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Complex ARDS transmission system to be extended with three new contracts worth around EUR 9 million

Bremen-based space and high-tech company OHB-System AG has received three new contracts for the radio transmission of high-resolution aerial reconnaissance images.

The first contract entails a high-rate data link system for the revolutionary new system AGILES UAV. OHB will be supplying a broad-band data link known as ARDS (Aerial Reconnaissance Data System). This link has been initiated as part of the German Federal Government’s Research and Technology Program and developed and readied for the market by OHB over the past few years using its own funds. Under the terms of the new contract, ARDS will be modified and qualified for AGILES UAV and assembled for system demonstration by the customer EADS Military Air Systems. “The use of ARDS for this system marks a major step in the deployment of unmanned observation and reconnaissance vehicles in Germany and Europe,” stresses Wilfried Wetjen, head of Aerial Reconnaissance Systems at OHB. In addition, ARDS is currently the only way of achieving the necessary image and information quality for reconnaissance and observation tasks without any delay.

The other two contracts aim to demonstrate the capabilities of “real-time broad-based reconnaissance” over a distance of some 400 km for the German Federal Office of Defense Technology and Procurement BWB. To this end, OHB’s own reconnaissance vehicle will be converted into an airborne relay radio station to increase the ranges from a current 250 km to the 400 km being sought. The use of an airborne radio relay ensures reliable communications between at least two stations, between which a direct link is normally not possible on account of the earth’s curvature or obstacles such as mountains.

Under the second contract awarded by BWB, OHB will be assembling aircraft equipment for testing and demonstrating real-time reconnaissance capabilities. Here as well, the ARDS high-rate data transmission system will be integrated. It will be supplemented with sensors of the type required for reconnaissance work as well as a modern data compression system, which is a proprietary OHB-System development.

In order to demonstrate real-time reconnaissance quickly, the overall system will include commercially available components which can be combined with existing subsystems. “This system will be closing a technological gap,” explains Wilfried Wetjen, “as in the future it will be possible not only to engage in military reconnaissance but also to ensure broad-based monitoring of shipping to reduce the risks caused by accidents at sea or pollution.” For OHB-System, these contracts constitute a further key milestone in its aerial monitoring and reconnaissance technology program.

Please direct any inquiries to OHB-System AG
Communication & Public Relations
Danela Sell
phone: +49 421 – 2020-620
fax: +49 421- 2020-700
mail: sell@ohb-system.de

During 2006 and 2007, NPA have added large volumes of new data to our Global Offshore Seep Database in a variety of basins across the world.

For the remainder of 2007, NPA will continue to add new data by screening several large areas, as indicated by the yellow-shaded areas in our global coverage map. The focus area will be in East Asia (Area 10), to provide 100% coverage of China and Korea waters and Arctic Russia (Area 8) with an initial focus on the prospective Laptev Sea and the North Sakhalin and Okhotsk Sea regions.

In parallel, NPA will be providing seep screening projects for on-going or planned licencing rounds. To date, NPA have compiled a number of licence-specific studies combining existing and new data,
More info at NPA

MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (TSX: MDA), a provider of essential information solutions, announced today that it will receive $2 million CAD to modernize the processing of land information requests coming from the National Land Information Service (NLIS) to Babergh District Council in Eastern England.

The NLIS modernization initiative aims to significantly decrease response time for land and property information requests to Local Authorities. As part of this initiative, Babergh District Council will enable requests coming from NLIS to be processed primarily on an electronic basis, dramatically reducing the delivery time. The project has other significant benefits in the modernization of land and property information and systems, including enhanced interfaces and mapping facilities, as well as improving the efficiency of the Land Charge Service in Babergh and speeding up the search process.

Other Local Authorities that are undergoing, or have undergone, modernization through MDA’s NLIS program in the U.K. include Slough, Liverpool, Telford & Wrekin, South Norfolk, Canterbury, Sandwell, Waveney, Bolton, Redcar and Cleveland, Bromsgrove and Stockport.
About MDA

MDA provides advanced information solutions that capture and process vast amounts of data, produce essential information, and improve the decision making and operational performance of business and government organizations worldwide.

Focused on markets and customers with strong repeat business potential, MDA delivers a broad spectrum of earth and space based information solutions, ranging from complex operational systems, to tailored information services, to electronic information products.

MDA employs more than 3,000 people in locations across the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. The Company’s common shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol TSX:MDA.
Related Websites:
www.mdacorporation.com

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements and information, which reflect the current view of MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. with respect to future events and financial performance. Any such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties and MDA’s actual results of operations could differ materially from historical results or current expectations. Additional information on these and other potential factors that could affect MDA’s financial results are detailed in documents filed from time to time with the applicable Canadian securities regulatory authorities.

