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The Indian Space Research Organisation will finalise details of Chandrayaan-II in six months, said Chairman G. Madhavan Nair.

Talking to reporters on the sidelines of the 58th International Astronautical Congress here, he said the ISRO would consider sending a lander-rover, which can move on the surface of the moon. The conceptual design for the project was being evolved.
As for Chandrayaan-I, the ISRO was building the spacecraft. It would carry two instruments from the United States and also payloads from European countries including Bulgaria. However, the primary missions would be carried out with six Indian instruments.

Chandrayaan-I was mostly a remote-sensing spacecraft, meant for scanning the lunar surface for minerals and water.
The next project would look at the possibility of collecting samples and analysing them on the spot. Though Chandrayaan-II was basically an Indian mission, the ISRO would consider participation by other countries case by case if they showed interest in it.
Asked whether India had plans to participate in the International Space Station, Mr. Nair said, “We don’t have a meaningful proposal to conduct any experiment”.

On the proposed 60 ISRO missions, he said a series of communication and earth observation satellites including Oceansat and the radar imaging satellite had been lined up to meet national needs.

The capacity of the communication satellite was proposed to be increased from 200 to 500 transponders. This would require 10 missions to complete.

Also planned were 10-12 earth observation satellites and another 10 communication satellites. The GSLV Mark-III would be operational in two years.

European Space Imaging are seeking to recruit an experienced, proactive and reliable performer to fill the position of a Sales Manager.

European Space Imaging is Europe’s most successful provider of global high resolution satellite imagery based in Munich, Germany. Since its establishment in 2002, European Space Imaging has consistently shown extraordinary growth and is now selling its IKONOS and Orbview-3 image products to customers in Europe, Russia, CIS countries and North Africa. European Space Imaging sells products through authorized resellers as well as to direct key accounts. European Space Imaging is the European Regional Affiliate of GeoEye, USA. Our European technology partners are the German Aerospace Center DLR and GAF AG.
Facilitating our growth we are seeking to recruit an experienced, proactive and reliable performer to fill the position of a

Sales Manager (M/F)

The position is based in Munich, Germany and reports to the Director Sales and Marketing.

Your tasks and responsibilities include:

  • Sell data products through reseller network and to key customers
  • Support, evaluate and expand reseller network
  • Manage internal and external sales processes
  • Develop and manage country and individual sales plans
  • Prepare non-standard offers and proposals
  • Conduct technical product presentations
  • Support reseller network to ensure our partners are equipped with the necessary product knowledge and tools
  • Prospecting new sales opportunities
  • Maintain and expand all customer relationships after the initial sales success
  • Initiate joint marketing activities internally and externally
  • Assist marketing with its efforts to gain customer insight for the purpose of developing new products and campaigns

Your profile is:

  • 3+ years of success in direct and indirect sales environments (preferably in the field of remote sensing/GIS)
  • University degree in geomatics or economics
  • Ability to generate and manage sales accounts directly and indirectly
  • Excellent technical understanding
  • Excellent verbal and written communication, comprehension and presentation skills
  • Excellent command (oral and written) of English (native speakers will be given prior consideration); very good command of French, Italian, Spanish or Russian is a plus.
  • Ability to travel within Europe and North Africa

This is a perfect opportunity to take ownership of a role and become an essential part of a dynamic and growing organization. Interested in pursuing this opportunity? We look forward to receiving your letter and curriculum vitae in English via e-mail with the subject title: Sales Manager

European scientists are making a wealth of satellite-derived data on water quality easily accessible.

Users can map specific areas in near real-time, and use the results to get the “bigger picture” of water quality that is easily missed by spot sampling programmes.

A scientist leans over the edge of her boat and hoists in the last sampling jar. She closes the lid and packs it into a crate with all the others. Later, the laboratory will declare the area clear of contamination, but just a kilometre away, an undetected toxic algal bloom is spreading.
“Spot sampling is most accurate for monitoring water quality, but it can miss the big picture,” says Dr Frank Fell, director of the small German IT company Informus. “Samples from a river mouth do not tell you about the quality of water a kilometre out to sea, nor ten kilometres along the coast. That’s when you need satellite data, which can image water quality over an entire area.”
Fortunately, even though satellites cost millions to build and send into space, it is relatively cheap to tap into their resources. The data from several earth observation and weather satellites are available online for public use.

