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A new era in operational Earth Observation was started by the launch 29. July of Deimos-1 and UK-DMC2 from Baikonur aboard a Dniepr rocket. The new satellites provide a manyfold increase in the capacity of the Disaster Monitoring Constellation and are capable of commercial, high-volume, image deliveries that are unprecedented for this class of radiometric and spatial resolutions.


The calibration of Deimos-1 instrument and the fine-tuning of the platform are well underway and it is foreseen to enter full operational capability during October. The quality of the instrument, specially designed for this satellite generation, is very high. Its focus quality, radiometric quality, and general system stability surpasses expectations and ensures years of sustained operations with imagery that leaves far behind Landsat in the radiometric bands principally used for agriculture and environmental applications.

Deimos-1 is born with a decided commercial vocation, and the company has been preparing applications for years, which are now ready for delivery as soon as operational capability starts. The Northern download station in Svalbard, in cooperation with KSAT, is ready and represents a guarantee of delivery that minimises memory bottlenecks in case demand for imagery is high.

Sample imagery taken from Deimos-1 satellite can be browsed at our web site, click on Deimos-1 Images on the left panel

Announcement of Opportunity

Deimos Imaging has opened a call for ideas for researchers to perform studies using Deimos-1 Imagery. Details are also on the main web page. As a summary, this is a call for researchers to use imagery from Deimos-1 in a Category-1 scheme, free of charge, to create new applications or do research in fields that are opened by the new class of satellites and instruments.

Deimos Imaging web site
Launch video

Beijing, September 29, 2009 – Spot Infoterra, a world leader in the field of geo-information products and services, and a division of Astrium Services, today announced the signing of a major agreement with MAG Group in China.


Through this agreement MAG Group and its subsidiary will promote a range of Spot Infoterra products and services:
• The Pixel FactoryTM – a revolutionary, multi-sensor and multi-resolution processing suite
ISTAR Telecom products – a range of datasets dedicated to wireless telecommunication planning
• Global Seeps – offshore oil seepage data for oil exploration and pollution information for environmental studies
• The maritime application services

A dedicated team at MAG Group will be set-up to ensure these marketing activities, and will initially focus on maritime surveillance services, oil and gas exploration and infrastructure network planning, markets where MAG Group has in-depth knowledge and experience on both private and public sectors.

“China has an expanding economy in which geo-information is already playing a major role. We are delighted that MAG Group will help to support our customers and business in China. We see this as the first step towards building a strong commercial relationship with MAG Group and Beijing Tek Meridian” commented Marc Tondriaux, Spot Infoterra CEO.
“We are confident that the collaboration between our organizations will bring new business opportunities for all of us and also help the development of MAG Group in the market sector we are targeting,” said Liu Tao, General Manager Beijing Tek Meridian.

MAG Group, founded in 1994, has an extensive experience in introducing foreign advanced technologies and products to the China market and a nationwide sales and service network. Along with its subsidiary Beijing Tek Meridian System Solution Corp,
MAG Group delivers a range of services including surveying GPS, GIS, mining, navigation, pipeline and marine services.
Spot Infoterra has a well-established presence in China, through Beijing Spot Image (a joint-venture between Spot Image and CEODE created in 1998) and the opening of an Infoterra representation office in 2006.

About Spot Infoterra

Spot Infoterra is a global provider of geo-information products and services bringing
decision-makers sustainable solutions to increase our security, protect the environment and monitor natural resources.

With unique access to SPOT and TerraSAR-X satellites, and a broad range of spaceborne and
airborne acquisition capabilities, the group offers an unrivalled combination of Earth imagery.

This combination forms the solid base for an extensive portfolio of products and services spanning the entire geo-information value chain. Furthermore, building on synergies within Astrium Services, Spot Infoterra develops innovative and highly-competitive end-to-end solutions combining Earth observation, navigation and worldwide communications capabilities.

Combining the talent and capabilities of Spot Image and Infoterra, with a turnover of 160 M Euro in 2008 and more than 800 staff, Spot Infoterra is established in twelve countries and is part of Astrium Services, an EADS Astrium subsidiary.

