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(June 2009)The German radar satellite TanDEM-X has been successfully completed by the space company Astrium in Friedrichshafen. The satellite has been developed in conjunction with the German Aerospace Centre (DLR).


  • Testing to be undertaken in Munich – Launch from Baikonur in October
  • Mapping of the Earth with innovative radar interferometer
  • High-precision digital elevation model available as of 2012

During mid June, the satellite, which is five metres long and weighs 1.3 tonnes, has been transported to Ottobrunn near Munich where has been tested at Astrium’s and IABG’s test facilities. TamDEM-X remains there until mid-September, where final checks will be conducted ahead of launch. It will then be transported to the Baikonur space centre (Kazakhstan) with lift-off aboard a Russian Dnepr launcher scheduled for October.

TanDEM-X will fly in tandem formation with the identical TerraSAR-X satellite for a period of two years, generating a digital elevation model of the Earth’s land masses. By flying in close formation at distances of just a few kilometres to 200 metres apart, both satellites form a radar interferometer. Through this process the satellites will be able to provide radar images of unprecedented quality over the coming years.

As with the TerraSAR-X ’sister mission’, the TanDEM-X project was implemented in a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) between Astrium GmbH and DLR. The PPP agreement provides TanDEM-X funding and data utilisation. Thus, the partners (DLR and Astrium) jointly financed the satellite to the total of approximately €85 million: €59 million was provided by DLR and €26 million by Astrium. Furthermore, DLR has developed the mission-relevant ground segment and is responsible for mission planning and implementation, as well as for the control of both satellites and the generation of the digital elevation model. Data exploitation for scientific purposes is coordinated by the DLR institute for high-frequency technology and radar systems. Infoterra GmbH (Friedrichshafen), a wholly owned subsidiary of Astrium, is exclusively responsible for commercial marketing.

With the aid of the tandem formation of TerraSAR-X/TanDEM-X it will be possible to completely measure the Earth’s land surface (150 million square kilometres) within a period of only three years. For a 12-metre grid (street width), height information can be determined with an accuracy of less than two metres.

The distinct advantage of satellite-based Earth measurement is the generation of a world-wide, consistent and homogeneous terrain model with no discontinuity at regional or national borders and no inhomogeneities resulting from different measurement procedures and measurement campaigns staggered in time (mosaics). The radar plays a decisive role here, since it can be operated completely independent of weather and clouds, day and night.

This mapping procedure is unparalleled and is of particular interest to the USA. TanDEM-X is a key project for demonstrating, safeguarding and extending the German competence and competitiveness in the field of satellite-based radar technology.

As of 2012, Germany will possess a digital terrain model of the Earth – an attractive and worldwide unique data product – which, in addition to many scientific application possibilities, can be used in initiatives and programmes, such as the centre for satellite-based crisis information (ZKI – Zentrum für satellitengestützte Kriseninformation), GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security) and GEOSS (Global Earth Observation System of Systems), and also in security-relevant cooperation agreements.

About TanDEM-X

The TanDEM-X project is being implemented by a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) between the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and Astrium GmbH.

The primary goal of the TanDEM-X (TerraSAR-X add-on for Digital Elevation Measurement) mission is to generate a global digital elevation model. To achieve this, two satellites – TanDEM-X and TerraSAR-X, a satellite of almost identical construction which has been in orbit since 2007 – will form the first configurable SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) interferometer in space with a separation of only a few hundred metres. A powerful ground segment which is closely interfaced with that of TerraSAR-X completes the TanDEM-X system. The satellites will fly in formation and operate in parallel for three years to cover the entire surface of the Earth.

DLR is responsible for the scientific exploitation of the TanDEM-X data as well as for planning and implementing the mission, controlling the two satellites and generating the digital elevation model. Astrium built the satellite and shares in the cost of its development and exploitation. As with TerraSAR-X, the responsibility for marketing the TanDEM-X data commercially lies in the hands of Infoterra GmbH, a subsidiary of Astrium.

