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September 10: A new launch date has been set for GOCE.

(27 May 2008). A new launch date has been set for GOCE. The change of date is due to precautionary measures taken after the malfunction of an upper-stage section of a Russian Proton launcher. Now confirmed not to affect GOCE’s Rockot launcher, the most advanced gravity mission to date is scheduled for lift-off on 10 September 2008.

As a consequence of the new launch date, the Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) satellite is currently undergoing final flight reconfiguration at ESA-ESTEC in the Netherlands. Shipment to the Plesetsk launch site in northern Russia will take place in July – from where the sleek five-metre long GOCE spacecraft will be carried into its unusually low orbit on a modified SS-19 Russian Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) launcher. The adaptation of the SS-19, called ‘Rockot’, uses the two original lower stages of the ICBM in conjunction with an upper-stage called Breeze-KM for commercial payloads.

Up until early March this year, GOCE was well on its way to being launched at the end of May. However, as a result of the failure on
15 March of a Proton Breeze-M upper-stage, all launches using Breeze were suspended pending investigations by the Russian State Commission. Although GOCE’s Breeze-KM upper-stage is different to the larger Proton Breeze-M, they do share some common elements. The investigations have led to the conclusion that it is safe to use the Breeze-KM as is, resulting in the Russian State Commission clearing GOCE for launch.

Solar-panel inspection

Since August last year, the high-tech GOCE spacecraft has been undergoing extensive testing at ESA’s test facilities in the Netherlands. The programme included a wide range of qualification tests to ensure that the satellite could withstand the rigours of launch as well as the harsh environment of space. One such series of tests was carried out in the Large Space Simulator where, under vacuum, the extreme heat of the Sun is simulated by lamps and mirrors – subjecting the satellite to 1400 W of power over each square metre of the side of the satellite that faces the Sun.

As well as being designed to fly in an orbit as low as is technically feasible to retrieve the strongest possible gravity signal, the sleek arrow-shaped satellite is ultra-stable to ensure that measurements taken are of true gravity and not influenced by any movement of the satellite. GOCE, therefore, has none of the moving parts often seen on other spacecraft. Since GOCE is designed to orbit the Earth with one side always facing the Sun, one side only is equipped with solar panels.

Due to its low altitude and inclination, once a year the GOCE satellite will experience an eclipse period of 135 days with one eclipse of up to 28 minutes per orbit. A peculiarity of orbital dynamics is that one is free to choose the eclipse period to fall either between October and February or, between April and August by launching either in the morning or in the evening of the launch day.

GOCE in orbit

Now launching in September, it is best to have the eclipses in the April to August time frame. The May launch would still have gone for the eclipse season in winter. The difference in the two configurations is that, as seen from the Sun, the satellite either flies clock- or anti-clockwise around the Earth. This has impact on the satellite configuration and some units have to be moved from one side of the satellite to the other. Thanks to the flexibility of the satellite design, this is a relatively simple operation. Therefore, modifications to accommodate this new flight configuration are about to be carried out at ESA in the Netherlands. When GOCE has been reconfigured, the spacecraft will be transported by aircraft from the Netherlands to Arkhangelsk in Russia, and from there by train to the launch site in Plesetsk for final testing.

GOCE data products

Once launched, GOCE will begin to map global variations in the gravity field with unprecedented detail and accuracy. This will result in a unique model of the geoid, which is the surface of equal gravitational potential defined by the gravity field – crucial for deriving accurate measurements of ocean circulation and sea-level change, both of which are affected by climate change. GOCE-derived data is also much needed to understand more about processes occurring inside the Earth and for use in practical applications such as surveying and levelling.

Source ESA

The European Space Agency and Astrium GmbH have signed a contract worth €263 million to provide the EarthCARE satellite, the sixth Earth Explorer mission of ESA’s Living Planet Programme. As prime contractor, Astrium GmbH is responsible for the satellite’s design, development and integration.

(27 May 2008). The contract was signed today in Berlin on the occasion of the International Aerospace Exhibition (ILA) by Volker Liebig, ESA’s Director of Earth Observation, Evert Dudok, CEO of Astrium Satellites and Uwe Minne, Director of Earth Observation and Science at Astrium GmbH (Friedrichshafen), in the presence of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, ESA Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain and Head of the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) Johann-Dietrich Wörner.

