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(7 February 2018) e-GEOS, a joint venture of Telespazio (80%) and the Italian Space Agency (20%), strengthens its international presence with an important agreement signed in Australia for the supply of data generated by the Italian COSMO-SkyMed satellites.

e-GEOS won an international bid for the supply of geo-information services to the AMSA (Australian Maritime Safety Authority), the government body tasked with guaranteeing shipping safety and the protection of the country’s marine environment, as well as the coordination of emergency operations at sea. Services shall be provided by e-GEOS through their local partner Geospatial Intelligence Pty Limited.

In particular, e-GEOS will support the monitoring of oil spills thanks to the use of the COSMO-SkyMed radar constellation, which is capable of continuously controlling, in any visibility, the affected areas. The satellite data will allow for more detail in identifying illegal oil dumping in the seas and the ships causing pollution, allowing for timely intervention.

The agreement also includes the evaluation of future partnerships between e-GEOS and the AMSA, for the use the satellite data in other applications, such as search and rescue operations.

“The contract acquired with the AMSA and the partnership signed with Geospatial Intelligence Pty Limited constitute a milestone in the activities of our group in the Australian space market,” stated Massimo Claudio Comparini, Head of Business Line Geo-Information of Telespazio and Chief Executive Officer of e-GEOS. “This confirms yet again the validity of the services offered by e-GEOS in the Earth observation sector.”

COSMO-SkyMed is the only dual-use radar Earth observation constellation currently in existence worldwide and is used for civilian and military purposes. Ten years after the launch of the first satellite, in 2007, the system has captured over one million images from all over the world, monitoring the Earth 24 hours a day under any weather and visibility conditions and ensuring crucial information essential for security, land monitoring, and the sustainable management of resources, as well as dealing with natural events and emergencies, and combating the effects of climate change.

Financed by ASI, the Italian Defence Ministry and the Italian Education, University and Research Ministry, COSMO-SkyMed was created by the Italian space industry together with Leonardo and its joint venture, Thales Alenia Space and Telespazio. Data from COSMO-SkyMed are marketed throughout the world by e-GEOS.

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January 2018
Start Date End Date Name Locality Country
January 31, 2018 February 2, 2018 Glasgow United Kingdom
February 2018
Start Date End Date Name Locality Country
February 3, 2018 Wien Austria
February 5, 2018 Brussels Belgium
February 5, 2018 February 7, 2018 Denver, Colorado USA
February 6, 2018 February 7, 2018 Malta
February 8, 2018 February 9, 2018 Lisbon Portugal
February 13, 2018 February 15, 2018 Rotterdam Netherlands
February 27, 2018 March 1, 2018 Frascati Italy
February 27, 2018 March 1, 2018 Frascati Italy
March 2018
Start Date End Date Name Locality Country
March 5, 2018 March 6, 2018 La Défense France
March 6, 2018 Ghent Belgium
March 6, 2018 March 7, 2018 Wellington, New Zealand
March 12, 2018 March 15, 2018 Satellite 2018 Washington USA
March 17, 2018 March 19, 2018 Funchal, Madeira Portugal
March 21, 2018 March 23, 2018 Bristol United Kingdom
March 26, 2018 March 29, 2018 Paphos Cyprus
March 27, 2018 March 30, 2018 Cambridge, MA USA
March 27, 2018 March 28, 2018 Frascati Italy
April 2018
Start Date End Date Name Locality Country
April 3, 2018 April 8, 2018 Santiago,Chile
April 6, 2018 April 8, 2018 Geneva Switzerland
April 8, 2018 April 13, 2018 Vienna Austria
April 10, 2018 April 12, 2018 Amsterdam Netherlands
April 10, 2018 April 11, 2018 London United Kingdom
April 17, 2018 April 19, 2018 El Jadida Morocco
April 17, 2018 April 19, 2018 Geneva Switzerland
April 18, 2018 April 19, 2018 Bochum Germany
April 18, 2018 April 19, 2018 Sofia Bulgaria
April 19, 2018 April 20, 2018 Moscow, Russia
April 22, 2018 April 25, 2018 Tampa USA
April 23, 2018 April 26, 2018 Chania Greece
April 24, 2018 Brussels Belgium
April 25, 2018 April 27, 2018 Libreville, Gabon
May 2018
Start Date End Date Name Locality Country
May 2, 2018 May 4, 2018 Frascati Italy
May 7, 2018 May 10, 2018 Frascati Italy
May 14, 2018 May 16, 2018 Punta del Este, Uruguay
May 15, 2018 May 16, 2018 Luxembourg Luxembourg
May 22, 2018 May 23, 2018 London United Kingdom
May 28, 2018 June 1, 2018 Marseille France
May 29, 2018 May 31, 2018 London United Kingdom
May 29, 2018 May 31, 2018 Belgium
June 2018
Start Date End Date Name Locality Country
June 11, 2018 June 16, 2018 Longyearbyen Norway
June 11, 2018 June 15, 2018 Bonn Germany
June 18, 2018 June 23, 2018 Sofia Bulgaria
June 27, 2018 Brussels Belgium
June 28, 2018 Brussels Belgium
July 2018
Start Date End Date Name Locality Country
July 9, 2018 July 12, 2018 Chania Greece
July 11, 2018 July 12, 2018 Chania Greece
July 14, 2018 July 22, 2018 Pasadena, California USA
July 23, 2018 July 27, 2018 Valencia Spain
August 2018
Start Date End Date Name Locality Country
August 6, 2018 August 10, 2018 Sao Paolo, Brazil
August 13, 2018 August 14, 2018 Amsterdam Netherlands
August 28, 2018 September 3, 2018 Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
September 2018
Start Date End Date Name Locality Country
September 2, 2018 September 7, 2018 La Valletta Malta
September 18, 2018 September 21, 2018 Antwerp Belgium
September 24, 2018 September 29, 2018 Azores Portugal
October 2018
Start Date End Date Name Locality Country
October 1, 2018 October 5, 2018 Bremen Germany
October 9, 2018 October 11, 2018 Amsterdam Netherlands
October 16, 2018 October 18, 2018 Frankfurt Germany
October 22, 2018 October 26, 2018 Alejandria, Egypt
October 29, 2018 October 31, 2018 Space for inspiration Bilbao Spain
October 31, 2018 November 1, 2018 Kyoto Japan
November 2018
Start Date End Date Name Locality Country
November 19, 2018 November 21, 2018 Deqing China