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The Indian Space Research Organisation’s ocean observation mission, Oceansat 2, will be ready by August, according to Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle project director George Koshy.


“Oceansat 2 will have a device to study surface level winds that will help in predicting the sea conditions. Its ocean colour monitor is useful in identifying potential areas for fishery,” he said here on Thursday.

Earth observation satellite Cartosat 2B, would be ready for launch this year. Data from the satellite would be used for mapping and other cartographic applications, he said.

Source

The Emirates Institution for Advanced Science and Technology (EIAST) on Saturday said UAE engineers and scientists have completed the final preparations on DubaiSat-1, which is due to be launched aboard a Russian rocket on July 25.

Final tests and equipment safety preparations have been completed successfully and the UAE team is currently preparing to ship DubaiSat-1 from the factory in Korea to its launch base in Kazakhstan.

DubaiSat-1, which is a stepping stone in the UAE’s attempt to create a sound infrastructure that enables the collection of space and earth observation data for the comprehensive development of the nation, highlights the commitment of EIAST to create a knowledge-based economy.

Ahmad Al Mansouri, Director General and vice-chair of the board of directors EIAST, said: “The successful completion of the final stages of DubaiSat-1 by the team of UAE national experts including engineers and specialists working on the project, have underscored the reputation of the UAE as a key player in space research. We are glad that our youth is part of space technology research, a testament to the tremendous talent amongst UAE youngsters.”

“DubaiSat-1 will undoubtedly be a sterling addition to the UAE’s strategic accomplishments,” Al Mansouri added.

Images from DubaiSat-1 will be used for numerous applications including urban development, scientific research, telecommunications, transportation, civil engineering and mapping.

EIAST is currently focused on research in four areas: observation and fog forecast, use of satellite pictures in predicting sand storms, quality of water in the Gulf, and ways to improve the clarity of satellite pictures.

© Gulf News 2009. All rights reserved.

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GeoVille & Gisat to provide pan-European geo-referenced data sets.

Recently the European Environment Agency (EEA) has requested services through a public bid for the provision of consultancy services and the provision of licences for (existing and future) pan-European geo-referenced data sets to fulfil its mandate to provide timely, targeted, relevant and reliable information about our environment.

The datasets required will come on the one hand from the different environmental data centres, but equally important from other sources of general reference data and other thematic areas than the environment, partly coming from public administrations at different hierarchical levels as well as private organisations (as the road network data from EuroGeographics and TeleAtlas). In a public bid, GeoVille & Gisat’s data fusion offer, combined with its experience with regard to GMES service provisions for land applications, was able to convince and best meet EEA’s requirements.

Fulfilling pan-European data requirements

Being partners in the European Topic Centre on Land Use and Spatial Information (ETC LUSI), GeoVille and Gisat work with European-wide environmental data sets managed by the European Environment Agency (EEA) with a proven track record in data processing and analysing the territorial and environmental dimension of issues like urban sprawl, territorial cohesion policy, rural development or mountain areas.

GeoVille’s proposal to the EEA, which was submitted together with the Czech geoinformation company Gisat, a long-time partner in the various joint GMES activities, was mainly based on datasets which already proved their value in support of the EEA data needs. By combining several existing data sources, like transport infrastructure and high resolution layers describing, for example green urban areas, small water bodies, built-up areas including the degree of soil sealing (imperviousness), the forest layer and other – still to be defined – high resolution layers of the Land Monitoring Core Service (LMCS), GeoVille & Gisat is able to offer an innovative approach to satisfy EEA needs for timely consistent, European-wide land cover information on short term.

An important part of this work will be related to making the different data sets geometrically and thematically consistent to each other, as most of them were created independent from each other.

High resolution layers could be the bridge between European coverage and timeliness requirements and national accuracy and detail demands. The integration of such high resolution maps with additional (in-situ) information are a big step forward and will lead to further enhancement of spatial characterisation of the land as used in the EEA integrated assessment framework based on LEAC.

