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On 16 June 2010 the whole European Parliament approved at first reading under the co-decision procedure the Commission’s proposal for a regulation on the GMES programme and its initial operations 2011–2013 (COM0223).

As a next step under the co-decision procedure, the legislative proposal is currently waiting for the Council first reading approval which is expected for this autumn.

On 3 September 2010, the General Secretariat of the Council published a joint declaration of the European Commission and the Council for the Council minutes for the adoption of the regulation on the GMES programme and its initial operations (2011–2013).

According to this document, the Commission will prepare the exploitation phase of GMES and will propose, in due time, arrangements for the GMES programmatic, financial and governance framework both for GMES as a whole and for its individual components as described in Article 2 of the proposed GMES regulation, in the context of the definition of the next EU Multi-annual Financial Framework. In this respect, the Council and the Commission recognise that the governance of the GMES programme should be considered as a whole and encompass all necessary structures and procedures.

Finally, it is stated that the Commission will consider how to complete the overall governance structure, through the presentation of a new legislative proposal on the GMES programme beyond its initial operations, during 2011.

More information at

Source GMES.Info

NASA recently celebrated the ten year birthday of the Terra Satellite, which was put to work on February 24, 2000. The Terra Satellite is one of the Earth Observing System (EOS) group of satellites, with the title EOS AM-1.

Terra’s mission is to ultimately collect a 15 year dataset of global information that will tell us about our complicated home.

There is much to the Earth Observation System: There is the computer system that stores and works with the data, called EOSDIS, and the third component of the Earth Observation System is the scientists from all over the world who analyze the data.

The Terra Satellite alone hosts the following systems: ASTER, CERES, MISR, MODIS and MOPITT. Terra has a sister ship, Aqua, that was launched in 2002.

ASTER is the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer. It focuses on the electromagnetic spectrum and collects high resolution images of 14 electromagnetic wavelengths that go from visual spectra, to thermal infrared that is invisible to the human eye. Because it is the only spatial high resolution element of Terra, with 15 to 90 square meters per pixel, it also serves as the “zoom lens” for the other instruments. There are three ASTER telescopes that can cross track, giving stereoscopic imagery for showing the highs and lows of the terrain. To show the international cooperation and collaboration involved in EOS, ASTER was developed by the Japan Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and is maintained by a Joint US/Japanese team.

MISR may have had an impact on examining oil spills with one of its capabilities to capture “…the amount and type of atmospheric aerosol particles, including those formed by natural sources and by human activities”.

MOPITTis the first instrument that can monitor with gas correlation spectroscopy from space. “Its specific focus is on the distribution, transport, sources, and sinks of carbon monoxide and methane in the troposphere.” Since methane has been a major component of the gases released from underground and deep water oil caches, and is the major anthropogenic contributor to “greenhouse gases”, this instrument probably provided incredibly valuable information during the 2010 BP oil spill.

But MODIS is the star of the show in tracking dramatic oil spills. This instrument is held on two of the EOS satellites, Terra and Aqua. Simply put, MODIS sees everything on Earth, every couple of days, in 36 discrete spectral bands. From phytoplankton levels to details of an oil spill, to wispy cirrus clouds, MODIS will capture the data.

A visit to the MODIS page will lead to an animated overview of the way in which this marvel works, not just for oil spills but for fires and other major events on Earth, including the planetary “green wave” that occurs when Spring hits the different parts of the world.

Nasa th/features/oilspill/20100517_ spill.html

Terra-Nasa

Source

On 13 September 2010 the European Commission (DG Maritime Affairs and Fisheries) presented the Marine Knowledge 2020 initiative which aims to improve knowledge of Europe’s seas and oceans. In line with the EU 2020 economic strategy, the initiative is one of the three cross-cutting goals of the EU Integrated Maritime Policy.

The creation of marine knowledge begins with the collection of marine data, which are afterwards assembled, and then analysed to create information and knowledge. The Marine Knowledge 2020 initiative responds to the stakeholders’ need for a more coordinated approach to marine data collection and assembly, and describes an action plan to develop or improve existing EU policy measures in order to achieve this aim.

