Japanese geo-information provider PASCO Corporation is the first
distribution partner for TerraSAR-X radar data products. After a first
agreement had already been reached in November of last year, Joerg
Herrmann, Managing Director of the German Infoterra GmbH and Yoichi
Sugimoto, President and CEO of PASCO, have now signed the official
contract, worth € 10 Mio.
the operative phase of the German radar satellite TerraSAR-X, PASCO has
not only secured the exclusive distribution rights for the Japanese
market as well as a substantial data contingent, but also the
opportunity to receive TerraSAR-X data directly from the satellite,
starting in late 2006 – as a Direct Access Partner.
and suffers from earthquakes and typhoons every year. “We have great
expectations from the capability and high resolution images of
TerraSAR-X to provide us the information and monitoring in all weather
conditions” says Yoichi Sugimoto. “Apart from the mapping and
generation of digital surface models, we will target several
applications, such as land slides, change detection, agriculture and
forestry, car navigation and others.”
such a renowned company as the exclusive distribution partner for the
Japanese market,” states Joerg Herrmann. “The great interest in such
partnerships, as well as the ambition of future partners to secure
their data access rights and contingents at such an early stage;
reassure us of the unique potentials TerraSAR-X has to offer.”
Surrounding the Earth on a polar orbit at an altitude of 514
kilometers, TerraSAR-X will be collecting new-quality X-band radar data
of the entire planet. The satellite will operate independent of weather
conditions, cloud coverage, and illumination and will be capable of
delivering data at a resolution up to 1 meter. TerraSAR-X, due to be
launched in the second quarter of 2006, is currently being developed by
EADS Astrium, while the German Aerospace Center (DLR) is preparing the
ground segment.
the purpose of pursuing the exploitation of TerraSAR-X and will be the
only commercial provider of TerraSAR-X data worldwide. Currently, the
company is preparing the global distribution of this data, scheduled to
start in late 2006, by establishing a global partner network. Infoterra
GmbH is a 100% subsidiary of EADS Astrium, the leading European
satellite company. Infoterra has a workforce of approximately 25
employees in Friedrichshafen, Germany and is part of the European
Infoterra Global Group with companies in Germany, the UK and France.
Infoterra collects and processes data obtained from Earth observation
satellites and airborne campaigns. These tailor-made information
products can be used in agriculture and forestry, urban and regional
planning, cartography and resource management. PASCO Corporation is
based in Tokyo and provides advanced and innovative aerial
photogrammetric, survey and GIS services in Japan and around the globe,
backed by 50 years of experience since 1953. The company offers a
complete range of measurement technology, ranging from airborne to
ground and even ship-borne equipments. PASCO possesses world-leading
geomatics technological capabilities, creates new business models and
develops innovative products and services for governments and
administrative agencies, corporations and individuals (http://www.pasco.co.jp/global/english/).
activities cover complete civil and military telecommunications and
Earth observation systems, science and navigation programmes, and all
spacecraft avionics and equipment. EADS Astrium, wholly owned
subsidiary of EADS
SPACE, which is dedicated to providing civil and defense space systems.
In 2003 EADS SPACE had a turnover of € 2.4 billion and 12,000 employees
in France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Spain.
defense and related services. In 2003, EADS generated revenues of €
30.1 billion and employed a workforce of more than 100,000.