The following services and supplies will be provided through GeoVille & Gisat to EEA:

  • maintenance services for products currently used by EEA
  • maintenance services for data sets listed in the annexes of the INSPIRE directive
  • updates and processing of geospatial data sets
  • extension of area coverage of data sets
  • documentation of data sets, including data quality, use conditions and processing steps applied during data “manipulation” of derived data sets
  • consultancy services.

Perspective of EEA’s geospatial data needs

In the meantime, EEA and Member States need to continue discussing how to extract most useful synergies from national and European data creation activities within the context of GMES, INSPIRE and SEIS initiatives.

When working on land cover issues, we also must not forget the global activities which will have a growing impact on European efforts in the future. The GlobCorine project is a first step towards using medium resolution satellite data to create information that is – to a certain extent – compatible with CLC.

In addition, all the information already created by the EEA should not be ignored and activities doubled or repeated. The EEA has spent much time and effort e.g. on the creation of an improved database on rivers and river catchments or dams. Data from EuroGeographics, TeleAtlas or any other source should not replace these data, but should be used to improve the data content, building on the current data sets and in a way consistent to other related activities run by the EEA in the spatial data domain.

Press release

DMCii has announced the selection of 5 science projects that will receive free satellite imagery from the DMC satellite constellation.

Satellite imaging is a powerful tool for monitoring land use. It offers a valuable “eye in space” for monitoring and recording environmental change on a global basis. The winning projects cover a wide range of important topics: from monitoring changes in the Greenland Ice Sheet and the UK wetlands and forests, to pioneering new techniques for integrating satellite Earth observations with computer models to improve measurements of how the Earth’s vegetation ‘breathes’ carbon dioxide.

DMCii Managing Director David Hodgson said “At a time of significant global change we are very pleased to be able to support the research community in increasing our understanding of our changing environment.”

In December 2008, scientists were invited to compete for the opportunity to use the DMC multi-spectral satellite image data in their research projects. Applications were judged on their contribution to international environmental research by a panel of scientists chaired by Professor Alan O’Neill from the UK’s National Centre for Earth Observation (NCEO), Dr Arwyn Davies, Head of Earth Observation at the British National Space Centre (BSNC), Dr Paul Aplin (Chairman of RSPSoc and Associate Professor Nottingham University), Dr Steve Mackin, Chief Scientist DMCii and David Hodgson, Managing Director DMCii.

The successful projects are:

- Monitoring Dynamic Change in the Greenland Ice Sheet: A. Luckman (Swansea University).

- Testing Data Assimilation Schemes: JJ Settle (University of Reading), P North (University of Swansea), T Quaife (University College London).

- Assessing Seasonal Water and Restoration Status of Wetland Habitats: Dr G Smith (Specto Natura Ltd), Dr F Hughes & Dr P Stroh (Anglia Ruskin University), Dr P Aplin (University of Nottingham).

- Validation of MODIS NPP (Net Primary Productivity) Product for Tropical Areas: Dr M Cutler (University of Dundee), Prof A Cracknell, Assoc Prof AL Ibrahim, Dr K Haron.

- Monitoring of Vegetation Phenological Change and Health: Dr R
Guisa (University of Surrey), Dr R Pitman (Centre for Forestry & Climate Change (FR)).

The DMC constellation of five satellites provides a unique earth observation resource that enables daily revisit anywhere in the world. As the satellites and their respective owners (Algeria, China, Nigeria, Turkey, UK) cooperate together, the constellation can image a given geographical location frequently to identify changes or make the most of cloud-free periods. This unique combination makes the constellation highly effective for monitoring changes in land use.
The free satellite data will be provided by next generation DMC satellite UK-DMC2 which is scheduled for launch next month, July 2009.
The new satellite will enhance the DMC constellation’s ability to gather higher spatial resolution imaging (22m versus the previous 32m DMC standard) and also increase the amount of imagery that can be stored and downloaded in any given time using new satellite technology.