Three main objectives are proposed:
1. Reducing operational costs and delays for those who use marine data;
2. Increasing competition and innovation amongst users and re-users of marine data by providing wider access to quality-checked, rapidly-available coherent marine data;
3. Reducing uncertainty in knowledge of the oceans and the seas and so providing a sounder basis for managing future changes.

The Commission’s communication presenting the new initiative points out that GMES is among existing EU instruments contributing to better understanding of Europe seas and oceans. In this context, options for the marine core service of GMES are being tested through the MyOcean project. Products are available for any kind of use, including commercial (downstream activities) but excluding “uncontrolled redistribution (dissemination, e.g. broadcasting, web posting…)”.

As a concrete action aimed at enhancing the effects of GMES, the Commission proposes demonstrations of GMES marine services to be supported through the space theme of the Seventh Framework Programme until 2014.

More information at

Source GMES.Info

The Indian Space Research. Organisation (ISRO) is gearing up to launch four satellites within a span of one week in December, a top space scientist said mid September.

‘We will be launching the satellites this December. Currently the two rockets are being assembled,’ Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) director P.S. Veeraghavan told reporters on the sidelines of a function here

The two rockets that will fly towards the heavens are the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and the heavier Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV).

According to Veeraghavan, the PSLV will carry three payloads -Resourcesat and two small satellites each weighing around 90 kg made in Singapore and Russia.

The GSLV will launch the INSAT series communication satellite.

Veeraghavan said the space agency is working towards the goal of doubling the number of rocket launches to eight per year.

He said the agency earns around Rs 1,000 crore from selling remote sensing data.

ISRO to launch eight spacecrafts annually

New Delhi (PTI) Sep 15 – ISRO is gearing up to launch eight spacecrafts annually to increase revenue and meet global technology demand, a top official of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre said on Tuesday.

“Right now, we have four launches including GSLVs and PSLVs per year. The process is on to launch eight spacecraft a year to meet global demand,” VSSC Director P.S. Veeraraghavan told reporters on the sidelines of a function here.

On steps taken by ISRO to double the number of launches, he said, “We need to increase throughout in getting various subsystems from industries and then increase our own internal work.”

On the commercial aspect, he said India currently earns about Rs. 1,000 crore through commercial satellite launches.

“Through Indian remote sensing satellite and through other satellite launches, we are getting revenue of Rs. 1,000 crore per year. This is growing at the rate of 20 to 30 per cent every year,” Mr. Veeraraghavan said.

Noting that India has become sixth in the world in space technology, he said ISRO proposed to launch a GSLV and PSLV rocket simultaneously this December within a one week span.

“Schedule launch is going to be in December. Currently, the rocket is getting assembled. PSLV will carry three satellites and GSLV will carry INSAT 5C,” he said.

On Chandrayaan-2 mission, he said it would be launched by GLSV instead of PSLV. “We have already started the process and various payloads have been identified. In Chandrayaan-2 there would be an orbiter, lander and a rover,” he said.

Mr. Veeraraghavan said ISRO is also developing GSLV Mk III to launch a four tonne satellite into geosynchronous transfer orbit.

He also said that ISRO planned to set up its third launch pad for human space mission.

Mr. Veeraraghavan was here to receive ‘PSOM-XL Motorcase’, a device used in the launch of PSLV and Chandrayaan missions, from city-based Ramakrishna Engineering Company.

Source: Press Trust of India

At the occasion of the General Affairs Council meeting that took place on 13 September 2010, EU Ministers adopted the proposal for a regulation on the European Earth observation programme (GMES) and its initial operations (2011-2013).

The adoption, which follows the agreement reached with the European Parliament in first reading on 16 June 2010, is the final step of the co-decision process.

The aim of the regulation is to contribute to the establishment of GMES as an operational programme, and to provide additional funds for its initial operations enabling a gradual build-up of capabilities until 2013, as well as to put into place the necessary structures for the governance of the programme.

The new EU law includes an additional EUR 107 million in the initial operational phase of GMES, as proposed by the European Commission in May 2009.

