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DLR’s German Remote Sensing Data Center (DFD) and the Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT) company, Norway, will collaborate even more closely in the future. On 10 February 2014 a corresponding memorandum of understanding was signed in Oberpfaffenhofen near Munich.

This formalized cooperation between the two institutions is particularly intended to create synergies in the operation of their respective polar receiving stations. KSAT operates in Spitzbergen the largest and most northerly Arctic ground station facility worldwide for receiving earth observation data, the Svalbard Satellite Station (SvalSat). DFD operates a ground station in Inuvik Canada.

During his visit to DFD Mr. Rolf Skatteboe, CEO of KSAT, stressed the many areas of activity common to both DFD and KSAT. Professor Stefan Dech, Director of DFD, added, “The possibilities and opportunities arising through cooperation with KSAT are very important for us and open up new prospects for both partners”.

The DFD and KSAT Antarctic ground stations are also to be jointly used during missions. DFD operates a ground station on the Antarctic Peninsula near Chile’s “General Bernado O’Higgins” station. KSAT’s “Troll” station is located on a Nunatak, an exposed rock breaching an ice sheet, in Queen Maud Land. The European facilities operated by KSAT in Tromsö and DFD in Neustrelitz will also expand their cooperation regarding operational and near real-time services in the context of the Copernicus Earth Observation program.

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(April 2014) Kongsberg Spacetec AS (KSPT) has been awarded a contract with Raytheon Company of the U.S. for delivery of parts of the ground segment for the satellite program Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS).

The contract has a significant potential for extensions, maintenance/support and technical updates after 5 years.

JPSS is a consolidated satellite program for weather and climate, and is considered to be the most important source for improved weather reports, civilian preparedness and climate research in the U.S. and the rest of the world in the years to come. Raytheon is the main contractor for building the JPSS ground segment, under this NASA contract. JPSS will be operated by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The contract is based on KSPTs standard products for reception of high-rate satellite data, as well as new development of systems for processing, intermediate storage, and distribution.

KSPT will deliver the systems for data reception on the various ground stations for JPSS (Svalbard, Alaska, New Mexico and Antarctica), as well as the systems for first-level data processing, data storage, and distribution for further processing to end-user data. This constitutes key portions of the JPSS ground segment, with strict requirements for performance and stability.

This contract, along with the contract awarded to KSPT a couple of years ago for delivery of similar systems to the European Space Agency (ESA) for receiving data from the Sentinel satellites, makes Kongsberg Spacetec a world-leading supplier of this type of equipment.

For more information about JPSS:
http://www.jpss.noaa.gov/mission.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Polar_Satellite_System

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(Munich, March 2014) European Space Imaging has a new partner to support their High-Res Challenge which is now called “European Space Imaging & Skybox Imaging High-Res Challenge” and is open worldwide to participants.

Their new partner, Skybox Imaging, located in Mountain View, California, is the new kid on the block in the satellite business. Founded in 2009, it is launching an innovative constellation of more than 20 very high-resolution satellites with sub-meter color imagery and high definition video capability. This satellite constellation affords the option of sub-daily access, meaning it will now be possible to image a site up to 8 times during daylight hours.

“The European Space Imaging & Skybox Imaging High-Res Challenge” is looking for new, viable application ideas for this sub-daily availability of very high-resolution (VHR), multispectral data from the Skybox Imaging satellite. The partners are hoping researchers and developers will think outside the box in proposing ideas that have real future potential. The winner will receive a European Space Imaging data package of Skybox Imaging satellite data valued at EUR 20,000 to apply in realizing their application idea.

“Now the Copernicus Masters has expanded globally, we hope this new partnership will give remote sensing idea developers inspiration and scope to come up with groundbreaking new applications for optical VHR satellite imagery,” says Michaela Weber, Director Sales & Marketing, European Space Imaging.

