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(26/11/2010) With the commissioning of ESA’s CryoSat-2 now complete, the mission has been officially transferred to the operations team. This milestone marks the beginning of the satellite’s operational life delivering ice-thickness data to understand the impact of climate change on the polar environment.

The handover ceremony took place on 19 November at ESA’s European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) in the Netherlands, where the responsibility for the mission passed from CryoSat-2’s Project Manager, Richard Francis, to the Mission Manager, Tommaso Parrinello.

Richard Francis had held the mission’s reins since the decision was taken to rebuild CryoSat in 2006 following the loss of the original satellite during launch. However, his experience with the mission goes right back to 1999, when CryoSat was selected as an Earth Explorer mission and he worked as the System Manager.

Launched in April, the mission has recently completed commissioning – an important phase that ensures the satellite, instruments, data retrieval and data processing procedures are in optimal working order.

Now that this period is over, the mission has entered its exploitation phase and will start delivering vital data on ice thickness to the scientific community.

The satellite will continue to be monitored, operated and controlled by the Flight Operations Segment at ESA’s European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany.

Together with GOCE and SMOS, both launched in 2009, CryoSat-2 forms part of the earth observation satellite series called Earth Explorers. These satellites have been designed by ESA to address areas of concern identified by experts working in the earth-sciences field, each satellite centering its research on different aspects of the earth system. CryoSat-2 will furnish hitherto unknown information on the earth’s crysophere (ice sheets and caps, glaciers and permafrost), with the main aim of helping scientists to come up with solutions for diminishing ice cover.

In Spain GMV took charge initially of part of the mission analysis activities. Subsequently, in a project for ESA’s Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Germany, GMV led the design, development and maintenance of the mission control system. This system is responsible for generating control orders and receiving the satellite-sent telemetry for checking the operation of the onboard equipment. To ensure correct system operation a four-person GMV team gave direct backup in ESA’s Operations Centre. GMV engineers will also participate in the orbital dynamics operations to ensure that the orbit of CryoSat-2 is correct at all times.

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News about project on nature, biodiversity and land use, LISA or GMFS

GeoVille maps featured in Wall Street Journal (13/01/2011)

GeoVille maps produced with satellite technology and depicting the extent of the oil spill following the Deepwater Horizon explosion were featured in the Wall Street Journal.

European Commission project on nature, biodiversity and land use awarded to GeoVille (29/12/2010)

The Directorate General on Environment of the EC has awarded a project entitled “Integrating nature & biodiversity and land use data” to GeoVille. Project partners are GeoVille Information Services, GeoVille Environmental Services, the Czech Agency for Nature Conservation and Landscape Protection (ANCLP) and the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB).

LISA goes public (24/11/2010)

On November 22nd, the results of the first phase of the Land Information System Austria (LISA) were presented to experts in the course of an ÖROK event and the possibilities for an Austrian wide roll-out were discussed.

In reflection to this presentation, a newspaper article was published in the “Special Research” edition of “Der Standard” of 11/24/2010, summarizing the project goals and results.

GMFS Soil Moisture Processing Chain Operational (12/11/2010)

Since October 2010 GeoVille is operationally providing Soil Water Index (SWI) products, derived from MetOp ASCAT, for entire Africa on a daily basis to the Global Monitoring for Food Security project of ESA.

The SWI products also provide the basis for the development of indicators for Early Warning Services. The developed indicators target food security assessments and will be provided to the user community in the form of end-to-end GIS tools, allowing targeted analyses.

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news from November and December


GeoRover® – Free trial version now available (03.12.2010)

GAF AG is pleased to announce the release of a free trial version of GeoRover®- a mobile geological mapping software. GeoRover® is a field mapping software that has been developed on the basis of experience gained from real geological mapping field work. The software integrates GPS navigation, GIS functionality and spatial raster data management in one tool.

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New REDD website launched (01.12.2010)

GAF AG is happy to announce the new REDD Services project website.
In time for the COP16 in Cancún, Mexico, the website has been activated and offers an insight to REDD Services, Projects, News and Events as well as information about the project background containing background material.

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GAF contributes to Climate Change Initiative with the Fire…(11.11.2010)

GAF AG provides its industrial project management competence to the Fire Disturbance project (“Fire_cci”) as part of the European Space Agency (ESA) Climate Change Initiative.

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world leading satellite mapping specialists, providing unparalleled expertise , products and services into a diverse range of market sectors. Our remote imaging , exploration , surveying and monitoring services are tailored to meet client requirements and are proven to enhance knowledge and reduce costs.

