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Category: Earth Observation News

Parliamentarians from 10 European countries met earlier this week in Brussels at the 8th European Interparliamentary Space Conference to discuss European space policy. Organised by the 2006 Belgian Presidency, the conference was held at the Belgian Senate in Brussels.

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Each year this Conference brings together members of the European Interparliamentary Space Conference (EISC), the EU and ESA Member States. Representatives of the Space organisations in Russia, China and the Ukraine also attended the three-day Conference which started on Monday 12 June.
This year’s Conference organised presentations and discussions on:
- current European space projects – Galileo and GMES
- European space policy and international cooperation
- space applications
-human spaceflight
- space and education
The Conference was chaired by Belgian Senator, François Roelants du Viviers, the 2006 EISC Chairman. On 13 June the ESA Director General, Jean-Jacques Dordain and Paul Weissenberg, representing the EC Vice-President and Enterprise Commissioner Verheugen, addressed the EISC respectively on ESA’s and EC’s views on European space policy.
All the topics under discussion at the Conference are of particular interest for Europe at this time as a number of important decisions regarding Europe’s future in space are now under discussion:
* the European Union is in the process of finalising the Financial Perspective 2007-2013, in which space has been assigned €1.43 billion under the 7th Framework Programme for Research & Technology
* ESA and the European Commission, together with the ESA and EU Member States, are preparing the European Space Policy, which should be endorsed by the Space Council in the first half of 2007
* European space industry is undergoing a restructuring process leading to a reduction in the number of main of players
The EISC, founded in 1999 by parliamentary groups from France, Germany, Italy and United Kingdom, shares information about space activities to increase understanding of national policies and priorities in space, as well as space awareness among decision-makers, and to review the challenges space offers Europe in a worldwide context.
EISC gives political and institutional managers an opportunity to assess, together, the impact of space technologies on the daily lives of Europe’s citizens and the future of industrial expertise in space programmes.
The Conference issues recommendations and adopts resolutions. Its members favour close cooperation through joint activities between the EC and ESA, national space agencies, scientists and industry to increase Europe’s space know-how.
(Credits ESA)

MetOp-A has successfully completed the first phase of testing at the Baikonur Space Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, confirming the launch date of the first European polar-orbiting satellite dedicated to operational meteorology for 17 July 2006.

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With an array of sophisticated instrumentation, MetOp-A – jointly established by ESA and the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) – promises to provide data of unprecedented accuracy and resolution on a host of different variables such as temperature and humidity, wind speed and direction, ozone and other trace gases.
Since the arrival of the MetOp-A satellite at its launch site in Baikonur on 18 April 2006, the Service Module, Payload Module and Solar Array, which were shipped as individual items, have been integrated and tested. Following a review of the satellite status and results of the testing to date, together with the outputs of EUMETSAT’s review of the readiness of the ground segment, launcher and overall system, EUMETSAT and ESA authorised EADS Astrium on 17 June to commence the MetOp-A satellite fuelling activities, marking a milestone in the EUMETSAT Polar System (EPS) programme.
Following the completion of the MetOp-A fuelling, the satellite will be integrated with the so-called Fregat upper stage before being encapsulated in the fairing. The resulting upper composite will then be integrated with the Soyuz launcher and the complete system will be rolled out to the launch pad three days prior to the launch.
The MetOp programme, which consists of three satellites to be flown sequentially to ensure the delivery of continuous data until at least 2020, forms the space segment of the EPS programme and represents the European contribution to a new cooperative venture with the American National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Until MetOp-A launches, meteorological data from polar-orbiting satellites has had to be procured from NOAA weather satellites. After the launch, responsibilities for meteorological satellite services will be shared between Europe and the United States.
Consequently, through the Initial Joint Polar Satellite System (IJPS), which is a cooperative venture between EUMETSAT and NOAA, MetOp-A has been designed to work in conjunction with the NOAA satellite system, whereby MetOp-A replaces the NOAA ‘morning orbit’ service whilst a NOAA satellite occupies the ‘afternoon shift’.
This means that the two satellites fly in complementary orbits, thus offering maximum coverage. This global observing system is able to provide invaluable meteorological data from polar orbit to users within 2 hours and 15 minutes of the measurements being taken.
MetOp-A is equipped with a set of new-generation European instruments that offer advanced remote sensing capabilities to both meteorologists and climatologists along with a set of ‘heritage’ instruments provided by NOAA and the French Space Agency (CNES).
In addition to its meteorological observations and climate monitoring objectives, MetOp-A will contribute to other missions, such as research and rescue and the monitoring of charged particles present in the orbital environment near Earth.
The MetOp-A satellite was developed by a consortium of European companies led by the main contractor EADS-Astrium, France.
(Text and Image credits ESA)

