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SciSys software team celebrates launch of Europe’s CryoSat-2 Ice mission.

(Chippenham, United Kingdom – 8th April 2010). The European Space Agency (ESA) successfully launched its CryoSat-2 mission from the Baikonur launch site in Kazakhstan. CryoSat-2 is a 3.5 year long radar mission that will monitor the thickness of land and sea ice and help explain the connection between the melting of the polar ice and the rise in sea levels and how this is contributing to climate change.

The SciSys on-board software will be responsible for monitoring the orbit and controlling the attitude of CryoSat-2 as well as handling all of its communications with the ground segment. SciSys has been involved throughout all the stages of the CryoSat-2 development, from enhancing and refining the original CryoSat software (the first mission was lost owing to a launch failure in October 2005), through integration, verification and validation of the software up to system level with the spacecraft.

Commenting on the launch, Sean McLellan CryoSat-2 Project Manager at SciSys said “We are delighted to see CryoSat-2 in orbit and operating successfully. This has been an important programme for us and a welcome opportunity to reprise our close relationship with the CryoSat teams at EADS Astrium and ESA”.

Along with the successful involvement in the CryoSat-2 programme, SciSys is currently engaged in all of ESA’s on-going Earth Explorer Missions, developing software systems for “ADM-Aeolus” for atmospheric dynamics (2011), “Swarm” to survey the evolution of the magnetic field (2011) and “EarthCARE” to investigate the Earth’s radiative balance (2013)

About ESA

ESA is Europe’s space agency. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. ESA is an international organisation with 18 Member States. Its job is to draw up the European space programme and carry it through. ESA’s programmes are designed to find out more about Earth, its immediate space environment, our Solar System and the Universe, as well as to develop satellite-based technologies and services, and to promote European industries.

About SciSys

The SciSys Group is a leading developer of ICT services, e-Business and advanced technology solutions which operate in a broad spectrum of market sectors including space, utilities, defence, government, communication, business services, media and broadcast and transport. Within these markets, the SciSys group has been involved in significant developments in key technologies that have changed the way people do their jobs. SciSys’ clients are predominantly blue chip and public sector organizations. Customers include the Environment Agency, MOD, Thames Water, Astrium, the European Space Agency, the BBC and Deutsche Welle. The group has offices in Chippenham, Bristol and Reading in the UK and in Bochum, Darmstadt and Oberpfaffenhofen in Germany.

In the UK the group conducts its business through SciSys UK Ltd, in Germany through the wholly owned subsidiary VCS AG which was acquired by SciSys in September 2007.

Additional information about SciSys is available at: http://www.scisys.co.uk/

For more information, please contact:
Roger Ward, SciSys Ltd. Tel: +44 (0) 117_916_5116
Email: roger.ward@scisys.co.uk

ESA PR 07-2010. Europe’s first mission dedicated to studying the Earth’s ice was launched today from Kazakhstan. From its polar orbit, CryoSat-2 will send back data leading to new insights into how ice is responding to climate change and the role it plays in our ‘Earth system’.

The CryoSat-2 satellite was launched at 15:57 CEST (13:57 UTC) on a Dnepr rocket provided by the International Space Company Kosmotras from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The signal confirming that it had separated from the launcher came 17 minutes later from the Malindi ground station in Kenya.

CryoSat-2 replaces the original CryoSat satellite that was lost in 2005 owing to a launch failure. The mission objectives, however, remain the same: to measure changes in the thickness of the vast ice sheets that overlie Antarctica and Greenland, as well as variations in the thickness of the relatively thin ice floating in the polar oceans.

“We know from our radar satellites that sea ice extent is diminishing, but there is still an urgent need to understand how the volume of ice is changing,” said Volker Liebig, ESA’s Director of Earth Observation Programmes. “To make these calculations, scientists also need information on ice thickness, which is exactly what our new CryoSat satellite will provide. We are now very much looking forward to receiving the first data from the mission.”

The launch of CryoSat-2 marks a significant achievement for ESA’s Earth observation programme and brings to three the number of its Earth Explorer satellites placed in orbit, all having been launched within a little over 12 months. CryoSat-2 follows on from the Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) mission, launched in March 2009, and the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission, launched last November.

