Skip to content

Japan Space Systems is a non-profit, general foundation corporation, and we were formed after the merger of 3 non-profit R&D organizations related to space under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI).

Mr Hisanobu Takayama, could you tell us a bit about the history of J-Spacesystems; how your organisation started and what is your mission and how does it fit with other entities in Japan taking care of the industry sector which delivers commercial services based on EO data?

Japan Space Systems is a non-profit, general foundation corporation, and we were formed after the merger of 3 non-profit R&D organizations related to space under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). They are Institute for Unmanned Space Experiment Free Flyer (USEF), Japan Resources Observation Systems & Space Utilization Organization (JAROS), and Earth Remote Sensing Data Analysis Centre (ERSDAC), and in 2012, they merged together to newly start activities as Japan Space Systems. The aim of J-spacesystems is to promote the utilization of space systems and technologies to contribute to the expansion of national economy and support industry development. Due to our close relationship with METI, we are very much industry-focussed meaning that our projects are aimed to benefit the industry instead of pure academic or scientific purposes.

Part of our budget comes from the financial support of our 42 member companies, which consist of major players in Japan from aerospace, EO data analysis, heavy equipment, oil & gas, and mineral resources sectors. We work closely with them to foster technology development within the industry through joint design projects and basic research, as well as exchange of staff between J-spacesystems and the member companies.

We have strong expertise in EO data application, particularly in areas of mineral exploration, environmental monitoring, disaster response & management, and land management, and have conducted numerous feasibility studies. In line with the current global trend of EO downstream, we are putting more and more emphasis on commercial EO data applications. We are looking to strengthen our collaboration with non-space industries and engage new players to contribute to the “industrialization of EO data” through new business creation.

Can you describe briefly the main services J-spacesystems provides and J-spacesystems involvement with the Japanese EO industry? What has been the greatest challenge encountered by your organisation?

Our services consists of 3 main pillars – 1) technology development, 2) human resources development and capacity building, and 3) market analysis and policy advice.

We perform R&D, conceptual design, feasibility studies, and technology developments in the areas of small satellite missions and bus development, launch systems, satellite operations and ground facilities, remote-sensing technologies and data applications. Some of our main projects and systems that we developed together with the industry includes the Earth-observation payload ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer), which is on-board NASA’s Terra satellite, high-performance small satellite bus ASNARO (Advanced Satellite with New System Architecture for Observation).

We also offer training and capacity building for developing countries in remote-sensing, particularly for data processing and information mining from images. Over the years, we have conducted capacity building programs in over 50 countries in Europe, Africa, South East Asia and South America.

Lastly, we conduct market analysis on behalf of METI and the National Space Policy Secretariat of the Japanese Cabinet Office (CAO) to examine trends and needs with respect to EO data in emerging countries. In the recent years, we have strengthened our ties with CAO to offer policy analysis and advice to support shaping up Japan’s space policy initiatives.

Contrasting Japan and Europe probably there are different approaches shaped by the different market conditions. How do the Japanese EO data suppliers invest in new opportunities?

Indeed, traditional EO data companies in Japan didn’t view satellite imagery as a data commodity, and remained focussed on government contracts and overseas development projects. Thus, their business and investment are somewhat already established. On the other hand, we, J-spacesystems, are looking to move away from conventional business model, and bring in the interests of the wider user communities into the EO domain. To bring this vision into fruition, we launched our online business creation platform Space Business Court to create new business opportunities and investments by engaging entities from a wide range of non-space sectors.

In November 2016, EARSC and JSS signed a memorandum of understanding to develop synergies and strengthen cooperation in business, research and technology between Europe and Japan in the utilisation EO technology. What are your expectations and how do you judge the first steps which have been taken?