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Services

  • Satellite Imagery
    Fugro NPA is a leading independent provider of Earth Observation and Remote Sensing services.
  • InSAR Surveying
    Fugro NPA’s InSAR Surveying team provide solutions for remotely detecting, mapping and monitoring ground and structure motion through the application of state-of-the-art satellite radar data processing techniques.
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Fugro NPA provide remote, knowledge enhancing, cost-saving information into the oil and gas industry.

From the exploration of offshore and onshore prospects and the monitoring and impact assessment of fields undergoing production and enhanced recovery, to the route planning and stability assessment of distribution infrastructure such as pipelines, Fugro NPA have a range of services to meet the needs of their clients.

Mining

Fugro NPA provide remote, knowledge enhancing, cost-saving information into the oil and gas industry.

From the exploration of offshore and onshore prospects and the monitoring and impact assessment of fields undergoing production and enhanced recovery, to the route planning and stability assessment of distribution infrastructure such as pipelines, Fugro NPA have a range of services to meet the needs of their clients.

Civil Engineering

Fugro NPA use satellite remote sensing to provide knowledge enhancing and cost-saving information into the civil engineering industry.

Fugro NPA acquires, processes and interprets a range of satellite data sources including both optical and radar data to assist clients in a wide variety of engineering projects. These services include site assessment, route planning, geohazard assessment, stability monitoring and a range of change detection services, from land use to geophysical change.

Water & Environment

Fugro NPA use satellite remote sensing to provide information for water and environmental applications.

Fugro NPA acquires, processes and interprets a range of satellite data sources including both optical and radar data to assist clients in a wide variety of environmental projects. These services include site assessment and monitoring, risk and geohazard assessment, landcover classification, stability monitoring and a range of change detection services.

Sustainable Energy

Fugro NPA acquires, processes and interprets a range of satellite data sources including both optical and radar data to assist clients to better understand their sustainable energy infrastructure. These services include site assessment, interpretation and characterisation, stability monitoring and change detection services.

Utilities

Fugro NPA use satellite remote sensing to provide knowledge enhancing and cost-saving information into the utilities industry.

Fugro NPA acquires, processes and interprets a range of satellite data sources including both optical and radar data to assist clients in a wide variety of engineering projects. These services include site assessment, route planning, geohazard assessment, stability monitoring and a range of change detection services, from land use to geophysical change.

Geohazards & Risk

Fugro NPA acquires, processes and interprets a range of satellite data sources including both optical and radar data to assist clients in better understanding geohazards and risk. These services include site assessment, geohazard interpretation and characterisation, stability monitoring and a range of change detection services.

Maritime

Fugro NPA acquires, processes and interprets a range of satellite data sources including both optical and radar data to assist clients in a range of martime applications. These services include shallow water bathymetry and pollution monitoring and mapping, and a range of oceanographic services exploiting satellite technology.

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(November 24, 2010) European Space Imaging, a leading provider of very high-resolution satellite imagery, and Indra Espacio, a leading company in the Spanish space sector today announced that the two companies successfully completed a multi-year supply project to the Spanish Ministry of Defense.

The supply project, with Indra Espacio as main contractor, started in September 2008 and involved the provision of more than 1.2 million km² of very high-resolution satellite imagery to the Cartographic Coordination Service for the Multinational Geospatial Co-production Program (MGCP) initiative.

Twenty-eight countries are working together in this multinational program under the coordination of the US National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). Indra Espacio, in cooperation with European Space Imaging supplies images for 124 1ºx1º cells with quality certificates.

The satellite imagery was provided by European Space Imaging, the only company in Europe that owns and operates regional ground receiving stations for direct tasking and data downlink from commercial, very high-resolution optical satellites.

European Space Imaging supplied more than 13 Terabyte of data. Indra Espacio was in charge of satellite image quality control, using their complete workflow for image acquisition, cataloguing image processing and quality acceptance tests. The Cartographic Coordination Service of the Spanish MoD used the data for vector data extraction in a scale of 1:50,000 according to the MGCP Technical Reference Documentation (TRD) for international interoperability between the different national co-producers of this cartography.

Through multinational cooperation MGCP seeks to provide geospatial information to all participating countries concerning different areas of the planet. This information will be useful for coordinating responses in the event of natural catastrophes or humanitarian crises and will also contribute to the assessment of the natural resources of a given area.

