Skip to content

By Euroconsult

(November 2010). National defense is widely recognized as the primary market for the commercial Earth observation data (EO) sector of the satellite industry. While leading government programs have a clear mandate for environment monitoring missions, defense and military agencies are by far the first customers for commercial EO data. However, for the collection and distribution of commercial EO data to truly emerge as a commercial enterprise, the push will need to come from the private sector and foreign governments. A “killer application” that causes a sudden surge in demand may never emerge. But a steadily increasing uptake of both EO data and services usage across a range of commercial sectors and regions will allow the market to develop.

The new commercial demand will most likely come from local customers seeking data for regional purposes. These customers will be well served with the new push by commercial EO satellite operators such as GeoEye, DigitalGlobe and SPOT-Infoterra to strengthen their image collection capabilities through the launch of next-generation satellites and the continued development of global distribution networks operating locally through resellers. EO imagery and service requirements vary by customer type, with some preferring to acquire a service package and others just raw data. The question facing EO operators is whether to supply a full portfolio of services and delivery mechanisms, or to instead concentrate only on data delivery and allow their respective reseller networks and other services providers to provide the value-added services solutions.

Service providers and commercial operators will also have to work harder to educate some potential customers about the types of valuable data available. Two examples are agriculture and forestry, where resellers have found the customer base to be both cautious and unable to grasp the potential uses of EO data to their business.

For downstream services to develop, accessibility to EO data is key to delivering services. The free and open access data policy — as encouraged by GEOSS and coming to fruition through the free data available from Landsat and the GMES open data policy of the Sentinel missions — is viewed as a new opportunity for growth of the EO market as it can provide a more cost-effective business model.

The downstream services companies also need to become the “one-stop-shop” solution for both geospatial data and the services needed to access a range of data sources (optical/radar satellite, aerial).

Services providers, resellers and operators all agree that the Internet is growing in importance as a distribution channel. They see the Internet as key to addressing the private sector and an even larger consumer client base. The Internet can both educate end-users about EO data through virtual globes such as Google Earth, and also offer an alternative platform to deliver data and services to end users.

Adam Keith is a specialist in remote sensing and the principal author of Euroconsult’s Earth Observation and Defense & Security reports. He also contributes to a number of other consulting projects, particularly related to the institutional market. Prior to joining Euroconsult, he worked in the Directorate of Earth Observation at the European Space Agency. He is graduate of the University of London and Cambridge University.

_Article at Space News 8Nov2010 Source

Paris, December 3, 2010 – France honours its commitment made last year in Copenhagen to provide high resolution satellite imagery to favour sustainable forest management in the Congo Basin countries.

Through the Agence Française de Développement (AFD), France will finance the provision of SPOT satellite imagery to central African countries to help them prepare the future REDD mechanism.

The contract between the AFD and the GEO-Information division of Astrium Services marks the beginning of a broad initiative to map the entire Congo Basin, the second largest forest in the world. Financed by the AFD, this project is implemented by a consortium of institutional partners including the French Space Agency – Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES), the Institut Géographique National (IGN) and the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD).

This initiative will make SPOT images available to administrations, public institutions, and NGOs working on sustainable forest governance in the Congo Basin countries. SPOT archive imagery dating from 1990 will be used to establish baseline reference maps over the zone. Additional programming campaigns to acquire fresh datasets over the years will track the evolution of forest cover to monitor REDD+ future commitments.

Patrick Le Roch, Divisional Managing Director of Astrium Services GEO-Information declared, “SPOT satellite imagery is the ideal resolution for forest monitoring because it combines broad coverage and high two metre resolution. We bring the most appropriate imagery products, expertise and technology to the REDD+ mechanism. Our data acquisition tools bring essential added value for measuring and verifying forest cover changes necessary for REDD+ programs.”

For Dov Zerah, Managing Director of the Agence Française de Développement “Thanks to the provision of top level French technologies, our partners in the Congo Basin will be able to use the most significant tools as they reinforce sustainable forest management. The AFD has been a pioneer in financing sustainable forest governance encouraged by central African countries and today is very much involved in the implementation of the REDD+ mechanism.”