The unique aspect of this Challenge is the search for viable ideas only. It doesn’t require prototypes or prior testing, just the belief in the idea, an understanding of what makes it different and a justification of why it is possible. Submissions open worldwide on the 15th April until 13 July 2014. Register at www.eusi-skybox.copernicus-masters.com

About European Space Imaging
European Space Imaging (EUSI) is a leading supplier of very high-resolution satellite imagery to customers in Europe and North Africa. It is the only European satellite data provider operating its own multi-mission capable VHR ground stations, enabling optimized collection strategies, flexibility and real-time weather assessments. Since 2002 the Munich based company has provided customers access to the most advanced VHR satellites and services available throughout their region.

About Skybox Imaging
Skybox Imaging (Skybox) empowers global businesses to make better decisions with timely, high fidelity imagery and infinite analytics. By combining the power of web technologies and a constellation of high-resolution imaging satellites, Skybox is generating a unique data source describing daily global activity with timely, accessible, sub-meter color imagery and high definition video of the Earth. Founded in 2009, Skybox Imaging is backed by leading venture firms and comprised of internet and aerospace professionals. For more information, visit www.skybox.com.

To learn more about this project, please contact:
Penelope Richardson, Marketing Manager
European Space Imaging
Arnulfstrasse 199, Munich 80634
Tel: +49 (0) 89 13014255
Fax: +49 (0) 89 13014222
prichardson@euspaceimaging.com
www.euspaceimaging.com

by GIM

FME Desktop

  • Redesigned graphical user interface for better user comfort (Including Restyled layout of transformers, connection lines,…)
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What’s great 2014 – FME Server
What’s great 2014 – FME Desktop
Start page FME 2014
Téléchargez la nouvelle version
Open FME trainings 2014:
FME Desktop (NL, Louvain): 15-20/3/2014 et 9-11/10/2014
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(11Feb2014) GAF AG has been awarded four new contracts for mining governance consultancy services in Cameroon, Laos, Afghanistan and Sierra Leone

GAF has been awarded four new technical assistance contracts for projects supporting mining ministries in Africa and Asia. Project activities in Afghanistan and Laos have already started, and those in Cameroon and Sierra Leone will soon follow. These projects underline the extensive and comprehensive range of services, capabilities and experience that GAF provides to institutional clients in the mineral domain around the globe – which the company has been doing with great success for many years. The company’s portfolio of services includes the implementation of mining cadastres and geological information systems and the provision of support to mines inspectorates, as well as geological mapping, capacity building and know-how transfer.

The four new contracts deal specifically with:

  • the design and Implementation of a Geodata Information Management Systems (GIMS) for the National Minerals Agency in Sierra Leone,
  • the provision of assistance to the Ministry of Mines and Industry of the Republic of Cameroon for the implementation of a new digital mining cadastre,
  • the drafting of Mines Regulations and provision of assistance regarding mines inspections for the Lao Ministry of Energy and Mines,
  • the continued provision of consulting and capacity building services to the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum in Afghanistan, with a particular focus on mining regulations and contract compliance monitoring.

Funding for each project is provided by the World Bank as part of country-specific mineral resources programmes. Individual project volumes range from 0.25 – 1.0 million euros and project durations range from 6 to 24 months.

GAF receives consistently high client satisfaction feedback – most tangibly in the form of follow-on contracts. Key aspects of this success include the company’s comprehensive service and consulting portfolio in mineral governance together with its technical and thematic skills and experience. GAF combines know-how in fields such as mining, geology and the environment with geo-information technologies, and is a solution-oriented company. The Mining/Geology Department consists of 25 geologists, geophysicists, mining engineers and surveyors and is complemented by GAF’s multidisciplinary teams, including the GAF IT Department with its more than 40 software developers and programmers.

Source GAF AG

(31March2014) German partnership to be the sole provider of VHR satellite data and services to support checks within the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)

European Space Imaging announced today that the company has signed a multi-year framework supply contract with the European Commission for the provision of very high-resolution satellite data and associated services in support of the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

The framework agreement between the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre and European Space Imaging has an estimated total value of 22.3 million EUR over a period of up to 4 years. The contract will be carried out by European Space Imaging and its technology partner GAF AG with the support of the German Aerospace Center (DLR).