Media contact
Sarah Haslam (Infoterra)
+44(0)116 273 2300
sarah.haslam@infoterra-global.com
Anne-Marie Bernard (Spot Image)
+33(0)5 62 19 40 10
anne-marie.bernard@spotimage.fr
Fabienne Grazzini (Infoterra)
+33(0)5 62 19 63 26
fabienne.grazzini@infoterra-global.com

ENEA Relies on ERDAS APOLLO to Ensure Sustainability

Norcross, Georgia (USA) —ERDAS and Planetek Italia announce that ERDAS APOLLO has been implemented by the Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and the Environment (ENEA). ERDAS APOLLO is providing decision support to help define the optimal location of energy plants to produce biomasses. These biomasses are a renewable energy source, biological material derived from living, or recently living organisms, such as wood, waste and alcohol fuels. Planetek Italia is ERDAS’ authorized distributor in Italy.

ENEA is a public agency supporting Italy’s sustainable development in energy, the environment and new technologies. ENEA is an existing Planetek Italia customer, already using several other ERDAS desktop authoring solutions.

In Italy, there have been a number of studies on how biomasses can be used for alternative energy. However, these studies often use different methodologies, lacking geocoding information, and are absent of digital maps. Thematic maps representing the availability of biomasses do not express an area’s full potential, often lacking adequate supporting aerial imagery.

ERDAS APOLLO is an out-of-the-box, standards-based Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) solution that efficiently manages and quickly serves massive amounts of geospatial data located and distributed across an organization. ERDAS APOLLO simplifies the utilization of vector, raster and terrain data, seamlessly integrating with existing GIS environments, leveraging business systems and supporting almost any kind of data input (including ArcSDE, PostGIS & Oracle).

For ENEA, the ERDAS APOLLO web client interface is a decision support tool for the installation and logistics of biomass facilities, as well as a tool for the planning and monitoring the national and European target for the energy policy. ERDAS APOLLO aggregates their different data sources, manages their raster and vector data and implements OCG Compliant Web Services to publish data maps. Ultimately, this enables the different offices of ENEA to consume information remotely. The availability of national Web Map Service (WMS) provided by the Italian National Cartographic Portal (http://www.pcn.minambiente.it), and the ImageConnect® catalogue from DigitalGlobe (http://www.digitalglobe.com/index.php/48/Products?product_id=19) also allows users to integrate several data sources, and compare thematic maps and the Italian VHR satellite coverage with biomass databases.

Vincenzo Motola, researcher and project manager, ENEA Trisaia, said, “ENEA can now update remotely from its local and central offices the contents of the geodatabase, and to add new WMS services. We can now observe the status of bioenergy supply chains and its availability in Italy, and we can verify the real-time achievement of climate objectives requested by the European Union.”

The Atlante delle Biomasse is available at http://atlantebiomasse.trisaia.enea.it/

“ENEA selected ERDAS APOLLO for its capability to catalog not only ERDAS APOLLO web services but also external web services, thus allowing the update of geospatial data to remote authorized workgroups,” said Thomas Bayer, Vice President, EMEA, ERDAS.

For more information about ERDAS or its products and services, please call +1 770 776 3400, toll free +1 877 GO ERDAS, or visit www.erdas.com

About ERDAS

ERDAS creates geospatial business systems that transform our earth’s data into business information, enabling individuals, businesses and public agencies to quickly access, manage, process, and share that information from anywhere.

Using secure geospatial information, ERDAS solutions improve employee, customer and partner visibility to information, enabling them to respond faster and collaborate better. It also means better decision-making, increased productivity and new revenue streams.

ERDAS is a part of the Hexagon Group, Sweden. For more information about ERDAS or its products and services, please call +1 770 776 3400, toll free +1 866 534 2286, or visit www.erdas.com

Media Contact:
Jason Sims
ERDAS, Inc.
Marketing Manager
5051 Peachtree Corners Circle, Suite 100
Norcross, GA 30092
Phone: +1 770 776 3400 or +1 866 534 2286
E-mail: Jason.Sims@erdas.com

…e-geos news…


19/09/2009: Special acquisition over Paris…

The musician Bob Sinclar requested e-GEOS, through ESA, to acquire an image during the recording of his video Peace Song, in a stadium at the base of the Eiffel Tower in Paris on the occasion of the United Nations International Day of Peace. After a week of cloudy weather, on Saturday, September 19 at 13:37 local time, with the help of our colleagues from Euromap, who operate the Neustrelitz facility on behalf of e-GEOS, the image was acquired by GeoEye-1 (at the extreme angle visible above) and processed by the IPF.

