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Geoff Sawyer, EARSC Secretary General has discussed the link between Earth observation and international development.

The interview of Geoff Sawyer at the ESA TV following the series of ESA Interviews on International Development Banks could be found at the link.

In support of high-resolution satellite data application by environmental education organizations the Open Landscape Partnership Platform (www.openlandscape.info) is planned to be launched at the end of 2013. This was announced on October 1 at the 6th International Conference “Earth from Space – the Most Effective Solutions”.


The Open Landscape Partnership Platform (OLPP) is a joint initiative of satellite data providers, distributers, value-added processors, and end users across the world aimed at creating a vibrant global community of practice that would significantly expand competent demand for affordable open access to very high spatial and temporal resolution satellite data (2 meters and one month or better) that could be suitable for wide-ranging, sustained non-profit use in the interests of public accountability, transparency and sustainability of land/natural resource management and conservation practices across jurisdictions at a critical landscape, habitat, and hotspot level.

In support of high-resolution satellite data application by environmental education organizations the Open Landscape Partnership Platform (www.openlandscape.info) is planned to be launched at the end of 2013. This was announced on October 1 at the 6th International Conference “Earth from Space – the Most Effective Solutions”.

The Platform was presented by Andrei Kushlin, Program Manager of the Global Tiger Initiative of the World Bank (USA ) and Dmitry Aksenov, General Director of NGO “Transparent World” (Russia). The aim of the program is to strengthen the public monitoring of environmental “hot spots” and of nature protection landscapes of our planet and to conduct their monitoring.

To increase the efficiency of environmental management, reasonable handling of natural resources within the protected natural areas, of valuable forests and rare landscapes with unique species composition the organizers of the “Open Landscape” program plan to use multi-temporal high resolution satellite images and the advanced crowd-mapping technology (drawing maps applying efforts of a wide range of volunteers around the world) and open monitoring tools.

The “Open Landscape” program first of all will assist the existing and fledgling partnerships between local universities and non-profit organizations in Russia and other countries, engaged in land use solutions (such as national parks and other protected natural areas, municipalities, departments of regional planning, local forest subdivisions and hunting farms, etc.), who are interested in the responsible management of critical habitat areas.

“Open Landscape” program organizers will provide the following to such partnerships: – Available sets of high resolution satellite images for the areas of interest for free, under standard license term;

- A user-friendly software for reception, archiving, pre-processing and in-depth thematic analysis of satellite images;

- Training programs on the basics of data processing, analysis and interpretation of satellite images, as well as on crowd-mapping techniques.

During the first phase of the Open Landscape Platform (end of 2013 – August 2014) crow-mapping technology will be tested using the example of monitoring the status of various territories and protected natural areas based on satellite data provided to ScanEx RDC.

In the first phase ScanEx Research & Development will provide a “grant” in the form of satellite images acquired from WorldView- 2 satellite, covering an area of 2.25 million square kilometers. Space data will be provided under a license for non-commercial environmental applications. In accordance with the agreement between the DigitalGlobe and ScanEx RDC companies, experts of the Non-Profit Partnership “Transparent World” have already started working as per Open Landscape program and supporting the thematic geoportal of www.openlandscape.info.

At the first phase of the Open Landscape Platform its users will get free and password-protected web access to the available WorldView- 2 satellite imagery of the area of interest, online mapping tools and a dedicated space on the server. Participants will be able to use these tools to develop and keep up their own landscapes and “hot spots” crow-mapping projects. However, they must be prepared to carry out the work under the terms of reporting and provision of web maps based on their projects’ results to the project library. Further on these projects will be available to the public through an online forum for familiarization, analysis and discussion.

In April-June 2014 it is planned to organize an international tender of the projects submitted. It goal is to demonstrate and promote the most effective and potentially applicable solutions based on crow-mapping technology.

Organizers and ideologists of the Open Landscape Platform are: ScanEx Research and Development Center and NGO “Transparent World” in cooperation with the World Bank, the World Resources Institute and other members of the Global Forest Watch 2.0 and the Global Tiger Initiative. The platform is supported by DigitalGlobe, NASA and other satellite imagery providers.

