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Madrid (Spain), February 2015. The Spanish government services satellite company, Hisdesat, informed that took part in IDEX 2015 as exhibitor in the Spanish pavilion of the exhibition area (A7). It has displayed its portfolio of services, including an innovative new generation of satellites to improve and provide greater flexibility and security to communications in the bands X and military Ka, through its satellites: SpainSat and XTAR -Eur, which provide communications coverage in more than two thirds of the Earth.

More on Hisdesat

It also has a system of Earth Observation consists of two satellites, Ingenio and Paz, who will use the two observation technologies, optics and radar, respectively. Both satellites allow observation of the territory for multiple applications: border control, intelligence, environmental control, protection of natural resources, military operations, international treaty verification, monitoring of the land surface urban planning, infrastructure planning, and assessment of natural disasters high-resolution mapping, among many other applications.

It also has an information system for maritime traffic satellite (AIS), which allow the location of all ships in the world (100,000), equipped with AIS. Through this new constellation of satellites can know the status of world maritime traffic in real time. This information is invaluable to the government, maritime, port authorities, and fishing. The AIS solutions fill the vacuum solutions to ensure the viability of sensitive and comprehensive concept of maritime safety and help reduce environmental impact. They are innovative applications offered from space and in the service of society.

“Middle East is a strategic market for us, which offers significant opportunities for growing and that our portfolio of satellite services in secure communications, Earth observation and AIS satellite, fits perfectly,” said Miguel Angel Panduro CEO at Hisdesat.

Hisdesat was founded in 2001 as operator of government services by satellite to act primarily in the areas of defense, security, intelligence and foreign affairs. Since 2005, the company provides secure satellite communications to government agencies of different countries and is currently developing new satellites in two areas: Earth Observation and Information of the worldwide maritime traffic by satellite (AIS). More information: www.hisdesat.es

This issue features the:

  • MEOS™ GEO HimawariCast
  • SSA-SWE Architecture Definition
  • MEOS™ Capture HRDFEP for METOP and NOAA 18/19
  • MEOS™ Dual Polarity L & X-band Feed

in addition to the upcomming events, latest contracts, newest upgrades and latest information from Kongsberg Spacetec.

You will find it here

KSAT present at the National Space Symposium in Colorado Springs 13th to 16th of April

Representatives from both our SatOps division – Ground Station Solutions, as well as from our EES (Energy, Environment and Security) division are there. Please visit our booth 1514 to learn more about our worldwide network of ground stations spanning from 78 degrees north to 72 degrees south, as well as our oil spill detection and vessel detection services provided to clients world-wide for the last 20 years.

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Wednesday, April 15, 2015 at 12:00 PM CEST

This webinar will focus on very high resolution satellite information supporting the monitoring of dredging activities for the installation of offshore infrastructure.

Speaker of the webinar is Sergio Samarelli, Chief Technology Officer and Head of Business-to-Business SBU of Planetek Italia.

Planetek Italia has developed standardized(*) geospatial products, based on remotely sensed data, such as Worldview-2 and Worldview-3, designed in particular to support dredging operations. Currently different organizations worldwide have already adopted these solutions. In this webinar, we will present an overview of how these geospatial products can help Engineering and Oil & Gas Companies having full visibility on the impact of dredging operations.
DigitalGlobe webinar “Saving Time and Resources in Global Dredging Activities”

Wednesday, April 15, 2015 at 12:00 PM CEST

Register here or read more on DigitalGlobe event page

If you can’t make this date then we’d urge you to register anyway so that we can send you a video of the webinar to listen to at a better time in your schedule.

Detailed description

Dredging is a worldwide activity fueled by global trade, coastal defense, urban development, Energy and Tourism requirements. Primarily project driven, the Industry is experiencing significant growth generating associated revenues in 2013 of approximately €11.68 Bln (IADC). With this increased level of activity, comes a greater understanding on the corporate social responsibility associated with dredging including sustainability, environmental impact and safety. Very high resolution satellite information can effectively support the monitoring of some of these core issues during dredging activities for the installation of offshore infrastructure.

The use of traditional monitoring techniques (sampling at sea, measures, laboratory analysis) is certainly effective, but presents logistical and operational obstacles and long processing times, often incompatible with the need to obtain information in real-time. Furthermore, field observations and measurements, although frequent, are not able to provide a complete and exhaustive spatial answer to describe all the issues that could occur.

The proposed solution integrates traditional methods with daily collections of high-resolution satellite images over the area of interest. All the monitoring phases are accurately planned: the programming of the satellite acquisitions, the data collection, the ingestion and processing. Within a few hours, this method provides accurate and validated information, useful for measuring the quantitative and spatial information required in the dispersion of sediments during dredging operations.

Planetek Italia has developed standardized(*) geospatial products, based on remotely sensed data, such as Worldview-2 and Worldview-3, designed in particular to support dredging operations. Currently different organizations worldwide have already adopted these solutions (read more stories here). In this webinar, we will present an overview of how these geospatial products can help Engineering and Oil & Gas Companies having full visibility on the impact of dredging operations.

