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The Indian Space Research Organisation’s ocean observation mission, Oceansat 2, will be ready by August, according to Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle project director George Koshy.


“Oceansat 2 will have a device to study surface level winds that will help in predicting the sea conditions. Its ocean colour monitor is useful in identifying potential areas for fishery,” he said here on Thursday.

Earth observation satellite Cartosat 2B, would be ready for launch this year. Data from the satellite would be used for mapping and other cartographic applications, he said.

Source

The Emirates Institution for Advanced Science and Technology (EIAST) on Saturday said UAE engineers and scientists have completed the final preparations on DubaiSat-1, which is due to be launched aboard a Russian rocket on July 25.

Final tests and equipment safety preparations have been completed successfully and the UAE team is currently preparing to ship DubaiSat-1 from the factory in Korea to its launch base in Kazakhstan.

DubaiSat-1, which is a stepping stone in the UAE’s attempt to create a sound infrastructure that enables the collection of space and earth observation data for the comprehensive development of the nation, highlights the commitment of EIAST to create a knowledge-based economy.

Ahmad Al Mansouri, Director General and vice-chair of the board of directors EIAST, said: “The successful completion of the final stages of DubaiSat-1 by the team of UAE national experts including engineers and specialists working on the project, have underscored the reputation of the UAE as a key player in space research. We are glad that our youth is part of space technology research, a testament to the tremendous talent amongst UAE youngsters.”

“DubaiSat-1 will undoubtedly be a sterling addition to the UAE’s strategic accomplishments,” Al Mansouri added.

Images from DubaiSat-1 will be used for numerous applications including urban development, scientific research, telecommunications, transportation, civil engineering and mapping.

EIAST is currently focused on research in four areas: observation and fog forecast, use of satellite pictures in predicting sand storms, quality of water in the Gulf, and ways to improve the clarity of satellite pictures.

© Gulf News 2009. All rights reserved.

Source

DMCii has announced the selection of 5 science projects that will receive free satellite imagery from the DMC satellite constellation.

Satellite imaging is a powerful tool for monitoring land use. It offers a valuable “eye in space” for monitoring and recording environmental change on a global basis. The winning projects cover a wide range of important topics: from monitoring changes in the Greenland Ice Sheet and the UK wetlands and forests, to pioneering new techniques for integrating satellite Earth observations with computer models to improve measurements of how the Earth’s vegetation ‘breathes’ carbon dioxide.

DMCii Managing Director David Hodgson said “At a time of significant global change we are very pleased to be able to support the research community in increasing our understanding of our changing environment.”

In December 2008, scientists were invited to compete for the opportunity to use the DMC multi-spectral satellite image data in their research projects. Applications were judged on their contribution to international environmental research by a panel of scientists chaired by Professor Alan O’Neill from the UK’s National Centre for Earth Observation (NCEO), Dr Arwyn Davies, Head of Earth Observation at the British National Space Centre (BSNC), Dr Paul Aplin (Chairman of RSPSoc and Associate Professor Nottingham University), Dr Steve Mackin, Chief Scientist DMCii and David Hodgson, Managing Director DMCii.

The successful projects are:

- Monitoring Dynamic Change in the Greenland Ice Sheet: A. Luckman (Swansea University).

- Testing Data Assimilation Schemes: JJ Settle (University of Reading), P North (University of Swansea), T Quaife (University College London).

- Assessing Seasonal Water and Restoration Status of Wetland Habitats: Dr G Smith (Specto Natura Ltd), Dr F Hughes & Dr P Stroh (Anglia Ruskin University), Dr P Aplin (University of Nottingham).

- Validation of MODIS NPP (Net Primary Productivity) Product for Tropical Areas: Dr M Cutler (University of Dundee), Prof A Cracknell, Assoc Prof AL Ibrahim, Dr K Haron.

- Monitoring of Vegetation Phenological Change and Health: Dr R
Guisa (University of Surrey), Dr R Pitman (Centre for Forestry & Climate Change (FR)).

The DMC constellation of five satellites provides a unique earth observation resource that enables daily revisit anywhere in the world. As the satellites and their respective owners (Algeria, China, Nigeria, Turkey, UK) cooperate together, the constellation can image a given geographical location frequently to identify changes or make the most of cloud-free periods. This unique combination makes the constellation highly effective for monitoring changes in land use.
The free satellite data will be provided by next generation DMC satellite UK-DMC2 which is scheduled for launch next month, July 2009.
The new satellite will enhance the DMC constellation’s ability to gather higher spatial resolution imaging (22m versus the previous 32m DMC standard) and also increase the amount of imagery that can be stored and downloaded in any given time using new satellite technology.