Tapping into the data

“Back in 2000, we realised that useful earth observation data was available and could really help environmental agencies to monitor water quality,” Dr Fell says. “But it was technically difficult to get hold of the information, which came from different space agencies in different formats. So we formed a research project to develop a simple online tool that non-experts could use to access archived or near real-time satellite data for specific geographical areas.”

The SISCAL service is the result of four years of EU-funded collaboration between European universities, environmental research institutes and public agencies responsible for water quality in Denmark, Norway, Germany and Israel. It combines internet, data processing and storage technologies with geographic information systems (GIS).

SISCAL’s customers can use the system to access and visualise water quality information for a specific geographic location. Water quality indicators including sea surface temperature, chlorophyll-a concentration and sediment concentrations.
An important aspect of SISCAL service which differentiates it from similar products is its customisation: users can incorporate their local knowledge of the eco-system into the data processing and analysis.

“The data coming from the space agencies is processed using global algorithms,” explains Dr Fell, “but these are not always appropriate for smaller, localised geographic areas. We tailor SISCAL for each user and incorporate local algorithms that make the satellite data more accurate for each area under observation. SISCAL also renders the satellite data and combines it with the user’s own data archive to make it available for GIS software.”

Big clients

SISCAL currently has three clients: two are in Israel (the Ministry of the Environment and the Israel Water Commission) and one in Australia (a private desalination facility). These clients are using the tool to complement their existing in situ sampling networks. For example, flooding on the Nile may push large plumes of sediment along the Levantine coast, but the satellite images provide advanced warning, so that Israel’s coastal desalination plants can protect their filters from clogging.

SISCAL is also providing Israel’s electricity companies with a much better idea of marine temperatures so that they can adjust their generating output according to the temperature of the sea, which is used as cooling water.

The Water Commission is using SISCAL to monitor water quality (especially the duration and extent of algal blooms), particularly on Lake Kinneret. The tool helps to optimise the positioning and procedures for the in situ monitoring systems.

“We developed some local algorithms for the Water Commission,” says Dr Fell. “The operational product from the satellites was out of range when applied to just the lake, but we derived some simple algorithms that made it possible to apply earth observation to this lake.”

But why so much interest from clients outside of Europe?

Dr Fell explains that SISCAL is ideal for the export market.

“European environmental agencies have invested huge amounts on vast, effective in situ monitoring networks to comply with legislation, such as the Water Framework Directive. They are meeting their legal obligations and mostly do not have the resources to purchase the additional benefits of SISCAL. But outside Europe, where in situ monitoring is much less extensive, people are willing to invest. SISCAL perfectly complements and enhances their spot sampling networks. In fact, earth observation may even be the only reliable source of information available.”

Dr Fell is confident that more SISCAL clients, perhaps some from within Europe, will come on board as the benefits of earth observation in this field become more recognised.

“We have an operational system that has been running smoothly for four years,” he says. “SISCAL is providing users with a customised system and near real-time satellite data. Earth observation of the marine eco-system is feasible and fruitful.”

Source: ICT Results

GeoEye-1 satellite

GeoEye, Inc., a leading producer of satellite and aerial imagery and geospatial information, today announced that it has successfully secured approximately US$ 270 million of launch and first-year on-orbit insurance for its next-generation GeoEye-1 satellite.

This insurance was obtained at a premium rate that was less than previously anticipated. The launch of GeoEye-1 is slated for late first quarter or early second quarter 2008 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

In addition, the Company has received US$ 40 million of insurance proceeds resulting from the loss of its OrbView-3 imaging satellite earlier this year. The payment represents the full amount of the insurance claim and will be recorded as a gain in GeoEye’s third quarter financial results.

Willis Inspace acted as broker for both transactions.

In conjunction with GeoEye’s loan covenants, the company is required to offer to redeem up to US$ 40 million of its Senior Secured Floating Rate Notes due 2012 at par value, including accrued and unpaid interest. To the extent the full amount of the proceeds is not used to repurchase the notes, GeoEye would retain the cash for general corporate purposes.

“The successful placement of launch and on-orbit insurance represents the completion of a significant milestone in the GeoEye-1 satellite program,” said Henry Dubois, GeoEye’s chief financial officer. “This placement represents a significant milestone on the path to launching GeoEye-1. We are grateful to Willis Inspace for their efforts in helping us reach a successful conclusion for both of these important transactions.”

