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LONDON—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Apr. 28, 2015— DigitalGlobe, Inc. (NYSE: DGI), a leading global provider of high-resolution earth imagery and geospatial solutions, today announced the general availability of its Basemap +Vivid product for the entire African continent. Keeping pace with the rapid evolution of mapping technology, this is the first time that a complete, consistent satellite imagery base layer with 50 cm ground resolution has been available for Africa.

Many parts of Africa have never been mapped at this resolution from space, and never before has there been a complete imagery base map of Africa with this level of detail. While 50 cm satellite imagery for Africa has been available since 2008, it previously only covered smaller areas of interest. To meet the rapidly growing needs of our customers, DigitalGlobe purposed our satellite constellation to cover every country in Africa so we could build and produce this unique offering for some of the most rapidly growing economies in the world.

This Africa base map strives to maximize consistency and completeness of the imagery, aligning to DigitalGlobe’s A3C quality program. Whether zoomed out to view an entire country, or zoomed in all the way down to view local vegetation, dwellings, and infrastructure, the imagery looks the way a user expects the earth’s surface to look. This uniformity helps local governments or global development agencies to build out maps and value-added information layers such as road vectors or population polygons for the people they serve. For web-enabled mapping platforms and location-based applications, users will stay immersed in their experience and not be distracted by inconsistencies in the imagery.

While businesses and governments have been leveraging satellite imagery for years, many applications have been hampered by lower resolution imagery or incomplete coverage over certain areas. Now with Basemap +Vivid, DigitalGlobe can deliver a beautiful, consistent, complete, geospatial-ready view of Africa.

“This is an important accomplishment in response to requests from our customers to create a verifiable, authoritative base map covering the entire continent,” said Hyune Hand, DigitalGlobe’s Senior Vice President for Product Marketing and Management. “Demand continues to grow, fueled by both regional projects and programs that require consistent quality coverage of an entire country.”

DigitalGlobe was in a unique position to develop this product with the world’s most advanced constellation of commercial imaging satellites and six years’ worth of sub-50 cm archive imagery. Not only does DigitalGlobe have the largest and most comprehensive archive of commercial satellite imagery for source data, but the research and development teams have invented and patented algorithms to process imagery at an unmatched speed and scale. Now prospective imagery users do not have to tackle the challenges of building a large imagery mosaic – such as inconsistencies between images, misalignment, visible seam lines, color imbalances, seasonality, haze, and cloud cover – to have a country-wide imagery layer on which to build the next generation of maps and applications.

Many organizations across the spectrum – public, private, and not-for-profit – are now able to use this unique imagery base map to help achieve their goals. Visit explore.digitalglobe.com/Basemap-Vivid.html today to learn more.

About DigitalGlobe

DigitalGlobe is a leading provider of commercial high-resolution earth observation and advanced geospatial solutions that help decision makers better understand our changing planet in order to save lives, resources and time. Sourced from the world’s leading constellation, our imagery solutions deliver unmatched coverage and capacity to meet our customers’ most demanding mission requirements. Each day customers in defense and intelligence, public safety, civil agencies, map making and analysis, environmental monitoring, oil and gas exploration, infrastructure management, navigation technology, and providers of location-based services depend on DigitalGlobe data, information, technology and expertise to gain actionable insight.

DigitalGlobe is a registered trademark of DigitalGlobe.
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South Africa’s National Space Agency (Sansa) has launched the latest update to its high definition satellite imaging capability, by licensing the capabilities of the latest orbiting cameras through the SPOT 6 (Satellite Pour l’Observation de la Terre) program.

Through SPOT 6, Sansa will be able to order new imagery on demand and make it available to government departments to help with national planning objectives and keeping track of agricultural and environmental issues.

During the launch of Sansa’s 2015 SPOT 6 mosaic in Pretoria Dr Sandile Malinga, CEO of Sansa, explained that the use of the SPOT satellite imagery has far-reaching benefits for South Africa.

This is the 10th year that Sansa has released the SPOT mosaic – the complete view of South Africa from space – at an annual gathering to discuss the use of the SPOT satellite imagery among government organisations.

“SPOT is important to Sansa and the nation as a whole. What do we do with it? Well, the number of applications are actually unlimited, but we use it for monitoring food security, energy security through weather forecasting, national mineral management, and urban planning,” Malinga said.

He added that SPOT is crucial in the decision-making process and a valuable support tools, as it provides crucial geospatial information. The cost of making use of SPOT runs into the millions of Rands each year, but Malinga (while not divulging the cost) said that it is worth the investment.

In previous years, Sansa has made use of the SPOT 5 satellite, but for 2015 and going forward, the organisation is making use of SPOT 6 and SPOT 7.

SPOT 6 was launched in September 2012 and SPOT 7 was launched in 2014, and the Sansa team activated the licence for use in March this year. Going from SPOT 5 to 6/7, Sansa can update its imagery of South Africa with better quality images.
This should give you a good idea of what imagery from SPOT 6 looks like.

This should give you a good idea of what imagery from SPOT 6 looks like.

And by using both satellites in tandem, the organisation has seasonal coverage of South Africa is its sight as it has already covered 88% of the nation.

Sansa’s Earth Observation Managing Director Dr Jane Olwoch, said that by moving from SPOT 5 to SPOT 6/7 has huge benefits for the country.

“We have shown that Sansa can host large datasets, and I would like to commend the progress that has already been made. Moving from 5 to 6/7, it is an innovation that promises the country better and timely information.”

Globally, the SPOT satellites have taken 11.3 billion images of earth, and 24% of those are clear shots with literally not a cloud in the sky. South Africa’s national coverage from SPOT started in 2006, and to date that data has been distributed to over 50 organs of the state.

SPOT 6 and 7 are two satellites which follow the same orbital path, but are 180 degrees apart from each other. By working together their highly responsive sensors can capture data in multiple wavelengths to reveal more than just photographic detail.
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“We will have the ability to accommodate urgent tasking requests, which are great for disaster management applications and we will also get four weather forecasts per day, which is integrated automatically into the tasking process to optimise efficiency.”

This is significant, as 60% of the imagery taken from any location in the country will have less than 10% cloud cover.
For another good example of its uses, here you can clearly see the migration of wildebeest in Kenya [Image – GeoEye-1]

For another good example of its uses, here you can clearly see the migration of wildebeest in Kenya [Image – GeoEye-1]

Previously, government organisations had to notify Sansa well in advance if it wanted satellite imagery, but with 6/7 that window has been reduced to a couple of days.

Making use of satellites to look at objects and places on earth can conjure up thoughts of secret agents tracking an elusive criminal by identifying the brand of soft drink he consumed.

Well, that would be theoretically be possible with possibly different technology, but since SPOT 6/7 have the capacity to produce images with a 1.5 meter resolution in natural colour, it is better suited to food at large areas of land rather than small details. It would be possible to see the migration of vegetation, but its definitely not capable of checking motor vehicle licence numbers.