I feel that previously, Europe and Japan just didn’t know about each other, particularly about each other’s industry, their current status and capabilities. The line of communication really didn’t exist before. With that in mind, I believe improving the understanding of each other has been an important outcome of the partnership between EARSC and JSS so far. We have already had several information exchange and workshops which have been extremely valuable in gaining better insights into the current status and issues in Europe and Japan, and I feel that the partnership is off to a good start. Having said that, I do feel that it’s vital that we maintain this momentum, and we have to work together to facilitate greater collaboration between European and Japanese companies, where both sides complement their strengths and weaknesses to create new businesses. Japan has a very strong IT industry with many energetic start-ups in AI, IoT and Machine-learning, as well as established players, and I would like to see more collaborations between them and the European players.


Signature of the Memorandum of Understanding by Chetan Pradhan, Chairman of the Board of Directors of EARSC and Yoshiharu Kunogi, J-spacesystems President of the Board of Executives in Brussels on 23 November 2016.

The EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation acts as an intermediary support organisation to support activities between the JSS and EARSC as part of its objective to facilitate EU-Japan industrial cooperation under its Space.Japan project. Could you explain more concretely how they (can) support this collaboration?

The EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation has a solid experience in promoting EU-Japan industrial and innovation cooperation in Earth-observation and other space-related industries through organising numerous events to facilitate company partnerships, B2B matchmaking, networking and industry liaison. To give some concrete examples;

  1. Space.Japan project to support EU SMEs in Aerospace to search for business / R&D cooperation with Japan (the first partnering mission was organized in March 2015 in Tokyo, involving EARSC and 14 other EU SMEs).
  2. First EU-Japan Space Forum in Tokyo in October 2014, bringing together stakeholders and industries to discuss future cooperation, along the EU-Japan Space Policy Dialogue.
  3. Annual EU-Japan Business Round-table, consisting of major aerospace companies such as Airbus, Arianespace, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
  4. Japan partner for Enterprise Europe Network (EEN), a dedicated B2B partner search database.

Therefore, we feel that EU-Japan Centre has various ‘practical tools’ to facilitate company collaborations, and their role is absolutely vital to ensure the success of the partnership between EARSC and JSS.

EARSC together with 3 member companies – Airbus D&S, GMV and e-GEOS participated in the S-NET 4th Sectorial Meeting “EO Data Platform” in Tokyo on 15 February. The event showed growing interest in Japan for consolidating EO and IT. The following day, JSS organised the first EARSC-JSS Joint EO & IT Seminar to give an opportunity for the two industries to come together and exchange ideas from fresh perspectives. How can we together ensure a EU/Japan industry collaboration on a sustainable and long-term basis?

I think it’s important for EARSC and JSS to maintain the enthusiasm from both sides through regular exchange of information, and more importantly, organise events that capture the needs and interests of the industry. The 2 workshops in February indicated that the hint to new business opportunities lies with Japan’s energetic IT sector to our European audience, and I believe this is kind of topics that JSS and EARSC need to discuss and disseminate to assist creation of new business ventures. JSS is planning to organise a large-scale space symposium in Sept 2017 focusing on the industry and new business opportunities. The symposium held in Sept 2016 enjoyed over 200 attendants, and we also have several other events in the pipeline focused on the industrialization of EO data. We hope that these events will support industry collaboration between Europe and Japan, and set the scene for more concrete framework to be put in place in the near future.

The link between EO and IT seems to be an important topic in both Japan and Europe. How do Japanese policy makers and companies foresee synergies between the two sectors?

In November 2016, JSS contracted MM Research Institution to estimate the market potential of “EO & IT”, which found it to be staggering €2.8 Bn (350 Bn yen) already in 2016, and it’s expected to grow to €6.4 Bn or 16 Bn by 2030 with CAGR of 5.2 and 11.8% respectively. This is a staggering projection, and it has quickly attracted large interests from both the Japanese government and the industry. Thus, the key government ministries and agencies are very supportive and hopeful about the potential synergies between the two industries.