GeoEye is nearing completion of integration and testing of its next-generation commercial satellite imaging system, GeoEye-1. The satellite is being built by General Dynamics/Advanced Information Systems in Gilbert, Ariz. Once operational, the satellite will be able to discern objects on the ground 16 inches in size or larger. More importantly, the satellite will be able to locate an object that size to within about nine feet of its true location on the surface of the globe. Imagery from GeoEye-1 will be in colour or in black and white. GeoEye-1 will be the world’s highest resolution commercial Earth imaging satellite and no other commercial imaging company will be able to match this capability.

About GeoEye

GeoEye is the premier provider of geospatial information, imagery and solutions for the national security community, strategic partners, resellers and commercial customers to help them better map, measure and monitor the world. GeoEye operates a constellation of Earth imaging satellites, mapping aircraft and has an international network of ground stations, a robust imagery archive, and advanced geospatial imagery processing capabilities. GeoEye-1 will be the world’s highest resolution and most accurate commercial imaging satellite. GeoEye provides support to academic institutions and non-governmental organisations through the GeoEye Foundation. Headquartered in Dulles, Virginia, GeoEye maintains a comprehensive Quality Management System (QMS), and has achieved company-wide ISO accreditation.

(source: GeoEye)

ISU’s 12th Annual Symposium

ISU’s 12th Annual Symposium, addressing the question of how space can help top tackle Earth’s global challenges in the 21st century, will be held from Wednesday 20th to Friday 22nd February 2008 in Strasbourg. A summary of the scope is provided below and further details appear at the ISU website.

In each academic year the International Space University (ISU) organizes a three-day symposium at its Central Campus in Strasbourg on a topical theme. Our previous symposia have addressed subjects as diverse as commercialization of the International Space Station, small satellite design and applications, and future navigation systems. At our 10th Annual Symposium in late 2005, we posed the set of questions ‘Space Exploration: Who, What, When, Where, Why?’ since exploration of the solar system had become, by then, the most exciting topic on the space agenda. Building on the success of that event, our most recent symposium in early 2007 took the title ‘Why the Moon?’ and focused attention on our nearest neighbor recognizing the central role it occupies in the program plans of the main space-faring nations.

Our 12 th Annual Symposium in early 2008, proclaimed by the United Nations as The International Year of Planet Earth, will emphasize the benefits of the space program for society. This time we are asking the question ‘How can space address Earth’s global challenges in the 21st century?’. In this context ‘space’ can be interpreted in a wide sense encompassing observations of our home planet and more distant worlds by human and robotic missions as well as the technologies developed in support of these programs.

As for Earth’s global challenges, we think first of areas where knowledge and technology gained from space are most directly transferable in addressing issues such as climate change and environmental degradation, or impending energy crises and resource depletion. But there are many other potential problems facing our planet, even threatening the very survival of our civilization, if we look at the darker prophecies of scientists such as Lord Rees (‘Our Final Century’) or James Lovelock (‘The Revenge of Gaia’). On the other hand, a more positive view of our future prospects can be found in recent books by William Burroughs (‘The Survival Imperative: Using Space to Protect Earth’) and by Charles Cockell (‘Space on Earth: Saving our World by Seeking Others’).

Professor Cockell, himself an alumnus of ISU’s Summer Session Program, makes the point that “Many environmentalists think going into space detracts from solving problems here on Earth. Many astrophysicists feel environmentalism hampers their exploration and settlement of space. Actually environmentalism and space exploration have one and the same objective: to ensure humanity has a home”. He calls for a fusion of the two movements as the only way forward – and it is that theme that we want to explore at our 12th Annual Symposium. Our objective is to attract members of both the environmental and space communities which, though sometimes seen as being at cross purposes, may well offer different yet complementary solutions to global challenges that we all face.

The purpose of this information day is to introduce the concept and the content of an Integrated Application Promotion programme (IAP) and to describe the procedure that ESA will follow to implement the preparation of the IAP.

Date: January 15, 2008
Location: ESTEC, Newton

Objectives

  • Presentation of and consultation on the new ESA, Integrated Application Promotion (IAP) initiative
  • Offer platform/forum for interaction/dialog on integrated applications

Target audience

space and non-space industry, service providers, institutions, etc.

Subject

ESA Integrated Applications Promotion (IAP) initiative:
The purpose of this information day is to introduce the concept and the content of an Integrated Application Promotion programme (IAP) and to describe the procedure that ESA will follow to implement the preparation of the IAP. The aim of this initiative is to promote the development of Integrated Applications using a combination of space capabilities and delivering new services to citizens.