I recently attended the Geospatial World Forum (GWF) in Hyderabad. During that time I met many new people and had many illuminating conversations. The highlight of the week for us was the signing of an MoU between EARSC and the Association of Geospatial Industries for India (AGI). We are extremely pleased and proud to have the opportunity to work more closely with AGI and the companies which are their members. It represents a great achievement in our internationalisation strategy where we seek to help our members find new partners to develop business together. The agreement which was brokered by our good friend Sanjay Kumar, was signed by each secretary general of the respective associations. We were joined by members from both associations who witnessed the occasion.

Whilst in Hyderabad, I participated to the GeoBuiz summit which is the pre-event to the GWF. Here business leaders came together to discuss the geo-inspired 4th industrial revolution (GEO4IR). In our panel we addressed the changes taking place in the space sector which are certainly no less significant than those taking place elsewhere. Satellites and space-based observations have a crucial role to play in the evolution of the geospatial business and the shift to on-line services will transform many business models.

I carried this theme also into the AI and IoT summit. Firstly, I observed that the promotional video showed images of farm vehicles, homes, cities, cars and many other sensor platforms but not satellites! There are now thousands of satellites generating data and offering connectivity both for other sensors but also between them; satellites are definitely an integral part of the Internet of Things. Laser links, new sensors, on-board processing are all changing the way satellites work and communicate together. Meanwhile, on the ground, new digital technology based on big data, cloud processing, machine learning and blockchain offer new services.

The traditional EO services businesses based on consultancy business models (one product-one client), risk to become replaced by those offering one service to many clients. How will this shake up the value chain will be interesting to see. Will the VA companies establish their own niche? Will they get absorbed in the upstream sector? Will the large digital players become dominant or will we see even further integration with more traditional sector-leading companies increase their span of operations with their existing customers.

It is clear that the next few years will be extremely exciting; a view expressed throughout the GeoBuiz summit! For the many new start-ups and existing value-added companies there will be some fantastic opportunities. The move towards services is getting stronger and it is clear that many are now positioning to take advantage of this trend.

In this context, EARSC is seeking to support the sector meet this revolution. We have created a Marketplace Alliance for EO Services (MAEOS) comprising many of the EARSC members (currently 100 companies throughout Europe). This group will participate to the key project eoMALL which will create a web platform to promote earth observation on-line services. We are moving ahead with this and have just passed another milestone where contracts have been placed with 3 companies to develop a prototype platform. After 3 months, one of the companies will be selected to continue with the main development activity and their prototype will become the beta release of the eoMALL. I shall be able to report on this in the next eomag.

Geoff Sawyer
EARSC Secretary General

The eInfrastructure and Science Cloud unit of the European Commission organised an information session for proposers as a follow-up of the ICT Proposers’ Day 2017 and NCP sessions.

Hosted by the European Association of Remote Sensing Companies, this info session related to the eINFRAEOSC-01-2018 call (DG-CONNECT) aimed at offering an additional opportunity to discuss the procurement action of Earth Observation commercial services and build quality partnerships with researchers, private stakeholders, SMEs and Earth Observation actors from all over Europe, especially in the area of Copernicus/DIAS services to be procured.