Could you explain to our reader what the Space Business Court is? How it is intended to support industry?
Space Business Court (SBC) is an online business creation platform fully funded by JSS. The aim is to become a one-stop shop to foster new business creation using EO data application as well as other areas of space such as GNSS and space hardware and software. SBC is for entrepreneurs and companies in Japan as well as overseas looking to start new business in space, and we intend to offer support right from the initial idea phase to actual business implementation. SBC is a completely free service and it’s equipped with many useful contents: 1) companies can register their profiles and look for partners, 2) news section to gather valuable insight on the latest trends and developments in the space industry in Japan and overseas, 3) obtain information about various funding opportunities, 4) experts pool to connect space industry experts with start-ups and established companies, and 5) API for open-source EO data and data-processing tools, which we plan to develop in the near future. The teaser-site for SBC is already up and running, and the URL is https://www.bizcourt.space/en/ . The grand opening is scheduled for May 16, 2017.

How can we improve co-operation between JSS and EARSC in a more effective way? How do you perceive both roles in this respect?

I think it’s vital that the 2 organisations maintain regular and effective communication to maintain the momentum. Furthermore, exchange of industry insight and other business information would also be of interest for European and Japanese companies. I think the key is to increase the understanding about each other. By understanding each other’s strengths, capabilities, and areas in which the two sides can complement one another, we can identify possible subject areas and ideas for collaboration. Then the two sides can lobby their respective governing bodies to convert these ideas into proper policy framework to support new business ventures.

In your opinion, what will be the best mechanism to build a strong partnership?

Following from the previous question, I think a having a proper cooperation framework agreement would help moving potential partnerships forward. For this, it’s important to show some success cases of cooperative ventures, ideally in EO, and maybe even exchange of personnel between Japan and Europe to better understand about each other’s strengths and capabilities.

At the end of the interview, here is the opportunity for your final thoughts and how your activities could contribute to the future development of the EO geo-information service sector?

SBC is the first industry-led service in Japan focused on the benefiting the industry, and I will strive to ensure that it contributes to new business creation in EO data application in Japan and internationally. Let’s work together and look forward to the road ahead.

Short Biography
Hisanobu Takayama started his career at Mitsubishi Electric Co. (Melco), a major Japanese aerospace/electronics company, and worked the development of antenna for satellite communication. He was in charge of proposal creation and bidding, contract management, and business strategy & planning for many government projects. He has a proven expertise in business planning and negotiation, with the total value of projects that he dealt with amounts to nearly 1 billion EUR. Later, he joined the business management and strategic headquarters for Mitsubishi Precision Systems. Hisanobu joined Japan Space Systems in 2015 as the Director General of Strategic Planning Office and the Vice Director General of Space Industry Division, where he spearheads activities on creation of new space business and cross-sector engagement. He has a vast knowledge and network in the Japanese space sector, ranging from space and non-space companies, government ministries and institutions. He also organizes space training events for elementary schools and companies interested in space.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and comments with the EOmag readers.

(05 April 2017) The blight of illegal timber removal from fragile rainforest systems in Guatemala could be alleviated by a “CCTV in the sky” being developed by Scottish-based, internationally-operating space services and management company Astrosat .

Guatemala, the largest and most populated Central American country, is home to one of the most extensive and diverse forest systems on the continent, covering more than a third of the entire land. One half of this area is classified as primary forest, the most biodiverse and significant form of forestry. Unfortunately, Guatemala experiences a high inequality of wealth distribution, resulting from, amongst other things, 36 years of civil war. It was only the peace treaty signings in 1996 which has again opened the door to foreign investment and both governmental and private international projects.

Why does illegal logging exist in general? Simply put, the profits for the perpetrators are very high compared with the low risk of detection. The World Bank and Interpol list timber as a commodity, a commodity which is no different from weapons, narcotics, vehicles or any other internationally traded goods which can generate profits. The fact that timber is easy to launder and readily appears as a ‘clean’ business compared with human or drug trafficking, implies the notion that it is not a serious activity, and is a ‘victimless crime’. The reality is that illegal logging has extremely serious and detrimental consequences.