The e-GEOS GeoEye-1 Imaging and Processing Facility (IPF) in Neustrelitz (Germany), which is managed by Euromap, with the support of the DLR, has been fully operational since July 1st, 2009. The agreement with GeoEye allows e-GEOS to task the GeoEye-1 satellite.

The Bob Sinclar video can be seen here

01/07/2009: Capital increase for e-GEOS: company created by ASI and Telespazio (a Finmeccanica/Thales company) fully operational from today

e-GEOS, the company created by the Italian Space Agency and Telespazio is fully operational from today. The shareholders’ meeting of the company approved the capital increase of e-GEOS via the transfer of the earth observation division from Telespazio and the rights to the commercial distribution of COSMO-SkyMed data from ASI. >>

Press release

SOURCE

Starlab…Space…Smart new concepts for Remote Sensing applications

About Starlab

Starlab converts science into technologies with a profound positive impact on society and the planet. Our vision is to make science more useful, alive, vibrant, faster. With impact.

Customer oriented scientists:Scientific excellence and business discipline to transform science into solutions

New sensor, mission concepts and applications for Global Monitoring, Environment and Security

Starlab Space develops new and alternative methods for Remote Sensing applications.

On the technology side, we are working today on new space sensors and mission concepts for environmental monitoring, including remote sensing applications of GPS an Galileo, as well as new radar concepts.

On the application side, we have developed and continue to improve operational information services using space data for oil spill monitoring and water quality.

Our research includes the development of new sensor, concepts and efficient algorithms to extract maximal information from data, identification of platform/deployment opportunities, as well as development of know-how on the best use of data products for scientific and operational applications.

The Space Team has a strong expertise in radar altimetry, optical imaging, Synthetic Aperture Radar image processing and the use of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) signals. Several members of the department have been working with the European Space Agency before joining the company and some of them are pioneers in GNSS Reflections analysis.

Examples of our capacity include:

  • Feasibility studies and development of algorithms (GNSS-Reflections, Wide Swath Ocean Altimeter, Wavemill Concept)
  • Implementation of algorithms (DARWIN, space interferometry for exo-planet observation)
  • Mission analysis (SMOS collocation studies, GNSS-R mission strategies for mesoscale altimetry and tsunami detection)
  • Development of instrument prototypes (PARIS PAD, GNSS-R altimetry airborne demonstrator)
  • Data processing (GPS Reflections, scatterometry, altimetry, ice, soil moisture applications)
  • The implementation of operational services (GMES MARCOAST, oil spill detection and water quality services using space and in situ data as well as MERCATOR models)

Our clients in the space sector include the European Space Agency, EADS, Ifremer, Alcatel, Telespazio, MERCATOR, and CNES.

Earth Observation Services

Satellites offer the capability to observe the Earth in a powerful, global way for improved management and sustainability

Earth Observation images show the world through a wide-enough frame so that complete large-scale phenomena can be observed to an accuracy and entirety it would take an army of ground-level observers to match. A single satellite image has the potential to show the spread of air pollution across a continent, the precise damage done in a region struck by an earthquake or forest fires, or the entire span of a 500-km hurricane from the calmness of its eye to its outermost storm fronts.

Earth Observation images can access remote areas where ground-based data acquisition is not possible. Since they remain in place for long periods of time, satellites can provide us a lot of interesting archived data and shows environmental changes occuring gradually.

Starlab provides services based in Earth Observation data (usually integrated with other in-situ data) to support clients working in:

  • Renewal energy: wind mapping and wave mapping service for site selection or management of renewable energy plants.
  • Environment monitoring: oil spill detection and water quality service to support our clients in regular monitoring in their countries/regions
  • Water resources management: snow cover and soil moisture service to manage water in a more efficient way

Starlab is able to provide customised services for our client. Integrating EO data with in-situ available data. Our strong R&D capability can also help to solve the challenges of our clients by providing enhanced services in support of critical decision making.