Spanish company, Deimos Imaging, that is also part of the DMC Consortium, is planning to offer a similar research opportunity for Spanish researchers. They intend to provide imagery for five Spanish science projects from their new Deimos-1 satellite which will be launched at the same time as UK-DMC2.

About DMC International Imaging Ltd

DMC International Imaging Ltd (DMCii) is a UK based supplier of remote sensing data products and services for international Earth Observation (EO) markets. DMCii supplies programmed and archived optical satellite imagery provided by the multi-satellite Disaster Monitoring Constellation (DMC). DMC data is now used in a wide variety of commercial and government applications including agriculture, forestry and environmental mapping.

In partnership with the British National Space Centre (BNSC) and the other DMC member nations (Algeria, China, Nigeria, Turkey and Spain), DMCii works with the International Charter: ‘Space and Major Disasters’ to provide free satellite imagery for humanitarian use in the event of major international disasters such as tsunami, hurricanes, fires and flooding.

DMCii was formed in October 2004 and is a subsidiary of Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd, the world leader in small satellite technology. SSTL designed and built the DMC with the support of the BNSC and in conjunction with the DMC member nations Algeria, China, Nigeria, Turkey and Spain.
www.dmcii.com

Notes to editor:
This press release can be downloaded from www.ballard.co.uk/dmcii

Press contacts:
Robin Wolstenholme, Ballard Communications Management
Tel: +44 (0)1306 882288
Email: r.wolstenholme@ballard.co.uk

Paul Stephens, Sales & Marketing Director, DMC International Imaging Ltd.
Tel: +44 (0)1483 804299
Email: p.stephens@dmcii.com