Source

The Italian COSMO-SkyMed constellation is now fully operational and complete with the arrival of the system’s fourth satellite in its final orbit position. The satellite was launched on 5 November from the Vandenberg base in California, and came fully on-stream with the transmission of the first images to the ground stations.

COSMO-SkyMed is a dual-use programme employing technology that is among the most advanced in the world to provide data to institutions, defence organisations and private companies. The system was created under the auspices of the Italian Ministry of Education, Universities and Research, with financing and technical and operational co-ordination provided by the Italian Space Agency and co-financing from the Italian Ministry of Defence.

The early orbit operations for the fourth COSMO-SkyMed satellite were once again successfully managed by the LEOP (Launch and Early Orbit Phase) team at Telespazio’s Fucino Space Centre, while the first radar images from COSMO-SkyMed 4 were acquired normally by the Matera Space Centre and are now available.

The constellation, which is the jewel in the crown of the Italian Space Agency’s programmes, is now better able than ever to carry out continuous and accurate Earth observation over time, with parameters that ensure reliability, stability and continuity, relayed at intervals of a matter of hours, covering all changes, movements and variations to and on the land. Constant monitoring of this kind has never been achieved before. The COSMO-SkyMed system has therefore reached its optimal capacity for acquiring images – around 1,800 a day – day and night in all weather conditions. This makes the Italian system among the most reliable and advanced in the world.

The system was built by Thales Alenia Space (a Thales/Finmeccanica joint venture) in its role as prime contractor with responsibility for the entire programme, including both the space and ground segments. Telespazio, a Finmeccanica/Thales company, built the system’s entire ground segment and the?= integrated logistics and operations segment. The Fucino Space Centre houses the control centre for the constellation, which manages the satellite acquisition phases after launch and subsequent early orbit phases, as well as command and control activities and the planning of requests for the acquisition of images.

The Italian Space Agency’s Matera Space Centre is responsible for acquiring, processing and distributing the data sent back from the COSMO-SkyMed satellites for civil applications, representing a bona fide database of satellite images.

e-GEOS, a joint venture between the Italian Space Agency (20%) and Telespazio (80%), manages the services of the Matera Space Centre on behalf of the Italian Space Agency and markets COSMO-SkyMed data and products around the world. The company is a leading international player in the geo-spatial business.

e-GEOS offers a complete range of products and services in the Earth Observation and in the geo-spatial application domains, based on both optical and radar satellites as well as on aerial surveys. The Rome-based company employs more than 300 people and operates through the Earth Observation centres in Matera (Italy) and Neustrelitz (Germany). As the European hub for VHR (Very High Resolution) data, e-GEOS grants unique access to the COSMO-SkyMed, GeoEye-1, IKONOS, Radarsat, Envisat, QuickBird and WorldView and IRS satellites, with more than 20 years of experience in satellite data distribution, multi lingual customer service and multi-mission order management. In particular, COSMO-SkyMed represents a tremendous competitive advantage as it opens up a new era of operational applications.

e-GEOS can also rely on the specific know-how and market presence of the various companies within the group, such as GAF and Euromap (Germany), Eurimage, Aurensis (Spain), Telespazio Argentina, Telespazio Brasil, Telespazio France and others, that enrich its competitive advantages and provide synergies in the product chain and for market development at international level.

e-GEOS owns and operates the Multi-mission station located at the Matera Space Centre, where data from several EO satellites (COSMO-SkyMed, Radarsat-1&2, Envisat, ERS, Landsat, and others) are downlinked and processed both for the commercial market and to provide services to the Italian Space Agency and the European Space Agency. The company also owns the GeoEye-1 and IKONOS imaging and processing facility in Neustrelitz, which is operated through Euromap and the DLR (German Aerospace Agency) and that offers access to high-priority tasking and processing and fast delivery of GeoEye data.

e-GEOS is one of the main industrial players in the European GMES Program (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security) where it leads projects such as GMOSAIC (Management of Operations, Situation Awareness and Intelligence for regional Crises) LIMES (Land and Sea Integrated Monitoring for Environment and Security) and LinkER (Supporting Action for the implementation of operational GMES services in Emergency Response) for the European Union as well as MARISS (Maritime Security Services) for the European Space Agency.