Earth Explorers are launched in direct response to issues identified by the scientific community and aim to improve our understanding of how the Earth system works and the effect that human activity is having on natural processes.

In response to this need, CryoSat-2 is carrying the first radar altimeter of its kind to overcome the difficulties of measuring icy surfaces. Its primary payload, the sophisticated SAR/Interferometric Radar Altimeter (SIRAL), was developed by Thales Alenia Space to measure the thickness of ice floating in the oceans and monitor changes in the ice sheets on land, particularly around the edges where icebergs are calved.

The CryoSat-2 satellite was built by a consortium led by EADS Astrium. The satellite is in a polar orbit, reaching latitudes of 88°. This is closer to the poles than earlier Earth observation satellites, resulting in an additional area of about 4.6 million sq km being covered. This extra coverage amounts to an area larger than all 27 European Union member states put together. The combination of the technology onboard and a polar orbit will provide evidence to further our understanding of the relationship between ice and climate.

Now that CryoSat-2 is safely in orbit, the Mission Control Team at ESA’s European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany is busy with the critical ‘Launch and Early Operations Phase’.

Source ESA

New customers and suppliers have appeared in the Earth observation industry over the past several years including new commercial operators, end-user entities and emerging government actors. With data sales expected to reach nearly $4 billion by 2018, growth will impact every level of the EO value chain. Data specifications will change; new business models for data and service provision will emerge; service offerings will expand; new distribution channels and customer markets will develop and manufacturing requirements will evolve. Increased data sources, including low-cost/free government solutions and supporting frameworks such as GMES, will also contribute to the changing dynamic of the EO sector in the coming years.

The 2nd Symposium on Earth Observation Business is a unique forum for the EO community to present and discuss these game-changing trends, challenges and opportunities with actors from every level of the value chain. Top executives at EO satellite operators, service providers, manufacturers, launch providers, civil and military government agencies, and end-user entities will participate in lively panel discussions and give keynote presentations to a highly qualified audience. This year the 2nd Symposium on Earth Observation Business has been extended to nearly two days (from one day in 2009) to cover the many areas of discussion. A small sample of the program and of the excellent line-up of industry representatives invited as speakers:

“Leading EO Satellite Operators Development Strategies” with Jill Smith, CEO, DigitalGlobe; Matt O’Connell, CEO, GeoEye; Eric Beranger, CEO, Astrium Services; John Hornsby, President, MDA GSI; Marcello Maranesi, CEO, e-GEOS; CEO, ImageSat International; Wolfgang Biedermann, CEO, RapidEye

“Prospects for Civil Usage of EO Data & Services” with Charles S. Baker, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Satellite & Info. Services, NOAA; Ernst Koenemann, Director of Program Development, Eumetsat; José Achache, Director of the GEO Secretariat

“Growth & Challenges of EO Usage in the Enterprise Market” with Dave Fox, CEO, Infoterra Ltd; Charles Randell, President & CEO, C-Core; Dave Morton, Managing Director, Fugro NPA

For the complete program and for regular updates for the 2nd Symposium on Earth Observation Business, check the event website www.satellite-business.com (choose Program/Symposium on EO Business).
For more detailed information please contact Julia Carré at carre@euroconsult-ec.com or + 33 1_49_23_75_28

Euroconsult: Consulting Services, Research Reports and Summits.
Euroconsult is the leading international research and analyst firm specialized in satellite applications, communications, and digital broadcasting. Our experts provide strategic consulting, comprehensive research reports, market analyses, and forecasts to support business planning and strategic decision-making. Euroconsult also organizes events to provide a forum for our clients to discuss the challenges, opportunities, and business strategies in the satellite sector. With 25 years of experience and more than 560 public and private sector clients in 50 countries, Euroconsult has assisted private and public sector actors in their mission-critical planning and analysis. For more information about Euroconsult, visit www.euroconsult-ec.com

Content for publication is welcomed and can be submitted at any time for consideration. Let us help you bring your article to the world.


Please feel free to suggest any news, study and successful cases, events, projects, blogs or other geoinformation content items that you deem relevant for our community and interested stakeholders. This will enable us to share important knowledge and expertise networking among other experts who will exchange their know-how.