“More information at”: http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/EN/genaff/116489.pdf

Source GMES.Info

On 15 September 2010, a high level political dialogue on “Space and Africa” brought together leading figures in the European and African space sectors.

The European Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship and Vice-President of the European Commission, Antonio Tajani, and Jean-Pierre Ezin, Commissioner of Human Resources, Science and Technology of the African Union Commission (AUC), expressed in a joint statement satisfaction with the on-going cooperation between the EU and Africa in the field of space applications.

Firstly, the joint statement highlights the need for a future African Space Agency, which could initially focus on practical areas capable of producing benefits for the African citizen such as use of Earth Observation data to monitor weather, environment and climate change.

Among other issues, the joint statement underlines the progress made on the GMES and Africa initiative through the extensive exchange of contacts between the two continents. In this context, the ongoing preparation of a high-level strategic document to guide the implementation phase was welcomed, while the extensive work done for the preparation of a detailed thematic action plan was recognised. The action plan will facilitate the allocation of EU contributing funding for 2011 onwards, the definition of the EU Financial Perspectives 2014-2020 as well as contributions from other sources and the implementation in Africa of priority applications. Furthermore, EUMETSAT and ESA indicated their readiness to consider additional support for new projects emerging from the GMES and Africa initiative.

One day later, on 16 September 2010, a high level political meeting on “Space for the African Citizen” was organised by the AUC and the Belgian High Representation for Space Policy, in the framework of the Belgian presidency of the EU. The meeting focused on how space technologies can be used as a transversal tool to contribute to Africa’s global development.

“More information at”: http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/10/414&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

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Source GMES.Info

Why don’t we see Bing City Infra-Red, Google Thermal Street View and Nokia Geotagging Spectral Smartphones? Maybe part of it has do with privacy issues, but the technology is already present, only the application is needed. However, there can be little doubt that geospatial and geomatic technology integration can tie thermal imaging sensor data to applications where we live and work.

As energy related topics weave their way through economic debates and discussions related to greater efficiency, the need to not only monitor but to do it on an ever increasing scale is rising. Computer-aided design (CAD) design software can already tie building and structural designs to energy analysis software.

Buildings and other infrastructure are not only about visual design, but functional and operational design – and that means energy analysis.There are more than a few manufacturers of digital airborne cameras that are capable of taking infrared imagery today. And, more than one company is capable of providing images of neighborhoods around the globe. This combination is powerful because these cameras could be providing thermal image analysis for individual homes. If you could subscribe to such a service, would you?

While this imagery is valuable and can provide information that is useful to residents and businesses, when we couple it to other technologies it becomes even more useful and causes innovations leading to new business approaches and models. I mentioned Smartphones at the outset because a thermal imaging smartphone would be a powerful device that crosses home and work use.

Imagine satellite infrared imagery of your home showing heat loss or energy efficiency, then couple that to the whole explosion of Smart Meters and in-home technologies that we are now beginning to see in demonstration and displays. How will you know that the technologies are really working, bill alone?

Lower maintenance? If your living environment suddenly becomes 5 degrees cooler on average, then money may be saved, but how comfortable will you be? Not that I don’t see many advantages to smart grid, only that monitoring will likely grow and I wonder how that will get done?Does anyone know if Street View uses an infrared camera? Perhaps you may have heard about the UltraCAM Xp from Microsoft?

Here is an interesting video of thermal analysis by Aerodata in France. Applanix DSS provides IR solutions as does DiMAC. Assuming all devices will be IR capable in the near future, then the concept of a complete IR solution tying these devices to software for design, energy analysis, GIS modeling and other functions would seem to be near. Usually one only hears about two major infrared applications.

The first is in agricultural and biomass related applications and the second is energy related and includes the monitoring of buildings. While aerial imagery will likely be planimetric from the top down (though products like Pictometry, Blom, Infoterra provide oblique options); the coupling of smartphones and mobile devices with IR adds an important link because it capitalizes upon the potential of 3D modeling, analysis and design that lies ahead.