SOURCE

…SPOT-2 archive, spor magazine 46…

30/09/2009
KOMPSAT-2: See how a mosaic of Barcelona is produced

28/09/2009
3 month special offer: Get 50% discount on all SPOT-2 archive

31/08/2009
Spot Magazine 46

24/08/2009
The Colorado River is no longer reaching its delta. The story behind SPOT 2’s last image

31/07/2009
Spot Infoterra Group to supply Serbia with a national spatial data infrastructure

… news on MEOS™ Control…

KSPT MEOS™ Polar installed in Khabarovsk, Russia

Kongsberg Spacetec has successfully installed two MEOS™ POLAR systems at the Far-Eastern center of ROSHYDROMET, in Khabarovsk, Russia.

The MEOS™ POLAR systems will be part of the EUMETSAT EARS network and support MODIS/ SEASTAR/ FY1/ NOAA/ NPOESS receipt and processing using two 3 m L/X antennas with 4.5 m radomes.

These two systems are the first in a series of five systems to be delivered to ROSHYDROMET during 2009.

The next two systems are delivered to the ROSHYDROMET Western-Siberian center in Novosibirsk. The last system is delivered to the ROSHYDROMET European center in Moscow-Dolgoprudny.

For more information about the customer: ROSHYDROMET – Russian Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring

KSPT MEOS™ Control to Kongsberg Satellite Services, Norway

Kongsberg Spacetec has signed a contract with Kongsberg Satellite Services to deliver a MEOS™ Control system to support operations of one of KSATs antenna systems.

MEOS™ Control is Kongsberg Spacetec’s product for Ground Station monitoring and control. A Ground Station often consists of a number of specialized units, e.g. demodulators, modulators, antenna control units (ACU), converters, switch matrices, etc. Instead of handling these units as stand alone units, MEOS™ Control integrates them into one overall system, with a common GUI and a common API for remote operations.

For more information about the customer: Kongsberg Satellite Services

Office address: Kongsberg Spacetec AS
Prestvannveien 38, P.O.Box 6244
NO-9292 Tromsø, Norway
Phone: +47 77 66 08 00 // Fax: +47 77 65 58 59
Email: marketing@spacetec.no

…news on VTracker, Autodesk LandXplorer Studio, 3D city mapping tool…

24 September 2009: Infoterra launches VTracker a visual resource tracking system

VTracker, part of the Imass product suite, enables mobile resources to be tracked and locations viewed in real-time on aerial photography or maps.
This system is ideal for many police, fire & rescue, security and transportation operations where the management of multiple resources which could be located in different places across a broad geographical area is required.

Read press release in english

17 September 2009: Infoterra Ltd signs agreement to sell Autodesk LandXplorer Studio

Infoterra Ltd has extended its portfolio of end-to-end geospatial products and services through an agreement with Autodesk Inc to resell LandXplorer Studio in the UK.

Read press release in english

16 September 2009: Infoterra prepares launch of cutting edge 3D city mapping tool – Skape

Infoterra Ltd is to launch in the United Kingdom a brand new 3D city mapping service later this year which it says “will have to be seen to be believed”.

Named Skape, its applications are diverse, providing B2B professionals with presentational 3D city and mapping data, as well as high accuracy building information of the UK’s major cities.

Read press release in english

25 August 2009: Space technology used to fight forest fires in Greece

SAFER, coordinated by Infoterra France, is an emergency service that produces maps from satellite images, as part of the GMES programme.

On Sunday 23 August, at 20:15, the Hellenic General Secretariat for Civil Protection requested that the European Services and Applications for Emergency Response (SAFER) be put in to effect to help fight the fires raging around Athens.
Developed as part of the European Commission’s Global Monitoring for the Environment and Security (GMES) programme, SAFER is an emergency service that produces maps from satellite images to help the work of disaster and emergency services. The European Space Agency will ask several satellite operators, including Spot Image, to supply images of the Athens area. The Greek Civil Protection teams will then receive a series of maps showing how the situation is developing on the ground. The maps will also allow Greek authorities to accurately measure the extent of the damage caused by the fires.

View website
Read press release in english

SOURCE

Skysoft Portugal adopts GMV brand+GMV in the Space Sector Top 50

Skysoft Portugal adopts GMV brand

Some time ago the subsidiaries making up GMV were given a new corporate image. It was decided to go for a single brand policy taking in all group companies under a sole denomination.

Today, 21 September, Skysoft Portugal begins to use the GMV brand which includes all the group companies under a sole denomination.