In this context, an “Integrated Application” for a particular user group is a user-driven service delivering, on a routine basis, high quality and innovative information products, generated through the combined utilisation of space and non-space technologies. Routine services require sustainability which necessitates partners able to take over responsibility for delivering the service beyond the promotion phase. Then partners of ESA must be identified as early as possible in the overall process.

Initial consultations with potential user organisations and with ESA Programme Directorates have led to the identification of a number of Themes as possible early candidates to take part in the IAP. Some of these themes are completely new (e.g. flight safety in relation to bird migration). Others will be based on existing projects and expand their scope (e.g. the MARISS maritime security project developed within the context of a GMES service). The Themes under current consideration can be broadly categorised as “Space for Safety”, “Space for Health”, “Space for Energy”, and “Space for Development”. The process includes the following objectives

Promote new applications based on the integration of data generated by several systems, space based and non-space based.

Set up a systematic transversal approach in order to integrate various space assets for a dedicated solution to address challenges in e.g. safety, health, natural resources, etc. Additionally, to address the cross links between “Climate and Health”, “Climate and Energy” etc.

Develop a user-driven approach and new partnership for the development of new services and information system (incubator of new services).

Promote the awareness of the space capability for new user communities and establish new partnership models.

GEO Ministerial Summit

The GEO Ministerial Summit will be held on 30th November 2007 in Cape Town, South Africa. Venue information sheet.

The Summit will allow to:

  • Report to Ministers on the early progress made in the implementation of the GEOSS and against the GEO 10-Year Implementation Plan ;
  • Bring emerging priorities to the attention of the Ministers;
  • Engage the commitment of Ministers to endorse The Declaration of Cape Town

The European Space Agency’s (ESA) has given the go ahead to its new generation of Earth Observation (EO) satellites as part of Europe’s Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) programme.

Dubbed Sentinel-1, the satellite will be the first of five Earth observation satellites to monitor changes in the Earth’s oceans, land, weather and climate.

Mr Volker Liebig, ESA’s Director of Earth Observation Programmes, said Sentinel-1 will eventually benefit ‘environmental monitoring, sustainable development and resource management’.

GMES is the next logical step in the development of operational services under the European Commission to provide Europe with the environmental data to support political decisions as a global player, with particular emphasis on the issue of climate change,’ he added.

Sentinel-1 missions will focus on continuing the existing services exploiting EO data and satisfying user requirements derived from GMES applications.

The satellite is expected to be launched in 2011 and will be equipped with a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) system, used to generate detailed radar images. By using radar, the satellite will have the capacity to make images at any time of the day or night, regardless of the Sun’s illumination.

The Sentinel-1 spacecraft is expected to weigh around 2,200 kilogrammes at launch and image the Earth in swathes of 250 kilometres in diameter with a ground resolution of five metres.

Sentinel-2 and 3 satellites, scheduled for launch in 2012, will support land and ocean monitoring, while Sentinel-4 and 5 will be dedicated to meteorology and climatology through atmospheric chemistry.

CPA For more information, please visit: http://www.gmes.info

Image Information Mining

The Conference will be followed on March 6, 2008 by a
“Panel on Information Mining from images, geo-information and text”.

Conference Details

Details are available at http://earth.esa.int/rtd/Events/ESA-EUSC_2008.

Participation to conference and panel is free of charge up toavailable seats.

Interested participants shall register within February 1, 2008,
sending an e-mail to “Patrizia“mailto:Farroni@esa.int.

The Conference is scientifically sponsored by IEEE GRSS.
ESA will publish related “Workshop Proceedings”.

Contributors are encouraged to make their interactive presentations, since only articles presented at the Conference will be published.

Important Dates

Extensive abstract, with indication if it is for interactive presentation or poster session, via e-mail to mihai.datcu@dlr.de, copy Sergio.Delia@esa.int, subject: IIM ESA-EUSC 2008) by October 15, 2007.

Notification of acceptance (and format for article submission)
will be provided to authors by November 15, 2007

A limited number of demonstrations can be accepted:
demonstration description and resource requirements
shall be provided by e-mail to Sergio.Delia@esa.int
(subject: IIM ESA-EUSC 2008) within February 15, 2008.

Full articles and presentations by February 15, 2008.