“The Cartographic Coordination Service (CCS) of the Spanish Ministry of Defense is responsible for carrying out the MCGP initiative of Spain. We are very pleased with the timelines and quality of the data delivery through European Space Imaging and Indra Espacio” said Colonel Justo Bernaldo de Quirós, chief of the CCS.

“We have succeeded in this challenge in time and quality thanks to our robust image processing chain and skills” said Indra Espacio’s Remote Sensing Director Victoriano Moreno.

“EUSI is proud to have contributed to yet another key MGCP project in Europe and enjoyed working with the Spanish Ministry of Defense and our close business partner INDRA. The customer’s trust in us emphasizes once again our capability to deliver large volumes of very high resolution satellite imagery in a consistent manner and ahead of schedule.” said European Space Imaging’s General Manager Adrian Zevenbergen.

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. The company was founded in 2002 and is based in Munich, Germany. EUSI is the only European satellite data provider that operates its own very high-resolution satellite ground station for direct satellite tasking and local data downlink.

In 2010, EUSI, its parent company Space Imaging Middle East and DigitalGlobe, a leading provider of commercial high-resolution earth imagery products and services, formed the WorldView Global Alliance. The Alliance was created to provide the best customer service and fastest access to global very high-resolution satellite imagery worldwide, together with the broadest conditions and an extensive product range.

EUSI supports a comprehensive network of commercial partners throughout Europe and North Africa. The company also maintains long-term, direct relations with the major European and international institutions working in disaster management, national and regional security, environmental monitoring and mapping.

About Indra Espacio

Indra Espacio has been active for more than 30 years in the satellite-based communications, teledetection, control and satellite navigation markets. During all these years, it has proved its capacity to manage and plan development, delivery and maintenance of ground complex systems, either for the civil or military sector. The company maintains a growing international presence and has developed projects in more than 20 countries.

Indra Espacio is a subsidiary of Indra, the premier Information Technology company in Spain and a leading IT multinational in Europe and Latin America. Indra is ranked as the second European company in its sector according to stock market capitalisation, and also the second Spanish company with the most investment in R&D. In 2009, revenues reached € 2,513 M, of which a third came from the international market. The company employs more than 29,000 professionals and has clients in more than 100 countries.

About the Cartographic Coordination Service of the Spanish MoD.

The Cartographic Coordination Service (CCS) is responsible for the drawing up of the Armed Forces Cartographic Plan, and coordinates the activities of the cartographic centers in the Army, Navy and Air Forces.

It leads also the participation of the Spanish Ministry of Defense in other geospatial projects carried out in cooperation with other National and International Organizations, and promotes agreements for technical cooperation and exchange of geospatial data and materials between the Spanish Ministry of Defense and geospatial agencies of other countries.

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By Euroconsult

(November 2010). National defense is widely recognized as the primary market for the commercial Earth observation data (EO) sector of the satellite industry. While leading government programs have a clear mandate for environment monitoring missions, defense and military agencies are by far the first customers for commercial EO data. However, for the collection and distribution of commercial EO data to truly emerge as a commercial enterprise, the push will need to come from the private sector and foreign governments. A “killer application” that causes a sudden surge in demand may never emerge. But a steadily increasing uptake of both EO data and services usage across a range of commercial sectors and regions will allow the market to develop.

The new commercial demand will most likely come from local customers seeking data for regional purposes. These customers will be well served with the new push by commercial EO satellite operators such as GeoEye, DigitalGlobe and SPOT-Infoterra to strengthen their image collection capabilities through the launch of next-generation satellites and the continued development of global distribution networks operating locally through resellers. EO imagery and service requirements vary by customer type, with some preferring to acquire a service package and others just raw data. The question facing EO operators is whether to supply a full portfolio of services and delivery mechanisms, or to instead concentrate only on data delivery and allow their respective reseller networks and other services providers to provide the value-added services solutions.

Service providers and commercial operators will also have to work harder to educate some potential customers about the types of valuable data available. Two examples are agriculture and forestry, where resellers have found the customer base to be both cautious and unable to grasp the potential uses of EO data to their business.

For downstream services to develop, accessibility to EO data is key to delivering services. The free and open access data policy — as encouraged by GEOSS and coming to fruition through the free data available from Landsat and the GMES open data policy of the Sentinel missions — is viewed as a new opportunity for growth of the EO market as it can provide a more cost-effective business model.

The downstream services companies also need to become the “one-stop-shop” solution for both geospatial data and the services needed to access a range of data sources (optical/radar satellite, aerial).