Skysoft Portugal was born in 1998 with the aim of providing cutting-edge solutions for its clients inside and outside Portugal. Since then it has steadily worked its way up to become one of Portugal’s top technology firms. Its staff is now 100 strong and it is the European Space Agency’s prime supplier in Portugal; it is also the top Portuguese company working in software engineering for civil aviation and a national benchmark in R&D activities. This has all been possible thanks to a client-centered approach based on the talent and expertise of our personnel.

In 2005 the perfect match between the remit, competitive strategy and values of Skysoft and GMV made it possible for Skysoft to be brought into the multinational technology group GMV, which now boasts a staff of over 1000 and runs offices in several countries of Europe, America and Asia. Since then Skysoft has continued to operate and grow under its own brand identity. Today it is GMV’s second most important centre at international level.

The time is now right for Skysoft Portugal too to be brought into the fold. This will be of advantage to all, Skysoft helping to create an even stronger worldwide brand while it benefits from all the competitive advantages offered by the GMV brand.

The business structure and nature of Skysoft will not be altered by this change; its board, management and personnel will remain the same as before.

GMV in the Space Sector Top 50

GMV has been included among the 50 top firms of the world’s space sector, according to the ranking “top 50 Space Manufacturing and Services list” published by the American trade magazine Space News.

GMV has become Europe’s top independent supplier of satellite control centers, ranking second in the world as a whole. With over 25 years of experience in the sector, GMV is the only European firm whose satellite control systems are being simultaneously used by the European Space Agency and NASA. At the moment over 150 satellites of the world’s main manufacturers base their operations on GMV-supplied systems.

GMV also boasts Europe’s third biggest participation and Spain’s biggest in the development of the Galileo satellite navigation system.

GMV’s portfolio of clients in the space sector includes all the world’s biggest space agencies and operators and it has systems up and running in 18 countries throughout the 5 continents.

GMV is also a leading supplier of new technologies in other sectors such as defense, transport and information technologies, boasts a 1000-strong staff and runs offices in Spain, Portugal, the United States, Poland, the Korean Republic and Malaysia.

Inclusion in this list, together with other firms like EADS, Boeing and Lockheed Martin, is yet more proof of the international reputation being won by GMV’s space activity.

Source

GAF AG and Euromap GmbH have launched a joint product that provides an up-to-date and homogenous mapping base for Germany. This highly accurate data set contains the most important land coverage and land use classes for a wide range of potential users, and provides coverage of the whole of Germany.

For private firms, public administrations and research institutes, such land use and land cover data forms the basis for areas of applications such as the planning of mobile telecommunications networks, regional planning and environmental mapping and monitoring tasks. Such uses are dependent on accurate and up-to-date information, but the currently available data sets no longer meet the high quality standards required by customers today.

In order to cater for such demands, the high quality product Euro-Maps LC has been created on the basis of many years of classification experience and stringent quality control measures. It is therefore possible to state that the individual object geometries are accurate with at least 90% confidence levels.
Euro-Maps LC makes use of current IRS-P6 Resourcesat-1 LISS-III multi-spectral data, mainly collected in the time frame 2007/2008. The technical production is based on an object oriented production chain with interactive mapping processes. The data includes 22 object classes with a minimum mapping unit of 0.25 ha.

Regine Richter, Head of the Land Use Applications Department at GAF AG, believes that there is a multitude of possible areas of application for this product: “In our view, Euro-Maps LC stands out amongst the products in the geo-information market by virtue of its thematic accuracy, its high precision and its high degree of uniformity. These qualities are the result of continually optimised workflows as well as the experience gained from classifying approximately 2 million km² of land coverage at scales of 1:50,000 and 1:25,000. Euro-Maps LC can be used in many fields as an independent product or together with other data sets, such as Euro-Maps 2D and also Euro-Maps 3D, which will be available soon.”

Euro-Maps LC is the perfect addition to the Euro-Maps product range and fits easily alongside the Euro-Maps 2D (5m orthomosaic in true colours) and Euro-Maps 3D (digital elevation models generated from high resolution stereo data, 3D visualisation) products. The Euro-Maps LC product has been produced in cooperation with the GAF AG subsidiary Euromap Satellitendaten-Vertriebsgesellschaft mbH, which is based in Neustrelitz in Germany, and is available as of now.

Source GAF

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