The Toronto Stock Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the form or content of this release.
For more information, please contact:

Wendy Keyzer
MDA External Relations
Telephone: 604-231-2743
E-mail: wendy@mdacorporation.com

LogicaCMG hosted a roundtable forum on 8th November 2007 in London, to discuss UK involvement in GMES, a major European satellite initiative to address climate change.

LogicaCMG hosted a roundtable forum on 8th November 2007 in London, to discuss UK involvement in a major European satellite initiative to address climate change – Global Monitoring for the Environment and Security (GMES). The panel was chaired by John Higgins, Director General of Intellect, and included some renowned experts from a range of industries:

Rt Hon Michael Jack MP – the Conservative MP for Fylde and Chairman of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee.

Professor Alan O’Neill – Professor of Meteorology at Reading University and director of the National Centre for Earth Observation (NCEO).

Stuart Martin – Director of LogicaCMG’s Space and Satellite Communications business.

Professor David Crichton – consultant, author and lecturer specialising in the impact of climate change on insurance.


GMES panel

A video recording the highlights of the discussion can be viewed at this link

The video is in Windows Media Player format. If you are unable to view it, you can download Windows Media Player

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About LogicaCMG

LogicaCMG is a major international force in IT and business services. It employs around 39,000 people across 41 countries. LogicaCMG’s focus is on enabling its customers to build and maintain leadership positions using LogicaCMG’s deep industry knowledge and its track record for successful delivery. The company provides business consulting, systems integration and IT and business process outsourcing across diverse markets including telecoms and media, financial services, energy and utilities, industry, distribution and transport and the public sector. Headquartered in Europe, LogicaCMG is listed on both the London Stock Exchange and Euronext (Amsterdam) (LSE:LOG; Euronext:LOG) and traded on the Xternal List of the Nordic Exchange in Stockholm. More information

MEOS Polar system installed at Scientific Research Center of Space Hydrometeorology “Planeta” in Moscow

Kongsberg Spacetec has successfully installed a MEOS POLAR system for Scientific Research Center of Space Hydrometeorology “Planeta” (SRC “Planeta”), Moscow.

The system will a part of the EUMETSAT EARS network and supports MODIS/ SEASTAR/ FY1/ NOAA/ NPOESS receipt and processing using a 3.2 M L/X antenna with radome.

Source

Automated workflow tools for easier image processing/ New technology to find objects in images concealed by vegetation/ Support for ENVI�s new Feature Extraction Module and ENVI NITF Module enhancements/ Enhancements and additions to ENVI�s optional Zoom interface

ITT Visual Information Solutions (ITT VIS), a wholly owned subsidiary of ITT Corporation, today announced a new release of ENVI, its high performance software for processing geospatial images. The ENVI 4.4 release includes new automated workflow tools, new technology to find objects concealed by vegetation, support for a new, add-on module for extracting features from images, and enhancements to the ENVI Zoom interface, including new visualization tools and enhanced vector support.

“With the growing use of satellite and airborne imagery across a broader range of industries, it is essential that we continue to not only provide leading edge image processing technologies but also improve productivity through the automation of workflows,” said Richard Cooke, president and COO of ITT Visual Information Solutions. “ENVI 4.4 introduces new functionality that supports our long term goal to deliver best in class image processing capabilities that are also easily accessed and performed by image analysts with a wide range of experience”.

Automated workflow tools – SPEAR Tools

ENVI 4.4 improves the image processing workflow with functionality that allows image analysts to perform basic and advanced image processing routines easily and quickly. This ENVI release introduces SPEAR Tools, a robust set of wizard-based workflows that greatly reduce the number of steps it takes to get the information needed from geospatial imagery. These tools include automated processes for spatial and temporal change detection, pan-sharpening images, terrain categorization, and more.

Advanced image processing capabilities � Vegetation Suppression

ENVI 4.4 delivers more of the advanced image processing capabilities that make ENVI the choice of research and image scientists worldwide. The new Vegetation Suppression feature allows image analysts to visually remove vegetation from an image in order to see what is concealed by the vegetation, such as geologic and urban features and vehicles or other objects of interest.

ENVI add-on module support and enhancements

ENVI 4.4 provides support for the new ENVI Feature Extraction Module, an add-on module to ENVI that allows analysts to quickly, easily, and accurately find and identify features of interest in high-resolution geospatial imagery. In addition, ENVI 4.4 also supports enhancements to the ENVI Certified NITF Module and the new ENVI Certified NITF Module with TFRD. These two NITF modules support file and data formats specific to government and military applications.