EOmag is released every three months, with focus articles on members, news in depth features, achievements, progress reports on programmes, communication and partnership with organisations and events.

The distribution of the Newsletter is based on our stakeholders database (Industry and relevant Institutions worldwide interested in geo-information domain).

The Newsletter is an excellent platform for companies and organizations to communicate on actions and programmes related to geo-information.

Articles:
We would be happy to publish all relevant articles for companies/institutions (max 1000-word articles, preferably with illustrations) for the next issues of the Newsletter

Events:
In order to improve the information offered about the activities of our stakeholders, we are collecting basic data concerning all the already scheduled events. For the purpose, we kindly ask companies and institutions to
provide the following information about each event:

Start Date
End Date
Title
Web
Place – City and Country

Please send this information to EARSC secretariat always stating [Events] as the beginning of your message description at the subject box, in order to help managing and archiving. Since it is intended to keep this list as much updated as possible, please remind to inform Secretariat every time a new event is scheduled.

Optional Information:
Theme
Description
Language
E-mail contact

Should you have any queries, please do not hesitate to “secretariat-at-earsc.org”:

Many thanks in advance
EARSC secretariat

Following a Membership Campaign, the EARSC Board is glad to welcome a new Company in our Association: SES-ASTRA

On EARSC behalf, we are certain that new Members will contribute actively to the aims of EARSC enthusiastically involved in coordinating and strengthening the Earth-observation chain and promoting the European Earth observation industry in programmes such as GMES and GEOSS.

The membership increase encourage us in the Board of Directors to continue to do our best to fulfill the tasks that you as members could expect of the association. On EARSC behalf, Welcome!

More information about new member at:

SES ASTRA

SES ASTRA is the leading Direct-to-Home (DTH) satellite system in Europe. The satellite fleet currently comprises 13 ASTRA and two SIRIUS satellites. The combined satellite system delivers services to more than 122 million DTH and cable households and transmits more than 2,500 analogue and digital television and radio channels. SES ASTRA also provides satellite-based multimedia, internet and telecommunication services to enterprises, governments and their agencies. With more than 100 High Definition (HD) channels on its main orbital positions, ASTRA and SIRIUS represent the most important HDTV platform for Europe’s leading broadcasters. The prime orbital positions for ASTRA and SIRIUS are 19.2° East, 28.2° East, 23.5° East, 5° East and 31.5° East.

SES ASTRA is an SES company (Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG). SES wholly owns SES ASTRA and SES WORLD SKIES, 90% of SES SIRIUS in Europe, and participations in Ciel in Canada and QuetzSat in Mexico. SES provides outstanding satellite communications solutions via a global fleet of 41 satellites in 26 orbital locations.

For further information: www.ses.com

The EARSC BoD is set to re-launch the process to recruit a Secretary General as was announced at the AGM in June 2009. The results of the Eovox 1 study and the first findings in Eovox 2 will inform the board in its quest to find the right person for the association. Members and stakeholders are invited to promote any candidates of whom they may be aware.


The European Association of Remote Sensing Companies (EARSC), based in Brussels, is inviting applications for the position of Secretary General.

Overall, the Secretary-General will have the goal to promote awareness of the EO sector (including geo-information) and create/enable new business opportunities in particular with European and International public sector organisations. Their main Responsibilities will be to:

Responsibilities:
• Promote EARSC activities and image
• Raise awareness of EARSC, its members and the sector
• Represent EARSC towards European, National and International Institutions

Main tasks:
• Develop and maintain contacts with decision takers as well as those responsible for implementing the actions of public authorities.
• Drive EARSC events, workshops, etc.
• Run the activities of the Association including Working Groups
• Federate views amongst EARSC members and establishing commonly agreed positions.
• Write position papers on behalf of the Association

Administration:
• Organise meetings and keep official filing of Minutes of Meeting and other official documents; i.e. BoD records.
• Ensure EARSC compliance with legal obligations (AGM, VAT, accounting, etc.)

Preferably based in, or within easy reach of, Brussels, he or she will report to the EARSC Board of Directors (BoD).