European Space Imaging will be responsible for providing very high-resolution satellite imagery directly to the European Union Member States for the Control with Remote Sensing (CwRS) and Land Parcel Identification System (LPIS) quality assessment of the CAP. The Munich based Bavarian company will be managing all activities from satellite acquisition planning through to the final imagery delivery, including liaison with all stakeholders involved on EU and national level. Its technology partner GAF, based in the same Munich office building, will contribute its long-term expertise in software development and satellite image processing technology. Besides the above mentioned capabilities, GAF has been involved in using Satellite Remote Sensing technologies for agricultural subsidies control since early 1990s.

GAF is one of the first contractors in this service and has therefore an unprecedented knowledge and experience in this field. “This is an excellent example of perfectly fitting project co-operation facilitated through our close neighborhood and long standing working relationship” states Peter Volk, CEO of GAF AG. European Space Imaging has been the most reliable data supplier to the European Commission in the Controls with Remote Sensing (CwRS) program and has delivered the bulk of the data for a yearly increasing number of control sites since the program’s inception in 2004. With success rates close or equal to 100% every year and contributing more than two thirds of the data in the past ten campaigns European Space Imaging has proven to be a most dependable program partner. The company owns and operates its own satellite ground stations for VHR satellites in partnership with the German Aerospace Centre DLR in Oberpfaffenhofen near Munich.

“European Space Imaging brings its unique 10-year experience in satellite tasking for large projects and its robust customer response together with its strong technology partnerships to enhance outcomes for this project. We look forward to continuing our support to the European Commission and the EU Member States with quality customer care and data supply into the future”, says Adrian Zevenbergen, Managing Director of European Space Imaging.

(Source European Space Imaging and GAF AG)

(31March2014) Following the signing of a merger agreement on 20th February 2014, Euromap GmbH and GAF AG have officially started the process of merging. Once this tie-up has been completed, Euromap GmbH, which has more than 20 employees, will continue to operate as a branch of GAF registered in Neustrelitz, Germany.

The Managing Director of Euromap, Dr. Rupert Haydn, and the CEO of GAF, Dr. Peter Volk, are both convinced that the long-planned merger is not only in line with the ever increasing cooperation between the two companies, but also promotes the utilisation of synergies between the two locations. One of the aims is to expand further the company’s activities in Neustrelitz. Mr. Marcello Maranesi, CEO of e GEOS (an ASI/Telespazio Company), the majority shareholder of GAF, also welcomes the merger as it represents a rationalisation of the company’s activities in order to better face the challenges of growing in an ever more competitive area of business.

Euromap was founded in 1996 in order to act as the exclusive distribution channel in Europe for data from the Indian Remote Sensing IRS-1C and IRS-1D satellites, which at that time had an unprecedented spatial resolution of 5.8 m. On behalf of Euromap, the German Aerospace Centre’s (DLR) technical facilities in Neustrelitz have received and made available the raw data of five Indian satellite missions over the last 18 years. The data acquisition planning, archiving and processing, as well as the European distribution of derived products, is carried out by Euromap. As an SME, GAF was able to use the unique selling point of exclusive data distribution via its wholly owned subsidiary Euromap to achieve above average growth within the course of just a few years of the founding. This helped establish the business as a commercially stable company with a prominent position in Europe.

In addition to data distribution, Euromap has also been managing successful projects in the fields of mass data processing, software development and the thematic analysis of satellite data for several years. These activities will be further developed and expanded at the GAF Neustrelitz office in the future. The exclusive distribution of IRS data in Europe will continue to be carried out as a GAF service using the Euromap brand.

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Version 2.0 of the “Data Warehouse Requirements” document is now available. This document presents the Copernicus requirements for space-based Earth Observation data for the period covered by the Copernicus Regulation.

It contains the requirements collected from Copernicus services and other users requesting Earth Observation data, whether financed by the Union or related to policies of the Union, like Union-financed research projects and the activities of Union agencies (EEA, EMSA, SatCen (previously EUSC), etc.).

The document is available in the library of this website.
(Source European Commission) and Copernicus.eu]=1196&tx_ttnews[backPid]=1&cHash=fae30f2c6a73d5c9199d221bb7bd0f7a

(Interview 31 March 2014 © ESA) Philippe Brunet is the Director of Aerospace, Maritime, Security and Defence Industries within the European Commission’s Directorate General Enterprise and Industry. In an interview, he discusses the wide range of benefits the Copernicus programme provides.