Events Summer 2009


Start Date End Date Event Web Venue
28-jun-09 03-jul-09 Advanced Training Course on Land Remote Sensing web Prague, Czech Republic
29-jun-09 02-jul-09 The 2009 International Conference on Computational Science and Applications (ICCSA 2009) web Yongin, Korea
29-jun-09 03-jul-09 Cognitive Processing and Representations of Place, Space, and Time web Florence, Italy
29-jun-09 10-jul-09 7th Annual Vespucci Summer Institute on Geographic Information Science web Florence, Italy
01-jul-09 02-jul-09 Mining Technology World web Johannesburg, South Africa
01-jul-09 03-jul-09 The 9th Conference on Optical 3-D Measurement Techniques web Vienna, Austria
06-jul-09 09-jul-09 Joint International Agricultural Conference web Wageningen, Netherlands
07-jul-09 07-jul-09 The MapInfo User Group for UK and Ireland web Birmingham, UK
07-jul-09 09-jul-09 GeoSpatial Africa 2009 web Johannesburg, South Africa
07-jul-09 10-jul-09 GI_Forum 2009 web Salzburg, Austria
10-jul-09 12-jul-09 State of the Map 2009 web Amsterdam, The Netherlands
11-jul-09 14-jul-09 2009 ESRI Education User Conference (EdUC) & ESRI Survey & Engineering GIS Summit & ESRI International User Conference web San Diego, California
12-jul-09 15-jul-09 ESRI Business GIS Summit web San Diego, California
13-jul-09 17-jul-09 ESRI International User Conference web San Diego, California
13-jul-09 17-jul-09 IGARSS – 2009 IEEE International Geoscience & Remote Sensing Symposium web Cape Town, South Africa
13-jul-09 17-jul-09 Sommer School and Conference for Applied Geoinformatics for Society and Environment
AGSE 2009
web Stuttgart, Germany
15-jul-09 18-jul-09 3D Modeling in Archaeology and Cultural web Trento, Italy
18-jul-09 25-jul-09 38th COSPAR Scientific Assembly web Bremen, Germany
18-jul-09 21-jul-09 Society for Conservation GIS Annual Conference web California, USA
19-jul-09 29-jul-09 IAMAS Assembly – Our Warming Planet web Montreal, Canada
20-jul-09 22-jul-09 Air Pollution 2009 web Tallin, Estonia
21-jul-09 22-jul-09 Geospatial Analysis and Intelligence for Homeland Security Workshop web Arlington, USA
21-jul-09 23-jul-09 GEO Summit – Latin America web Sao Paulo, Brasil
21-jul-09 24-jul-09 6th International Symposium on Mobile Mapping Technology – MMT2009 web Sao Paulo, Brasil
22-jul-09 25-jul-09 30th Canadian Symposium on Remote Sensing . web Lethbridge-Alberta, Canada
27-jul-09 31-jul-09 GeoWeb 2009 web Connecticut, U.S.A.
02-aug-09 06-aug-09 SPIE Optics + Photonics 2009 web San Diego, U.S.A.
04-aug-09 07-aug-09 10th South East Asian Survey Congress (SEASC ’09) web Bali, Indonesia
05-aug-09 07-aug-09 Nordic Surveyors Congress web Aalborg, Denmark
12-aug-09 14-aug-09 17th International Conference of Geoinformatics 2009 web Virginia, U.S.A.
18-aug-09 20-aug-09 Map Asia 2009 web Singapore, Singapore
24-aug-09 28-aug-09 True 3D in Cartography-ICA Symposium web Dresden, Germany
24-aug-09 28-aug-09 6th International Scientific Conference on Global Energy & Water Cycle web Melburne, Australia
27-aug-09 28-aug-09 GISCA’09 web Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
28-aug-09 29-aug-09 iGEOMAP2009, Urban Infrastructure and GeoInformatics SPIE Remote Sensing Symposium web Berlin, Germany
31-aug-09 04-sep-09 World Climate Conference-3 web Geneva, Switzerland
31-aug-09 04-sep-09 Geodesy for Planet Earth – IAG2009 web Nottingham, UK
02-sep-09 04-sep-09 6th International Symposium on LBS & TeleCartography web Dublin, Ireland
03-sep-09 04-sep-09 EFI 2009 Annual Conference web Dublin, Ireland
03-sep-09 04-sep-09 Object Extraction for 3D City Models, Road Databases web Paris, France
03-sep-09 05-sep-09 CEST 2009 web Chania, Crete, Greece
07-sep-09 09-sep-09 UK Society of Cartographers Annual Summer School web Southamton, UK
07-sep-09 10-sep-09 World Satellite Business Week web Paris, France
07-sep-09 11-sep-09 Atmospheric Science Conference web Barcelona, Spain
08-sep-09 11-sep-09 RSPSoc Annual Conference 2009 web Leicester,UK
08-sep-09 11-sep-09 United Nations/Austria/European Space Agency Symposium on Small Satellite Programmes for Sustainable Development web Graz,Austria
09-sep-09 11-sep-09 GEOITALIA 2009, VII Italian Forum of Earth Sciences web Rimini, Italy
09-sep-09 12-sep-09 The 6th International Symposium on Digital Earth (ISDE6) web Beijing, China
10-sep-09 10-sep-09 First Sympoisum on Earth Observation Business web Paris, France
10-sep-09 10-sep-09 RISK Management – International, Interdisciplinary Workshop web Berlin, Germany
13-sep-09 19-sep-09 8th International Carbon Dioxide Conference web Jena, Germany
13-sep-09 17-sep-09 GITA’s GIS for Oil & Gas Conference web Houston, Texas
14-sep-09 16-sep-09 25th Annual Air & Space Conference and Technology Exposition web National Harbor-MD, USA