Aside from the widespread environmental damage and primary forest loss, there are a number of further destructive secondary effects such as damaged water regulation, poor soil formation and destabilisation which can lead to compounding threats such as mudslides. From a societal point of view, it has been shown that illegal logging increases poverty rates and uneven power relations regarding access to food and land, especially for local communities and indigenous groups who rely on the natural land for subsistence needs. According to Interpol and the UN, global logging is worth between $30 – $100 Billion and in terms of national revenue, illegal timber directly costs worldwide governments $5 Billion in taxation loss per year.

The fact is – Illegal logging represents the starting point of a complex process of interconnected criminal activities on an international scale.

Given the size and density of the forests, the ecological and economic importance of forestry to the country cannot be understated. The process of transporting legal timber from rainforest to mill
is complex, involving many intermediate stages which often makes it easy for criminals to slip in and
out of the process undetected. This has the impact of making record keeping between legal and illegal timber an uphill battle. Even if it were possible to detect all of these individuals, there is also a lack of available law enforcement manpower to cover the vast areas of land being considered.

It is clear that a technological leap is required. A technological leap that allows sufficient intelligence and situational awareness to be collected in one place so that counter logging efforts can be coordinated from above and focused for maximum effect – This technological leap is FMAP. (Forest Management and Protection System).

Astrosat , a multi-award winning commercial space services company, specializes in the development and managed delivery of highly innovative, end-to-end solutions where space based or space powered technology can solve economic, ecological, humanitarian, infrastructure and business problems. From detection of thermally wasteful housing stock and equity protection to illegal logging and disaster risk management, Astrosat passionately believes that any Earth based challenge can be supported or solved with space based solutions.

With a strong focus on delivering end-to-end Earth observation services, Astrosat is leading a consortium of European, American and UK space service outfits; ‘Earth Observation Inc’, ‘Telespazio Vega’ and ‘Deimos Space’ to monitor the Guatemalan forests and detect illegal activity. The project is sponsored by the UK Space Agency as part of their International Partnership Programme, a five- year, £152 million programme supporting British satellite technology expertise for developing international project monitoring and addressing significant social and environmental issues around the world. FMAP will allow for all possible elements of situational intelligence to be collected, analysed and presented in one place enabling law enforcement agencies to take immediate action against offenders.

Steve Lee, Astrosat CEO and founder, said: “What we are working on here could be described as a CCTV system that operates from space. With the data and information we can garner, we can help countries and communities which are at the mercy of unscrupulous operators.”

The ability to monitor types of trees and specific, important areas such as the rich and diverse Reserva de Biosfera Maya in the North of the country and a series of important national parks along the border ensures that only permitted timber felling is allowed, creating a legal market for sustainably-managed forestry products.

“This effectively brings space – and space companies and organisations – into the Fair Trade arena by helping local farmers and villagers to manage sustainable timber reserves. Illegal logging not only undercuts markets, but has a devastating effect on vital ecosystems.”

Astrosat’s ‘eye in the sky’ refers to the ‘space perspective’; a wholly unique and unprecedented vantage point from which to overcome ground based challenges and Astrosat is very proud to be delivering this perspective to a country of such rich diversity and culture. Guatemala means ‘land of the trees’ in the Mayan-Toltec language, and Astrosat aims to keep it that way.

Quotes from BluePrint Media Press Release:
Author: Michael Crawford
Date: 08/03/2016

The public sewerage network of Milan runs for approximately 1500 km. MM SpA, the managing company of Integrated Water and Wastewater Services of the City of Milan, has used the Rheticus® platform to identify possible surface movements caused by structural defects of its collector. Rheticus® services are available worldwide through a growing network of Authorized Distributors.

Land and infrastructure monitoring is a key activity to ensure people’s safety, environmental protection and the safeguarding of assets at all stages of the life cycle of infrastructure design, production and management.

Traditional campaigns for the regular monitoring of large and remote areas, however, employ considerable financial resources and time and are often complex to implement. The use of satellite technology allows overcoming these limitations and obtaining frequent, accurate and accessible information thanks to the wide availability of spatial information, even in open data mode.