Download the presentations given at the event:

For more information contact: emmanuel.pajot@earsc.org

Following the great success of the EARSC EO Product Award 2017 won by ‘Waste from Space’ a product developped by Air & Space Evidence, EARSC has decided to focus this year’s award on products supporting sustainable development and SDGs.

In 2015, countries adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals. These include a broad range of sustainable development issues; ending poverty and hunger, improving health and education, making cities more sustainable, combating climate change, and protecting oceans and forests. The SDGs are being launched with an emphasis on collecting data that will be extensive and specific enough to serve these needs. They are designed to balance the three dimensions of sustainable development: the economic, social and environmental. European EO industry can help achieve the SDGs by providing critical information on natural resources, government operations, public services, and population demographics.

As last year’s award recognised a product helping to support the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at national, regional and/or local levels, and the monitoring and reporting against the global indicator framework, EARSC has decided to align this year award with one of the strategic engagement priorities that addresses key global policy mandates such as the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Private sector is invited to submit entries on products supporting sustainable development and concretely SDGs.

The competition will run over a 3 month period (February 2018- April 2018) during which candidate companies may adapt an existing product, develop a new product or simply promote one they have already in their catalogue. Companies will be asked to provide a short summary of the results (report should not exceed 2 pages and a template will be facilitated) which will be used as statement for the jury.

This is your opportunity to follow in the steps of previous award winners and benefit from the prestige of winning an EARSC award!

Criteria: eligibility requirements & metrics

o Any commercial product which will support sustainable development
o Report on the findings (not exceed 2 pages):

  • Explain what type of product the company offers
  • Describe the challenge: What problem this product will solve/what solution will this provide? How will this product contribute to sustainable development?
  • Explanation of the circumstances surrounding the development of this product and the identification of the SDG which will support or the monitoring and reporting against the global indicator framework.
  • Expected impact to address

Timing

  • Expression of Interest: by 15th March 2018
  • Dead-line entries: 1st May 2018
  • Selection: the files will be judged by the jury to select the overall product winner (1st May- 31st May)
  • Announcement: EARSC annual cocktail June 2018 in Brussels where the winner of the EARSC “European Earth Observation company of the year” is also revealed.

Toulouse, 30 January 2018 – Airbus has launched near real-time satellite imagery capabilities together with its 24/7 Emergency Image Delivery Service to aid those facing emergency situations. By leveraging the Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT) polar ground station in Svalbard, Norway, Pléiades and SPOT constellation images are now retrieved at every orbit, resulting in ultra-fast image deliveries after collection, anywhere in the world.

In addition to this advanced reactivity, the 24/7 Service gives customers easy, immediate and round-the-clock access to a dedicated team of satellite experts who provide timely support in case of unplanned events.

“When facing crises, time is critical. With our 24/7 Emergency Service, offering an image delivery time averaging two hours after acquisition, emergency situations can be treated with an even higher priority and our customers and partners will receive their mission critical satellite images much faster,” said François Lombard, Head of the Intelligence Business at Airbus Defence and Space.

The 24/7 Emergency Image Delivery Service, relying on advanced Near-Real Time capability, was developed to answer customers’ specific requirements when facing unplanned events, geopolitical crises, natural or man-made disasters. It provides timely, reliable and accurate satellite images to assess damage and help mitigate the impact on those affected. The service ensures that satellite resources, such as the wide-swath SPOT or very high-resolution Pléiades constellations, are booked with the highest tasking priority, guaranteeing accelerated access to data worldwide. The service is also designed to be flexible, providing the possibility of last-minute modifications or cancellations. With this improved performance and capability, Airbus further enhances its ability to deliver timely and accurate satellite images using its smart and complete optical and radar constellations consisting of Pléiades & SPOT 6/7 satellites, DMC Constellation as well as TerraSAR-X and TanDEM-X radar satellites.

For more information on the 24/7 Emergency Service please visit: http://www.intelligence-airbusds.com/en/8001-247-emergency-service

Japan’s Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) on 18 January 2018 successfully launched a new Earth observation satellite, equipped with X-band radar which is capable of obtaining high-resolution terrain images.

The Advanced Satellite with New System Architecture for Observation (ASNARO-2) was launched aboard a third-generation Epsilon rocket from the Uchinoura Space Center, in the southwestern prefecture of Kagoshima, Japan, Efe reported.

“The launch and flight of Epsilon-3 took place normally,” JAXA said in the statement, and further confirmed that after approximately 52 minutes into the flight, the 570 kg ASNARO-2 satellite successfully separated from the rocket.