But taking daily images of South Africa generates a huge amount of data, and that has to be stored somewhere.

From June this year, Sansa will slowly start to move the data to a better format, as DVDs, hard drives and compact disc aren’t as effective any more.

The organisation will be making the move to a .ftp site that will make use of Sansa credentials so that anybody can log in and view images.

“We need to develop an online platform as a long term solution, like making use of a web mapping service for disseminating all the Sansa products and service,” Kekana explained.

As mentioned, with Sansa having a licence to pull imagery of South Africa from the SPOT satellites are a huge benefit to the nation. It helps with urban planning, checking agricultural movements and can even keep track of illegal miners.

All in all, it is very important for South Africa to be able to keep track of a variety of aspects that are of national importance, and SPOT 6/7 allows it do just that for the various government organisation and department.

But how is this different to using Google Earth? Well, Google gets most of its imagery from DigitalGlobe and it isn’t always up to date. You might have noticed chunks of different coloured patches in Google Earth, and that is caused when images from different time periods are stitched (or meshed) together to form a cohesive image. And for legal and security reasons, all images on Google Earth have to be older than six month. So in short, it isn’t very accurate when you want to track something sensitive, important or immediately.

And in case you were wondering: no, SPOT6/7 or Sansa doesn’t have any high resolution images of Jacob Zuma’s Nkandla homestead. We did ask.

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The IASON FP7 project, a coordination action within the FP7 ENV program, concluded its work in May 2015 having achieved all of the project objectives successfully. IASON project understanding the need to promote use of Earth Observation data for the environment had the ultimate goal to unlock the potential and create a permanent and sustainable network of academic, governmental and industry stakeholders primarily in the Mediterranean and Black sea regions.

The IASON project came to an end this May after the successful final event on April the 222nd 2015. IASON Project had the ultimate goal to establish a permanent and sustainable Network of scientific and non-scientific institutions, stakeholders and private sector enterprises belonging in the EU and third countries located in two significant areas; The Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions. The main focal points of the project were the usage and application of Earth Observation (EO) in the following topics:

  • Actions to address climate changes
  • Research and innovation to improve resource efficiency
  • Raw Material Management

During the last two years, the IASON consortium tried to build on new and existing knowledge in order to push for a more integrated and sustainable use of EO data in the 2 areas for the benefit of the environment. Local networks were identified and approached, regional capacities were assessed and extended and new virtual and on-situ services for training and knowledge spill-over were built. Through the activities of our project we had the opportunity to meet very interesting people from the Black Sea and Mediterranean regions and appreciate their skills and above all their longing for knowledge and expertise. We are confident that the journey of IASON will continue.

By Prof. Petros Patias, IASON project Coordinator
More information on the IASON project results can be found at www.iason-fp7.eu

North Korean space agency officials have said the country is developing a more advanced Earth observation satellite and are defending their right to conduct rocket launches whenever they see fit, despite protests by the United States and others that the launches are aimed primarily at developing military technologies.

North Korea launched its first and only satellite in 2012. The claim that it is working on another, made in an interview last week with an Associated Press television crew in Pyongyang, comes amid a flurry of attention to the country’s fledgling space agency, including a visit by leader Kim Jong-un to a new satellite control centre which was repeatedly broadcast on North Korean TV early in May.

“We are developing a more advanced Earth observation satellite and when it’s complete, before launching it, we will inform international organisations and other countries,” said Paek Chang Ho, vice-director of the scientific research and development department of North Korea’s space agency.

Paek did not provide further details of what the satellite will do, how close it is to completion, when development began or when the next launch might be.

Speculation North Korea may be planning a rocket launch to mark the 70th anniversary this October of the ruling Korean Workers Party heated up after the release of recent satellite imagery at North Korea’s Sohae rocket launch site. Analysts at the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies say the images show significant new construction.

Concern has also been rising over North Korea’s weapons development.

The country recently claimed it tested a new type of missile from a submarine and reiterated that it had built a nuclear warhead small enough to be mounted on a long-range missile. Outside analysts are skeptical about both claims, but they believe the North has built a small but growing nuclear bomb arsenal and advanced its missile program since international nuclear disarmament talks stalled in early 2009.

Paek, echoing the often-repeated public statements about North Korea’s intentions, dismissed any linkage between the space program and weapons development.

“Our National Aerospace Development Administration has peaceful objectives,” he said. “America and its impure allies are always trying to persecute us … We will continue launching satellites in the designated place when necessary and whether it is recognised or not. The high dignity of our republic will be exalted.”
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In Washington, the State Department said any satellite launch using ballistic missile technology would be a clear violation of multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions. It said the resolutions require North Korea to suspend all activities related to its ballistic missile program and abandon the program, verifiably and irreversibly.

“Any rocket capable of placing an object in orbit is directly relevant to the development of long-range ballistic missiles, as many ballistic missile and space-launch vehicle technologies are virtually identical and interchangeable,” spokeswoman Marie Harf told reporters. “So we’ll be watching this.”

North Korea was strongly criticised by Washington and subjected to tougher sanctions by the United Nations after the 2012 rocket launch carrying its first satellite.

Most experts believe that launch did in fact place a satellite into orbit, though it’s unclear whether the spacecraft was able to do anything beyond that.

Opinion is divided over whether the North’s primary goal was to bolster national pride with a high-profile technological achievement or, as Washington maintains, to move a step closer toward being able to field a long-range missile that could threaten US cities. It could be a combination of both, as was the case with the US and the Soviet Union during their own Cold War space-race years.

Either way, there is no doubt North Korea is actively promoting its space program to its people as a symbol of national accomplishment and prestige.

Mock-ups, big and small, of the blue-and-white Unha-3 rocket launched three years ago are common in Pyongyang. Children climb on them in playgrounds; they are featured in amusement parks, assembly halls and even flower exhibitions. One of the catchiest tunes by North Korea’s most popular singing group — the Moranbong Band — commemorated the launch as evidence of how the nation is single-mindedly roaring off into the future.

“The eagerness of our people for space development and conquest is becoming the mainstream of the era and it cannot be dammed up,” Paek said.

Yun Chang Hyok, vice-chief of the space agency’s research institute, said North Korea is also looking into developing and launching a communications satellite, and sees weather satellites as potentially useful for agricultural forecasting and planning. He said Pyongyang believes investment in space technology is good policy, even in a country like North Korea that is strapped for resources, because its ripple effects through the economy bring “eightfold” benefits.

“Outer space is becoming more of crucial part of people’s lives,” he said. “It is impossible to establish a powerful country without the development of space technology.”

