in ENEON as much thematic areas as possible
  • spatial harmonization of EO in-situ data
  • connect ENEON with gap analysis studies, in particular ConnectinGEO methodology
  • harmonization among EVs
  • spatio-temporal continuity of the observations
  • harmonization among standards (sensorML, etc)

Open to

  • the GEOSS S&T Stakeholder Network and GEOSS CoPs
  • Copernicus services, Sentinel missions and in-situ support data representatives
  • European networks representatives for space-based, airborne and in-situ observations
  • representatives of the SMEs and industry sector
  • European and national funding agencies and in particular the ones participating in the ERA-NET GEO

Outputs

  • ENEON stimulate a more harmonized and coherent coverage of the European EO networks
  • ENEON reemphasizing the political strategic targets
  • ENEON create opportunities for SMEs to develop products based on the current networks
  • ENEON open avenue for industry to participate in investments to address the identified high-priority gaps
  • ENEON feed a consultation process complemented by a systematic analysis of the available data and metadata

Become a member

[Via Satellite 03-25-2016] DigitalGlobe has reached an agreement with an existing international defense and intelligence customer to convert an existing letter of intent into a definitive agreement. The new agreement extends the customer’s contract by four years and adds direct access to the WorldView 3 Earth observation satellite.

DigitalGlobe included this agreement in the company’s previously announced $38 million of incremental annual revenue starting in 2017 from contracts and letters of intent with international defense and intelligence customers. Total commitments from these customers for capacity on WorldView 3 and WorldView 4 stands at $335 million; the percentage under firm contract has increased from 60 percent to approximately 70 percent.

WorldView 3 launched in August 2014 aboard an Atlas 5 rocket from Lockheed Martin Commercial Launch Services. WorldView 4 is scheduled to launch in September this year.

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(Harsha Vardhan | MAR 28, 2016) Geospatial business have identified 7 potential areas, where the geospatial industry would actively work in the future, where the business and job market would be. Please note that these are very boarder figures, taken from various published reports.

All this is available under page 4 of the Geospatial World Forum 2016 brochure, and ‘Where is the Money?’ is the key topic under discussion in the plenary sessions at Geospatial World Forum 2016.

7 key areas for geospatial business

Here are the 7 key areas, where there is a potential of geospatial business right from IoT for Smart Cities, to Big Data; Indoor & Mobile Mapping to Analytics.

Prospect areas for geospatial business Overview of business potential
Smart Cities & Internet of Things (IoT) IoT deployments will create $421 billion in economic value for cities worldwide
Big Data Analytics Worldwide big data technology and services market to grow to $48.6 billion in 2019
Mobile Sensors & Mapping The mobile mapping market size is estimated to grow to $26.6 billion by 2020
Indoor Positioning & Mapping By 2018, around $10 billion in spending to be touched or directly affected by indoor location. Global indoor location market is predicted to grow to $4.4 billion by 2019
Cloud Computing Global cloud computing services market to reach $127 billion by 2017
Open Data Globally, seven sectors alone could generate $3 trillion to $5 trillion a year in additional value as a result of open data For the period 2016-2020, the direct market size for open data in Europe is estimated at €325 billion
Location Based Services By 2019, over 7 billion GNSS devices will be in use. Location based services market to grow 8.3% annually

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(16 March 2016) Jason-3, a new U.S.-European oceanography satellite mission with NASA participation, has produced its first complete science map of global sea surface height, capturing the current signal of the 2015-16 El Niño.


The U.S./European Jason-3 satellite has produced its first map of sea surface height, which corresponds well to data from its predecessor, Jason-2. Higher-than-normal sea levels are red; lower-than-normal sea levels are blue. El Nino is visible as the red blob in the eastern equatorial Pacific. (courtesy: NASA/JPL Ocean Surface Topography Team)

The map was generated from the first 10 days of data collected once Jason-3 reached its operational orbit of 830 miles (1,336 kilometers) last month. It shows the state of the ongoing El Niño event that began early last year. After peaking in January, the high sea levels in the eastern Pacific are now beginning to shrink.

Launched Jan. 17 from California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base, Jason-3 is operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in partnership with NASA, the French Space Agency Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES) and the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT). Its nominal three-year mission will continue nearly a quarter-century record of monitoring changes in global sea level. These measurements of ocean surface topography are used by scientists to help calculate the speed and direction of ocean surface currents and to gauge the distribution of solar energy stored in the ocean.

Information from Jason-3 will be used to monitor climate change and track phenomena like El Niño. It will also enable more accurate weather, ocean and climate forecasts, including helping global weather and environmental agencies more accurately forecast the strength of tropical cyclones.