Source

WILMINGTON, DE and LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM—(Marketwired – Oct 1, 2013) – NSR’s Global Satellite-Based Earth Observation (EO), 5th Edition report, released today, projects satellite-based EO revenues from Data, Processing and Information Products will reach $6 billion in the coming ten years, up from $2.2 billion in 2012.

Facing a difficult public sector budgetary climate, the EO industry is now shifting its roots from Government & Military customers to blooming Commercial verticals, with the latter representing more than 50% of the market in 2022. New Data products, new solutions, new business models and renewed pressures to lower shutter control regulations point towards strong creative innovation developing in the EO market.

ba. “The EO market is really at a turning-point, as several factors are now boosting demand from commercial end-users, while at the same time demand from traditional governmental end-users is seriously slowing down,” states NSR Senior Analyst and report author, Stéphane Gounari. “Beyond data sales, as commercial verticals are more open to externalization, the next decade should see the relative share of data decrease in favor of Information Products.”

“As shown by the new Cloud-based EO solutions recently released, certain satellite operators are positioning themselves to best take advantage of this shift,” stated Gounari. “Their solutions, best for the small commercial end-users, go far beyond on-line archived catalog and delivery services; they include or facilitate Processing and Information Products.”

The future of the EO market and the developments there in will be interesting to watch. While emerging economies are slowing down, which will eventually impact the market. Innovation and creative thinking and reassessment of regulations will give the EO market a slightly different view.

About the Report

NSR’s Global Satellite-Based Earth Observation (EO), 5th Edition provides a meticulous and thorough analysis of the trends affecting the satellite EO data industry and a new segmentation going beyond Data/VAS to Data, Processing and Information Products. The report includes a step-by-step analysis of the industry’s macro-environment, its competitive intensity, an assessment of each market (segmented by end-user verticals, regions and instrument-resolution), the major-players and their imaging capabilities currently in-orbit and planned, and a cartography of the value-chain. NSR comprehensively identifies Key Success Factors and forecasts the evolution of the Data, Processing and Information Products markets over the next 10 years, and presents them segmented by end-user vertical markets (6), regional markets (5) and instrument-resolution (6); the latter is also used to present data price forecasts, one additional innovation offered by NSR’s report.

About NSR

NSR is a leading international market research and consulting firm with a core focus on the satellite sector and related industries. Founded in 2000 and with an experienced group of analysts located in all regions, NSR specializes in analysis of growth opportunities across four core sectors: Satellite Communications, Broadcasting & Digital Media, Hybrid & Emerging Applications and Commercial Space.

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SpaceNews

September 16, 2013 – Industry pays tribute to winners at Summit on Earth Observation as part of World Satellite Business Week

Euroconsult, the leading global research and analyst firm specializing in the Space and Earth observation sector, announced the recipients of its Annual Earth Observation Business Awards during its Summit on Earth Observation Business held in Paris on Sept 12/13. The annual international event features leaders from EO satellite operators, data distributors, manufacturers, and government and private users.

These awards are bestowed upon leaders and their companies for outstanding accomplishment in the sector. Euroconsult pays tribute to the winners each September in Paris during the World Satellite Business Week, the industry’s annual senior executive event, now in its 17th year. This year, our industry experts used rigorous qualitative1 and quantitative2 methods to recognize winners in four categories during the Summit on Earth Observation Business:

  • Strategic Transaction of the Year: DigitalGlobe for its combination with GeoEye
  • Newcomer Earth Observation Operator of the Year: Deimos Group
  • Commercial Deal of the Year: UAE SRC for the Falcon Eye deal signed with Astrium and Thales Alenia Space
  • Strategic Partnership of the Year: Satrec Initiative for its agreement signed with KARI for KOMPSAT imagery sales

“The winning organizations and their leaders have significantly shaped the Earth observation market over the past year, achieving outstanding performance and demonstrating excellence in their strategic vision and innovation.” said Pacôme Revillon, CEO of Euroconsult.