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(03rd June 2015) Monitoring water quality for inland and coastal waters is a requirement for many government and private sector entities. This requirement includes identifying long-term trends and understanding emerging problems over large areas that contain numerous water bodies – all to be done in near real time.

To satisfy this requirement EOMAP GmbH & Co. KG, a leading provider of aquatic remote sensing solutions, has now launched the world’s first harmonized, high-resolution monitoring service for inland and coastal waters, with water quality information directly accessible online through the eoApp web application.

The service is supported by data from a fleet of satellite sensors and uses proprietary, state-of-the-art physics-based processing technologies. The base product suite includes water quality parameters such as turbidity, chlorophyll concentrations and organic/inorganic components, all delivered and displayed in digital map form. These information products and services can be generated for any location worldwide. These products and services are standardized, inter-comparable and independent, and do not require any form of ground truth data.

Dr. Jens Arle, Federal Environmental Agency of Germany (UBA), commented that: “this new capability will significantly improve the comprehensive overview of inland water bodies. The temporal sampling rate and the spatial coverage provide relevant information which can substantially support the assessment of surface waters under the Water Framework Directive. The possibility to use detailed time series going back as far as 30 years in time is expected to provide a new and much more detailed view on long term trends of water quality especially for the large number of water bodies which were not or only partly covered by the monitoring programs in the past.”

“Our remote sensing-based service sets the new standard for monitoring inland water systems, of almost any size, in their entirety, regardless of geo-political boundaries – at very competitive rates – with sampling frequencies of daily to weekly and at spatial resolutions of 2 m, 30 m and 500m”, explains Karin Schenk, head of EOMAP Water Quality Services.

EOMAP has received several awards from the COPERNICUS programme of the European Commission and ESA (European Space Agency) for its work on making affordable aquatic remote sensing products available to industry and the public sector. Indeed, the EOMAP eoApp Web application provides an easy access to spatial water quality information and enables detailed time series analysis going back for decades in time.

Published online on, eoApp displays water quality data examples from various countries and continents (Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, North and South America) and demonstrates the harmonized and global coverage of the service, covering thousands of lakes, dams and rivers.

“This entrepreneurial spirit and drive of innovation fosters the sustainable market development for space-based services, in particular those relying on precise and easy accessible earth observation data. It is exciting to realize that the EOMAP technology is also ready to immediately incorporate the current and future Sentinel satellites into these operational services” added Dr. Thomas Beer, Copernicus Policy Coordinator at European Space Agency.

Since the satellites used are already operating with global coverage, this new EOMAP inland water quality monitoring service is ready to be deployed worldwide, whether at local, regional or even continental scales.

“With our new service, harmonized water quality information has never been easier and faster to access or incorporate into the business workflows of water agencies and industries such as dredging, desalination or aquaculture“, said Dr. Thomas Heege, EOMAP CEO.
bq. “Access and analysis of aggregated global water quality information, whether through the easy-to-use eoApp Web application or delivered directly into a user’s information environment, enables an improved understanding and management of all inland waters, which ultimately are so important to both our environment and society”.

References:

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Firstly, Mr. Ratier, mainly for our readers outside of Europe, can you give us a picture of EUMETSAT, what you do and what is your mission?

EUMETSAT was created in 1986 as an intergovernmental organisation to establish, maintain and exploit European systems of operational meteorological satellites. We currently operate four geostationary Meteosat satellites and two polar-orbiting Metop satellites, and we are partners in the Jason-2 ocean altimetry mission exploited jointly with NOAA, NASA and CNES.

We establish user and system requirements for new generation satellite systems that are then developed with ESA, based on a proven cooperation model. The way this works is that ESA develops the first satellite in a series and procures recurrent satellites on our behalf, while EUMETSAT procures all launch services, develops and procures all the ground systems required to control the spacecraft, acquire and process their data and deliver products to users. In the end, we integrate, test and validate the full system and “maintain and exploit” it over 15 to 20 years to deliver data services to users, our “raison d’être”. This requires continuously upgrading our ground segments to eliminate obsolescence, keep efficiency at the highest level and expand our portfolio of products in response to evolving user needs, capitalizing on the latest advances of remote sensing science and our cooperation with other satellite operators. Overall, EUMETSAT bears typically 80% of the cost of a multi-satellite programme with the remaining costs being covered by ESA. More than 80% of our budget goes to industry through EUMETSAT, ESA and joint contracts.

In 2000, the founding convention of EUMETSAT was expanded to include climate monitoring and the detection of climate change. The rationale was synergy and efficiency: modern meteorology and climate monitoring both require global observations of the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere and land surfaces, which means that our satellite systems, ground infrastructure and know-how are assets not just for meteorology, but also for cost-efficient monitoring of the climate. The amended convention also introduced the possibility of optional and third party programmes, in addition to our Meteosat and the EUMETSAT Polar System (EPS) programmes, and this paved the way for our involvement in Jason and Copernicus EUMETSAT

In your time as DG of EUMETSAT, what has been the greatest challenge which you have encountered?

I became Director-general on 1 August 2011, one month after the approval of a very ambitious Meteosat Third Generation programme, when the financial crisis of 2008-2009 had turned into an economic/debt crisis hitting most of EUMETSAT’s Member States. In this context, my main challenge was to gain unanimous approval of the EPS-Second Generation (EPS-SG) Programme, and to convince Bulgaria, Estonia, Iceland and Lithuania to join EUMETSAT at a time when financial contributions were ramping up with MTG and EPS-SG. This required a robust, quantitative demonstration of the socio-economic benefits of EPS-SG and containing programme costs whilst fulfilling agreed requirements.

The second challenge was to establish the role of EUMETSAT in Copernicus, and, in this framework, to assure the continuity of the Jason altimetry mission, in cooperation with the USA. We also launched two satellites in 2012, MSG-3 and Metop-B to secure service continuity from both orbits for another 5 to 10 years.

Formed in 1986 as the operational agency for Europe’s meteorological satellites, EUMETSAT now plays a strong role internationally, how significant is this role for EUMETSAT?

This leverages substantial additional benefits to our Member States and users worldwide. Weather and climate have no borders and need to be observed frequently and globally from space, which calls for an international effort to coordinate satellite systems, share data, know-how and best practices, under the umbrella of the World Meteorological Organisation. This is orchestrated by the Coordination Group for Meteorological Satellites (www.cgms-info.org) of which EUMETSAT serves as the permanent secretary. CGMS sets the multi-lateral framework for the bilateral cooperation that we have established with satellite operators of China (CMA and SOA), India (IMD and ISRO), Japan (JMA and JAXA), Russia (Roshydromet), South Korea (KMA) and the USA (NOAA and NASA).