ENVI optional Zoom interface enhancements

Enhancements to ENVI�s optional Zoom interface now make common vector layer tasks, such as importing, editing, and exporting, faster and more convenient. ENVI 4.4 also delivers additional visualization tools in Zoom to increase workflow efficiency and make common image processing tasks easier and more intuitive.

For more information about ENVI 4.4 and corresponding images, visit www.ittvis.com/envi/pr.

About ITT Corporation
ITT Corporation (www.itt.com) supplies advanced technology products and services in several growth markets. ITT is a global leader in the transport, treatment and control of water, wastewater and other fluids. The company plays a vital role in international security through its defense communications and electronics products; space surveillance and intelligence systems; and advanced engineering and related services. It also serves the growing leisure marine and electrical connectors markets with a wide range of products. Headquartered in White Plains, N.Y., the company generated $7.8 billion in 2006 sales.

About ITT Visual Information Solutions
ITT Visual Information Solutions (formerly Research Systems, Inc.), a wholly owned subsidiary of ITT Corporation, provides integrated software solutions that help scientists, engineers, researchers, and medical professionals turn complex data into useful information. The company�s 150,000 customers from more than 80 countries use IDL, ENVI and IAS to analyze data and imagery and deploy imaging applications. ITT Visual Information Solutions� products are used in a variety of industries, including remote sensing, engineering, earth sciences, aerospace, defense and intelligence, medical imaging, oil and gas exploration and biotechnology. Combined with a host of support services including training, consulting and technical support, ITT Visual Information Solutions offers the most complete data visualization, image analysis and image delivery solutions available.
For more information visit: www.ittvis.com.

ITT Visual Information Solutions Media Contact:
Lori Thompson, ITT Visual Information Solutions
303-402-4664
lthompson@ittvis.com
Source ITT Visual Information Solutions

Landscape Features Extraction

During the annual Joint Research Centre conference “Geomatics in support of the CAP” held at the Palacio de Congresos in Madrid (12th-14th November 2007) Gisat has presented the results of the studies focused on semi-automated extraction of Landscape Features from VHR satellite data.

Preservation of Landscape Features represents one of the main priorities of the European and national agro-environmental policy. The importance of Landscape Features for ecological stability and the impacts of the intensive agriculture production lead to the urgent need to map the current situation and to the continuous monitoring.

The approach of object-oriented fuzzy logic classification (e.g. Definiens software solutions) represents an effective way how to extract certain types of Landscape Features with the subsequent analysis of their typology, spatial distribution, size, number and other parameters.
More info at Gisat

GAF AG, an internationally active geo&information company, has completed its consultancy services including technical assistance, know&how transfer, provision of skills and experience in the fields of coral reef ecology, coral reef management, GIS, web and institutional strengthening to the headquarters of CRITC in Gedung LIPI, Cikini, Jakarta and 8 districts in Sumatra.

Works started in January 2005 and has been performed under a contract for the Coral Reef Rehabilitation and Management Program (COREMAP), Phase II.

Indonesia has 17,600 islands with 80,000 km of shorelines and is known to have the richest coral reefs in the world. The coral reefs of Indonesia serve many purposes for their adjacent coastal communities: natural barriers that protect the beach; natural barriers that are there to be modified to make boat launching less difficult; habitats for locally consumed seafood and habitats for seafood harvest and cage rearing for net income generation to the village. The coral reefs, however, are facing immense threats from human activities such as overexploitation, destructive fishing, and pollution, which have become widespread throughout the country. Using coral reef resources properly will sustain and increase their value to coastal villagers in the long term as habitats for diverse fisheries, sources of building materials, and protectors of shorelines.

Community based resource management (CBRM) is the underlying concept for COREMAP in the management of coral reefs. CRITC has supported the CBRM processes in the following sectors :

- ‘characterize’ (compiling specific local information for preparing a coral reef management plan)

- ‘design’ (providing support in preparing coral reef management plans including zoning maps, regulations and alternative income generation schemes)

- ‘Implement’ (supporting role by collaborating in public awareness and education) and

- ‘monitor’ (CRITC`s major ongoing activity as Benefit Monitoring and Evaluation using the indicators of reef health and socio&economic well&being.

Major contributions were made for the development and refinement of the ‘Coral Reef Management Information System (CRMIS), reflecting the National CRITC’s important role as the central coral reef information repository for Indonesia.

David Peters, GAF representative in Indonesia observes: “The successful completion of CRITC project is an important milestone for GAF, now providing technical assistance services to this geographic area from its new representative office in Jakarta. The CRITC project underlines the emphasis GAF is now devoting to environmental consulting in the coastal and marine domains.”