16-sep-09 17-sep-09 GIS in the Rockies 2009 web CO, U.S.A.
16-sep-09 18-sep-09 Map Africa 2009 web Johannesburg, South Africa
17-sep-09 17-sep-09 First Annual Blue Marble Users Conference Event web Houston, U.S.A.
21-sep-09 23-sep-09 ESRI Health GIS Conference web Nashville, USA
21-sep-09 25-sep-09 International Workshop on Presenting Spatial Information: Granularity, Relevance and Intergration (in cojunction with COSIT ’09 web Aber Wrac’h, France
21-sep-09 25-sep-09 2009 ICES Annual Science Conference web Berlin, Germany
21-sep-09 25-sep-09 2009 EUMETSAT Meteorological Conference web Bath, UK
21-sep-09 25-sep-09 OceanObs’09 web Venice, Italy
22-sep-09 24-sep-09 InterGeo web Karlsruhe, Germany
22-sep-09 24-sep-09 AGI GeoCommunity ’09 web Stratford-upon-Avon , UK
23-sep-09 24-sep-09 Russian Forum Energy Fresh 2009 web Moscow, Russia
23-sep-09 25-sep-09 Disaster Management 2009 web New Forest, UK
23-sep-09 26-sep-09 15th Ka and Broadband Communications, Navigation anfd Earth Observation Conference web Sardinia, Italy
26-sep-09 26-sep-09 Exhibition at European Researchers Night web Frascati, Italy
28-sep-09 29-sep-09 GeoImaging, Infoterra web Oxford, UK
28-sep-09 02-oct-09 2nd Advanced Training on Ocean Remote Sensing web Bergen, Norway
29-sep-09 30-sep-09 Forth European Security Research Conference (SRC09) web Stockholm, Sweden
29-sep-09 30-sep-09 DGI Central & Eastern Europe web Prague, Cz Republic
29-sep-09 02-oct-09 GIS Defence Asia-Pacific web Singapure, Asia
01-oct-09 02-oct-09 First Euro-Atlantic Stakeholder Conference web Stockholm, Sweden
01-oct-09 01-oct-09 60th anniversary of the Council of Europe, Strasbourg web Strasbourg, France
05-oct-09 08-oct-09 IXth International Scientific and Technical Conference “From imagery to map: digital photogrammetric technologies web Attica, Greece
05-oct-09 09-oct-09 5th WMO Symposium on Data Assimilation web Melburne, Australia
05-oct-09 09-oct-09 34th Conference on Radar Meteorology web Virginia, U.S.A
06-oct-09 08-oct-09 10th Austrian Geodetic Congress web Schladming, Austria
07-oct-09 08-oct-09 Energy Solutions Expo 2009 web London, UK
07-oct-09 09-oct-09 ESRI Latin American User Conference web Bogotá, Colombia
11-oct-09 14-oct-09 Electric & Gas User Group (EGUG) Conference web Atlanta, USA
12-oct-09 16-oct-09 60th International Astronautical Congress (IAC 2009) web Daejeon, Korea
14-oct-09 16-oct-09 ESRI European User Conference web Vilnius, Lithuania
14-oct-09 17-oct-09 The 7th International Oil and Gas Exploration, Production web Jakarta, Indonesia
18-oct-09 21-oct-09 GEO INT 2009 web Texas, USA
18-oct-09 21-oct-09 Pictometry FutureView 2009 web Lake Buena Vista, Florida, U.S.A.
19-oct-09 22-oct-09 7th FIG Regional Conference web Hanoi, Vietnam
20-oct-09 23-oct-09 FOSS4G conference web Sydney, Australia
23-oct-09 25-oct-09 GEOSS Workshop XXX-Disasters Management web Kampala, Uganda
26-oct-09 30-oct-09 Africa GIS 2009 web Kampala, Uganda
01-nov-09 31-nov-09 TBD-Launch of ESA’s SMOS (Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity) mission, together with the microsatellite Proba-2 web Plesetsk, Rusia
03-nov-09 04-nov-09 2009 GIS for Oil & Gas Calgary Conference web Calgary, Canada
04-nov-09 05-nov-09 4th International Workshop on 3D Geo-Information web Ghent, Belgium
10-nov-09 12-nov-09 ACQUA ALTA web Hamburg, Germany
10-nov-09 12-nov-09 ESRI Middle East and North Africa User Conference web Manama, Bahrain
16-nov-09 19-nov-09 ASPRS/MAPPS 2009 Fall Conference web Texas, U.S.A.
18-nov-09 20-nov-09 Earth Observation and Water Cycle Science web Frascati, Italy
16-nov-09 20-nov-09 The 24th International Cartographic Conference web Santiago, Chile
25-nov-09 27-nov-09 Remote Sensing of Land Use and Land Cover web Bonn, Germany
01-nov-09 31-nov-09 TBD- Launch of ESA’s Cryosat-2 mission web Plesetsk, Russia
30-nov-09 11-dec-09 COP 15’, United Nations Climate Change Conference web Copenhagen, Denmark
01-dec-09 03-dec-09 Earth From Space -the Most Effective Solutions web Vatutinki Center, Russia
01-dec-09 04-dec-09 Pacific Island Countries GIS&RS User Conference 2009 web Suva,Fiji
02-dec-09 03-dec-09 GIN Congress/Geo-Info Xchange 2009 web Utrech,The Netherlands
02-dec-09 04-dec-09 5th gvSIG Conference “We keep growing” web Valencia,Spain
07-dec-09 08-dec-09 Web & Wireless GIS, W2GIS 2009 web Maynooth, Ireland
07-dec-09 09-dec-09 Global Space Technology Forum web Dubai, U.A.E.
16-dec-09 20-dec-09 International Congres Geotunis 2009 web Tunis, Tunisia
18-jan-10 21-jan-10 DGI web London, UK
08-mar-10 10-mar-10 GEO 2010 web Bahrain, Bahrain
16-feb-10 18-feb-10 ISU´s 14th annual International Symposium “The Public face of space” web Strasburg, France
08-mar-10 10-mar-10 GEO 2010 web Bahrain, Bahrain
20-sep-10 23-sep-10 SPIE 2010 web Toulouse, France