We share satellite systems with the USA. EPS is part of an integrated Joint Polar System with NOAA, based on sharing of orbits, exchange of instruments and interoperability. Likewise, Jason-2/-3 is shared with NOAA, NASA and CNES. This reduces costs on both sides and the value to users is more than the sum of the respective contributions. We also coordinate observing systems with China and exchange data with all partners, to provide third party data services to our own users, thus expanding our product portfolio at marginal costs.

We are also an active member of the Committee of Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS), which we chaired in 2014, and we support GEO, mainly through the contribution of our EUMETCast data broadcast service to the GEONETCast worldwide real-time dissemination system involving also NOAA and CMA. Thus our data are accessible to users in the Asia Pacific Region.

In the context of Copernicus, EUMETSAT is a member of “Europe’s team” with ESA and the EU and we support the Commission in space dialogues with all countries where we have formalised partnerships.

We also have a long established partnership with Africa, including agreements with the African Union Commission, to support EU-funded capacity building initiatives, through the delivery of data access by EUMETCast-Africa and user training.

EUMETSAT has become increasingly involved in issues linked to climate change, how does this affect the day to day operations of the organisation?

METEOSAT The Meteosat satellites have been collecting observations since the late seventies, building up one of the longest climate data record collected by satellite. This creates opportunities and obligations! Our climate activities focus on data rescue, re-calibration and cross-calibration of historical data, reprocessing of physical and geophysical products into long Climate Data Records, validation and international coordination. As part of a pan-European effort to develop climate services, we have developed methods for assessing the maturity of Climate Data Records from a user perspective, to stimulate their wider use in climate research and services, and prepare ourselves to support the Copernicus Climate Change Monitoring Service (C3S).

Our activities also involve our network of Satellite Applications Facilities and are embedded in international cooperative projects involving users, research organisations and service providers.

We also continuously upgrade our IT infrastructure to facilitate fast access to and frequent reprocessing of large volumes of historical data and have designed our future MTG and EPS-SG processing systems to allow maximum flexibility in this respect.

Your main shareholders, the national meteorological offices fund the procurement of new satellites which are tuned to respond to their specific needs through the EUMETSAT operating agency. Can you briefly outline the planning and budgeting process in EUMETSAT?

Eumetsat Member States Our shareholders are our 30 Member States, not their national meteorological services. The latter are certainly a major source of requirements – although not the only one – but cannot fund multi-billion satellite systems.
EUMETSAT operates on the basis of multi-satellite programmes approved by its Member States. For a mandatory programme, like MTG or EPS-SG, the planning process starts with the definition of user requirements, followed by phase 0/A/B activities conducted at system level by EUMETSAT and at space segment level by ESA.

This leads to decisions of our Council on the instruments and satellites to be developed by ESA, and ultimately on a fully detailed programme proposal, including costing and financial planning over typically 25 years. This proposal requires unanimous approval by our 30 Member States, each of them funding the approved programme pro rata its Gross National Income. Then, annual budgets are approved by a qualified majority (two thirds of contributions, one half of Member States).

DATA DISSEMINATION SYSTEM & COPERNICUS

EUMETSAT delivers satellite data and products in real-time to users worldwide through EUMETCast. How is this working today and how do you see it evolving in the future given the expanding number of possible distribution channels, the availability of metadata and interoperability options and the rolling online archives

EUMETCast delivers to Europe, Africa and the Americas, and we also deliver to the Asia Pacific region through interoperability with China’s CMACast service. Today we deliver data, products and information from our satellite systems and other sources to 4250 low cost VSAT stations owned by more than 3300 registered users worldwide, with 99.9% availability, optimum bandwidth management and high flexibility on data content and volume delivered to individual users. The system is fully scalable to accommodate additional users and has no dependence on local network bandwidth. The migration to the DVBS-2 standard has divided costs by two and increased capacity through the procurement of the capacities of two full transponders from service industry.


EUMETCast Europe coverage @EUMETSAT

As regards the evolution, we have recently traded off various options and concluded that satellite broadcasting was the best solution for the safe and reliable delivery of time-critical data to a widely distributed user community, and will probably remain so for a number of years. We will continue to trade-off possible options in the future, based on prototyping and pilot experiments with partners, considering cloud and big data technologies, in particular in the context of Copernicus, but with particular attention to IT security and service continuity requirements, considering that one purpose of our data is to save lives and to costs.

Our data can also be accessed through our EO Portal, and we are implementing rolling online archives to support Sentinel-3 and our own missions, also to allow recovery in case of local failure of a EUMETCast user station.

We comply with relevant standards for metadata and formats and have proposed interoperability options to ESA in 2013 that may need to be reconsidered in the context of the ongoing Copernicus ground segment studies.

Copernicus is a major programme for Europe in which EUMETSAT is playing a leading role. Can you describe what Copernicus means for you?

Members of the EU Council’s Space Working Party visit the Sentinel-3 control room The Agreement signed with the EU on 7 November 2014 tasks us to operate the Sentinel-3 marine mission, the Sentinel-6 mission and its Jason-3 precursor, and the Sentinel-4 and Sentinel-5 missions, which our Council agreed to implement as part of our MTG and EPS-SG satellite systems to save European tax payers’ money. This means exploiting more satellites, starting with Sentinel-3A in 2015, and more instruments on board our own MTG and Metop-SG satellites from 2020 onwards. This will expand our portfolio of ocean and atmospheric composition products and deliver to the users the benefits of an integrated data stream combining products from Copernicus and EUMETSAT missions, and also from missions of our international partners such as the US, China, India, etc…

How are you now preparing for the Sentinels (S3, S4, S5, S6) and for the distribution of the data which these will generate?

We are supporting ESA in the development of the Sentinel-3 ground segment and system, under a third party programme funded by Copernicus, and are preparing for operations in cooperation with ESA, starting in 2016.

For Sentinel-4 and Sentinel-5, our contribution to the development of the ground segment and system is fully embedded in our MTG and EPS-SG programmes and funded by EUMETSAT. The MTG and EPS-SG ground systems are designed and sized to support both Sentinel missions.

Data will be distributed through different channels, including our EO Portal and EUMETCast. EUMETCast-Europe will deliver Sentinel-3/4/5/6 data and products to any user equipped with a low cost (2 k€) standard terminal, in any EU or EUMETSAT Member State, and we are proud that this will create equal opportunities for all service providers and users, at a modest cost. The service will be presented and demonstrated to users on 11 September, at a Copernicus data access information day organised with the Commission and ESA, at EUMETSAT headquarters, in Darmstadt (www.eumetsat.int/marinestream). I hope we will have the pleasure to welcome a lot of EARSC members!

What challenges will your team have to deal with concerning the new instruments in terms of data processing and distribution?

The MTG and Metop-SG satellites will deliver one order of magnitude more data than the previous generation, and this undoubtedly raises challenges for the ground segments, but in essence this is not so different from what we experienced already when moving from the first to the second generation of Meteosat.