Building upon IR is very powerful when we consider it against work flows like automatic extraction, modeling 3D environments and the realization of 3D GIS analysis. I think the smartphone and the work being done in smart grids may be the integral links that also tie things together.

Source Vector1Media

After 10 years in orbit and 58277 trips around the earth, the georesearch satellite CHAMP collected material that made for one of the most successful Earth observation missions yet, say researchers.

It was a quick end to a long life for CHAMP, the Challenging Mini Satellite Payload. After 3718 days of providing information to researchers on the ground, the satellite burnt up on September 19, 2010 over the sea of Okhotsk, somewhere between eastern Siberia, the Russian peninsular of Kamchatka and Japan.

It was “one of the most successful observation missions of the Earth’s system,” said Professor Reinhard Huettle, CEO of the Potsdam-based German Research Center for Geosciences, better known by its German acronym, GFZ. This was the center that first designed the CHAMP project in 1995. Since then the satellite has provided geoscientists with groundbreaking new insights.

The ‘Potsdam gravity potato’

The information provided by CHAMP allowed researchers, for instance, to better capture the Earth’s form – dips and bulges included. This allowed researchers to develop an image of Earth not as a perfect sphere but as a ‘floating potato’ – the ‘Potsdam gravity potato’.

This was possible because CHAMP was set on an irregular orbit around the Earth: At times it was more attracted to the Earth, at times less. For the first time, researchers were able to trace the satellite’s path continuously and accurately, to within centimeters, and were able to reconstruct the shape of the Earth second by second.

CHAMP also offered researchers new insights into the Earth’s magnetic field, allowing them to recognize that field strength decreases continuously, particularly in the southern Atlantic Ocean, which in turn leads to frequent disruptions in satellite operation.

What’s more, the satellite allowed for the creation of global maps of important mineral and ore deposits – pointing to iron ore in Kursk, Russia, and diamonds in West Africa – as these deposits could be seen for the first time through analysis of the magnetization of the rock.

Come rain or shine

Measurements taken by the satellite have also been used in weather forecasting and climate research. For the first time in 2006, the British ‘Met Office’ used the satellite’s data to create global weather forecasts. CHAMP data has also been used in centers in Europe, Japan and Canada.

The satellite also proved unexpectedly useful in monitoring space weather, allowing meteorologists to predict storms in the ionosphere, an outer layer of the Earth’s atmosphere, more quickly. These storms can interfere with telecommunications, satellite navigation and radio-radar systems.

15 years of work

The CHAMP project began in 1995 when the German Education and Research Ministry developed a satellite mission as a flagship project for the East German space industry, to try to promote existing knowledge of the field within East Germany.

Five years on, when the 522kg (1150lb) CHAMP satellite was launched, it was originally thought it would stay in orbit for five years at most. But the satellite’s design allowed it such a stable flight, even at a low flight path, that the mission time could be more than doubled.

Author: Nicole Scherschun (skt)
Editor: Cyrus Farivar

A $160 million project will launch three new British satellites by 2013 to image the surface of Earth, a commercial company says.

Spacecraft manufacturer Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. and its data processing subsidiary DMCii say the satellites will be able to make out details down to 1 meter (39.37 inches) at their best resolution, the BBC reported ending September.

Nations without their own dedicated satellites will be able to buy time on the spacecraft, the company said.

“This constellation of three satellites will be owned and operated from the United Kingdom but the capacity on the spacecraft will be leased to different international customers,” Martin Sweeting, executive chairman of SSTL, said.

SSTL and DMCii already operate a fleet of imaging satellites owned by different nations, including the United Kingdom, China, Spain and Nigeria.

DMCii acts as business manager for the countries, processing and distributing their data and collecting revenues earned from selling the satellites images to third-party customers, the BBC reported.

The satellites were particularly active this year in monitoring the impacts of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Source

Online risk analysis for underwriters. Desktop survey for claims management

Leicester – 29th September 2010: Today Astrium launches the TerraSure Services range for the insurance market, delivering easy access to affordable decision support information through a dedicated online portal. Operated as a secure web service, the TerraSure Services enable professionals to gain access to flood and subsidence risk rating both at an individual property level and across their whole portfolio. Users are charged on the basis of the information displayed, giving businesses efficient access to data from anywhere in the country as and when it is needed.