Competencies and Skills:
• Established network in GMES and EO institutional community
• Capable of working independently to meet the organization objectives
• Excellent communications skills, both written and oral, in English. Any other European language is a plus.
• The applicant must have more than ten years experience in the remote sensing business as well as in Earth Observation international programs. Moreover a very good knowledge of the European Union and European Space Agency policies and programs is desired.

Deadline for expression of interest: April 30th 2010

Part time position

Applications including (Letter of Interest and candidate CV. Short list of referees is welcome) must be sent to:
Email Ref: [EARSC SG 2010]
Att. Mrs Mónica Miguel-Lago
EARSC Executive Secretary
Email: secretariat_at_earsc.org

EARSC is a non-profit-making organisation created in 1989. The mission of EARSC is to foster the development of European Geo-Information Service Industry. Our main objective is to stimulate a sustainable market for geo-information services using EO data, which is openly accessible to all members.

We all know quite well that it took many more years for the market itself to mature pushing many to forget some of their illusions on the way. However realizing that maturity and market expansion could only happen little by little in this complex domain EARSC has been sticking to its goal of helping develop the European remote sensing industry, reaching today 80 members, and being a recognized association worldwide. All the major European industrial actors of remote sensing are EARSC members and are involved in numerous ways to foster the development of the domain together with European institutions. Lately the EARSC strategy has evolved one step further to account for the geospatial information revolution of the 21st century.

EARSC is representing the European providers of geo-information services in its broadest sense creating a network between industry, decision makers and users. It is a crucial stage of maturing of the sector as nowadays Earth observation is used more frequently by society and adds positive value to our daily lives.

At the same time, an active participation from all of our members is the best guarantee that EARSC will play an important role on the European Earth observation and geo-information arena. For our members, the annual membership dues are a cost-effective way to stay informed, promote their company, political and institutional representation, networking opportunities with industry players and help to support the future of geo-information Industry: “industry stakeholders together could transform activities into meaningful action on behalf of our sector”.

Internally EARSC informs and involves its members though the website, newsletter, directorate and the organization of more numerous events. This will allow us to be more present on the European and International scene and to contribute more efficiently to the implementation of European programmes.

To get more information on EARSC membership, please contact us at

EARSC membership

EARSC membership represents the entire spectrum of the Earth Observation industry including all sector chain: providers, stakeholders and users. Membership of EARSC is currently 500 Euros per annum. For our members, the annual membership dues are a cost-effective way to stay informed, promote their company, political and institutional representation, networking opportunities with industry players and help support the future of Earth Observation. Industry together could transform activities into meaningful action on behalf of our sector

Full Members
Any commercial European company or partnership offering and undertaking consulting and contracting services or supplying equipment in the field of remote sensing which is based in a European Country which contributes to the European Space Agency or which is a member of the European Community shall be eligible for membership.

Observer Members
Companies from countries associated to European programs but not eligible for full membership. Any active representative organization, institution or association party in the field of Earth observation and not engaged in commercial or profit-making activities such as Public/Governmental Bodies, International Organisation, International Non Governmental Organisation (NGO), Private Non Profit Organisation/Foundation, Network/Association/Aggregation of Intermediaries(profit or non profit), Business Association, Universities, other?) with interest in Earth Observation.

(Source EARSC)

The Terrestrial Biosphere in the Earth System (TERRABITES) research network was created to provide a context that facilitates interdisciplinary cooperation for assessment of the Earth system. TERRABITES is funded by the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) programme, financed by the European Commission and supported by ESA.

On 9-11 February 2010 TERRABITES held its first symposium in Hamburg, Germany, gathering specialists from various Earth system science disciplines to address the future of our environment. Enhanced understanding of the latter will allow managing better natural resources by defining appropriate planning and mitigation actions.

To be able to identify and analyse long-term climatic trends and changes, it is important to have access to near-continuous data of the Earth over long periods of time, which is made possible by Earth Observation (EO) satellites. However, in order to provide better model simulations of climate and the consequences of human behaviour for climate, the various communities in this field – modellers, ecologists, Earth-observation specialists and researchers – need to collaborate and merge their research and findings.

The TERRABITES network will continue to organise symposia and workshops for the next four years to provide a platform for diverse, international communities in order to achieve mutual understanding between them for a greater understanding of the Earth system and the effect of climate change.