The distinguished winners shared their thoughts:

Strategic Transaction of the Year
Jeffrey R. Tarr, CEO, DigitalGlobe
“By combining DigitalGlobe and GeoEye to become one DigitalGlobe, we have created a company capable of providing greater value to customers through an integrated constellation and a broader set of solutions. We appreciate Euroconsult recognizing the significance of our combination. DigitalGlobe is now positioned to provide a wider array of geospatial information and insight to help customers solve complex problems and compete in a high-growth and dynamic global market.”

Newcomer Earth Observation Operator of the Year
Miguel Bello Mora, Managing Director, Deimos Group
“We would like to thank Euroconsult and the jury for this prestigious Award, dedicated to DEIMOS Imaging team, partners and customers, which are the key players in the success of our organization. This important Award increases our motivation for our next challenge, the launch in the coming months of our new satellite DEIMOS 2 and the entry in the Very High Resolution market segment”.

Strategic Partnership of the Year
Sungdong Park, Founder and Chairman, Satrec Initiative
“We, Satrec Initiative and Korea Aerospace Research Institute, appreciate very much winning the Award for the Strategic Partnership of the Year. We hope that more strategic partnership will happen, as we did, between government and domestic companies for data commercialization from EO missions of developing and emerging countries to benefit the users with alternative EO resources and change the ecosystem of the market.”

World Satellite Business Week & Summit on Earth Observation Business
The World Satellite Business Week is the unique executive meeting place for the global satellite business. It includes Euroconsult’s flagship Summit for Satellite Financing and Summit on Earth Observation Business. Throughout the week, the summit brings together over 120 top-level speakers and 600 senior executives from the satellite and Earth observation industry and the financial community. Top business leaders participate in this must-attend summit to discuss strategy, make deals and strike partnerships. www.satellite-business.com

About Euroconsult
Euroconsult is the leading international consulting and analyst firm specializing in satellite applications, communications, and Earth observation. Euroconsult provides strategic consulting and analysis, develops comprehensive research reports and forecasts, and organizes executive-level events including the World Summit for Satellite Financing and the Symposium for Earth Observation Business (www.satellite-business.com). With 25 years of experience Euroconsult has over 560 clients in 50 countries, including leaders throughout the satellite industry; satellite operators and service providers; government agencies; satellite manufacturers and launch service providers; equipment providers and integrators; media and broadcasting companies; and banks and investors. The company has completed 500 satellite-related consulting projects. Euroconsult is based in Paris with offices in Montreal and Washington, DC. www.euroconsult-ec.com.

1 Innovation, strategic decisions related to infrastructure, commercial strategy and partnerships and their impact, etc.
2 Financial performance indicators including revenue growth, commercial revenues, deal size, etc.

Source Euroconsult

8 October 2013 – Astrium, Europe’s leading space technology company, has launched two new TerraSAR-X imaging modes. The enhanced imaging capabilities facilitate the delivery of higher resolution imagery as well as the coverage of larger areas.

The new Staring SpotLight mode features a resolution of down to 25 cm – unrivalled by any other commercial SAR system. This unprecedented resolution combined with an enhanced radiometric quality takes SAR-based object detection and recognition to a new level. Staring SpotLight data allows an identification of even small-scaled objects and an easier interpretation of SAR imagery by revealing crucial details. This can facilitate the identification of determining features of e.g. vehicles, vessels or airplanes. Staring SpotLight images cover an area of appr. 4 × 3.7km² (scene size can vary depending on the incidence angle).

  • Two new TerraSAR-X acquisition modes boost applications in the maritime and defence & security domains
  • New Staring SpotLight mode provides 25cm data – the highest resolution commercial SAR imagery available on the market
  • Up to 400,000km² in a single acquisition with new TerraSAR-X Wide ScanSAR mode – independent of weather and daylight conditions

For the new Wide ScanSAR mode the ground swath of TerraSAR-X has been increased from 100km to 270km at a spatial resolution of 40m. This gives the satellite coverage of up to 400.000km², more than half of the North Sea surface area, in a single acquisition – independent of weather and daylight. The large area coverage and weather independent acquisition supports ship detection and tracking, oil spill detection as well as monitoring of sea ice, contributing to the safety and efficiency of maritime activities around the globe.