Services providers, resellers and operators all agree that the Internet is growing in importance as a distribution channel. They see the Internet as key to addressing the private sector and an even larger consumer client base. The Internet can both educate end-users about EO data through virtual globes such as Google Earth, and also offer an alternative platform to deliver data and services to end users.

Adam Keith is a specialist in remote sensing and the principal author of Euroconsult’s Earth Observation and Defense & Security reports. He also contributes to a number of other consulting projects, particularly related to the institutional market. Prior to joining Euroconsult, he worked in the Directorate of Earth Observation at the European Space Agency. He is graduate of the University of London and Cambridge University.

_Article at Space News 8Nov2010 Source

Paris, December 3, 2010 – France honours its commitment made last year in Copenhagen to provide high resolution satellite imagery to favour sustainable forest management in the Congo Basin countries.

Through the Agence Française de Développement (AFD), France will finance the provision of SPOT satellite imagery to central African countries to help them prepare the future REDD mechanism.

The contract between the AFD and the GEO-Information division of Astrium Services marks the beginning of a broad initiative to map the entire Congo Basin, the second largest forest in the world. Financed by the AFD, this project is implemented by a consortium of institutional partners including the French Space Agency – Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES), the Institut Géographique National (IGN) and the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD).

This initiative will make SPOT images available to administrations, public institutions, and NGOs working on sustainable forest governance in the Congo Basin countries. SPOT archive imagery dating from 1990 will be used to establish baseline reference maps over the zone. Additional programming campaigns to acquire fresh datasets over the years will track the evolution of forest cover to monitor REDD+ future commitments.

Patrick Le Roch, Divisional Managing Director of Astrium Services GEO-Information declared, “SPOT satellite imagery is the ideal resolution for forest monitoring because it combines broad coverage and high two metre resolution. We bring the most appropriate imagery products, expertise and technology to the REDD+ mechanism. Our data acquisition tools bring essential added value for measuring and verifying forest cover changes necessary for REDD+ programs.”

For Dov Zerah, Managing Director of the Agence Française de Développement “Thanks to the provision of top level French technologies, our partners in the Congo Basin will be able to use the most significant tools as they reinforce sustainable forest management. The AFD has been a pioneer in financing sustainable forest governance encouraged by central African countries and today is very much involved in the implementation of the REDD+ mechanism.”

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The Italian COSMO-SkyMed constellation is now fully operational and complete with the arrival of the system’s fourth satellite in its final orbit position. The satellite was launched on 5 November from the Vandenberg base in California, and came fully on-stream with the transmission of the first images to the ground stations.

COSMO-SkyMed is a dual-use programme employing technology that is among the most advanced in the world to provide data to institutions, defence organisations and private companies. The system was created under the auspices of the Italian Ministry of Education, Universities and Research, with financing and technical and operational co-ordination provided by the Italian Space Agency and co-financing from the Italian Ministry of Defence.

The early orbit operations for the fourth COSMO-SkyMed satellite were once again successfully managed by the LEOP (Launch and Early Orbit Phase) team at Telespazio’s Fucino Space Centre, while the first radar images from COSMO-SkyMed 4 were acquired normally by the Matera Space Centre and are now available.

The constellation, which is the jewel in the crown of the Italian Space Agency’s programmes, is now better able than ever to carry out continuous and accurate Earth observation over time, with parameters that ensure reliability, stability and continuity, relayed at intervals of a matter of hours, covering all changes, movements and variations to and on the land. Constant monitoring of this kind has never been achieved before. The COSMO-SkyMed system has therefore reached its optimal capacity for acquiring images – around 1,800 a day – day and night in all weather conditions. This makes the Italian system among the most reliable and advanced in the world.

The system was built by Thales Alenia Space (a Thales/Finmeccanica joint venture) in its role as prime contractor with responsibility for the entire programme, including both the space and ground segments. Telespazio, a Finmeccanica/Thales company, built the system’s entire ground segment and the?= integrated logistics and operations segment. The Fucino Space Centre houses the control centre for the constellation, which manages the satellite acquisition phases after launch and subsequent early orbit phases, as well as command and control activities and the planning of requests for the acquisition of images.