ESA: The EU is leading the Copernicus programme. What makes Copernicus so special compared to other Earth observation programmes worldwide?

Copernicus consists of a complex set of systems which collect data from multiple sources. These are mainly Earth observation satellites and in situ sensors. Copernicus processes these data and provides users with reliable and up-to-date information through a set of services related to environment and security.

This programme is unique because of the variety of the services it provides and of the technical characteristics of its observation satellites, the Sentinels. No other organisation or nation in the world has developed, or is developing, such an ambitious Earth observation programme.

The services address six thematic areas: land, marine, atmosphere, climate change, emergency management and security. Moreover, the family of the Sentinels will be placed in diverse orbits (e.g. low Earth and geo-stationary orbits) and will contain a variety of instruments (e.g. radar, Optical and altimeters). This diversity will provide the most comprehensive, frequent and reliable source of space-based Earth observation data in the world.

ESA: How does Copernicus fit into the overall EU policy framework?

Copernicus is a programme to be delivered under the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. It will benefit a wide range of Union policies and contribute to reaching the objectives of Europe 2020. In particular, this programme will support the development of an effective European space policy which provides the tools to address some of the key challenges the European Union has to face, notably in the areas of the environment and civil security. Copernicus also constitutes a cornerstone of EU industrial policy, and will generate significant economic and social benefits. The programme will boost research, innovation and the development of commercial applications (the so-called ‘downstream services’) in many different sectors, notably thanks to a full and open access to Copernicus observation data and information products.

ESA: Who will benefit from the programme and how?

The main users of Copernicus services are European policymakers and national, regional and local public authorities. They need relevant information to develop environmental legislation and policies or to take critical decisions in the event of an emergency, such as a natural disaster or a humanitarian crisis.

Moreover, the Copernicus services will support a wide range of applications which will bring socio-economic benefits, notably to European citizens. They include environment protection, management of urban areas, agriculture, forestry, fisheries, health, transport, climate change, sustainable development, civil protection and tourism.

Furthermore, Copernicus is a perfect example of a European initiative that can drive technological development and innovation, enhance industrial competitiveness, foster growth and create jobs. In particular, Copernicus will support an emerging European observation service industry mainly made up of SMEs and start-ups, which are the backbone of the European economy. In these times of economic difficulties, this European investment can only be welcomed!

ESA: The free and open Sentinel data policy raises high expectations in the user community. Do you expect this policy to change over time, or can users rely on a free supply of Sentinel data for their business plans?

The principle of full, free and open access to data will enable innovative business initiatives of all sizes to flourish and therefore will support job creation and economic growth in Europe. This principle is enshrined in the Copernicus Regulation which covers the period 2014-2020. As such, it has received the support of the European Parliament and of the European Union Member States. They are conscious, as the Commission is, of the necessity to provide stable conditions in order for businesses to foster and to invest.

We cannot prejudge on the future developments but I expect that no modifications to this principle will be brought for European companies.

ESA: Now that the first satellite specifically developed for Copernicus is set for launch, what are you most looking forward to in the future of the programme?

The completion of the space component is a priority. This is necessary to get the full benefits of the Copernicus programme. I am therefore looking forward to the next launches which will put in orbit satellites with diverse orbits and instruments.

Over the next three years, seven Copernicus-dedicated satellites, the Sentinels, are planned to be launched. The programme must continue to meet evolving users’ needs and expectations. The Copernicus space component will therefore have to be updated and a second generation of Sentinels designed. The role of ESA will be critical here.

Philippe, a native of France, took up his position as Director of Aerospace, Maritime, Security and Defence Industries in January 2013. His responsibilities include the implementation of Copernicus, with services based on Sentinel data offered on a full, open and free-of-charge basis, and the development of civil and military synergies in security and defence matters to render the defence industry competitive and underpin a credible and effective Common Security and Defence Policy.

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Editor’s note:This is one in a series of interviews with a few of the key people that are involved in the Copernicus programme and Sentinel-1 mission. Please check back as the list will be added to over the coming weeks.