Thanks to the services developed in these projects, e-GEOS is today a world leader in environmental and maritime monitoring and in rapid mapping for the management of natural disasters and humanitarian crises, cooperating with EMSA (European Maritime Safety Agency), EUSC (European Union Satellite Centre), JRC (Joint Research Centre of the European Commission), various UN Organizations and the Italian Civil Defence.

The company serves a variety of national and international clients, both in the public and private sectors, including customers such as the Italian Ministry of Agriculture (through AGEA/SIN) for the management of the Common Agricultural Policy in Italy, the Italian Ministry of the Environment for the interferometric processing of SAR data over all the national territory, major international oil & gas companies (ENI, Shell, Total) and railroads (RFI, NIIAS). e-GEOS is part of the Telespazio (Finmeccanica/Thales) group, operating the largest civil space infrastructure in the world, at the Fucino Space Centre, providing unrivalled service capacity.

COSMO-SkyMed 4. First images

COSMO-SkyMed Brochure

Eurimage and e-GEOS are pleased to inform you that the special offer for GeoEye-1 and IKONOS Very High Resolution data has been renewed for the whole of the year 2011.

Main points of the promotion are:

  • Applicable to all customers within the e-GEOS exclusive territory (mainly Europe and North Africa)
  • GeoEye-1 Geo Product price reduced from 25 US$ to 20 US$ per Km2 and from 12.50 US$ to 10 US$ per km2 for Archive Products
  • 90 days archive delay waived for both GeoEye-1 and IKONOS Geo imagery

The discounted prices above are not retroactive and cannot be cumulative with other special packages, ad-hoc proposals and established contracts.

Please refer to e-GEOS and Eurimage websites for product information or email us.

… ‘Monitoring of Water Quality for Lakes’ Project Kick-off Meeting


The ‘Monitoring of Water Quality for Lakes’ Project Kick-off Meeting (December 2010)

Brockmann Consult is preparing a next generation of Water Quality Products for Lakes and freshwater reservoirs in Europe. On 7.12.2010 the European Research Project FRESHMON (FP7 Space Call) will be kicked-off. The project is lead by EOMAP GmbH and comprises 5 partners from 4 European countries. The objective of the project is to develop a new service-line for the continuous provision of Earth Observation based products, integrated with in situ and hydrodynamic modelling components, for water quality monitoring.

VAE Intertidal User Workshop (November 2010)

A 2-days User Workshop has been hold in Lisbon in order to demonstrate the outcome of the ESA VAE Project “Monitoring of Intertidal Flats”.

30 participants from 3 different countries attended the workshop.

Source

BMT ARGOSS, a subsidiary of BMT Group Ltd, has secured a contract with Eneco, one of the leading energy companies in the Netherlands to deliver accurate wind forecasts for the Dutch energy provider’s onshore and offshore locations.

This service will allow Eneco to better anticipate changing conditions and adjust planning when necessary.

Generators of wind energy usually provide DNOs (Distribution Network Operators) with an estimate of the expected amount of energy they plan to produce over the coming days in order for the DNOs to be able to match consumption with the electricity produced. To help minimise the risk of being penalised for not meeting their obligations, companies such as Eneco need to ensure that their weather forecasts are as accurate and effective as possible by partnering with leading experts.

(Dr.) Hein Zelle, Project Manager for meteorology at BMT ARGOSS states: “No one can control the wind and therefore how much power a wind farm is capable of producing on any given day. We can however play an integral role inWin Farm Late ensuring that Eneco has greater confidence in predicting the power they will produce and maximising the selling price by providing accurate forecasting services, helping to reduce the level of uncertainty which is often associated with this type of energy production.”