The Italian Space Agency’s Matera Space Centre is responsible for acquiring, processing and distributing the data sent back from the COSMO-SkyMed satellites for civil applications, representing a bona fide database of satellite images.

e-GEOS, a joint venture between the Italian Space Agency (20%) and Telespazio (80%), manages the services of the Matera Space Centre on behalf of the Italian Space Agency and markets COSMO-SkyMed data and products around the world. The company is a leading international player in the geo-spatial business.

e-GEOS offers a complete range of products and services in the Earth Observation and in the geo-spatial application domains, based on both optical and radar satellites as well as on aerial surveys. The Rome-based company employs more than 300 people and operates through the Earth Observation centres in Matera (Italy) and Neustrelitz (Germany). As the European hub for VHR (Very High Resolution) data, e-GEOS grants unique access to the COSMO-SkyMed, GeoEye-1, IKONOS, Radarsat, Envisat, QuickBird and WorldView and IRS satellites, with more than 20 years of experience in satellite data distribution, multi lingual customer service and multi-mission order management. In particular, COSMO-SkyMed represents a tremendous competitive advantage as it opens up a new era of operational applications.

e-GEOS can also rely on the specific know-how and market presence of the various companies within the group, such as GAF and Euromap (Germany), Eurimage, Aurensis (Spain), Telespazio Argentina, Telespazio Brasil, Telespazio France and others, that enrich its competitive advantages and provide synergies in the product chain and for market development at international level.

e-GEOS owns and operates the Multi-mission station located at the Matera Space Centre, where data from several EO satellites (COSMO-SkyMed, Radarsat-1&2, Envisat, ERS, Landsat, and others) are downlinked and processed both for the commercial market and to provide services to the Italian Space Agency and the European Space Agency. The company also owns the GeoEye-1 and IKONOS imaging and processing facility in Neustrelitz, which is operated through Euromap and the DLR (German Aerospace Agency) and that offers access to high-priority tasking and processing and fast delivery of GeoEye data.

e-GEOS is one of the main industrial players in the European GMES Program (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security) where it leads projects such as GMOSAIC (Management of Operations, Situation Awareness and Intelligence for regional Crises) LIMES (Land and Sea Integrated Monitoring for Environment and Security) and LinkER (Supporting Action for the implementation of operational GMES services in Emergency Response) for the European Union as well as MARISS (Maritime Security Services) for the European Space Agency.

Thanks to the services developed in these projects, e-GEOS is today a world leader in environmental and maritime monitoring and in rapid mapping for the management of natural disasters and humanitarian crises, cooperating with EMSA (European Maritime Safety Agency), EUSC (European Union Satellite Centre), JRC (Joint Research Centre of the European Commission), various UN Organizations and the Italian Civil Defence.

The company serves a variety of national and international clients, both in the public and private sectors, including customers such as the Italian Ministry of Agriculture (through AGEA/SIN) for the management of the Common Agricultural Policy in Italy, the Italian Ministry of the Environment for the interferometric processing of SAR data over all the national territory, major international oil & gas companies (ENI, Shell, Total) and railroads (RFI, NIIAS). e-GEOS is part of the Telespazio (Finmeccanica/Thales) group, operating the largest civil space infrastructure in the world, at the Fucino Space Centre, providing unrivalled service capacity.

COSMO-SkyMed 4. First images

COSMO-SkyMed Brochure

Eurimage and e-GEOS are pleased to inform you that the special offer for GeoEye-1 and IKONOS Very High Resolution data has been renewed for the whole of the year 2011.

Main points of the promotion are:

  • Applicable to all customers within the e-GEOS exclusive territory (mainly Europe and North Africa)
  • GeoEye-1 Geo Product price reduced from 25 US$ to 20 US$ per Km2 and from 12.50 US$ to 10 US$ per km2 for Archive Products
  • 90 days archive delay waived for both GeoEye-1 and IKONOS Geo imagery

The discounted prices above are not retroactive and cannot be cumulative with other special packages, ad-hoc proposals and established contracts.

Please refer to e-GEOS and Eurimage websites for product information or email us.

… ‘Monitoring of Water Quality for Lakes’ Project Kick-off Meeting


The ‘Monitoring of Water Quality for Lakes’ Project Kick-off Meeting (December 2010)

Brockmann Consult is preparing a next generation of Water Quality Products for Lakes and freshwater reservoirs in Europe. On 7.12.2010 the European Research Project FRESHMON (FP7 Space Call) will be kicked-off. The project is lead by EOMAP GmbH and comprises 5 partners from 4 European countries. The objective of the project is to develop a new service-line for the continuous provision of Earth Observation based products, integrated with in situ and hydrodynamic modelling components, for water quality monitoring.

VAE Intertidal User Workshop (November 2010)

A 2-days User Workshop has been hold in Lisbon in order to demonstrate the outcome of the ESA VAE Project “Monitoring of Intertidal Flats”.

30 participants from 3 different countries attended the workshop.

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