Spanish company, Deimos Imaging, that is also part of the DMC Consortium, is planning to offer a similar research opportunity for Spanish researchers. They intend to provide imagery for five Spanish science projects from their new Deimos-1 satellite which will be launched at the same time as UK-DMC2.

About DMC International Imaging Ltd

DMC International Imaging Ltd (DMCii) is a UK based supplier of remote sensing data products and services for international Earth Observation (EO) markets. DMCii supplies programmed and archived optical satellite imagery provided by the multi-satellite Disaster Monitoring Constellation (DMC). DMC data is now used in a wide variety of commercial and government applications including agriculture, forestry and environmental mapping.

In partnership with the British National Space Centre (BNSC) and the other DMC member nations (Algeria, China, Nigeria, Turkey and Spain), DMCii works with the International Charter: ‘Space and Major Disasters’ to provide free satellite imagery for humanitarian use in the event of major international disasters such as tsunami, hurricanes, fires and flooding.

DMCii was formed in October 2004 and is a subsidiary of Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd, the world leader in small satellite technology. SSTL designed and built the DMC with the support of the BNSC and in conjunction with the DMC member nations Algeria, China, Nigeria, Turkey and Spain.
www.dmcii.com

Notes to editor:
This press release can be downloaded from www.ballard.co.uk/dmcii

Press contacts:
Robin Wolstenholme, Ballard Communications Management
Tel: +44 (0)1306 882288
Email: r.wolstenholme@ballard.co.uk

Paul Stephens, Sales & Marketing Director, DMC International Imaging Ltd.
Tel: +44 (0)1483 804299
Email: p.stephens@dmcii.com

In April and May 2009, heavy and long lasting rainfall led to serious flooding in the north of Brazil, with several people killed and more than 300000 people displaced.


SAFER provided pre-disaster overview maps of affected regions.

on 25 May 2009, the tropical cyclone Aila hit the coast of West Bengal, thus affecting more than 3 million people and killing 80 people. Activated through the World Food Programme, SAFER provides a wide range of maps: hydrological reference maps, rapid land cover reference space maps, impact space maps, flood dynamic draw-off maps, etc.

More information is available on the SAFER project website

Source GMES.INFO

NASA and Japan released a new digital topographic map of Earth Monday that covers more of our planet than ever before.

WASHINGTON, June 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The map was produced with detailed measurements from NASA’s Terra spacecraft.

The new global digital elevation model of Earth was created from nearly 1.3 million individual stereo-pair images collected by the Japanese Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer, or ASTER, instrument aboard Terra. NASA and Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, known as METI, developed the data set. It is available online to users everywhere at no cost.

“This is the most complete, consistent global digital elevation data yet made available to the world,” said Woody Turner, ASTER program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “This unique global set of data will serve users and researchers from a wide array of disciplines that need elevation and terrain information.”

According to Mike Abrams, ASTER science team leader at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., the new topographic information will be of value throughout the Earth sciences and has many practical applications. “ASTER’s accurate topographic data will be used for engineering, energy exploration, conserving natural resources, environmental management, public works design, firefighting, recreation, geology and city planning, to name just a few areas,” Abrams said.

Previously, the most complete topographic set of data publicly available was from NASA’s Shuttle Radar Topography Mission. That mission mapped 80 percent of Earth’s landmass, between 60 degrees north latitude and 57 degrees south. The new ASTER data expands coverage to 99 percent, from 83 degrees north latitude and 83 degrees south. Each elevation measurement point in the new data is 98 feet apart.

“The ASTER data fill in many of the voids in the shuttle mission’s data, such as in very steep terrains and in some deserts,” said Michael Kobrick, Shuttle Radar Topography Mission project scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. “NASA is working to combine the ASTER data with that of the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission and other sources to produce an even better global topographic map.”

NASA and METI are jointly contributing the ASTER topographic data to the Group on Earth Observations, an international partnership headquartered at the World Meteorological Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, for use in its Global Earth Observation System of Systems. This “system of systems” is a collaborative, international effort to share and integrate Earth observation data from many different instruments and systems to help monitor and forecast global environmental changes.

NASA, METI and the U.S. Geological Survey validated the data, with support from the U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and other collaborators. The data will be distributed by NASA’s Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Earth Resources Observation and Science Data Center in Sioux Falls, S.D., and by METI’s Earth Remote Sensing Data Analysis Center in Tokyo.

ASTER is one of five Earth-observing instruments launched on Terra in December 1999. ASTER acquires images from the visible to the thermal infrared wavelength region, with spatial resolutions ranging from about 50 to 300 feet. A joint science team from the U.S. and Japan validates and calibrates the instrument and data products. The U.S. science team is located at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

For visualizations of the new ASTER topographic data, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/20090629.html

Data users can download the ASTER global digital elevation model at:
https://wist.echo.nasa.gov/~wist/api/imswelcome

and

http://www.gdem.aster.ersdac.or.jp

For more information about NASA and agency programs, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov

“Logo”: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO

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SOURCE NASA

Boeing and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) received the first on-orbit signals from the GOES-O satellite and reported that the Earth observation satellite is healthy and operating normally, Boeing announced June 29.