In April and May 2009, heavy and long lasting rainfall led to serious flooding in the north of Brazil, with several people killed and more than 300000 people displaced.


SAFER provided pre-disaster overview maps of affected regions.

on 25 May 2009, the tropical cyclone Aila hit the coast of West Bengal, thus affecting more than 3 million people and killing 80 people. Activated through the World Food Programme, SAFER provides a wide range of maps: hydrological reference maps, rapid land cover reference space maps, impact space maps, flood dynamic draw-off maps, etc.

More information is available on the SAFER project website

Source GMES.INFO

NASA and Japan released a new digital topographic map of Earth Monday that covers more of our planet than ever before.

WASHINGTON, June 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The map was produced with detailed measurements from NASA’s Terra spacecraft.

The new global digital elevation model of Earth was created from nearly 1.3 million individual stereo-pair images collected by the Japanese Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer, or ASTER, instrument aboard Terra. NASA and Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, known as METI, developed the data set. It is available online to users everywhere at no cost.

“This is the most complete, consistent global digital elevation data yet made available to the world,” said Woody Turner, ASTER program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “This unique global set of data will serve users and researchers from a wide array of disciplines that need elevation and terrain information.”

According to Mike Abrams, ASTER science team leader at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., the new topographic information will be of value throughout the Earth sciences and has many practical applications. “ASTER’s accurate topographic data will be used for engineering, energy exploration, conserving natural resources, environmental management, public works design, firefighting, recreation, geology and city planning, to name just a few areas,” Abrams said.

Previously, the most complete topographic set of data publicly available was from NASA’s Shuttle Radar Topography Mission. That mission mapped 80 percent of Earth’s landmass, between 60 degrees north latitude and 57 degrees south. The new ASTER data expands coverage to 99 percent, from 83 degrees north latitude and 83 degrees south. Each elevation measurement point in the new data is 98 feet apart.

“The ASTER data fill in many of the voids in the shuttle mission’s data, such as in very steep terrains and in some deserts,” said Michael Kobrick, Shuttle Radar Topography Mission project scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. “NASA is working to combine the ASTER data with that of the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission and other sources to produce an even better global topographic map.”