Leading British insurers are now reaping the benefits of using spatial risk assessment in the actuarial and underwriting functions, particularly to assess flood and subsidence exposure across their commercial and residential property portfolios. Loss adjusters have long recognised the communication power of a map.

However, for smaller insurers and claims management companies, the investment necessary to provide access to large scale national datasets and desktop software applications is simply not viable.

With their reliance on historical information and past experience, insurers are ignoring the impact of a changing climate reshaping our landscape, resulting in new opportunities as well as increasing risks.

www.terra-sure.co.uk gives direct, immediate and efficient access to location based risk. Using an intelligent address searching tool, TerraSure pinpoints the property location and the user is presented with clear graphical reports illustrating the risk. The service offers a range of risk models, drawn from various expert providers including JBA Consulting, British Geological Survey and the Environment Agency.

TerraSure features JBA flood model data to help insurers manage the risk of surface water flooding

The risk rating can be presented in the context of backdrop mapping from Ordnance Survey, and imagery with overlaid perils extents. Multiple locations displayed on a map can be grouped to query the total insured value and exposure within a user defined area, such as street, town or city.

For claims management, TerraSure offers a powerful desktop survey tool: the ability to annotate large scale mapping and imagery with symbols, text, shapes and lines, measurement capabilities, including ground and building height, and an optional view of nearby peril risks. This can be used to provide a visual communications tool for surveyor instruction and insurer communication.

“Information about risk allows insurers to make better decisions about pricing, control their exposure in high risk areas and undertake proactive marketing in low risk areas. The estimated £3billion losses incurred in 2007 were largely attributable to surface water flooding – this risk is taken into account within the JBA flood model so that an insurance quotation for a chain of supermarkets, for example, can be priced in the knowledge of the consequences of each building being surrounded by paved car parking,” commented Gill Dickson, Insurance Business Manager, Astrium Services.

TerraSure also features risk models from expert providers such as the British Geological Society

All of the data is maintained as part of the TerraSure Services, ensuring that the latest available version is accessed each time the service is used. The service is managed from Astrium Services’ geospatial data hosting facility in Farnborough, Hampshire.

At launch, the TerraSure Services provide flood and subsidence risk assessment across Great Britain, but will shortly be extended to other perils and other countries.

Taking full advantage of the resources and skills offered by Infoterra and Spot Image, the Geo-information division of Astrium Services has become a recognised world leader in the geo-information market by offering decision-makers sustainable solutions to increase security, protect the environment and better manage natural resources. It has exclusive access to Spot and TerraSAR-X satellite data, while also calling on a full gamut of space data sources and airborne acquisition capabilities, enabling it to offer an unrivalled combination of Earth observation products and value-added services. Its portfolio spans the entire geo-information value chain.

By building on the synergy of Astrium Services, the Geo-information division that includes the Infoterra Ltd subsidiary can also develop innovative solutions combining Earth observation, navigation and communication applications at competitive prices.

About Astrium

Astrium, a wholly owned subsidiary of EADS, is dedicated to providing civil and defence space systems and services. In 2009, Astrium had a turnover of 4.8 billion euros and more than 15,000 employees in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain and the Netherlands. Its three main areas of activity are Astrium Space Transportation for launchers and orbital infrastructure, Astrium Satellites for spacecraft and ground segment, and Astrium Services for comprehensive value-added end-to-end solutions of secure and commercial satcoms and networks, high security satellite communications equipment, geo-information fully integrated one-stop-shop offerings, and navigation services.

EADS is a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services. In 2009, EADS generated revenues of 42.8 billion euros and employed a workforce of more than 119,000.

www.astrium.eads.net
www.infoterra.co.uk

For further press information, please contact:
Cheryl Billson, PR Infoterra – 07791 720460
cheryl.billson@commacomms.com