(*) All products are realized using Hexagon Geospatial technologies, namely the Spatial Modeler in ERDAS Imagine and ERDAS Apollo, which provide great benefits in terms of automatic processing, speed of information extraction and standardization in resulting products.

Key Advantages:

  • Near real time overview of dredging impact
  • Flexibility in coordinating and scheduling monitoring activities and dredging activities
  • Fast setup in any remote area

Key Benefits:

  • Access – Leverage DigitalGlobe’s global archive of informationand acquire new data anywhere in the world to start the assessment of dredging activity in days, rather than weeks, or months.
  • Time – rapid dissemination of information providing you with an overview of dredging activity worldwide.
  • Relevant – Information provided is useful to monitor and coordinate dredging activity and its impact to stakeholder objectives.

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SANSA Earth Observation directorate took an opportunity to exhibit at this year’s Randshow at the Nasrec, Johannesburg. The objective was to take advantage of this popular show (3 April to12 April 2015), and make it a platform for marketing and brand awareness of SANSA because it provides valuable exposure, promotional opportunities and direct engagement with the largest audience available at any community event in the country.

SANSA’s stand attracted a lot of audience, young and old, some of whom did not know that South Africa has a space agency, and were excited at the development.

Participation at the Randshow further boosts SANSA’s strategic Goal 3, which among others, seeks to develop national human capacity and ensure transformation, through developing interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) and increasing science awareness among the youth, improving the overall scientific literacy in society and sharing the immense benefits of space.

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Rome: Norway and FAO have signed a NOK 35m (around $4.5m) partnership agreement to improve the capacity of developing countries to monitor and report on their forest resources and changes in forest area.

The project will facilitate countries’ access to earth observation data sources, including satellite imagery, and develop an easy-to-use platform for processing and interpreting this data.

“The new platform offers countries a set of efficient tools for monitoring changes in their forest area and carbon stocks, and for developing sustainable forest management regimes”, said Eduardo Rojas-Briales, Assistant Director-General of FAO’s Forestry Department.

Efficient tools for everyone

Gaining access to satellite imagery can be difficult for users with poor internet connections, posing a serious challenge for natural resource managers in developing countries. Additionally, old, outdated computers process large-scale data very slowly. FAO’s new software aims to overcome these problems by avoiding the need to download images locally and by using a scalable, “cloud-based” supercomputer instead. All downloading and processing takes place elsewhere, in locations where connections are good and large amounts of computing power is available.

bq “One of the important components here is the creation of a user-friendly and efficient, cloud-based computing interface”, explains Tiina Vähänen, Deputy Director of FAO’s Forest Assessment, Management and Conservation Division. “The use of this interface will allow quick access to remote sensing data as well as to high-performance computing facilities, even in countries with limited access to internet.”

Vähänen also stressed that many users in developing countries had limited resources to buy licenses of proprietary software. “They often simply do not have access to the tools they need. Open source software which was developed under the FAO’s Open Foris Initiative and used in this project is available for everyone without license costs and allows the end user to modify the program to suit their purposes”, she added.

Tracking changes in forest carbon emissions

At the initial stage FAO will start implementing the new system in 13 countries over the next 3 years in support of activities under the United Nations Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (UN-REDD). The system will be mainly used by forestry technicians to monitor and assess how much carbon forest areas stock, enabling countries to report on and receive compensation for verified emission reductions.

“Satellite imagery and other earth observation data are important for countries working to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation”, said Lars Andreas Lunde, State Secretary in the Norwegian Ministry of Climate and Environment. “Improved forest monitoring systems enable better informed decision making and policy development, and enable tracking of performance in reducing forest based emissions. This is why Norway is supporting this project through its International Climate and Forest Initiative.”

“The outcome we are looking for here is to help countries produce and access satellite-generated forest maps and related information products in an easier, faster and more sustainable way. This will allow them to gather better information for their own needs and for REDD+ implementation,” added Vähänen.

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(March 2015) The Pew Charitable Trusts and the National Geographic Society praised action by the British government today to create the world’s largest fully protected marine reserve around the Pitcairn Islands, an overseas territory in the South Pacific Ocean.

The 834,334-square-kilometre (322,138-square-mile) reserve is roughly 3 ½ times the size of the United Kingdom. Home to at least 1,249 species of marine mammals, seabirds and fish, the new reserve protects some of the most near-pristine ocean habitat on Earth. In 2013, Pew and National Geographic joined the local elected body, the Pitcairn Island Council, in submitting a proposal calling for the creation of a marine reserve to protect these spectacular waters.

“With this designation, the United Kingdom raises the bar for protection of our ocean and sets a new standard for others to follow,” said Jo Royle, Global Ocean Legacy, a project of Pew and its partners that advocates for the establishment of the world’s great marine parks. “The United Kingdom is the caretaker of more than 6 million square kilometres of ocean — the fifth-largest marine area of any country. Through this designation, British citizens are playing a vital role in ensuring the health of our seas. The Pitcairn Islands Marine Reserve will build a refuge of untouched ocean to protect and conserve a wealth of marine life. We celebrate members of Parliament for pressing for this action”

“Today’s action by British Prime Minister David Cameron will protect the true bounty of the Pitcairn Islands — the array of unique marine life in the surrounding pristine seas,” said National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Enric Sala, head of the Society’s Pristine Seas project. “Our scientific exploration of the area revealed entirely new species as well as an abundance of top predators like sharks. It was like traveling to a new world full of hidden and unknown treasures, a world that will now be preserved for generations to come.”