NASA and METI are jointly contributing the ASTER topographic data to the Group on Earth Observations, an international partnership headquartered at the World Meteorological Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, for use in its Global Earth Observation System of Systems. This “system of systems” is a collaborative, international effort to share and integrate Earth observation data from many different instruments and systems to help monitor and forecast global environmental changes.

NASA, METI and the U.S. Geological Survey validated the data, with support from the U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and other collaborators. The data will be distributed by NASA’s Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Earth Resources Observation and Science Data Center in Sioux Falls, S.D., and by METI’s Earth Remote Sensing Data Analysis Center in Tokyo.

ASTER is one of five Earth-observing instruments launched on Terra in December 1999. ASTER acquires images from the visible to the thermal infrared wavelength region, with spatial resolutions ranging from about 50 to 300 feet. A joint science team from the U.S. and Japan validates and calibrates the instrument and data products. The U.S. science team is located at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

For visualizations of the new ASTER topographic data, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/20090629.html

Data users can download the ASTER global digital elevation model at:
https://wist.echo.nasa.gov/~wist/api/imswelcome

and

http://www.gdem.aster.ersdac.or.jp

For more information about NASA and agency programs, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov

“Logo”: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO

More info at

Spacemart

Spatialnews

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SOURCE NASA

Boeing and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) received the first on-orbit signals from the GOES-O satellite and reported that the Earth observation satellite is healthy and operating normally, Boeing announced June 29.

GOES-O, which will monitor weather developments over the Western Hemisphere, was launched June 28 by United Launch Alliance on a Delta 4 rocket. The satellite is designed for a minimum orbit life of 10 years and will be placed in on-orbit storage.

NOAA has not yet determined if GOES-O would replace an older GOES satellite in 2010.

Source Satellite Today 06-30-09

More info at

Spacecemart

The GOES-O satellite lifted off from Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 6:51 p.m. EDT atop a Delta IV rocket. From a position about 22,300 miles above Earth, the advanced weather satellite will keep an unblinking eye on atmospheric conditions in the Eastern United States and Atlantic Ocean. The GOES-O weather satellite is on its own following a successful separation from the Delta IV second stage. The separation occurred soon after the second stage performed the final of three burns to place the GOES-O spacecraft in a transfer orbit that will eventually reach about 22,300 miles above Earth. The satellite will be checked out through a series of tests in coming weeks. The GOES-O launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., at 6:51 p.m. EDT aboard a Delta IV rocket. GOES-O is the latest weather satellite developed by NASA to aid the nation’s meteorologists and climate scientists. The acronym stands for Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite.
The spacecraft in the series provide the familiar weather pictures seen on United States television newscasts every day. The satellites are equipped with a formidable array of sensors and instruments. GOES provides nearly continuous imaging and sounding, which allows forecasters to better measure changes in atmospheric temperature and moisture distributions, hence increasing the accuracy of their forecasts. GOES environmental information is used for a host of applications, including weather monitoring and prediction models.
Source Spacemart

…4C Satimage and e-GEOS in January 2009 for the commercialization of COSMO-SkyMed synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite data in the Middle East, North Africa and South East Asia (MENASEA) region…

4C Controls Inc. and Telespazio, a Finmeccanica/Thales company, announced at the Paris-Le Bourget Air Show that, based on the principles established in the strategic alliance agreement signed by their respective affiliates 4C Satimage and e-GEOS in January 2009 for the commercialization of COSMO-SkyMed synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite data in the Middle East, North Africa and South East Asia (MENASEA) region and in order to further strengthen their alliance, they are currently in discussion to enter into a joint investment in the areas of very high resolution (50 cm) optical satellite remote sensing and other strategic operational areas.

The Gulf Satellites program, which will be funded and owned mostly by investors of the Gulf region, foresees the development and construction of two high resolution (1m) SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) satellites and a high resolution (0.5m) optical satellite.

Press release

Comunicato stampa

Source Telespazio