Final Call for Abstracts OceanSAR 2006, the Third Workshop on Coastal and Marine Applications of SAR, will be held in St. John‘s
(Newfoundland, Canada) on October 23-25.

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This is the final call for
abstracts for this workshop; the abstract deadline is June 30, 2006.
Abstracts can be submitted online at www.oceansar2006.com.
The participants of the previous workshops identified the need for a set of robust tools that can be made available for systematic marine monitoring and operational applications. OceanSAR 2006 will build on these prior recommendations and offer a venue both for scientists to present the findings of their current research and for operational maritime end-users to present their information needs. The Canadian Space Agency (ASC), the Canadian Ice Service (CIS), C-CORE and MDA are organizing the event.
For more information visit www.oceansar2006.com or contact Desmond Power

British satellite manufacturer Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) has just completed a landmark commercial satellite contract with BLMIT – marking the first attempt to commercialise the data services from Earth observation (EO) satellites.

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At a ceremony held in Beijing, the Beijing Landview Mapping Information Technology Co., Ltd (BLMIT) signed the formal in-orbit acceptance of the high resolution EO microsatellite (Beijing-1) system built in cooperation with BLMIT, marked the commencement of the satellite‘s operational commercial service for customers.
Professor Li Wei-jian, Project Manager commented, “This pioneering project it is the first time the Chinese government has provided operational Earth observation from space through a commercial contract and we are very pleased with the results.”
The 166 kg Beijing-1 is the most capable low cost Earth Observation (EO) satellite to date, carrying two payloads that provide high-resolution (4-metre) panchromatic images alongside medium-resolution (32-metre) multi-spectral images with an ultra-wide 600km imaging swath. Beijing-1 may join the internationally coordinated Disaster Monitoring Constellation (DMC), led by SSTL, which includes satellites from Algeria, Nigeria, Turkey and UK. With 5 satellites working together, the DMC is able to gather images of a given location daily, thus mitigating cloud cover and monitoring dynamic or rapidly changing phenomena in a way single satellites cannot.
Madam Wu Shuang (CEO of BLMIT) added, “We are very pleased with the successful cooperation with SSTL on this innovative project. Beijing-1 uses state-of-the-art small satellite technologies delivered at low cost and within just two years from contract signature. We are now ready to commence a new era of commercial EO services for our customers.”
Beijing-1 will provide the Chinese government and commercial users with information on agriculture, water resources, environment and disaster monitoring throughout China. The satellite will be used extensively for monitoring urban development and pollution, especially in the lead up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and to generate digital maps of China using the high-resolution panchromatic imager. The satellite is capable of continuously imaging Chinese territory even at the longest landmass track (3000 km) and transmit images to the groundstation in Beijing in real-time at high speed (40Mbps) with on-board programmable compression. Image data gathered outside the reach of the groundstation is stored on-board in a hard disc mass storage device for retrieval at night or later on demand.
BLMIT, a private company established to manage the commercial data distribution and services of Beijing-1, is undertaking a project to obtain cloud-free images to map the whole China within 6 months.
SSTL Group CEO, Sir Martin Sweeting said, “We are very pleased that our Chinese customer is so satisfied with the in-orbit performance of our latest operational high resolution EO microsatellite. This has reconfirmed SSTL‘s capability to deliver a fully operational EO system at low cost and to a tight schedule. We have also found working with our customers in BLMIT very positive.”
The Beijing-1 microsatellite, launched in October 2005 with a life expectancy of over five years, cost approximately GBP10M manufactured and delivered into a 686km low Earth orbit by SSTL. BLMIT and SSTL have since been working together to evaluate its performance in orbit and also exploring its full operational potential, offered by the 14 different operational modes and re-configurable on-board hardware and the software to respond to the requirements of end-users in the most timely and cost-effective way.
About Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd
Surrey Satellite Technology Limited is an enterprise company formed in 1985 by the University of Surrey to commercialise the results of its innovative small satellite engineering research. SSTL was the first professional organisation to offer low-cost small satellites with rapid response employing advanced terrestrial technologies. Over two decades, we have built a profitable business around our unique approach to space.
Today, SSTL employs over 200 staff and has been involved in 26 small satellite missions, making it the most successful and experienced small satellite supplier in the world.
(Credits SSTL)