Conference Topics

Presentations should focus on theory and applications leading to
more automation in geospatial information extraction and understanding from optical and SAR EO images and heterogeneous sources:

  • Automatic image pre-processing (geo-referencing, ortho-rectification, radiometric calibration, etc.)
  • Challenges for metre resolution optical and SAR EO images
  • Geospatial Intelligence: synergies across images, maps and geo information
  • Models, semantics and spatial syntax for image understanding
  • Information mining from heterogeneous sources
  • Human-machine communication for spatial reasoning
  • Knowledge discovery and sharing
  • Scenarios and constraints in Environment, Security and Intelligence applications
  • System architectures for geospatial information processing

The “Panel on Information Mining from images, geo-information and text” will include topics like (final list will be made available with the programme):

  • Tools
  • Use of KIM (interactive information discovery from images)
  • Use of KEO (component-based processing environment)
  • Image understanding
  • Speaking Images: Intelligence and Semantics
  • Understanding high resolution SAR images
  • Image Information Mining
  • Automatic classification strategies
  • Change detection
  • Mining Time Series
  • Heterogeneous information sources
  • Knowledge from Web content
  • Visualisation of geo information

IIMCG

The event is the fifth in the series jointly organised by ESA and EUSC (see the last one at http://earth.esa.int/rtd/Events/ESA-EUSC_2006).

It is promoted by the European Image Information Mining Coordination Group (IIMCG), initiated by:

  • ASI, Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
  • CNES, Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales
  • CNR, Consiglio Nazionale Delle Ricerche
  • DLR, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt
  • EC-IST, European Commission – Information Society Technology
  • ESA, European Space Agency
  • ETHZ, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich
  • EUSC, European Union Satellite Centre

An extended to:

EARSC, European Association of Remote Sensing Companies

Emirates Institution for Advanced Science and Technology (EIAST), a Dubai government organization which aims to create the platform for scientific development and technological research in the UAE, has unveiled the various phases in the execution of its first satellite project, DubaiSat-1, in a press conference held today.

DubaiSat-1, which will be launched in 2008, aims to position the Emirates among the advanced nations in the world in science and technology development through the application of global best practices and cooperation with the world’s leading experts in the field. EIAST has already created a number of international agreements to collaborate with international industrial and research bodies in joint projects.

Ahmed Obaid Al Mansoori, Director General of EIAST, said: ‘as the UAE continues to develop on all accounts, there is a definite need for an accurate multipurpose information system. DubaiSat-1 will support the infrastructural development by providing information that is central for the decision making process affecting the urban and rural planning as well as transport, utilities, and mapping, in addition to environmental applications such as monitoring pollution and detecting oil spills.

‘DubaiSat-1 will also help manage natural disasters and promote research and development, space science and other scientific disciplines.

This pioneering satellite project consists of three phases over a three-year period. The first phase started in 2006 and saw the institution develop the strategies, budget, administrative structure, and the necessary staff. In fact, a group of young specialized and internationally experienced national engineers were selected to train and work in internationally reputed Satrec Initiative where they take part in the design and production of the satellite. The team will also be involved in the management of the various educational centers including the Earth Observation Centre (EOC) and the Spatial Information Centre (SIC).

Salem Al Marri, Acting Project Manager, DubaiSat-1 said: ‘the national team is currently positioned in South Korean-based company, Satrec Initiative, which provides the most effective and integrated solutions for earth observation missions and applications. EIAST agreement with Satrec Initiative is essentially related to the company’s long standing as a specialist in the production of small satellite solutions and technology transfer which in turn support scientific research’.

EIAST officials mentioned that the second phase covering this year includes the design and development of the prototypes for the equipment and tools of the satellite, and mounting them on the satellite on an experimental basis, and contracting the launching company, Moscow-based International Space Company (ISC) Kosmotras. Al Mansoori confirmed that EIAST has selected the Russian company based on its technological capacities and the convenience of the time slot offered which coincides with the institution’s set deadline. During this phase and by the end of 2007, EIAST aims at completing the setting up of the earth station.

The last phase next year will cover the final testing of the satellite with all its equipment and specifications in actual space conditions and its performance as an integrated system. This will be followed by the actual launch of the satellite in the space in 2008.

DubaiSat-1 will be of crucial significance for the education in the UAE as it will strengthen scientific research on an unprecedented scale. The Graduate Institute for Scientific Research (GISR), a futuristic affiliate of the institution, will initiate specialized educational and training programs.