But the new development challenge for MTG and EPS-SG is that they are both based on two different satellites (MTG-I and -S, Metop SG-A and -B) to be exploited simultaneously and launched in sequence, two years apart. This means we will have to test, verify and validate two successive, very different versions of highly complex processing systems, optimising the allocation of our scientific and engineering resources. The generation of representative test data will also be, as usual, a significant challenge, in particular for the innovative sensors that have no in flight heritage, like the MTG Lightning Imager and the Metop SG-B Ice Cloud Imager.

For data distribution, we have set up a new Muti-Mission Dissemination System capable to handle a variety of channels and the architecture of EUMETCast-Europe is fully scalable. In preparation for the MSG-4 launch, we have already performed successful load tests for 4 MSG, 2 Metop and 2 Sentinel-3 data streams, and the system and services, as procured, can accommodate MTG and EPS-SG data streams in addition. Our new archiving system has also a scalable architecture to accommodate up to 200 PBytes, a level that we will not reach earlier than 2027.


Large smoke plume visible from massive Australian bushfires. The day-time Metop-A Natural Colour RGB (09/02/14 23:19 UTC) shows the smoke in cyan colour, and the night-time Infrared image on the right (10/02/14 11:39 UTC 3.7 channel) shows the very large fires as coloured hot spots – the key shows the temperature in Kelvin. For more information, read our article. Copyright: 2014 EUMETSAT

Will all users have the same level of data access? How can users place requests for data where satellite acquisition programming is required? Will all users have the same level of priority?

All users will have the same level of data access within the throughput capacity of our ground systems. Moreover we can already guarantee that EUMETCast-Europe cannot be saturated and will deliver an integrated data stream combining EUMETSAT, Sentinel-3 and third party data to all users. Copernicus and EUMETSAT data policies will apply to the respective data. Today, for EUMETSAT, all real time data are available free of charge to all users, except the highest resolution, highest frequency Meteosat imagery which is available for a fee for commercial use. All archived data are available free of charge to all users.

There will be no requests for programming satellite acquisition, because all our instruments provide continuous, repetitive and full swath coverage. Only the Flexible Combined Imager of MTG-I is programmable in two modes (full disc and rapid scan), but only one mode will be selected for each satellite in orbit, as required to support monitoring and nowcasting of high impact weather.


Clear skies over Europe as seen in an image taken by EUMETSAT’s Meteosat-10 geostationary satellite at 08:00 (UTC) on 10 March 2014. Copyright: 2014 EUMETSAT

INDUSTRY & PROCUREMENT

Turning to the question of the relationship between EUMETSAT and the private sector, industry has been a supplier of systems to EUMETSAT, are there also cases where industry already provides services?

We already procure launch, Launch and Early Orbit Phase (LEOP), communication and precise orbit determination services among others, and we now plan to procure an industrial support service for the integration and testing of the MTG ground segment and system. We also rely significantly on support of industry for operations, procuring spacecraft controller and user service support teams, maintenance and development support services. We have recently introduced frame contracts, in particular for scientific and engineering support for Sentinel-3 operations, for which five consortia have been selected to compete on subsequent work orders. Our policy is to use frame or service contracts instead of consultants whenever appropriate, and, since 2013, we procure consultancy support only from duly registered companies. More than 80% of EUMETSAT budgets go to industry.

How can industry strengthen the co-operation with EUMETSAT? What plans do you have to cooperate with private sector service providers?

Our role has clear boundaries: we are a business-neutral provider of data and support services with no involvement in applications or delivery of information services. Our only ambition is that our data creates the broadest range of opportunities. Therefore, we have no plans as such to cooperate specifically with private sector service providers, but our user service and help desk is open to all users, and we are open to meeting service providers – public and private – wishing to know more about our data and services. Our annual user conferences are also open to industry and their attendance is always significant.

Our procurement policy is open competition and value for money, and we wish to create maximum awareness of opportunities in industry. We therefore organise Information Days ahead of the release of each major ITT, and organise generic Industry Days in our Member States to inform on our procurement process and forthcoming opportunities. Our procurements are announced on a dedicated portal, called EUMITS

Do you have connections with companies which are innovating new products and services based on the products which you offer?

We have no partnership, but, given our upstream position in the value adding chain, we have a keen interest in information on new products and services derived from our data, by the public and the private sectors. Our user conferences and other professional events offer opportunities for relevant discussions and we are open to meeting aimed at understanding data requirements of companies.

What can we do to encourage or enable the industrial participation in the provision of services? How do you perceive the role of EARSC in this respect?

We need to facilitate access to data, information and computing, but I have sometimes the impression that the focus on infrastructure is exaggerated in Europe, and may mobilise disproportionate attention and investments in the EO area. It is equally important to create dynamic “ecosystems” involving research, universities and SMEs in order to stimulate innovation, attract students and ideas and set up services combining Earth Observation with other information. The role of EARSC is not easy, as this is by nature a competitive area among its members, more difficult to address than enabling infrastructure. But I think EARSC may look across Europe and elsewhere on best practices and critical factors for stimulating innovation and emergence of new information services. Also, having growth in mind, these services cannot target only the public sector. There must be some open space between Google-type companies and large space industry….

FUTURE

Finally, looking to the future;

How do you see EUMETSAT changing over the next few years?

Our MTG and EPS-SG programmes and our role in Copernicus are now established and I trust the Jason-CS programme can be approved in 2015. This means we have now to deliver these complex systems in cooperation with our partners, but also be prepared to exploit ten satellites in orbit from 2016 onwards. We have reorganised in 2013 to best use our human resources to face these challenges, we have constructed a new office building and are prepared for a moderate growth. But EUMETSAT will be 30 years old in 2016, and surely the transition to a new generation of engineers, scientists and managers is one critical objective that we share with others in the space sector.

What do you see as being the key evolution of services provided by EUMETSAT?

As we operate more complex satellite systems, we will deliver more and more multi-sensor and multi-satellite products and Climate Data Records, also in the context of Copernicus, where the synergy with our more capable missions is a unique asset. Our cooperation with China, India and the USA will also lead to more third party data services.

The way we deliver data services will certainly change in the future. We will respond to the “Big Data” challenge and offer more opportunities to a variety of value-adding chains. But we need to secure continuity of our critical data services to our Member States, and this operational requirement, together with IT security, cannot be underestimated.

At the end of the interview, here is the opportunity for your final thoughts and how your activities could contribute to the future development of the EO geo-information service sector?

As part of a general move in the meteorological community, EUMETSAT has adopted the Open Geospatial Consortium standard and will release a first pilot open Web Map Service. Subject to agreement by our Council, we may develop more advanced Web Services enabling the overlay of our numerical data with other geo-referenced information, to create more opportunities.