The public sewerage network of Milan runs for approximately 1500 km. MM SpA (former Metropolitana Milanese SpA), the managing company of Integrated Water and Wastewater Services of the City of Milan, had been searching for a method to quickly detect ground surface movements caused by the structural defect of its collector that could affect the area above the primary network and adjacent areas.

Satellite radar interferometry was considered the most accurate and affordable survey method to prevent and identify possible failures of the sewage system, even in relation to the high traffic volume of metropolitan cities like Milan.

Thanks to the Rheticus® platform and its geoinformation service Rheticus® Displacement, which processes the interferometric data of Sentinel satellites, 50 points with sensitive sub-vertical movements on 24 roads with heavy traffic were identified and will be investigated in a detailed field survey. (Read and download the case history of MM SpA)

The Rheticus® cloud-based platform provides continuous monitoring services of the Earth’s surface, ranging from the stability of infrastructures (dams, roads, pipelines, etc.), slope stability and subsidence, quality of coastal waters, forest fires, and anthropic changes to the territory.

The Rheticus® Displacement geoinformation service offers monthly monitoring of millimetric displacements of the ground surface, landslide areas, the stability of infrastructures, and subsidence due to groundwater withdrawal/entry or from the excavation of mines and tunnels.

Rheticus® Displacement provides a yearly historical analysis with monthly updates.

This service was adopted by numerous customers in various application areas after only its first months of operation.

Two success stories:

  • ANAS S.p.A.: (National Autonomous Roads Corporation): analysis of slope stability to support the planning, design and monitoring of roads.
  • MM S.p.A. (former Metropolitana Milanese): analysis of the instability of roads overlying pipelines for the detection of leaks in the water and sewage supply network.

Do you want to know more? Contact Planetek or our Rheticus® Authorized Distributor Network:

  • GeoSolutions Consulting Inc. (Central America);
  • Gjeo-Vjosa sh.p.k. (Albania);
  • Kaliopa d.o.o. (Slovenia)
  • International Integrated Environmental Services Ltd. (Kuwait);
  • The Wroclaw Institute (Poland);

Rheticus® services are standardized and ready to assist a wide range of private and public organizations in solving problems anywhere in our world. This is why Planetek Italia is building a network of Authorized Distributors, who will operate close to the client’s geographic location.

Visit www.rheticus.eu for more information and for a monitoring service demo featuring Sentinel satellite data.

The Rheticus® services and the case history of the sewerage network displacement monitoring in Milan will be presented at the following events:

  • ENGAGE 2017, DigitalGlobe’s forum, London, UK, 25-26 April, 2017.
  • Servizi a Rete Tour 2017, Turin, Italy, 17-18 May, 2017.
  • HxGN Live Conference 2017, Las Vegas, Nevada, 13-16 June 2017.

Visit our website to know more about Rheticus® and all events.

(March 2017) 200 is the number of the activations reached from the Emergency Management Service.

The latest activation came after the Tropical cyclone Debbie made landfall, in northeast Australia’s Queensland state, which caused the evacuation of some communities because of extensive coastal inundation.

e-GEOS provides, in coordination with JRC (the Joint Research Centre) of the European Commission, within the Copernicus Programme, with geospatial information and satellite maps of areas affected by emergencies, providing the civil protection and the competent authorities of the countries of the Union and international humanitarian Organizations, with the data necessary for the management of catastrophic events.

e-GEOS can make available to the European Commission and any authorized user for each area of the world, within few hours of the onset of the emergency, also the pre-and post-event mapping, which facilitates the organisation and rescue operations. The service, available 24/7/365, has a production capacity dedicated to crisis situations like floods, earthquakes, fires, technological disasters and is managed by e-GEOS, leading a consortium formed by the German subsidiary GAF, the German Space Agency (DLR), the Italian company Ithaca and the French SIRS and SERTIT.

Citizens can find all the activations of the Copernicus Emergency Management service at this link .