GOES-O, which will monitor weather developments over the Western Hemisphere, was launched June 28 by United Launch Alliance on a Delta 4 rocket. The satellite is designed for a minimum orbit life of 10 years and will be placed in on-orbit storage.

NOAA has not yet determined if GOES-O would replace an older GOES satellite in 2010.

Source Satellite Today 06-30-09

More info at

Spacecemart

The GOES-O satellite lifted off from Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 6:51 p.m. EDT atop a Delta IV rocket. From a position about 22,300 miles above Earth, the advanced weather satellite will keep an unblinking eye on atmospheric conditions in the Eastern United States and Atlantic Ocean. The GOES-O weather satellite is on its own following a successful separation from the Delta IV second stage. The separation occurred soon after the second stage performed the final of three burns to place the GOES-O spacecraft in a transfer orbit that will eventually reach about 22,300 miles above Earth. The satellite will be checked out through a series of tests in coming weeks. The GOES-O launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., at 6:51 p.m. EDT aboard a Delta IV rocket. GOES-O is the latest weather satellite developed by NASA to aid the nation’s meteorologists and climate scientists. The acronym stands for Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite.
The spacecraft in the series provide the familiar weather pictures seen on United States television newscasts every day. The satellites are equipped with a formidable array of sensors and instruments. GOES provides nearly continuous imaging and sounding, which allows forecasters to better measure changes in atmospheric temperature and moisture distributions, hence increasing the accuracy of their forecasts. GOES environmental information is used for a host of applications, including weather monitoring and prediction models.
Source Spacemart

The ERDAS E-Newsletter!


Next Edition of Earth to Business: The ERDAS E-Newsletter! To provide you with useful information, including significant ERDAS announcements, customer success stories and feature tips in this monthly e-newsletter.

Increasingly, geospatial information is being used to drive decisions in large organizations. In the past, geospatial technology companies focused on developing and providing solutions to data providers, geospatial service providers, airborne sensing organizations, national mapping agencies, state mapping agencies, DoD/National Programs and the natural resources sector. However, as geospatial technology capabilities have increased, more organizations outside this traditional geospatial customer base are discovering the offerings, with increasing interest in integrating this technology into their organization’s existing enterprise business system.

Source

The image, taken by the German radar satellite TerraSAR-X, shows the volcano ‘Piton de la Fournaise’ (Furnace Peak) in the south of the island of La Reunion (Indian Ocean). This is the last active volcano on the island and is 2631 metres high.

By means of very precise repeat-pass interferometric measurements, TerraSAR-X is able to detect even small movements of the Earth’s surface, thus supporting volcano monitoring.

The image was taken on 5 June 2008. It was acquired in spotlight mode with a resolution of two metres. It covers an area of 11�10 kilometres.

The TerraSAR-X mission

TerraSAR-X is the first German satellite that has been manufactured under what is known as a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) between the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum fur Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) and Astrium GmbH in Friedrichshafen.

The satellite travels around the Earth in a polar orbit and records unique, high-quality X-band radar data about the entire planet using its active antenna. TerraSAR-X works regardless of weather conditions, cloud cover or absence of daylight, and is able to provide radar data with a resolution of down to one metre per pixel.

DLR is responsible for using TerraSAR-X data for scientific purposes. It is also responsible for planning and implementing the mission as well as controlling the satellite. Astrium built the satellite and shares the costs of developing and using it.

Infoterra GmbH, a subsidiary company founded specifically for this purpose by Astrium, is responsible for marketing the data commercially.

Source Spacemart

Government and industry team to look at opportunities in, and barriers to, innovation and growth in the UK Space sector

The future challenges and opportunities for the UK Space industry will be assessed by a new expert group charged with producing a report for Government, Science Minister Lord Drayson announced today.

The Innovation Growth Team for Space will be chaired by Andy Green (CEO of Logica) and has been formed to create a 20 year strategy for British leadership in space. It will seek views from the entire space industry, and industries such as entertainment, navigation and climate change that rely on space technology. It will set out the challenges and opportunities that govern future value creation, competitiveness and growth in the space sector.

Our world relies on space technology for a wide range of services, from monitoring the effects of climate change and weather forecasting to telecoms services and satellite navigation. Space creates high value R&D, manufacturing and skills for the UK economy that the Government’s recent strategy on New Industry New Jobs outlined as the foundation for future UK success. New Industry New Jobs called for a more strategic approach to UK industrial policy in the future – focusing on those industries that will drive discovery and economic growth in this century.