CRITC is funded by a loan from the Asian Development Bank, Manila. Works have been performed under contract to LIPI, the Indonesian Institute of Sciences by GAF AG as the lead firm in association with Coffey International Development of Australia and PT. Geosys Intipiranti of Indonesia. In total 101 person months of on&site technical assistance and consulting were provided. For more details on CRITC please visit the project website at www.coremap.or.id/tentang_critc/intro.

About COREMAP:
COREMAP (Coral Reef Rehabilitation and Management Program) began in 1998. It is a long term program with the overall objective to establish a viable, operational, and institutionalized coral reef management system in priority sites in Indonesia. It consists of three phases: Phase I: Initiation (1998& 2004), Phase II: Decentralization and Acceleration (2004&2009), Phase III: Institutionalization (2010& 2015). COREMAP is now in Phase II, with goals of establishing viable reef management systems in at least six priority participating districts in order to empower and to support coastal communities to sustainably co manage the use of coral reefs and associated ecosystem resources. The second phase expands the number of program sites to build upon the pilots tested in Phase I and focuses on promoting collaborative management partnership between communities and local governments. The COREMAP website (www.coremap.or.id/tentang_coremap/mengenal_coremap) offers further details and access to the COREMAP reef GIS.

About GAF AG:
GAF AG is an international consulting company with leading competence and expertise in applied remote sensing and spatial information systems. GAF has been active during the last 20 years in more than 100 countries throughout Europe, Africa, South&America and Asia. The company offers a comprehensive portfolio of services including the supply of geo&data (e.g. satellite and aerial imagery, digital elevation models) and geo&services (e.g. image processing, thematic mapping, GIS/DBMS applications and software development), as well as consulting, capacity building and training. GAF AG has a proven track&record in performing technical assistance projects in the natural resources and environment sector. The company’s activities are overseen by the CEO, Dr. Peter Volk.

To obtain more information, please contact:

GAF AG
Tel. +49 (0) 89 12 15 28 0
www.gaf.de
email: info@gaf.de

Astrium is writing another chapter in its space radar success story: Following the radar instruments for the ERS1/2, Envisat and Metop satellites, the company is to develop and build the latest imaging radar for an ESA satellite.

The devel-opment and delivery contract is to be signed in Friedrichshafen today by Massimo Di Laz-zaro, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Thales Alenia Space BU Observation Systems & Radar, and Uwe Minne, Director of Earth observation and Science at Astrium Germany. The European Space Agency (ESA) awarded the main contact for the Sentinel-1 satellite in February to Thales Alenia Space.

Astrium is now to supply the C-band radar for the Sentinel-1 satellite. The contract value of the entire project is €229 million, with the SAR instrument worth approximately €85 million. Sentinel-1 is one element in the GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security) programme, an initiative by the European Commission and ESA to set up a sustainable European network for recording and analysing envi-ronmental data. Sentinel-1 will help to monitor and analyse environmental events round the globe.

Weighing some 2.2 metric tons, the satellite will orbit the Earth at an altitude of 700 kilome-tres from 2011. Its orbital path will take it across the poles on each orbit, enabling the radar instrument to scan the Earth in “swaths” as it rotates beneath the satellite. Designed as a successor to the present satellites ERS and Envisat to assure continuity in radar-based Earth observation, Sentinel-1 will observe the Earth from orbit for at least seven years. In contrast to its predecessors ERS and Envisat, however, the radar instrument carried by Sentinel-1 will include improvements such as enhanced antenna performance, which in turn will ensure better data quality.

The Astrium-built C-band SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) instrument, which delivers radar images of the Earth’s surface, is the core element of the mission. By taking advantage of the satellite’s flight motion, SAR is able to simulate a considerably larger antenna than is in fact present, thus significantly increasing the image resolution. The radar on Sentinel-1 operates in the C band frequency range. The C-band radar beam, which has a wavelength of six cen-timetres, penetrates forests and scrub to reach the ground, and the C band radar registers any movements or changes on the Earth’s surface to within a centimetre.

Sentinel-1 will be equipped with an active antenna made of up 280 individual antennas, in-cluding electronic front ends (transmit/receive modules) provided by Thales Alenia Space Italy. The active antenna can be electronically directed towards a new observation terrain without having to be physically moved. Thanks to this technology, several adjacent swaths can be scanned on each overflight and later combined to form a larger overall picture.