ARSGC will actively pursue the development of the Remote Sensing and Geospatial industry in Africa and participate in the development and utilisation of Earth Observation products and services, in collaboration with international organizations, for the benefit of sustainable development of the African continent.

On the sidelines of AARSE 11th Conference held in Kampala, Uganda, from 24 to 28 October 2016, members of Private African Companies of Remote Sensing,

  • considering that one of the major lessons learned from the survey carried out by AARSE on the African Remote sensing private sector is that it should create a PanAfrican Association;
  • considering the urgent need to combine their efforts, skills and resources to create a Pan African Association of Remote Sensing Companies, under the auspices of AARSE;
  • considering the role that such an association can and should play in advancing the interests of the African Remote Sensing private sector across the continent for the benefit of all African stakeholders;
  • considering the historical role that the African remote sensing private sector can and must play in the sustainable socio-economic development of the continent;

Have initiated the procedure leading as soon as possible to the creation of the Association,to be known as the African Association of Remote Sensing and Geospatial Companies, abbreviated ARSGC.

ARSGC will actively pursue the development of the Remote Sensing and Geospatial industry in Africa and participate in the development and utilisation of Earth Observation products and services, in collaboration with international organizations, for the benefit of sustainable development of the African continent.

Read more

( 11 April 2017) The European Space Agency announces opening of a new Earth Observation (EO) data hosted-processing facility ran by ESA and hosted by CloudEO , a Munich-based start-up company, which will be managing this service for ESA on the EOhopS portal . This free offer is limited to R&D users from academia and industries.

ESA is an intergovernmental organisation of 22 member states, dedicated to the exploration of space. It has long been supporting scientific users and developers of EO applications by providing access to its own mission data and so-called Third Party Mission data. Through this partnership, ESA, upon evaluating a project proposal, will make satellite acquisitions from ESA’s partner agencies and from commercial data providers available for free to the broad R&D community allowing scientists and R&D users from businesses to analyze commercial and Sentinel data in a powerful hosted-processing environment for their projects. “This is amazing! It opens so many opportunities for research and development both by scientists and businesses ultimately benefiting the society”, says Prof. Dr. Patrick Ole Noack, who is teaching Agricultural Technology at Hochschule Weihenstephan-Triesdorf.

The EOhopS portal is indeed a very creative way to use GeoData utilizing diverse IT infrastructure, including ready-to-use GeoAnalytics in a complete package and on one platform – CloudEO’s workbench.

The company is a pioneer of bringing the “shared economy” concept to GeoServices industry. With this project, it has opened processing tools hosted on CloudEO platform for R&D. This includes ENVI (geospatial software solution to process and analyze all types of imagery and data such as multispectral, hyperspectral, LiDAR), IDL (trusted scientific programming language used across disciplines to extract meaningful visualizations out of complex numerical data) and the ESA Sentinel Application Platform (SNAP) toolbox. On the EOhopS platform a user can upload own content, like in-situ measurement data or scientific algorithms to the virtual workbench. “This is where the space data and GeoServices industry are heading – democratizing GeoData making it broadly available, accessible and usable, and with this project ESA is leading the way opening GeoData for R&D”, says Dr. Manfred Krischke, CloudEO’s founder and CEO, who himself holds a PhD in aerospace engineering.

The payment on EOhopS Store will be processed by CloudEO through digital credits provided by ESA to users free of charge allowing them to flexibly spend them during the approved research project.

All EO data and software can be booked for the whole project as well as on a short-term basis. “Staying within the same budget, users can develop and test their new algorithms on a larger variety of data sets and tools. This is a big advantage for creating reliable and competitive GeoServices”, says Dr. Ursula Benz, CloudEO’s COO and EOhopS project manager. To simplify the selection of various data sets for the user, the EOhopS has a unified data search tool for accessing data from multiple vendors, and a smooth interface for ordering selected EO data sets and “Software as a Service”.