”With the two new modes we are in an even better position to serve the needs of our customers particularly in the defence & security and maritime surveillance domains. And these new modes will also be available with PAZ, the TerraSAR-X twin satellite, scheduled for launch in 2014. Their orbit phasing will boost revisit times and enhance acquisition capabilities to support a wide range of all-weather monitoring tasks,” explains Dr. Vark Helfritz, Managing Director of the Geo-Information business at Astrium Services in Germany.

The implementation of the two new modes was achieved through an upgrade of the TerraSAR-X space, ground and service segments jointly provided by Astrium Services and the German Aerospace Centre DLR.

About Astrium
Together, pioneering excellence
Astrium is the number one company in Europe for space technologies and the second in the world. It is the only global company that covers the full range of civil and defence space systems, equipment and services.
In 2012, Astrium had a turnover over €5.8 billion and 18,000 employees worldwide.
Its three business units are: Astrium Space Transportation, the European prime contractor for launchers, orbital systems and space exploration; Astrium Satellites, a leading provider of satellite system solutions, including spacecraft, ground segments, payloads and equipments; Astrium Services, the Space services partner for critical missions, providing comprehensive fixed and mobile solutions covering secure and commercial satcoms and networks, and bespoke geo-information services, worldwide.
Astrium is a wholly owned subsidiary of EADS, a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services. In 2012, the Group – comprising Airbus, Astrium, Cassidian and Eurocopter – generated revenues of €56.5 billion and employed a workforce of over 140,000.

Press contacts

  • Jeremy Close (Astrium UK): Tel.: +44 (0)1 438 77 3872
  • Gregory Gavroy (Astrium FR): Tel.: +33 (0) 1 77 75 80 32
  • Ralph Heinrich (Astrium GER): Tel.: +49 (0) 89 607 33971
  • Francisco Lechón (Astrium SP): Tel.: +34 91 586 37 41

Get more info on Astrium
Press Centre: www.astrium.eads.net/en/press_centre
Broadcast Room: www.astrium.eads.net/en/press_centre/broadcast-room.html
RSS: www.astrium.eads.net/en/press_centre.xml
YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/astriumtv
www.astrium.eads.net

(17 September 2013 by Matt Ball) While there has been much discussion about an explosion of earth observation satellites over the next few decades, much of that has centered around developing countries starting their own programs or existing countries adding to their capacity. New developments with smaller and cheaper satellites are now promising a surge of commercial space-based imagery platforms at a global scale.

A number of factors are at play with this rapid expansion, including: cheaper and more accessible satellite technology, more satellite launch choices thanks to the commercialization of space, a greater awareness of the insight these imaging platforms afford in a rapidly changing world, and better web-based visualization and mapping systems that are ready to ingest and analyze near real-time imagery.

This trend toward smaller satellites has been happening over time, with much of the innovation taking place in developing countries where affordability has been the key driver. However, there are now several venture-capital backed U.S.-based companies that are set to make inroads with recently announced plans for multi-satellite constellations with global coverage. These for-profit satellite constellations are fueled by the interest in more and more data for greater insight on global change, led by industries that are gaining market advantages through ongoing monitoring. The timing is ripe now as it matches the changes in computing capacity afforded by cloud computing, and new analytical tools that can make sense of these “Big Data” feeds.

Pioneering Low-cost Options

The trend toward smaller satellites has been led by the efforts of Surrey Satellite Technology. This 30-year-old company, has built a reputation of both small satellite construction and satellite constellation deployment, having success as the makers of the commercial RapidEye satellite imagery constellation, as well as their own spin-off company Disaster Monitoring Constellation International Imaging (DMCii). The company has now ramped up their presence in the United States, with the launch of SST-US.

“As we move forward, the role of the small spacecraft is becoming more important,” said Dr. John Paffett, CEO of SST-US. “That’s largely because every year the technology improves, with better computers and storage and payloads. The technological evolution improves, price points continue to come down, and now with a small 150 to 300 kg spacecraft for $10 to $20 million you can do what you were doing with a 1,000 kg spacecraft five to 10 years ago for $500 million.”