Underlining the value of this mission for a better understanding of the Earth system and climate change issues, Volker Liebig stated that “the role of aerosols in cloud formation and the interaction with radiation is not completely understood by science but plays an important role in climate and weather modelling. This is why the EarthCARE proposal was selected”.

EarthCARE, ESA’s Cloud and Aerosol mission developed in co-operation with JAXA, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, will address the need for a better understanding of the interactions between cloud, radiative and aerosol processes that play a role in climate regulation.

EarthCARE
The EarthCARE mission aims to improve the representation and understanding of the Earth’s radiative balance in climate and numerical weather forecast models by acquiring vertical profiles of clouds and aerosols, as well as the radiances at the top of the atmosphere. Aerosols control cloud properties, while clouds control the production of precipitation and convection influences stratospheric humidity. The observations of EarthCARE will therefore lead to more reliable climate predictions and better weather forecasts through the improved representation of processes involving clouds, aerosol and radiation.

The satellite will weigh about 1.7 tonnes and will be placed in a quasi-polar orbit of 97° inclination at an altitude of about 400 kilometres. Its launch is scheduled for 2013. The four instruments of the payload consist of an Atmospheric Lidar, a Broad-Band Radiometer and a Multi-Spectral Imager developed by ESA, and a Cloud Profiling Radar developed by JAXA This instrument suite has been optimised to provide co-located samples of the state of the atmosphere along the satellite flight track.

Following the successful implementation of the ERS satellites and Envisat, which address Earth science issues of a global nature, Earth Explorers are focused research missions dedicated to specific aspects of our planet’s environment carrying onboard leading-edge technologies. They focus on the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere and the Earth’s interior, with the overall emphasis on learning more about the interactions between these components and the impact that human activity is having on natural processes.

For further information:

Alain Lefebvre
EarthCARE Project Manager
ESA/ESTEC
Tel.: + 31 71 565 3588
Fax: +31 71 565 4719
e-mail: alain.lefebvre@esa.int

On 20 June, the Ocean Surface Topography Mission/Jason-2 satellite was successfully launched by NASA from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

The satellite has started a globe-circling voyage to monitor sea level, a vital indicator of global climate change.

Compared with Jason-1, Jason-2 will provide substantially more accurate data and thus will improve knowledge of global and regional sea-level changes, and enable more precise weather, ocean and climate forecasts.

Jason-2’s expected lifetime of at least three years will extend into the next decade the continuous record of these data started in 1992 by NASA and CNES, with the TOPEX/Poseidon mission.

More information on:
http://www.aviso.oceanobs.com/en/missions/future-missions/jason-2/index.html

Source GMES.Info

Since the advent of Earth observation from space, satellite missions have become central to monitoring and learning about how the Earth works, resulting in significant progress in a broad range of scientific areas.

(15 July 2008). In the mid-1990s, ESA set up its Living Planet Programme and established a new approach to satellite observations for Earth science by working in close cooperation with the scientific community to define, develop and operate focused missions.

In 2006, ESA launched a new science strategy for the future direction of its Living Planet Programme in order to address the continuing need to further our understanding of the Earth system and the impact that human activity has on it.

The strategy includes 25 key scientific challenges addressing the different elements of the Earth system. The challenges, formulated under the guidance of the Earth Science Advisory Committee (ESAC) and in consultation with the scientific community, are guiding ESA’s efforts in developing the global capacity to understand our planet.

Reinforcing these strategies as well as ESA’s scientific support to researchers and industry, ESA has launched a new element of the Earth Observation Envelope Programme (EOEP) – the Support to Science Element (STSE).

STSE is designed to provide scientific support to both future and on-going missions by taking a proactive role in the formulation of new mission concepts and providing multi-mission support to science.

Chair of ESAC, Prof. Johnny Johannessen of Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Centre said: “A strong ESA contribution to data exploitation, as planned in the STSE programme, will enhance the advances and achievements in scientific understanding of the Earth System.

“In turn, this will stimulate development of new applications that can contribute to improve quality of impact studies, nowcasting and forecasting with subsequent benefit to society.

“The continuing trend in the scientific community is towards multi-disciplinary investigation integrating data from many sources. The STSE will be an important and significant asset in this context.”

Dr Stephen Briggs, ESA’s Head of Science, Applications and Future Technologies Department, said: “The value of ESA Earth observation data to the science community is very clear. The STSE will build on the long heritage of scientific exploitation by creating stronger links between ESA and scientists working with the data, implementing a key recommendation of our Science Advisory Committee.