The Space IGT’s work will contribute to that strategic approach, with industry and Government working together to shape the future success of the sector.

The Space IGT will draw on leadership experience from some of Britain’s top space companies. It will identify the future innovation, technology and investment priorities for the sector and other enablers of growth. The group will also seek to create a “space aware” culture in the UK with a space career path being defined for students wishing to enter the sector. In addition it will consider how to ensure that government policy is better aligned to meet the future needs of the industry.

Science and Innovation Minister Lord Drayson said, “Britain is a global leader in space. This initiative will help to keep us there”

Andy Green, CEO of Logica and Chairman of the Space Innovation and Growth Team added, “Space is one of the few sectors in the UK economy that is enjoying almost double digit growth and has the potential to do so for decades to come. We will set out ways to help the sector on its upwards trajectory, by ensuring that Britain has the necessary skills and policy framework, and a climate that fosters innovation.”

The Space IGT is expected to announce preliminary findings at the end of the year with the full report being published in early 2010.

Notes:

* The Space IGT has a website and an email contact where comments and suggestions can be sent (SpaceIGT@bis.gov.uk)
* Current membership of the IGT is: Avanti PLC; British Association of Remote Sensing Companies; British National Space Centre; Comdev; Cobham; Department for Business, Innovation and Skills; EADS Astrium; EEDA, EMDA, European Space Agency, e-skills UK; Imperial College of London; Inmarsat; Intellect; Logica PLC; Ministry of Defence; National Space Centre; NPL; Permira; QinetiQ; Reaction Engines; Rutherford Appleton Laboratories; SBAC; SciSys; SEA; SEEDA; Surrey Satellites Technology Limited; Technology Strategy Board; Thales; UKspace; VEGA; Virgin Galactic. Membership of the IGT is expected to grow as working structures become established.

Rocketeer comments: It’s very hard not to be cynical about yet another Whitehall review. I’ve had experience of the things in astronomy, and they uniformly seem to consist of civil servants asking the same questions over and over again (in different ways) until they get the answer they want (which inevitably is “cut funding for X”).

Still, I suppose there are some grounds for optimism here. We have a “Science Minister who “gets it, and UK NewSpace has a seat at the table in the form of Reaction Engines, SSTL and Virgin. I’ll put in my tuppence-worth, and wait and see…

(Source British National Space Centre)

[update] BBC coverage:

UK ‘space jewel’ set for polishBBC News

Nearly 200 scientists from Europe and China have gathered in Barcelona last week to report on the progress of ongoing Dragon 2 research projects using data from ESA and Chinese Earth observation satellites.

Dragon 2 – a joint undertaking between ESA and the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) of China – encourages scientists to use Earth observation (EO) data to monitor and understand environmental phenomena in China.

The symposium, held in Barcelona’s World Trade Centre, was opened by the Spanish Delegate to ESA’s EO Program Board, Dr Emilio Vez, on behalf of Spain’s Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology.

Addressing the symposium, ESA’s Peter Hulsroj, Director of Legal Affairs and External Relations, praised the accomplishments of the program, saying it is an example of “good cooperation, trust and shared interests.”

The first phase of Dragon developed the exploitation of ESA EO data in China via joint projects led by Chinese and European scientists. Dragon 2 expanded this by adding new scientific themes and including the joint exploitation of ESA and Chinese EO data. Hulsroj noted that this expansion has increased the value of the program for both partners.

Zhang Guocheng, Director-General of the National Remote Sensing Centre of China (NRSCC) said: “The Dragon 2 program has greatly enhanced EO capabilities within China and has cultivated an extensive team of young scientists working in remote sensing for China.”

ESA’s Dr Stephen Briggs, Head of the Earth Observation Science, Applications and Future Technologies Department spoke about recent developments in ESA’s growing EO program and emphasized the success of Dragon in drawing together scientific exploitation of ESA and Chinese EO data in an unprecedented collaboration.

Under Dragon 2, which officially began in April 2008, more than 400 scientists from 165 research institutions in Europe and China are involved in 25 joint research projects.

The ongoing projects cover the following themes: land environment, geology, renewable resources, oceanography, hazards, atmospheric studies, topographic mapping, hydrology, sea-ice monitoring, coastal-zones monitoring, large sports events and the calibration and validation of satellite data.

Like Dragon 1, Dragon 2 pairs lead scientists with young researchers so that know-how can be transferred to the next generation. To this end, training seminars and advanced courses are organized routinely. The second advanced training course in atmospheric remote sensing will be held at China’s Nanjing University in October this year.

The Dragon Program formally began in 2004 and was slated to end in 2008. Based on the success of the first phase, the program was extended until 2012.

Source

*On the net”:

Dragon Program
Dragon 2 Program
Ministry of Science and Technology of China
EnvironmentalResearch
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