Jason-3 data will also be used for other scientific, commercial and operational applications, including monitoring of deep-ocean waves; forecasts of surface waves for offshore operators; forecasts of currents for commercial shipping and ship routing; coastal forecasts to respond to environmental challenges like oil spills and harmful algal blooms; and coastal modeling crucial for marine mammal and coral reef research.

“Jason-3 has big shoes to fill,” said Josh Willis, NASA project scientist for Jason-3 at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. “By measuring the changing levels of the ocean, Jason-2 and its predecessors have built one of the clearest records we have of our changing climate.”

That record began with the 1992 launch of the NASA/CNES Topex/Poseidon mission (1992-2006) and was continued by Jason-1 (2001-2013); and Jason-2, launched in 2008 and still in operation. Data from Jason-3’s predecessor missions show that mean sea level has been rising by about 0.12 inches (3 millimeters) a year since 1993.

Over the past several weeks, mission controllers have activated and checked out Jason-3’s systems, instruments and ground segment, all of which are functioning properly. They also maneuvered Jason-3 into its operational orbit, where it now flies in formation with Jason-2 in the same orbit, approximately 80 seconds apart. The two satellites will make nearly simultaneous measurements over the mission’s six-month checkout phase to allow scientists to precisely calibrate Jason-3’s instruments.

John Lillibridge, NOAA Jason-3 project scientist in College Park, Maryland, said comparisons of data from the two satellites show very close agreement. “It’s really fantastic. The excellent agreement we already see with Jason-2 shows us that Jason-3 is working extremely well, right out of the box. This kind of success is only possible because of the collaboration that’s been developed between our four international agencies over the past quarter century.”

Once Jason-3 is fully calibrated and validated, it will begin full science operations, precisely measuring the height of 95 percent of the world’s ice-free ocean every 10 days and providing oceanographic products to users around the world. Jason-2 will then be moved into a new orbit, with ground tracks that lie halfway between those of Jason-3. This move will double coverage of the global ocean and improve data resolution for both missions. This interleaved mission will improve our understanding of ocean currents and eddies and provide better information for forecasting them throughout the global oceans.

NASA and CNES shared responsibilities for Jason-3’s satellite development and launch. CNES provided the Jason-3 spacecraft, while NASA was responsible for management of launch services and countdown operations for the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. NASA and CNES jointly provided the primary payload instruments. CNES and NOAA are responsible for satellite operations, with instrument operations support from JPL, which is managing the mission for NASA. Upon completion of Jason-3’s commissioning phase, CNES will hand over satellite mission operations and control to NOAA. Processing, archival and distribution of data products to users worldwide is being carried out by CNES, EUMETSAT and NOAA.

NASA uses the vantage point of space to increase our understanding of our home planet, improve lives and safeguard our future. NASA develops new ways to observe and study Earth’s interconnected natural systems with long-term data records. The agency freely shares this unique knowledge and works with institutions around the world to gain new insights into how our planet is changing.

source: NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and spacenewsfeed

Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) Remote Sensing Applications Competition (RSAC 2015)

1st Category: Remote Sensing Application Development

The competition aims at promoting the utilization of the DubaiSat-2 mission data. DubaiSat-2 products are expected for a wide range of disciplines spanning from land use and land cover, topography and geology, terrestrial (vegetation) ecosystem, agriculture and forestry, hydrology and climate, oceanography and coastal zone, disaster and natural hazards, resource exploration, development of spatial data infrastructure research and so on. RSAC 2015 includes two categories. The Remote Sensing Application Development category and the “Challenge of Innovation” category.

More info

(By Juliet Van Wagenen | March 25, 2016). [Via Satellite 03-25-2016] Non-Geostationary (NGSO) satellites will contribute $175 billion to launch and manufacturing revenue in the next 10 years, leading satellite market growth opportunities while accelerating emerging satellite technologies, according to a new Northern Sky Research (NSR) report. NGSO satellites, or anything orbiting at an altitude other than 22,300 miles (36,000 kilometers) in the geostationary arc, are making headlines as of late with new entrants such as O3b — which has launched a growing fleet of Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellites — OneWeb, SpaceX and LeoSat all planning sizeable Low Earth Orbit (LEO) telecom systems. More lower profile or unannounced systems are in the works as well, and legacy players, such as Iridium and Globalstar, have either recently completed or are in the process of refreshing NGSO constellations.