“These modest investments by ESA Member States will reap significant rewards in the science community.”

The programme, which will receive 25 Million Euro in funding for five years, will be implemented through four main Action Lines:

Future Mission Concepts: supporting the development of novel mission concepts and its scientific agenda, facilitating the transferring of novel or non-space technologies to innovative EO mission ideas and enhancing the scientific capacity in member countries to prepare the next generation of EO missions.
Novel Observations and Products: contributing to the development of novel and improved data observations and multi-mission based products exploiting ESA and non-ESA EO assets, exploring innovative retrieval methods and proposing new scientific uses of ESA data beyond the conventional scientific objectives and standard products of existing missions.
Support to Earth Science: stimulating and supporting scientists to improve our understanding of the Earth system by responding to the needs of key international scientific programmes and encouraging activities that will improve modelling, data assimilation and forecasting by exploiting ESA data.
Strategic Actions: contributing to the development the ESA EO science strategy, providing a fast response to key strategic scientific needs where ESA data may contribute and reinforcing the collaboration between ESA and the major scientific international programmes.

For each action line, ESA is issuing a number of Invitations to Tender (ITT) covering research and development activities in support of scientific institutions and industry in member countries.

Contracts will be placed by open competitive tender. The corresponding ITTs have been published in the ESA E-Mail Invitation To Tender System (EMITS).

To learn more about the projects and programme, visit the STSE website at www.esa.int/stse

Source ESA

Space research+ Window on GMES + FP7 Guide

Space Research – Developing applications for the benefit of the citizens” provides an overview of the projects co-financed by the European Commission in the area of Space Research and Development under the Sixth Framework Programme. Please download the full brochure here

Window on GMES illustrates the vast palette of GMES services through examples and interviews with key stakeholders. Please download the first issue, which is published by the BOSS4GMES consortium with support from the 6th Framework Programme for Research here

FP7 Guide:This guide aims at supporting the use of EU funding for the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), the Competitiveness and Innovation Programme (CIP) and the Structural Funds. It is unique in the sense that it presents in parallel the main features of the three funding instruments and helps to identify, via a checklist of simple questions and options, which of the programmes (and which sub-programme) might be suitable for applying for funding.
Please download the guide, checklist , scorecard

Source EC.EUROPE

Globalisation is both an opportunity and a threat for Europe’s SMEs, whose capacity to operate on an international level will determine their long-term competitiveness. Yet, the vast majority of European SMEs continue to limit their operations to their own country. A recent EU report seeks to identify the factors which impede, or support, the internationalisation of SMEs in Europe.

(09.07.08). Increasingly, companies are being called upon to broaden their horizons and compete on an international basis. ‘Internationalisation’ has been proven to be one of the key drivers of competitiveness and growth and, indeed, a full 63% of European Union citizens are in favour of globalisation (Flash Eurobarometer 151b). However, European SMEs have difficulties embracing this global trend and the opportunities it offers. According to a report from the European Observatory of SMEs, only 8% of SMEs in the EU export, only 12% of the inputs of an average SME are purchased abroad, and only 5% of companies obtain income from foreign business partnerships.

Concerned about the low level of internationalisation of European SMEs, the European Commission launched a BEST project, at the end of 2006, on ‘Supporting the internationalisation of SMEs’. An expert group, including high-level representatives from across the EU and associate countries, was set up to examine national and regional policies to promote more international trade by SMEs, both within the EU and outside it.

“The aim was to analyse the factors which facilitate or hinder internationalisation, to identify existing policies that encourage or support SMEs in going in this direction, and provide policy recommendations for the future,” notes the project officer from the European Commission’s Entrepreneurship Unit, Inigo Urresti.

Identifying good policy and good practice

The ‘Internationalisation of SMEs’ expert group met four times between November 2006 and December 2007 and produced two final documents, which should make a significant contribution to the definition of policies and programmes aimed at increasing the international orientation of European SMEs.

A ‘Final Report of the Expert Group on Supporting the internationalisation of SMEs’ was published in early 2008, and a good practice brochure presenting a collection of 27 national programmes, identified as providing examples of good practice in support to the internationalisation of SMEs, was distributed for the first time at the conference of the European Charter for Small Enterprises in Bled, Slovenia, in June 2008.

The final report is based on the recommendations of the experts and supported by statistical data and studies. It provides a good overview of the current situation across the EU with regard to the internationalisation of SMEs and offers an insight into the barriers that exist and how they may be overcome.