CloudEO hosts the EOhopS portal on CloudEO platform. Its most renowned providers include SI Imaging Services, DigitalGlobe, German Aerospace Center (DLR) and Harris Geospatial Solutions.

Access to the service is granted upon project submission to ESA. Free trials not requiring applications are also available!

“ESA is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. This project is a step towards making GeoData to serve broader needs of the society and it is an example of opening opportunities for researchers and developers”, says Dr. Lena Stern, Mission Management Officer at ESA. “We envision a great number of GeoServices and innovations being developed in the nearest future using GeoData to serve agriculture, construction, logistics, insurance, maritime and other important industries”.

Source

(22 March 2017) The system will be based on gs4EO, the ground segment product suite fully developed by Elecnor Deimos for the operations and exploitation of Deimos-2.

Deimos Space SLU, the technology branch of the Spanish industrial corporation Elecnor, has finalised an agreement with Spetstechnoexport from Ukraine to upgrade a Direct Receiving System belonging to the State Space Agency of Ukraine (SSAU) and implement dedicated processing systems of Deimos-2 high resolution images. As a consequence of the said agreement, Deimos Space will now award a contract to Deimos Imaging, the UrtheCast Company that owns and operates the Deimos-1 and Deimos-2 satellites, to supply Deimos-2 very high resolution images.

This agreement is the result of the industrial contacts initiated in the context of the EU Space Twinning Programme established between Ukrainian and Spanish institutions and managed, respectively, by SSAU and Spanish Institute for Aerospace Technique (INTA). In this connection, the agreement for Deimos-2 data processing systems and imagery was one of the action lines identified in the Memorandum of Understanding signed in December 2016 between SSAU and Elecnor Deimos intended to promote cooperation in space projects, focusing on Earth Observation space and ground systems, as well as the exploitation of remote sensing data and the development of space-based applications and other fields of cooperation such as launch systems, space situational awareness, satellite navigation and communications and applied research, in cooperation with other Ukrainian industrial actors.

The proposed system will be based on gs4EO ground segment, the product suite fully developed by Elecnor Deimos for the operations and exploitation of Deimos-2 satellite. gs4EO building blocks will manage the image requests to the mission control centre, the control of the receiving antenna for the image download, as well as the processing and archive of the generated imagery products.

Join the Copernicus Relays and Copernicus Academy launch event on 6 June 2017. It will be a first-of-its-kind meeting, gathering Earth Observation actors and industry representatives from across Europe.

About the Copernicus Programme

With its flagship Copernicus Programme, the EU is changing the world of Earth Observation. Vast amounts of Copernicus Sentinel data are freely, fully and openly available to researchers, the business world as well as every citizen providing ample opportunity for innovation across all industries and sectors.

About Copernicus Relays and the Copernicus Academy

The User and Market Uptake team at the European Commission (EC) is working towards ensuring that all current and potential users of the Copernicus Programme know how to harness the power of the Programme and its data. To ensure this, the Copernicus Academy and the Copernicus Relays were launched by the Commission at the end of 2016, and play a pivotal role in achieving this objective.

The Copernicus Relays are the regional voices of Copernicus in the individual Member States, thus bridging the EC and the end-users of Copernicus. The Academy aims to educate and release an increasing amount of Copernicus-savvy people into the workforce and brings together the EC and the educational and research organisation in the EU.

As of today, the Network includes 61 Relays (link to full list) and 79 Academy members (link to full list), which are now half-way through their first year of operations. Read more about the Relays and the Academy networks.

About the event

After half a year of operations, mostly remote and online, all members of the Network will meet in Brussels to receive the official welcome from the European Parliament and Commission. The event is open to all interested stakeholders. Are you ready to come on-board?

Participate to the launch event of the Copernicus Relays and Copernicus Academy.

The registration is now open!

Up to now, the Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service (CMEMS) provides freely more than 150 ocean products derived from Satellite/in situ/Models, dealing with the physical (temperature, salinity, ocean currents…) and biogeochemical (chlorophyll, dissolved oxygen…) state of the ocean over the European regional seas and the global ocean.