EDUCATIONAL VIDEO

BIO: Alain Ratier, EUMETSAT Director-General

Alain Ratier, EUMETSAT Director-General Alain Ratier was appointed EUMETSAT’s fourth Director-General on 1 August 2011. His tenure so far has seen the launch of the third Meteosat Second Generation (MSG-3) and Metop-B satellites, the start of the development of the Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) system and preparation of the next generation EUMETSAT Polar System Second Generation (EPS-SG) programme. Under his leadership, the role of EUMETSAT in the EU Copernicus programme has been recognised and the organisation prepared for the operation of the Sentinel-3 and Jason-3 ocean satellites. He has also overseen the expansion of EUMETSAT’s membership, with Estonia, Lithuania, Iceland and Bulgaria becoming Member States in 2013-2014.

Between 2004 and 2011, Mr Ratier was Deputy Director-General of Météo-France.

Mr Ratier already played a part in shaping EUMETSAT as Director of Programme Development and Deputy Director-General between 1996 and 2004. During this time, he guided the development of the MSG and EUMETSAT Polar System programmes and EUMETSAT’s contribution to Jason-2. He also designed the process for establishing user requirements for future EUMETSAT programmes, starting with MTG.

From 1987 to 1996 Mr Ratier was a Programme Manager and subsequently Associate Director for Earth Observation Programmes at the French Space Agency (CNES). There, he contributed to the expansion of the French Earth observation programme to include atmospheric, oceanographic and climate sciences.

Mr Ratier’s career began at Météo-France in 1983, where he spent five years in research and development activities on modelling of the upper ocean and air-sea interactions and on data assimilation.

Mr Ratier graduated from the École Polytechnique in 1981. He was awarded an engineering diploma from the French National School of Meteorology and also holds a degree in oceanography from Paris VI University. He is a member of the French Marine Academy and the Air and Space Academy.

Mr Ratier is married with three children

©IMAGES – EUMETSAT

Lisbon: Geospatial technologies are responsive to the societal needs of a wide range of public and private sector policies. Active engagement, collaboration and understanding between geospatial community and its major user domains help in harnessing true value of geospatial information and enhancing awareness of its potential among policymakers. A plenary session held at the INSPIRE_Geospatial World Forum 2015 highlights the best practices that facilitate further development and improvement of geospatial policy framework, and its integration with policies of other major industries at local, national, regional and global levels. The discussion was moderated by Rolando Ocampo Alcantar, Vice President, National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), Mexico.

Prashant Shukle, Director-General, Canada Centre for Mapping and Earth Observation, Natural Resources Canada, believes that geomatics has opened up a plethora of opportunities for the public sector. He says, “Canada’s vast northern geography is our single biggest geospatial policy driver. Since we are one of the world’s richest natural resource bases, there is a huge demand for geospatial information in Canada. It should be noted that 80% of the population lives along the US-Canada border, thousands of miles away from these natural resources.”

Prashant adds, “What is the best way to deploy geospatial technology continues to be a tough question. Various vertical sectors have started using geospatial technology and experienced significant productivity gains. Canada’s GDP grew by C$ 20.7 billion due to productivity improvements from the use of geospatial technology. However, to ensure that GIS is adopted by more and more sectors, we need an integrated policy response, from supply driven by governments to demand driven by end users.”

Karl Falkenberg, Director General of European Commission, DG Environment, Belgium, feels that a substantial transformation in governance is being witnessed in Europe and most parts of the world. He says, “It is very important that not only do we reconsider the legislation, but also that we know how to measure impacts. A good way to start would be to have accurate information on the system. Now, getting this information is difficult. However, regulatory bodies need to collect information not only at regular intervals, but on a similar basis. Through INSPIRE, we collect and share information at the level of member states and make it available not just in the limits of one piece of legislation, but use it wherever required. It is important for the regulators to get more access to data so that we can implement, measure and monitor the impact of our policies.”

Rui Amaro Alves, Director General, Directorate General for Territorial Development, Portugal, tells, “Since its inception in 2012, the Directorate General for Territorial Development has been pursuing spatial planning to promote and support good land management practices, and develop and disseminate guidance and technical knowhow to ensure good organisation, presentation and use of national territory.”

Talking about INSPIRE’s influence on spatial planning policy, he adds, “The first territorial plans came in Portugal in 1765, after the Lisbon earthquake. In 2014, the organisation introduced a new Spatial Planning Act. This year, it has introduced a new law on spatial plans. INSPIRE’s data themes and general approach to protect environment boosts spatial planning. The IGEO – Spatial Open Data – is a new initiative which aims to make available public administration data for society and to research and educational institutes.”

Discussing the German marine data infrastructure and the EU directives, Johannes Melles — Coordinator for Spatial Data, German Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH), Germany — quips, “Data providers need to live with the decisions made at policy level. Sometimes, this causes problems. But, on the other hand, what we are trying to do is not only accepting what we get from policy, but also come up with some ideas from our projects and get our influence on the policies. This works two-ways. Eighteen agencies and institutions in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in a 12-mile radius constitute the data providers for the maritime SDI. It is a service-oriented architecture; a decentralised network of data providing services. Data and services are documented with Meta data. The focus is on interoperability. We are looking into open standards defined by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) and the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC). The geoportal for Marine SDI is ready. There have been several learnings: partners have to be on the same level (tech and thinking); data has to be interoperable and licensing of the data has to be clear (preferable when data is free); data provision has to meet user requirements (quality, instead of quantity); and a clear task for the use of the data is to be established (theoretical use cases are not sufficient).

Taking the discussion forward, Vanessa Lawrence, Co-Chair, UN Initiative on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM), United Kingdom, adds, says, “The UN-GGIM has been set up for developing a strategic framework for geospatial information at a national, regional and global level. The UN-GGIM, along with the OGC, has developed an international standards document. The UN-GGIM website shares best practices models from around the world. It has also brought out a report on the future trends in geospatial information management. The UN-GGIM has identified legal and policy issues as one of the main challenges facing the geospatial community in the next ten years. It recognises the growing demand for more precise positioning services and the economic importance of a global geodetic reference frame for sustainable development.”

Abe Usher, Chief Technology Officer, HumanGeo, US, believes that two macro trends — evolution of cell phones and evolution of big data — are colliding. He tells, “In 2014, we searched trillions of times. What do these searches say about us? There was no consciousness of big data among people until 2005-06. It is a metaphor for the change that is going on around us. Collective intelligence or aggregated data and analytics provide insight into the trends. Geospatial professionals aggregate billions of weak signals to analyse the world. This technology evolution is creating a policy shift. Today, we do not go to an expert for answers. Instead, we go to google.com. Data consumption today comes from Smartphone users, not the government and institutes.”

See more at

(11 September 2015) In 2015, EUMETSAT will support the commissioning of the Copernicus Sentinel-3A satellite by ESA, following its expected launch in October. EUMETSAT will also start to extract marine products at its multi-mission facilities in Darmstadt and to deliver these, as well as other products from Jason-3, EUMETSAT and other third party missions from the US, China, India, in a unique data stream available across the EU and EUMETSAT’s Member States.