The importance of public support

“One clear message to emerge from the report, is the vital importance of public policy support,” says Urresti. “The existence of public support programmes makes a major difference. Many SMEs would not even consider going international if it were not for support received from public agencies. This makes public support not only helpful, but absolutely necessary.”

The report also identifies the need for better communication and greater clarity in the provision of support services. “There are too many different support agencies and networks, and better coordination is needed,” says Urresti. The main reported reasons for failure to move outside the national market are a lack of financial resources, and, most of all, a lack of the skills and/or people required to tackle internationalisation. “There is a need for more international entrepreneurs. In the long term this should be fostered through the national education systems,” says Urresti. “Education systems need to create entrepreneurs with the necessary language skills, international outlook and understanding of business in an international context.”

Looking to the future

The expert report recommends better coordination of policies and programmes to support internationalisation, as well as greater involvement of SMEs themselves in defining policy. It also stresses the importance of raising awareness among SMEs of the importance of extending their vision beyond national boundaries. It suggests that, whilst the national level is probably the best for the development and coordination of policies, for maximum impact they should be implemented at regional/local level. It also recommends support to networks, promotion of life-long training, and an emphasis on internationalisation rather than simply exports.

The next step for the project will be the completion of an in-depth study to identify the state of play with regard to internationalisation in European SMEs. “This should provide a clear overview of the extent of the problem, with an analysis by sector, type of activity, size of the enterprise, and so on,” says Urresti. The study is now under way and should be completed by the end of 2009.

Contact
Entrepreneurship Unit: entr-entrepreneurship@ec.europa.eu
Directorate-General for Enterprise and Industry

The EU has transformed space into a strategic policy area. The Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) initiative is among its major success stories and is reaping a wealth of environmental and social benefits, as well as stimulating space research and generating downstream commercial applications.

(17.06.08). Last year, the EU, in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA), launched the European Space Policy (ESP).

“Without the ESP, Europe could become irrelevant [in the space sector],” Commission Vice-President Günter Verheugen, responsible for Enterprise and Industry, cautioned at the launch.

The ESP affects a wide range of policy areas, including telecommunications, research and innovation, enterprise, the environment, security, and more. In fact, it is safe to say that space, despite its out-of-this world reputation, is very much a down-to-earth pursuit. Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) and the Galileo satellite navigation system are currently the policy’s two main pillars.

Eye in the sky

Half a century ago, in 1958, SCORE, the first communications satellite, was launched. In the 50 years since then, satellite telecommunications has become the most economically and socially significant space application, one which intimately affects our daily lives: modern telecommunications services, weather forecasting, earth observation, air travel, shipping, the media, the internet, global positioning, telemedicine, tele-education and video conferencing.

Over the past three decades, Europe has developed a leading position in the civilian satellite sector, deriving over half the European space sector’s revenues from the global satellite communications market.

Earth observation and monitoring are among the most crucial functions made possible by satellites. The most obvious and well-known use of observation technology is for weather forecasting, where satellites and weather stations collect data which is then interpreted by sophisticated computer modelling technology to produce a usually accurate forecast.

Smooth operators

In order to function effectively, all the multitude of complex components in earth observation and monitoring systems need to be able to function together as a harmonious whole.
Launched in 1998 as a joint EU-ESA programme, the GMES initiative seeks to provide the seamless and invisible link between all the divergent space-based and terrestrial technologies in order to maximise the value of earth observation for society and the economy.

“This major collaborative initiative focuses on promoting research and innovation in order to develop downstream environmental, security and economic services,” explains Mats Ljungqvist, the scientific officer responsible for emergency core services at the Enterprise and Industry DG.

The overarching objective of GMES services is to help improve the environmental safety and overall security of European citizens and the European economy, as well as supporting the implementation of many other EU policies. GMES monitors the state of the environment and its short, medium and long-term evolution to support policy decisions. It is also the European contribution to the worldwide Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) initiative.

Prepared for the worst… and the best

GMES’s possibilities are extensive. “There is potentially a very wide range of downstream applications,” points out Ljungqvist. The applications GMES delivers fall into three main categories: mapping, support and forecasting. Mapping covers road maps, topography, land-use patterns, risk maps for floods and forest fires, etc. Forecasting covers not only weather, but air pollution levels in cities, and the quality of marine waters.