DMCii was developed by SST as a constellation of satellites that fill a unique niche with 32-meter resolution that is compatible with Landsat, and a three-band imager to assess vegetation health. The constellation’s advantage is that it has a very large swath width to capture an image tile that is 600 km by 600 km, and can capture the same image for the same part of the Earth every day.

The first-generation of four satellites were launched in 2002, another satellite was launched in 2005 with greater imaging capacity, and a sixth was launched in 2012. A second generation of satellites were launched in 2009 as NigeriaSat, with greater pixel density and 2.5 meter resolution panchromatic and 5 meter multispectral imagery. This imagery is owned by the Nigerian government and licensed to and sold by DMCii to enhance their offerings.

RapidEye offers five-meter imagery, with five spectral bands, from its constellation of five identical earth observation satellites that were launched in 2008. After issues with its financial backers related to the economic downturn, the Blackbridge Group, Canada, acquired the assets of RapidEye AG, and are marketing their solutions primarily toward natural resources, targeting agriculture, forestry, and the environment as well as energy, security and infrastructure.

more info at

  • About Matt Ball=
  • Matt has been promoting the application of sensors, systems, models and simulation for the better stewardship of our planet for the past fifteen years. The first ten years of that span were as editor of GeoWorld magazine and show manager of the GeoTec Event. The past five have been as a founder of Vector1 Media, with publications Sensors & Systems, Informed Infrastructure and Asia Surveying & Mapping. E-mail: mattball at vector1media.com
  • Source SensorsandSystems

The aim of the service case was to provide the European Investment Bank with the information on progress of large cement plant construction in Derba (Ethiopia) and to demonstrate the potential and benefits of EO technology within the context of infrastructure construction monitoring.

The service case ‘Monitoring Progress of Large Cement Plant Construction in Derba, Ethiopia’ has delivered harmonized information on cement plant construction and infrastructure development as well as the information on evolution of related land cover/land use in neighboring area with strong spatial-temporal dimension.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the long-term financing institution of the European Union, promoting its objectives in the EU’s cooperation and development policies. Therefore, regular assessments of the environmental and social impacts of the activities undertaken in connection with the EIB loans are a necessary condition for receiving and maintaining the financing.

The overall results provide up-to-date and independent information on plant development and identify some environmentally and socially harmful processes related over the requested period (2007-2011). Beside the EO based information provision, GISAT has supported also the EIB focus on interpreted relevant information presented in the meaningful way, rather than on EO based data itself by delivery of results in integrated easy-to-use exploration tool.

Demonstration project clearly highlighted advantage of the EO based information products in provision of cost-effective and independent monitoring capacity for past, present and future, harmonized across the globe.


Example of web-based presentation of the project results

Gisat provides wide range of geoinformation services based on Earth Observation technology. It focuses on operational application of satellite mapping to monitor various aspects of our environment and development of dedicated web based platforms for geoinformation analysis and assessment Web // E-mail // Tel:+420 271741935 // Fax: +420 271741936

GISAT experts have supported ESA by participation at an Asian Development Bank (ADB) seminar on space technology and GIS hold in Manila, Philippines.

ESA aims to gradually mainstream Earth Observation services in the daily practices of multilateral development banks and international financial institutions and currently has collaborations in place with the World Bank, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the UN International Fund for Agricultural Development (UN-IFAD).

Further, the contacts with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have been also established and as a first step towards future ESA support to ADB activities, ESA organised the dedicated seminar demonstrating European and Canadian EO services capacities and solutions in selected thematic areas: Ecosystems, Forestry, Urban, Geohazards / Risks, Maritime Surveillance and Climate Resilience and Proofing. This seminar complemented to series of space technology seminars organized by the ADB together with JAXA, to raise the general awareness of space technology and EO applications in the bank.

Based on the previous experiences in the Urban thematic area and also due to previous successful provisions of EO services to this category of users GISAT experts had the opportunity to cover the theme of Urban EO applications during the seminar.

The seminar presented an overview and key examples of European and Canadian EO capabilities based on existing and planned EO missions (ESA and national), demonstrated key competences of the EO service industry and made a positive impact on ESA and ADB future cooperation.