A collaborative agreement has been signed between the State Office for Geo-Information and Survey (LGV) of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg and CyberCity, Zurich to market and improve the massive 3D city model of Hamburg, Germany.

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The city model includes more than 300.000 buildings and will be offered in three different Levels-of-Detail: non-textured block models, non-textured detailed models and textured detailed models. The city center will consist of over 2.000 buildings and will include approximately 40.000 façade images. Textures will be semi-automatically applied from oblique aerial imagery using CyberCity-Modeler’s texturing tool that is used to create a more realistic environment. The final deliverable will be available to the public via the Internet (www.cybercity.tv) in October 2006. Applications include tourism, safety, security, architecture and urban city planning and car navigation.
Fig. 1. The 3D city model of Hamburg commercially available through CyberCity, Zurich.
CyberCity has provided support and services over a 3-year period for the development of a massive three-dimensional city model of Hamburg for LGV. The deliverable also includes a Digital Terrain Model (DTM) and a digital Orthophoto. LGV and CyberCity will co-market the 3D data. LGV will distribute the data within the municipal agencies and organizations and CyberCity will market exclusively to all other interested parties.
Fig. 2 Hagen Graeff, Managing Director LGV, and Dr. Franz Steidler, Managing Director CyberCity AG, after the signing of the cooperation agreement in Hamburg.
Additional applications/customers for Hamburg’s 3D City Model include mission and safety planning for fire and police departments, architects, urban planners and other agencies who may use CAD renderings to demonstrate project alternatives and communicate project plans. 3D city models are also being used in some car navigation systems.
Fig. 3 Textured 3D model of the Speicherstadt in Hamburg.
About CyberCity AG
CyberCity AG is a worldwide operating System- and Software-Company specializing in the creation and visualization of reality-based virtual 3D city and facility models. CyberCity applies its proprietary software to generate high-quality virtual 3-dimensional city models. Our models are produced worldwide using aerial-/satellite imagery (photogrammetry) and airborne laserscanner data (LIDAR), GIS and 3D computer graphics. CyberCity clients and partners include companies and institutions in Europe, USA and the Middle East. Applications in the field of planning, tourism, safety and navigation are offered.
More information is available on the Internet at www.cybercity.tv.
About LGV
LGV is responsible for the distribution of analogue and digital geodata of Hamburg. LGV coordinates the activities of the administration concerning geographic information systems, manages the geodata infrastructure (GDI-HH) by the Competence Center GDI and offers web-based geodata services like www.geonord.de. LGV is a service facility for the administration of Hamburg and the economy and for the public. In addition to the generation of cartographic products by order of third parties, LGV will manage the project, generate and market the orthophotos, the digital terrain models and the digital 3D city model.
More information is available on the Internet at www.geoinfo.hamburg.de.
More information:
CyberCity AG
Kilian Ulm,
Sales & Marketing
Schaffhauserstrasse 481 P.O. Box CH-8052 Zurich
SWITZERLAND
Tel. +41 44 300 13 44
E-Mail kilian.ulm@cybercity.tv
(Credits CiberCity)

The European Space Agency donated a composite satellite image of global land cover provided by its Envisat satellite to the United Nations in Geneva, as a testimony to the current state of our planet, to be handed down to future generations.