ASNARO-2, developed by Japanese tech firm NEC, will perform Earth-observation tasks for five years from its orbit at an altitude of about 500 km and can deliver all weather radar imagery at a 1 meter resolution on the ground.

This was the first launch of a JAXA Epsilon rocket ordered by a private company, a successful concept which the Japanese Aerospace agency hopes will boost this type of order.

The Japanese aerospace agency designed the Epsilon to be smaller than conventional rockets to reduce the cost of launching small-sized satellites.

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22 January 2018. UK-based startup KisanHub has raised a £1.75 million ($2.43m) second seed round to expand its farm management and data analytics software platform capabilities, with a focus on enhancing weather predictions. The round was led by UK-based B2B tech venture capital firms Notion Capital and IQ Capital. Calibrate Management and other angel investors also participated in the round.

Founded in 2013, KisanHub uses big data analytics, cloud computing, and machine learning to compile data from satellite imagery, weather stations, soil sensors, and other sources. The platform offers yield predictions, pesticide application monitoring and other features for potato growing, which helps sellers manage contracts and supports farmers’ decision-making.

The platform also integrates market data and compliance requirements for potatoes, and provides information and makes recommendations on crop protection products.

KisanHub’s target customers are agriculture enterprises, such as suppliers, processors, and retailers that own some of their own farmland but work with a network of contract farmers. The company is able to integrate enteprises’ existing software or excel systems to provide a bespoke solution.

Farmers, while not KisanHub’s main focus, also use the technology as enterprise partners roll out the software across their networks. Roughly 2,300 growers in the UK and 700 in India use KisanHub’s software, all paid for by the enterprise customers.

KisanHub sources data via hardware and imagery partnerships, including one with satellite imagery provider Planet Labs. It also integrates public data.

The startup is planning to use its latest round of funding to deploy 100 of its own weather stations across the UK. KisanHub has not been able to get the level of granularity it wants from publicly available weather data, says Sachin Shende, KisanHub’s co-founder and CEO. Installing its own wealther stations will enable the platform to deliver more precise weather predictions.

Another focus for the company this year will be integrating telematics data from farm machinery into the platform.

Shende hopes these enhancements will help researchers support farmers in achieving better yields and bring value to KisanHub’s customers and growers. “At the moment there is a yield-gap between research and the fields,” he said. “We want to close that gap by capturing that data in our platform.”

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An agreement for the Sentinel Collaborative Ground Segment Cooperation was signed on 13 December at ESA’s Headquarters in Paris, France, to facilitate Sentinel data utilisation in Romania.

ESA and the Romanian Space Agency (ROSA) have entered into a close cooperation, which includes joint activities and collaboration in the area of Earth observation. These activities started even before Romania became an official ESA Member State. Romania plays a crucial role in maintaining a European-wide balanced approach to the activities of ESA.

As per the agreement, ROSA will coordinate ground segment activities in Romania – such as hosting, distributing, ensuring access and archiving Sentinel data – and act as an interface between ESA and national initiatives. ROSA also plans to cooperate with different European partners and institutes.

The data provided by the Sentinel missions are used mainly for Copernicus Services, but these free and open data are also used by scientists across the globe.

The Sentinel Collaborative Ground Segment would provide complimentary access to Sentinel data and to specific data products or distribution channels. The collaborative elements bring specialized solutions for further boosting the Sentinel missions’ exploitation in various domains, such as data acquisition and (quasi-) real-time production, complementary products and algorithms definitions, data dissemination and access, development of innovative tools and applications as well as complementary support to calibration and validation activities.

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Further to the eoMALL Invitation To Tender issued by ESA in 2017, Eversis, Geocento and GMV have been awarded for the first phase of the eoMALL competitive dialogue.

Thanks to the support of the ESA and the strong and valuable involvement of a dedicated EARSC working group composed of SMEs and Large companies, already members of the EARSC or joining to be part of the initiative, 2018 will be the year of the launch of the eoMALL!

The three winning consortia are:

  • led by Geocento, consortium includes Terradue and Catapult;
  • led by GMV Soluciones Globales Internet consortium includes GMV Aerospace and Defence and TMT Factory
  • led by Eversis consortium includes Airbus Defence & Space

The interaction between the working group, the three consotia and ESA is planned to start the beginning of February. Companies will have nine weeks to implement a prototype.

The objective is to develop an online Marketplace for the Earth Observation (EO) Service sector. Known as eoMALL, the platform will enable the interactive promotion of downstream EO-based products services focused on the needs of a global user-base.

In only 5 months, the beta release of the eoMALL will:

  • highlight top quality EO services and innovative European EO companies
  • enable companies in the actual small but fast-growing online market
  • improve the understanding of EO users needs in this specific market
  • engage with non-EO communities

2018 will be undoubtedly a challenging and interesting year!