Urban growth trend monitoring service

Gisat provides wide range of geoinformation services based on Earth Observation technology. It focuses on operational application of satellite mapping to monitor various aspects of our environment and development of dedicated web based platforms for geoinformation analysis and assessment Web // E-mail // Tel:+420 271741935 // Fax: +420 271741936

ReSAC experts successfully provided methodological support to the Ministry of Agriculture and Food in Bulgaria, with respect to the annual assessment of the Land Parcel Identification System (LPIS QA), as called by Article 6 of commission regulation 1122/2009. The positive impact of the correct performance of the quality procedure was an importance prerequisite for the sound analysis of the LPIS QA results.

Following a request from the Bulgarian Ministry of Agriculture and Food (MAF), ReSAC concluded a contract for provision of training and assistance to the “Agriculture and Land Tenure” department of the Ministry in relation to the implementation of the quality assessment of the Land Parcel Identification System (LPIS). This quality assessment, called LPIS QA, is required by Article 6 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1122/2009, and has to be performed on annual basis by each EU Member State.

ReSAC provided assistance in the implementation of the technical guidance and methodology developed by the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, considering the Bulgarian LPIS model and specific conditions for eligibility of the agriculture land in the country. Furthermore, ReSAC experts delivered a specific training session and on-the-job support in land cover mapping and image interpretation for the purpose of the reference parcel inspection. Finally, the results of the Model Conformance Test Suite (MTS) and the Executable Test Suite (ETS) have been jointly analyzed and recommendations for the further upgrade of the LPIS were issued.

The importance of the LPIS comes from the requirement that it must channel all area based aids provided in the scope of the EU Common Agriculture Policy (EU CAP), the corresponding financial value of which exceeds €40bn for 2012. For this specific purpose, LPIS quality can roughly be defined as the ability of the system to fulfill two explicit LPIS functions:

  • the unambiguous localization of all declared agricultural parcels by farmer and inspectors,
  • and the quantification of all eligible area for crosschecks during the administrative controls by the paying agency.

Failure of an LPIS in the unambiguous localization induces risks for double declaration of land. Inadequate quantification of eligible area renders the crosschecks ineffective for preventing and identifying over-declarations by farmers. Both failures involve financial risks for the EU Funds.

Furthermore, any well functioning LPIS greatly facilitates operations by farmers, inspectors and paying agencies, resulting in a better overall performance.

The positive impact of the correct performance of the quality procedure by the Bulgarian administration following the assistance provided by ReSAC was an importance prerequisite for the sound analysis of the LPIS QA results. Some outcomes and highlights of that joint work are to be presented on the annual LPIS workshop on 14-15 of October in Baveno, Italy, organized by DG JRC.

Source ReSAC

DHI GRAS recently entered into a framework agreement with the European Environmental Agency (EEA) on consultancy services within Geospatial Information Systems (GIS). It covers support and consultancy with respect to advanced image analysis and will be running for the next four years.

“The EEA is a focal point for environmental mapping in Europe,” says Mikael Kamp Sørensen, Managing Director (DHI GRAS). “We are proud to have been selected to support EEA based on our expertise in environmental mapping. With more than 10 years of practical experience, we can contribute with considerable expertise related to processing and analysis of satellite images and other geospatial data.”

The EEA is an agency of the European Union (EU), tasked with the provision of sound, independent and reliable environmental information. EEA undertakes important work related to the European Copernicus programme – previously known as Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES). The GMES/Copernicus (2011-2013) Initial Operations of the land monitoring service (or ‘GIO’ land) prioritise multi-purpose information common to a large user community.

This includes:

  • land cover/land cover change at various scales and periodicities
  • biophysical variables for dynamic land monitoring
  • improved access to reference data

Rasmus Borgstrøm, Project Manager (DHI GRAS) elaborates on the contract; “Our team is specialised in advanced image processing. We look forward to supporting the EEA with our expertise in handling and analysing satellite imagery as well as other raster datasets throughout the next four years.”

Please contact DHI GRAS for further information.