The year 2017 will see a major improvement in the CMEMS portfolio: Wave products, be from models, satellite or in situ observations will be available throughout 2017 and 2018. The first step of this important release will take place on April 19th 2017.

New wave products are answering the requirements from a large user panel in need of wave information in all ocean basins and the blue economy shall profit from those new open and free waves products.

Various markets such as for example the maritime transport sector, shipping industry, coast guards and port authorities will benefit from it.

Moreover, the Copernicus Marine Service wave products are a key input for the development of wave energy technologies which is developing fast to help secure Europe’s energy supply and reducing its fossil print.

Finally, the research and academic community shall also take a large advantage of the new wave products, and use them for example in ocean-atmosphere interaction studies or applied science to name a few.

Source CMEMS

DENVER, Colorado, USA, February 2017– TCarta Marine LLC of Denver, Colo., has merged with Proteus Geo of Oxford, UK, to create a global mapping company that provides bathymetric and marine data sets from the shallow coastal zone out to the continental shelf.

The new company is called TCarta Marine and will maintain offices in Denver and Oxford.

“By merging, we believe the merged company provides a wider and more sophisticated range of products than any other supplier worldwide,” said TCarta Marine CEO David Critchley. “TCarta Marine is now a one-stop shop for bathymetric and marine data.”

TCarta Marine will continue offering all existing product lines from the two companies as well as new products and services under development. Primary markets served will be engineering, oil & gas, government and defense with expansion planned into the insurance, 3D modeling and aquaculture industries.

“Our goal is to make it easier for the marine community to obtain and use quality mapping data,” said TCarta Marine President Kyle Goodrich. “To support every phase of offshore projects, we now offer lower resolution bathymetry for regional planning as well as high-resolution, highly accurate seafloor modeling for precise coastal engineering activities. Additionally, we offer a range of global and regional marine basemaps.”

In recent years, TCarta Marine and Proteus Geo collaborated on many projects and had numerous clients in common due to the complementary nature of their product lines.

David Critchley established Proteus Geo in the United Kingdom in 2011 to leverage a new technology that derives high-accuracy seafloor survey and seabed classification information from multispectral satellite imagery. Operating at a fraction of the cost of traditional ship- and airborne bathymetric technologies, the Proteus methodology has been deployed extensively in energy exploration, infrastructure engineering and environmental applications in shallow-water coastal zones.

“The two-meter satellite-derived bathymetric data can be derived to depths of 35 meters depending on water clarity and every depth has an uncertainty value assigned,” said Critchley.

TCarta Marine was started in 2008 by Kyle Goodrich to fill an enormous gap in quality bathymetric data from the littoral zone out to the base of the continental shelf, distance often spanning hundreds of kilometers. The firm developed proprietary techniques for aggregating seafloor depth data from numerous medium- to coarse-resolution sources, including navigation charts, ship tracklines, and boat surveys. TCarta Marine has built an impressive off-the-shelf line of 90- and 30-meter GIS-ready products covering the Earth’s most important marine areas.

“Our bathymetric products are available via annual subscription for streaming directly into our clients’ GIS and mapping applications,” said Goodrich. “Oil, gas and renewable energy companies have become major users of TCarta Marine products.”

As president of the new TCarta Marine, Goodrich will focus on developing additional products and innovative methods for delivering them. The global company seeks to expand its foothold in traditional marine markets and cultivate new applications for seafloor data. Critchley, as CEO of TCarta Marine, will be responsible for business development in new geographic regions of the world.

In the near term, TCarta Marine and Proteus Geo customers can look forward to purchasing the existing 90-, 30- and 2-meter resolution product lines online through a new web portal, now under development. Information can be found and orders placed now through the new unified TCarta Marine website at www.TCartaMarine.com

Proteus FZC, an affiliated company of Proteus Geo based in the United Arab Emirates, will remain a stand-alone company offering terrestrial geospatial and marine consulting services in the Middle East.

Source