“The people of Pitcairn are extremely excited about designation of the world’s largest marine reserve in our vast and unspoiled waters of the Pitcairn Islands, including Ducie, Oeno, and Henderson Islands,” said the Pitcairn Island Council. “We are proud to have developed and led this effort in partnership with Pew and National Geographic to protect these spectacular waters we call home for generations to come.”

A March 2012 scientific survey of Pitcairn’s marine environment, led by the National Geographic Pristine Seas project in partnership with Pew, revealed a vibrant ecosystem that includes the world’s deepest-known living plant, a species of encrusting coralline algae found 382 metres (1,253 feet) below sea level. The reserve also protects one of the two remaining raised coral atolls on the planet as well as 40 Mile Reef, the deepest and most well-developed coral reef known in the world.

In conjunction with the designation, the Bertarelli Foundation announced a five-year commitment to support the monitoring of the Pitcairn Islands Marine Reserve as part of Pew’s Project Eyes on the Seas, using a technology known as the Virtual Watch Room. With this satellite monitoring system, developed through a collaboration between Pew and the U.K.-based company Satellite Applications Catapult, government officials will be able to detect illegal fishing activity in real time. This is the first time any government has combined creation of a marine reserve with the most up-to-date technology for surveillance and enforcement of a protected area.

Ernesto Bertarelli of the Bertarelli Foundation said, “Advances in tracking technology are enabling us to monitor the ocean as never before and make marine reserves truly enforceable; these solutions, along with the commitment of individual governments, are bringing about changes in how we protect the marine environment.”

Numerous British scientific and conservation organizations, including the Royal Society for Protection of Birds, the Blue Marine Foundation, Greenpeace UK, the Marine Conservation Society, the Zoological Society of London, and Parliament’s Environmental Audit Committee, supported the designation of the Pitcairn Islands Marine Reserve.

Today’s announcement is part of a growing international movement to safeguard important places in the sea that has protected more than 6.5 million square kilometres (2.5 million square miles) to date. Much of this activity has taken place over the last nine years. In April 2010, the British government created the Chagos Marine Reserve in the Indian Ocean — until today the largest continuous, fully protected area of ocean in the world. Most recently, in September 2014, U.S. President Barack Obama significantly expanded the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, first created by President George W. Bush, in the south-central Pacific.

Despite these successes, only about 1 percent of the world’s ocean is fully protected.

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SERTIT participated in the international conference “ Water Bodies Mapping from space “, organized by the European Space Agency , which took place on 18 and 19 March 2015 at ESAESRIN in Frascati , Italy.

The workshop brought together representatives of european and international space agencies, Sentinel 1 and 2 users as well as members of the global scientific community. The purpose of the conference was to provide an opportunity for scientists and users of satellite data to present the progress of their research on the extraction of water bodies in various environments. In this context, SERTIT took the occasion to present its expertise and experience in this field through the work done on the Alsace and China.

More information on the conference website
Download presentation (soon) here

SERTIT, Service Régional de Traitement d’Image et de Télédétection, of the University of Strasbourg, within an international consortium led by e-GEOS an Italian company, and comprised of GAF, Ithaca, SIRS and the DLR, has won the Copernicus Emergency Management System (EMS) Rapid Mapping contract with the European Commission to provide satellite derived maps for crisis management.

This contract should cover the next 4 years.

SERTIT, also won in a consortium led by Airbus DS, a second Copernicus Emergency Management System (EMS) contract in the domain of Risk & Recovery with the European Commission for the next 4 years to provide geo-spatial information as a support to crisis management in the prevention, preparation, disaster risk reduction and reconstruction domains.

More information on the official website

(March 2015) The Italian Space Agency (ASI) recently announced a tender to stimulate industrial research programs in small to medium enterprises.

A consortium produced by TRE (prime contractor), Imageo and the University of Florence received the highest score for its COSMOPLUS project. The project competed among 15 other proposals in the subject area: “Earth navigation and observation: how to improve exploitation of national and European satellite platforms”.

Examining the state of art of InSAR applications, COSMOPLUS (Continuous Observation from Space by Means Of different Platforms Used in Sinergy) aims to overcome limitations in monitoring surface deformations with satellite radar data, to further develop their commercial capabilities.

COSMOPLUS will address:

  • The use of multi radar platforms to create a redundant and reliable system, enabling an artificial contraction of acquisition intervals and guaranteeing a higher number of image acquisitions over the same area of interest (AOI).
  • The Optimization of the processing system for a regular update of displacement information.
  • The identification of standard procedures for the integration of InSAR with conventional measurements.
  • The creation of an integrated monitoring system (satellite + in-situ), which enables an early warning system, also using prediction models.

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