With atmospheric models that have been extensively validated and calibrated against locally observed data, BMT ARGOSS will provide much finer and more detailed forecasting services to Eneco which will be delivered four times a day. A reliability estimate for each wind forecast is an integral part of the delivery.

Source

Assimila Projects


Earth Observation Land Data Assimilation EO-LDAS (2009-present)

Assimila is managing the EO-LDAS project which is currently developing a scheme to assimilate multi-sensor optical Earth Observation data with a land surface model. The project aims to produce optimal, sensor-independent EO outputs.

more details

ISIC Visualization Centre

Assimila is providing project management support to NCEO for the development of the ISIC Visualisation Centre. ISIC (the International Space Innovation Centre) is being built at the Science and Technology Facilities Council Harwell Campus and will form a focus for EO activities in the UK. Assimila is responsible for managing science requirements for the visualisation centre and translating these into technical facilities, providing liaison between the users of the facility and the technical implementation, and sourcing high impact multi-media material to be used in the visualization centre. Assimila is also developing plans for long term engagement of NCEO in the ISIC.

Royal Meteorological Society Quality Standard (2009– present)

Assimila is supporting the Royal Meteorological Society in the refinement and testing of a set of quality standards for UK meteorological service providers. The revised quality and audit guidelines have been developed through a dry-run implementation involving volunteer meteorological service providers.

National Centre for Earth Observation (NCEO). Programme Management (2008-2011)

Assimila is providing Programme Management services for the National Centre for Earth Observation.

more details

Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. EO Strategy and GMES Support (2007-2011)

Assimila is supporting Defra in the development of its Earth Observation strategy and in communicating the applications and benefits of EO within Defra. Assimila is also responsible for Defra’s engagement programme with UK stakeholders in GMES.

more details

Source

Role in EarthCare Missions. Certified in Reserach, Development and Innovation


Critical Software is set for launch on EarthCARE Space Mission

12 November 2010 – Critical Software Technologies has secured a contract to be the principal independent software tester for the EarthCARE (Earth Clouds, Aerosols and Radiation Explorer) project, a joint European-Japanese space mission which is due for launch in 2013.

First designed and constructed in 2009, the aim of the EarthCARE spacecraft mission is to improve scientists’ understanding of the cloud, radiative and aerosol processes that affect Earth’s climate.

Critical Software will independently verify and validate the on-board software that goes into creating this hugely complex system designed to create a successful space mission. Critical will be predominantly responsible for identifying areas with increased complexity and criticality and then ensuring that the software developed meets the stated requirements and is implemented correctly.

“We’re pleased to be involved in a mission that will give scientists valuable information about our planet, but critical systems on board the spacecraft will be vital to its success. Software on board satellites has the potential to be extremely complex, which is at odds with the necessity for it to also be extremely reliable.

“Failure of critical software can have catastrophic consequences, and it is clearly vital to have well-tested reliable software on theunmanned satellites orbiting over all of us,” says Brian Luff, chairman Critical Software Technologies.

Critical Software is certified in Research, Development and Innovation (NP 4457:2007)

The NP 4457:2007 (Portuguese Norm for the Research, Development and Innovation) defines the requirements for R&D as well as Innovation Management Systems that would drive organizations towards the development and implementation of a R&D and Innovation Policy that could help raise the levels of efficiency and effectiveness within the innovation context. All normative requirements are applicable to an organization that has R&D activities, regardless of the size, complexity or business sector. The NP 4457 is applicable to any organization (goods and services); processes; organization; and marketing; or even a combination of these.

“Among the main advantages of having R&D and Innovation practices are the controlled and periodic stimulation and collection of innovative ideas that emerge from the various micro and macro environments as well as its analysis and respective development. Considering the current global recession, the success of any business relies, a great deal, on the existence of a structured organization, consolidated processes and use of proven best practices,” states José Gonçalo Silva, Quality Director of Critical Software.