The radar instrument can operated in four different observation modes which differ primarily in the width of the scanned corridor and the resolution of the radar images. This enables Sentinel-1 to respond to a wide range of varying requirements. In strip-map mode, strips of terrain 80 kilometres wide are scanned at a resolution of 5×5 metres. The interferometric wide-swath mode registers corridors 250 kilometres wide at a pixel size of 5×20 metres. The extra-wide swath mode provides a more extensive overview of larger expanses of terrain. In this mode, a corridor 400 kilometres wide is mapped at a resolution of 100×25 metres. The fourth mode, known as wave mode, scans 20×20 kilometre spots at a resolution of 20×5 me-tres.

Sentinel-1 has been specifically designed to cover a wide range of environmental and secu-rity tasks. Observing the melting ice masses in Greenland, for example, should provide im-portant data to help predict rises in sea levels. Sentinel-1 will also be used for the observa-tion of environmental events such as forest fires and for reconnaissance and support in criti-cal situations where up-to-the-minute data is needed at extremely short notice.

Accurate and up-to-date maps compiled from satellite data also better co-ordination of hu-manitarian relief projects and rebuilding activities after natural disasters. Sentinel-1’s sophis-ticated radar technology will be particularly useful during floods to help make reliable predic-tions of water levels and potential severity of the flooding in affected areas. To date, disaster relief organisations often rely on data from optical sensors. This can mean waiting a long time for the data, particularly when it is night or there is a lot of cloud. In situations like these, Sentinel-1’s radar technology makes it vastly superior to optical devices. Radar has numer-ous advantages over optical imagery: first, radar generates its own “illumination” which is precisely defined at all times. This is very different from optical satellite images, in which the position of the sun at any given time greatly affects the appearance of a landscape. Sec-ondly, radars operate day and night, and thirdly it is capable of delivering clearly focused images even in adverse weather conditions. This makes it possible to plan and co-ordinate protective measures much more efficiently and comprehensively.
A further application for the data from Sentinel-1 is in supporting agricultural projects. The satellite delivers information that is vital to monitoring crop growth with a view to harvesting.

Astrium has been the one of the leading provider of space radars for many years. As well as bearing the overall industrial responsibility for Envisat, ERS-1/ERS-2, TerraSAR-X and Tan-DEM-X, EADS Astrium also developed and built the SAR payloads AMI (ERS), ASAR (Envi-sat), and ASCAT (Metop).

About GMES
GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security) is a joint initiative by the EU and ESA for comprehensive Earth observation using ground- and space-based sensors, to pro-vide political decision-makers and experts with up-to-the-minute factual information on which to base all manner of decisions concerning environmental, economic, transport and security policy.
The objective of the programme is to integrate the different Earth observation and geo-science activities in Europe, on the one hand by using the existing satellite systems and the data they supply as efficiently as possible, and on other by setting up sustainable operational systems that are specifically adapted to this range of tasks. The Sentinel series of satellites is a response to the Earth observation needs of the GMES programme in Europe.

About Astrium
Astrium, a wholly owned subsidiary of EADS, is dedicated to providing civil and defence space systems and services. In 2006, Astrium had a turnover of €3.2 billion and 12,000 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 its wholly owned subsidiary Astrium Services for the development and delivery of satellite services. EADS is a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services. In 2006, EADS generated revenues of €39.4 billion and employed a workforce of more than 116, 000.
www.astrium.eads.net

Media Contacts:
Rémi Roland (Astrium FR) – Phone: +33 (0) 1 77 75 80 37
Jeremy Close (Astrium UK) – Phone: +44 (0)1 438 77 3872
Mathias Pikelj (Astrium GER) – Phone: +49 (0) 7545 8 91 23

About Thales Alenia Space
European leader in satellite systems and at the forefront of orbital infrastructures, Thales Alenia Space is a joint venture between Thales (67%) and Finmeccanica (33%). Together with Telespazio, Thales Alenia Space forms a Space Alliance between the two groups. The company is a worldwide reference in telecoms, radar and optical Earth observation, defense and security, navigation and science. With 7200 employees and 11 industrial sites, Thales Alenia Space is located in France, Italy, Spain and Belgium.
www.thalesaleniaspace.com

Thales Alenia Space Press Contact:
Florence Pontieux Tel: +33 (0)1 57 77 91 26 – florence.pontieux@thalesaleniaspace.com
Sandrine Bielecki Tel: +33 (0)4 92 92 70 94 – sandrine.bielecki@thalesaleniaspace.com
Tiziana Ebano Tel: +39 (0)6 4151 2574 – tiziana.ebano@thalesaleniaspace.com

SITEM and AURENSIS join efforts

SITEM and AURENSIS join efforts and synergies and become reinforced in Remote Sensing and GIS sectors thanks to a collaboration agreement. With the signature of this document this last October, they start a new close commercial partnership in the area of Aerial Thermography.
Source Aurensis