More information at:
www.esa.int/esaEO/SEMDXK9KF6G_index_0.html
TERRABITES: www.terrabites.net/Home.541.0.html

For the past 12 years, ESA’s Eduspace website has been a window on the world for secondary students and teachers. Now the website has been completely redesigned and updated, so that it provides an even more valuable introduction to Earth observation and its applications.

(4 March 2010) The Eduspace website was developed to introduce Earth observation techniques and applications to secondary school students, although some material is more suited to university undergraduate level. Since its introduction in 1998, it has provided an invaluable educational resource by making available catalogues of Earth imagery and a sophisticated image processing software package called LEOWorks, which enables satellite imagery to be manipulated and analysed on school computers.

For many years, the website was based upon a modular structure, which included an introduction to the principles of Earth observation, an ‘Envisat for Schools’ module and examples of Earth observation applications applied to different themes or geographical areas, such as Europe from Space, Africa from Space, Disaster Monitoring and Global Change.

New structure

The new version of Eduspace is easier to navigate and use. It also provides much more flexibility, so that additional content can easily be included in future. The current modules have been retained, but they are presented in a different way.

The section dedicated to explaining the principles and techniques of Earth observation remains an important introductory part of the website. The Envisat for Schools theme continues to provide information about the mission of ESA’s largest environmental satellite, its instruments and applications, including two case studies. However, the revised website presents the various application areas as different themes – Earth from Space and Environmental Issues – that can also be searched by geographical area.

The cornerstones of the website are the case studies. They provide teachers and students with examples of in-depth studies of a selected area, within a particular theme. The background information and varied exercises are intended to provide a valuable source of ideas about how to introduce Earth observation from space into the classroom.

This existing material will eventually be extended so that it provides general information about all of the continents.

The latest version of the LEOWorks software is able to perform many advanced processing operations, including image classification, geometric correction and pan-sharpening.

Eduspace is currently available in eight languages: English, French, German, Danish, Dutch, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese. Other language versions are planned; for example, Greek will be available shortly.

Space Basics

For those who are unfamiliar with Earth observation and remote sensing, there is now a new introductory lesson available on the Education portal. The ‘Space Basics – Earth observation’ material gives a short explanation of the main terminology used in Earth observation. It also provides classroom exercises using satellite images and Eduspace.

Source ESA

The Open Geospatial Consortium, Inc. (OGC®) announces adoption and availability of the OGC Catalogue Services Standard Extension Package for ebRIM Application Profile: Earth Observation Products, and also the related Geography Markup Language (GML) Application Schema for EO Products.

(Wayland, Mass., 5 March 2010) Together, these standards, when implemented in services, will enable more efficient data publishing and discovery for a wide range of stakeholders who provide and use data generated by satellite-borne and aerial radar, optical and atmospheric sensors. The OASIS standard ebRIM (Electronic business Registry Information Model) is the preferred cataloguing metamodel foundation for application profiles of the OpenGIS Catalogue Service Web (CS-W) Standard.

The CS-W ebRIM EO standard describes a set of interfaces, bindings and encodings to be implemented in catalog servers so that data providers can publish descriptive information (metadata) about Earth Observation data. Developers can also implement this standard as part of Web clients that will enable data users and their applications to very efficiently search and exploit these collections of Earth Observation data.

The CS-W ebRIM EO standard was developed based on requirements from the European Space Agency and partners as part of the Heterogeneous Missions Accessibility project. The Submission Team for this standard included ERDAS, Spacebel s.a. and the European Space Agency. The Geography Markup Language (GML) Application Schema for EO products was developed by the European Space Agency, the French Space Agency, the European Satellite Center, Spacebel s.a. and Spot Image.

The CS-W ebRIM EO standard and the GML Application Schema for EO products are available at http://www.opengeospatial.org/standards/cat2eoext4ebrim.

The OGC® is an international consortium of more than 390 companies, government agencies, research organizations, and universities participating in a consensus process to develop publicly available geospatial standards. OpenGIS® Standards support interoperable solutions that “geo-enable” the Web, wireless and location-based services, and mainstream IT. OGC Standards empower technology developers to make geospatial information and services accessible and useful with any application that needs to be geospatially enabled. Visit the OGC website at http://www.opengeospatial.org.