Critical Software’s IMS was already certified ISO 9001:2008 TickIT, EN 9100:2003 and 9006 and CMMI-Dev ML5, not to mention other best practices that are being followed by the company, such as the PMBoK for Project and Portfolio Management and Six Sigma for Quality Control.

“We were not primarily looking for the certificate but instead to continue our endeavor in raising of the quality levels in our services and products. This certification happened naturally as a result of a strong and strategic commitment in R&D and innovation policy that has been in place for some years now. Still, the preparation for the NP 4457 certification helped us consolidate some of the requirements that were already in place and close some gaps that existed in our IMS”, says José Gonçalo Silva.

Source

SEOCA project Conference, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, April 2011

The FP7 Environment project GEO Capacity Building Initiative in Central Asia” (SEOCA) organizes the project Federated Conference comprising the following events:

  • International seminar of Central Asian Universities and other educational stakeholders: “New scientific and educational technologies in the field of Earth Observation”. The seminar will bring together University representatives from all 5 countries of Central Asia and their colleagues from the EU in order to discuss the modern curricular relevant to the topic. Also, the seminar will include the roundtable discussions “Modern technologies of EO information processing” and “Environment monitoring by using small satellites”. The project partners from Germany, Greece and Turkey will present the European curricula and technologies.
  • Demonstration workshop GEONETcast technologies for environment monitoring”. The representatives of Central Asian organizations interested in application of GEONETCast low-cost terminals for educational needs as well as for real-life applications in environment and natural disasters monitoring will be acquainted with the GEONETCast system capacities
  • Training workshop GEO: Global efforts and regional impact” aimed to provide training to National GEO offices in all 5 countries of Central Asia. As a result it is expected that the regional contribution to GEO, as well as engagement of regional stakeholders with GEO activities will be significantly strengthen.

The dates of the event: April 2011

Update of the SEOCA website

The website of the SEOCA project has been updated recently. Aratos Technologies S.A. participates in SEOCA Project.

The proposed project aims at further fostering cooperative ties between the countries of Central Asia and Europe in developing and applying Earth Observation (EO) technologies for effective environmental monitoring.

You can visit the website here

Source

from Nov to Dec 2010


Aerodata goes Southeast Asia (Dec 6th, 2010)

The Consortium PASCO-FINNMAP has signed a contract for Acquisition of Digital Aerial Photography as part of the project “Improvement of Digital Mapping System of Survey of Bangladesh” with the Survey of Bangladesh.

The flying will be executed by Aerodata, a PASCO group member. The digital aerial photography will cover the complete area of Bangladesh (130,000 km²) with ground resolution of 50 cm and five urban areas with ground resolution of 25 cm. For this project two Vexcel Ultracam Xp cameras will be deployed in two of Aerodata’s new Aero Commander aircraft.

The flying has already started and is expected to be finished early 2011.

Brussels Oblique pilot project (Nov 15th, 2010)

Aerodata has carried out a pilot project over Brussels with one of its Visionmap A³ camera’s. The goal was to show the oblique viewing capabilities of the camera.

Due to the very large field of view of this camera (100°) oblique imagery is captured together with vertical imagery. Using special software the nadir aerials can be integrated with the obliques enabling users to rapidly navigate, zoom and measure (even building heights) in the obliques at any location in 4 directions. In addition revolutionary 3D modeling application enables to create 3D building models at substantially reduced time, labor and cost.

Results are spectacular and Aerodata will continue to invest in this movement towards combining traditional nadir images with oblique images.

Netherlands 2010 – 10cm now available (Oct 31st, 2010)

For the second year in a row Aerodata International Surveys is proud to announce to have successfully completed the NL 10cm project covering the entire territory of the Netherlands (over 40.000 sq km).

Only 6 months after the first flight all the 100.000 Ultracam Xp images were processed into a stereo product (Stereo10) and a countrywide seamless orthophoto mosaic (Ortho10).

For more detailed information or sales inquiries, please contact Aerodata (International Sales) or our partner Cyclomedia (clients in The Netherlands)
In 2011 Aerodata will again undertake this mega aerial photography project.

Source