To prepare users to access this unique and integrated Marine data stream, the European Commission and EUMETSAT are pleased to invite you to attend a “Copernicus Users Information Day”, planned to take place at EUMETSAT headquarters (Darmstadt, Germany) on 11 September 2015. A 1-pager presenting the Information Day and its programme is enclosed.

The website and registration page are now available. Please register by connecting on:
http://www.eumetsat.int/marinestream

Please note that participation will be limited to 120 Pax. Early registration is important.

Marinestream-infoprogramme.pdf

Paris, Washington D.C., Montreal, Yokohama, May 7, 2015 – According to Euroconsult’s newly released report, Earth Observation Requirements & Solutions in Latin America, the Latin American Earth observation market is undergoing significant expansion brought about by growing demand for Earth observation data and services, and governments’ growing investment into the application to support this demand and help to develop national Earth observation industries. In this regard, the region is considered one of the most dynamic markets globally.

As of 2014 combined national investment into Earth observation systems developed is $193 million. This number is expected to increase substantially as further countries in the region are expected to invest in the application, and current investing countries expand their satellite portfolios. Consequently, the number of Earth observation satellites launched from Latin American programs is anticipated to grow to more than 25 over the coming decade, compared to just six launched in the last ten years.

Demand for Earth observation data has also increased significantly. “The data market in Latin America is estimated at $145 million in 2014; nearly half of all data sales are attributed to the defense sector, with natural resources monitoring, infrastructure and engineering, and energy following,” said Ricardo Topham, Consultant at Euroconsult and editor of the report. “Brazil represents the largest national market, totaling a third of all data sales, followed by Mexico.”

Demand is foreseen to continue to grow strongly, with a 10% CAGR forecast over 2014-2024, leading to a $355 million commercial data market. Multiple factors are expected to support this growth:

  • Robust demand from defense. Although impacted by the gradual increase of national proprietary systems, this supply is not expected to fulfill all regional demand for image intelligence solutions.
  • Demand in natural resources mainly related to national forest monitoring programs, especially in Brazil and Mexico, although countries such as Argentina, Chile, and Colombia are also increasing demand for forestry and agriculture.
  • Infrastructure and engineering demand driven by Brazil and Mexico and their plans to invest billions of dollars in development projects over the next decade. Colombia and Chile are also foreseen to undertake projects to update road networks and public transport infrastructure.
  • Demand in the energy (oil, gas, minerals) sector, mainly in Brazil, Mexico, and Chile. Countries will be effected in the short to medium term related to the drop in oil prices; however the region remains resources-rich with new ventures expected to emerge.

About The Report

Earth Observation Requirements & Solutions in Latin America gives a 360° view of the market, exploring the underlying development dynamics in the region, the Latin American space sector, supply (both upstream and downstream) and demand for Earth observation data, along with profiles of the largest regional markets. The report includes assessments of key vertical markets along with country-specific profiles.

About Euroconsult

Euroconsult is the leading global consulting firm specializing in space markets. As a privately-owned, fully independent firm, we provide first-class strategic consulting, develop comprehensive research and organize executive-level annual summits for the industry. With 30 years of experience, Euroconsult is trusted by 600 clients in more than 50 countries. Euroconsult is headquartered in France, with offices in the U.S., Canada and Japan.

PRESS CONTACT
Andrew Smith
+1 (514) 903-1001
smith@euroconsult-na.com

Source

April 2015
Start Date End Date Name Locality Country
April 14, 2015 April 17, 2015 IMCET 2015 Antalya Turkey
April 14, 2015 April 16, 2015 London United Kingdom
April 14, 2015 April 16, 2015 London United Kingdom
April 14, 2015 April 17, 2015 EESC Space& Society event: Painting exhibition "Our Future influenced by the research of Cosmos" Brussels Belgium
April 14, 2015 April 16, 2015 Luxemburg Luxembourg
April 15, 2015 April 17, 2015 Leeds United Kingdom
April 15, 2015 Vienna Austria
April 15, 2015 April 17, 2015 Russia
April 20, 2015 April 22, 2015 Novosibirsk Russia
April 20, 2015 April 25, 2015 Istanbul Turkey
April 20, 2015 April 22, 2015 Frascati Italy
April 21, 2015 April 22, 2015 Bremen Germany
April 21, 2015
Vienna
Austria
April 21, 2015 April 22, 2015 Bremen Germany
April 21, 2015 London United Kingdom
April 21, 2015 April 25, 2015 Chicago USA
April 21, 2015 London United Kingdom
April 22, 2015 April 24, 2015 Tainan, Taiwan
April 22, 2015 April 24, 2015 Cape Town, South Africa
April 23, 2015 April 24, 2015 Gdansk University of Technology Poland
April 24, 2015 London United Kingdom
April 24, 2015 April 25, 2015 Istanbul Turkey
April 27, 2015 May 1, 2015 Greenbelt, Maryland USA
April 28, 2015 Dublin Ireland
April 28, 2015 April 30, 2015 Barcelona Spain
April 29, 2015 April 30, 2015 London United Kingdom
April 30, 2015 May 10, 2015 Riga Latvia
May 2015
Start Date End Date Name Locality Country
May 2, 2015 May 3, 2015 Paris France
May 4, 2015 May 5, 2015 Brussels Belgium
May 4, 2015 May 8, 2015 Tampa USA
May 5, 2015 May 7, 2015 Ghent Belgium
May 5, 2015 Riga Latvia
May 5, 2015 May 8, 2015 Hong Kong China
May 5, 2015 May 8, 2015 Hong Kong China
May 11, 2015 Rome Italy
May 11, 2015 May 15, 2015 Berlin Germany
May 12, 2015 Paris France
May 12, 2015 May 13, 2015 Prague Czech Rep.
May 12, 2015 May 14, 2015 Copenhagen Denmark
May 13, 2015 May 14, 2015 Houston USA
May 14, 2015 Birmingham United Kingdom
May 18, 2015 May 19, 2015 Paris France
May 18, 2015 May 19, 2015 USA
May 19, 2015 May 21, 2015 Barcelona Spain
May 19, 2015 Riga Latvia
May 19, 2015 May 21, 2015 Geneva Switzerland
May 19, 2015 May 20, 2015 Larnaca Cyprus
May 20, 2015 May 22, 2015 Thessaloniki Greece
May 20, 2015 May 21, 2015 London United Kingdom
May 20, 2015 May 21, 2015 London United Kingdom
May 20, 2015 May 23, 2015 Nevsehir Turkey
May 21, 2015 EESC Space& Society event: New applications based on space data and satellite industry Kaunas Lithuania
May 25, 2015 EESC Space& Society event: Promotion of space in schools and universities Cologne Germany
May 25, 2015 May 29, 2015 Lisbon Portugal
May 25, 2015 May 29, 2015 Lisbon Portugal
May 25, 2015 May 29, 2015 Villanueva de la Cañada Spain
May 26, 2015 May 28, 2015