GMES also seeks to support emergency responses to natural and human-induced disasters. An inkling of this potential was seen following the tsunami of 2004 when satellite images helped direct the relief effort.

Preview of things to come

A generation of GMES activities funded by the ESA and by the EU’s Sixth Framework Programme (FP6, 2002-06) is currently coming to an end, notes Ljungqvist. One example of this is the Union-funded PREVIEW project which has sought to develop new or enhanced information services for risk management to serve regional, national and European civil protection units.

PREVIEW has drawn on cutting-edge R&D to develop systems to help prevent, anticipate and manage different types of disasters, such as floods, forest fires, windstorms, earthquakes, landslides and man-made disasters.

“PREVIEW is an important building block of the GMES initiative and complements EU space policy in general,” observes David Hello, the project’s coordinator.

The project has focused on a number of priority areas, including new early-warning systems to better anticipate short-term risk connected to floods, landslides and other phenomenon; crisis-support services, such as fire monitoring, to allow more effective rescue operations; and the development of ‘risk maps’ for different types of hazards so as to improve prevention and preparedness measures. PREVIEW has also developed two models simulating an earthquake followed by a tsunami in the Mediterranean Sea as part of efforts to forge a Euro-Med civil protection system.

“[PREVIEW] is an important step towards developing operational GMES systems for emergency responses,” notes Hello. “Our new project, Safer, will use PREVIEW’s results to develop core emergency response services,” he said.

Under FP7 (2007-13), space is a research priority under the Co-operation programme. More than four-fifths of the €1.4 billion allocated for space will go to support the GMES initiative.
To learn more about specific space-related projects funded by the EU, check here

Source EC.EUROPA

Taking on biodiversity loss, Earth Observation is paramount, UN says


(4 June 2008). With the world’s population growing and biodiversity diminishing, Earth Observation data is becoming an increasingly important tool for achieving sustainable development.

Meeting in Bonn, the Conference of Parties (COP) of the United Nations’ Convention of Biological Diversity (UNCBD) has underlined the importance of Earth Observation satellites, such as Europe’s GMES initiative, as a means to facilitating conservation of biological diversity and sustainable development. Earth Observation data may be used for the monitoring of selected headline indicators of biodiversity loss, such as the extent of global drylands, amongst other applications.

In Bonn, a consensus emerged amongst the 7000 participants at the COP conference, who come from some 191 countries, about importance of land-cover mapping springing from Earth Observation when dealing with the issue of biodiversity.

Contact: DG ENTR, Space Research and Development Unit – entr-space-research-and-development@ec.europa.eu

See also: ESA Official Website

The Africa edition of the United Nations Environment Programme’s “Atlas of our Changing Environment” highlights how modern Earth observation systems can support action to address humanity’s growing impact on the natural environment.

Geneva, 10 June 2008 – By comparing satellite images and ground photos of specific locations taken 30 years ago and then again today, the Atlas makes it possible to truly comprehend the decade-scale changes occurring in the African environment.

UNEP has presented the Atlas, which was released on 10 June, as a contribution to the Global Earth Observation System of Systems. For more information and a link to the Atlas, you can download the full text

Storm warning system: Central America and East Africa


US plans for East Africa

GENEVA (AP), 25 June 2008 — Cell phone users in East Africa will be able to receive warnings when a storm is brewing thanks to a low-cost alert system U.S. scientists are hoping to set up in the next few years, officials said Tuesday.

The NextStorm system — a computer program that analyzes recent satellite images to predict where thunderstorms are likely to occur in the next hour — should be in place by the end of the decade, said Jacqueline Schafer of USAID told journalists in Geneva.

The U.S. development agency has already set up a similar system set to begin operating this summer in Central America together with the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NASA and local partners… Read full article on-line or download full text

Central America gets new storm alert system

COSTA RICA (Daily News), 25 June 2008 — A new system of early forecasts for storms and bad weather, with alerts every 30 minutes, will be in operation this summer in Central America and southern Mexico, the intergovernmental Group on Earth Observations announced.

The system, dubbed NextStorm, will provide short-term forecasts of powerful electrical storms or heavy rainfall likely to cause flooding. The news came while Costa Rica is still fixing up the damage in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Alma.

NextStorm represents “a major advance in putting earth observation data and other tools to work in protecting people and livelihoods in southern Mexico and throughout Central America,” GEO Secretariat director José Achache said… Read full article on-line or download full text

Source EarthObservations