Carolyn Belle, NSR senior analyst and author of the “Satellite Manufacturing and Launch Services, 6th Edition” report, which looks at the market for satellites weighing more than 100 kilograms over the next 10 years, has reason to believe that, while only one or two new Low Earth Orbit (LEO) companies will survive, NGSO satellites will have a lasting impact on the manufacturing and launch market, generating more than half of the $285 billion total market revenue over the next 10 years.

“The total number of satellites in the GEO market is not changing that much in 10 years, but in terms of capabilities, the market could be vastly different in the next decade,” Belle told Via Satellite. “Not looking at the satellites but the operators, in the next 10 years there will be a lot more diversity in operators, especially in the NGSO side because it is becoming so much more affordable and easy to design and put a satellite into orbit for NGSO. Both the number of different operators and different applications will be higher in 10 years than where we are now.”

While she foresees the number of satellite orders hovering below 23 per year over the next decade, she points to advancements in technology and dropping manufacture and launch costs through developments made on NGSO spacecraft.

“There is more diversity now in what you can do and what people are looking to do in the NGSO front than in the GEO front. Advancing technology is feeding that a lot and improving on the value proposition of applications that do exist,” explained Belle.

Within the realm of Earth Observation (EO), for example, legacy players are pushing growth through new and advancing technology on NGSO satellites, by introducing new instruments that can supply higher resolution. This then allows those companies to address new target markets and introduce entirely new applications.

“We are seeing diversity in optical, so not images but different resolutions. Different spatial, spectral and temporal resolutions that diversify what the data product is and how emerging companies are leveraging much more on the software side to provide a more processed product to customers,” said Belle. “There are also a couple of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) constellations that have been proposed by commercial players. Also, space situational awareness has been proposed on the commercial side [and] it is big on the military side as well. Meteorology is another application for NGSO satellites, including climate monitoring.”

Meanwhile, in very small satellites of less than 100 kg, which are not covered in the report, Belle told Via Satellite that new value propositions are arising for applications such as marketing or entertainment, “things that satellites have just been too expensive for in the past.”

She is careful to note that GEO markets will remain a key source of revenue going forward, as commercial GEO communications will continue to be the highest value market segment at a stable $6 billion per year.

Belle also stresses that while NGSO constellations often involve large constellations of relatively inexpensive SmallSats, the constellations that are contributing to the uptick in launch rates are not the same spacecraft contributing to the forecasted increase in revenue.

“Today’s commercial communications and EO constellations are really designed on the premise of a low unit cost for manufacturing and to a lesser extent for launch, but for launch as well because they are smaller. For companies like OneWeb, O3b or UrtheCast — which has proposed a 16-satellite constellation — all of these are looking to leverage a lower cost for their satellites. Because of that they are contributing much more to launch rate than they are to revenue,” said Belle.

This means that while the commercial market is seeing a faster implementation of NGSO satellites, it will be military applications that bolster the revenue boost, as government spacecraft often involve larger and more expensive satellites.

“[Satellite applications] in situational awareness, reconnaissance and technology development especially is a lot of where that non-GEO revenue growth is coming from,” said Belle, noting that the strategic importance of space for the governments of U.S. and China is heating up and driving more room for non-GEO military spacecraft in national budgets. While NewSpace companies are jumping at these new applications and lower price points as a way to enter the satellite market, NSR expects only a few LEO communications companies will survive.

“One or two will reach the point of deploying a new constellation and building it out into a business because there are a lot of challenges along the way. All have to get past regulatory challenges; even if they already have access to spectrum it is a question of coordinating spectrum with other LEO or GEO players. Manufacturing, financing, having access to launch and launching on the right schedule will all present challenges and it’s going to be difficult for any one of these companies to come together and overcome all of that,” said Belle. Non-GEO startup survival is also a question of competition, as GEO players are bringing new HTS capacity online that will challenge a startup’s service value to customers.

Incumbent and new players will likely look to serve different ends of the market across all applications, however, dipping into EO, weather, remote sensing, etc., making room for both to serve customers in the industry. As “legacy” and new companies begin to add capacity to the market, Belle believes this competition can only be good for the industry as a whole.

“The contribution in increased competition is due to more capacity and a different type of capacity that potentially could be lower cost than what we have in GEO, which would exacerbate the pricing pressure that is already in play,” said Belle. “One of the effects that has on the market is pressuring GEO operators and manufacturers to keep advancing their capabilities in terms of the flexibility of the satellite and its being able to alter which coverage areas it has, and even being able to change the frequency of the satellite while it is in orbit … Operators want the flexibility to respond to a change in competition and user demand. I think we continue to see this trend toward more creativity, more innovation, investment and [Research and Development] R&D because of these LEO constellations.”

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