150302_Agenda_w_speakers.pdf
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Bonn Germany
May 26, 2015 May 27, 2015 Athens Greece
May 27, 2015 May 28, 2015 London United Kingdom
May 27, 2015 May 29, 2015 Belgrade, Serbia
June 2015
Start Date End Date Name Locality Country
June 1, 2015 June 5, 2015 Hangzhou China
June 1, 2015 June 4, 2015 Vienna Austria
June 1, 2015 June 3, 2015 Valencia Spain
June 2, 2015 June 3, 2015 Paris France
June 2, 2015 June 5, 2015 Sentinel-3 for Science 2015 Venice Italy
June 3, 2015 June 4, 2015 Monaco
June 4, 2015 June 6, 2015 Tuscany Italy
June 5, 2015 June 7, 2015 Shanghai China
June 5, 2015 EESC Space& Society event: Space policy political discussion Rome Italy
June 8, 2015 June 12, 2015 Heraklion Greece
June 9, 2015 June 12, 2015 Copenhagen Denmark
June 9, 2015 June 12, 2015 Avignon France
June 9, 2015 June 10, 2015 Beijing China
June 9, 2015 June 10, 2015 Johannesburg South Africa
June 9, 2015 June 12, 2015 Avignon France
June 10, 2015 June 12, 2015 London United Kingdom
June 11, 2015 June 12, 2015 tbc, Uruguay United Kingdom
June 12, 2015 Boston USA
June 14, 2015 Boston USA
June 15, 2015 June 19, 2015 Stockholm Sweden
June 15, 2015 June 16, 2015 Copenhagen Denmark
June 15, 2015 June 17, 2015 Alicante Spain
June 15, 2015 June 17, 2015 A Coruña Spain
June 16, 2015 June 21, 2015 Albena Bulgaria
June 16, 2015 EARSC preliminary Results Industry Survey Brussels Belgium
June 17, 2015 June 19, 2015 Stockholm Sweden
June 17, 2015 June 19, 2015 A Coruña Spain
June 17, 2015 EARSC General Assembly Brussels Belgium
June 17, 2015 Brussels Belgium
June 22, 2015 June 26, 2015 Boulder, Colorado USA
June 22, 2015 July 2, 2015 Prague Czech Rep.
June 22, 2015 June 25, 2015 Brussels Belgium
June 22, 2015 June 25, 2015 Washington, D.C. USA
June 23, 2015 June 25, 2015 Munich Germany
June 24, 2015 June 27, 2015 Istanbul Turkey
June 29, 2015 July 3, 2015 Kraków Poland
June 29, 2015 July 3, 2015 EUCASS, the European Conference for AeroSpace Sciences Krakow Poland
July 2015
Start Date End Date Name Locality Country
July 1, 2015 July 3, 2015 Opatija Croatia
July 7, 2015 July 10, 2015 Cambridge, Massachusetts USA
July 7, 2015 July 10, 2015 Austria
July 13, 2015 July 15, 2015 Liverpool United Kingdom
July 13, 2015 July 15, 2015 Geneva Switzerland
July 22, 2015 July 24, 2015 Annecy France
July 23, 2015 July 24, 2015 Pavia Italy
July 25, 2015 July 26, 2015 Wuhan China
July 26, 2015 July 31, 2015 Milan Italy
September 2015
Start Date End Date Name Locality Country
September 7, 2015 September 10, 2015 Graz Austria
September 7, 2015 September 9, 2015 Copenhagen Denmark
September 9, 2015 September 11, 2015 Amsterdam Netherlands
September 14, 2015 September 18, 2015 Bucharest Romania
September 15, 2015 September 17, 2015 Stuttgart Germany
September 15, 2015 September 17, 2015 Frascati Italy
September 21, 2015 September 24, 2015 Toulouse France
October 2015
Start Date End Date Name Locality Country
October 1, 2015 October 2, 2015 Aarhus Denmark
October 4, 2015 October 7, 2015 Davos Switzerland
October 4, 2015 October 10, 2015 USA
October 5, 2015 October 9, 2015 Bordeaux France
October 6, 2015 October 10, 2015 Halifax, Nova Scotia Canada
October 6, 2015 October 8, 2015 Abu Dhabi UAE
October 10, 2015 October 13, 2015 Abu Dhabi UAE
October 12, 2015 October 14, 2015 Frascati Italy
October 14, 2015 October 15, 2015 Bordeaux France
October 19, 2015 October 23, 2015 Metro Manila, the Philippines
October 20, 2015 October 21, 2015 London United Kingdom
October 20, 2015 October 23, 2015 Frascati Italy
October 21, 2015 October 22, 2015 London United Kingdom
October 25, 2015 Seville Spain
November 2015
Start Date End Date Name Locality Country
November 2, 2015 November 5, 2015 Limassol Cyprus
November 3, 2015 November 7, 2015 Cairns Australia
November 4, 2015 November 5, 2015 Frascati Italy
November 9, 2015 November 13, 2015 Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil
November 11, 2015 November 12, 2015 Mexico
November 12, 2015 Malta Malta
November 13, 2015 Mexico
November 15, 2015 November 17, 2015 Dubai, United Arab Emirates
November 24, 2015 November 25, 2015 London United Kingdom
December 2015
Start Date End Date Name Locality Country
December 8, 2015 December 10, 2015 Al-Ain, UAE
December 10, 2015 December 11, 2015 Amsterdam Netherlands
March 2016
Start Date End Date Name Locality Country
March 2, 2016 March 4, 2016 Amsterdam Netherlands
May 2016
Start Date End Date Name Locality Country
May 9, 2016 May 10, 2016 Montreal Canada
July 2016
Start Date End Date Name Locality Country
July 11, 2016 July 15, 2016 San Diego, California USA
July 12, 2016 July 19, 2016 Prague Czech Rep.
July 12, 2016 July 19, 2016 ISPRS 2016 Congress Czech Rep.
July 30, 2016 August 7, 2016 Istanbul Turkey
October 2016
Start Date End Date Name Locality Country
October 11, 2016 October 13, 2016 Hamburg Germany
October 11, 2016 October 13, 2016 Hamburg Germany
November 2016
Start Date End Date Name Locality Country
November 2, 2016 November 3, 2016 Telford United Kingdom
December 2016
Start Date End Date Name Locality Country
December 22, 2016 December 23, 2016 Dubai, UAE
July 2017
Start Date End Date Name Locality Country
July 2, 2017 July 7, 2017 Washington USA