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The image will be exhibited permanently in the new access building by the Pregny gate in the Palais des Nations compound. Mr Sergei Ordzhonikidze, the Director General of the UN Office in Geneva, accepted the mosaic on behalf of the United Nations from Dr Volker Liebig, ESA Director of Earth Observation Programmes, donating it on behalf of the European Space Agency.
The image is a mosaic of global land cover images taken by the MERIS instrument onboard ESA’s environmental satellite which shows the entire planet ‘in its true colours’. To produce the mosaic, a total of 1561 satellite orbit passes were used over the period May-November 2004. “Forests, desert, mountains and oceans are clearly visible. The mosaic shows the state of the planet at the beginning of the 21st century from a perspective only satellites can deliver”, said Volker Liebig.
Launched in 2002, Envisat is the largest Earth observation spacecraft ever built. It carries ten sophisticated optical and radar instruments to provide continuous observation and monitoring of the Earth‘s land surface, atmosphere, oceans and ice caps. Envisat data combined collectively provide a wealth of information on the workings of the Earth system, including insights into factors contributing to climate change.
The Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) measures the solar radiation reflected by the Earth, at a ground spatial resolution of 300m, with 15 spectral bands in the visible/near-infrared regions and programmable in terms of width and position. It provides global coverage of the Earth every three days.
ESA and UNOSAT, the UN project concerned with satellite imagery access and applications, are partners in several initiatives and programmes aimed at extending the use of satellite technologies to facilitate the work of the international community and UN agencies in particular. UNOSAT, which forms part of UNITAR, the United Nations Institute for Training and Research, promotes projects and programmes designed to enable developing countries and local communities in particular to gain access to such technologies and supports humanitarian aid activities.
ESA cooperates closely with UN specialised agencies. Since 2000, it has launched initiatives with a view to using observation technology to support the implementation of key multilateral environmental agreements such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Since the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002, ESA has been cooperating closely with UNOSAT and UN agencies on sustainable development projects and projects geared to Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) service development.
For further information, please contact:
Simonetta Cheli
Head of Public and Institutional Relations Office
ESA/ESRIN
Tel.: + 39 06 94180350
E-mail: Simonetta.Cheli@esa.int
(Credits ESA)

A forum for developers and practitioners to gather information on the latest thinking and technology. Part of RSPSoc 2006 – The Annual Conference of the Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry Society
Wednesday 6 September 2006 & Thursday 7th September 2006, Fitzwilliam College Cambridge

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RSPSoc, and Taylor and Francis Events are pleased to announce the launch of the Applications & Developments in Commercial Remote Sensing conference-within-a-conference at this year’s RSPSoc Annual Conference. Running alongside the main technical programme, this two day conference will feature case studies from worldwide users of remote sensing technology. It will explore the way in which remote sensing is being developed and applied by government and commercial users as well as suppliers.
This unique two-day event will bring together practitioners, scientists and vendors to discuss the current uses and future aspirations of the remote sensing user community.
Key speakers include:
- Dr Stephen Briggs, Head of the Earth Observation Applications Department, European Space Agency
- Andy Shaw, Earth Observation Coordinator, defra
- Chris Steenmans, Head of Group Geospatial Information System, European Environment Agency
- Dr Keith Porter, Environmental Information Manager, English Nature
- Dr Geoff Smith, Head of the Integrated Applications Group, Centre for Ecology and Ecology, Monks Wood
– Robin Fuller, Senior Research Associate with the Unit for Landscape Modelling, University of Cambridge
- David Gisclair, Technical Assistance Program Director, Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator’s Office, Office of the Governor
- Rob Cunningham, School of Coast and Environment, Louisiana State University
- Alexander P. Trishchenko Ph.D, Senior Research Scientist, Canada Centre for Remote Sensing, Natural Resources Canada
- Chris Duffell, Technical Advisor, Highways Agency
- Mark Rudrum, Director, Arup
- Tony Ballard, Chair, European Centre for Space Law and Partner, Field Fisher and Waterhouse
Benefits of attending:
- Learn from case studies of recent deployments of remote sensing technology
- Network with practitioners, users, suppliers, academics and scientists involved in application of remote sensing technology
- Hear about the latest uses for LiDAR
- Discuss the aspirations of the user community for remote sensing technology – what does the future hold?
- Learn about the latest licensing and regulation requirements
Who should attend?
Anyone with an interest in the commercial uses of remote sensing technology, including:
- Archaeologists,
- Transport Agencies
- Space Agencies
- Agriculture/Forestry Agencies
- Environment Agencies
- Defense/Military
- Civil Engineers
- Utility Companies
- Mining Oil and Gas
- Telecommunications
- Suppliers of Remote Sensing Technology
- Central and Local Government
- Meteorologists
For further information:
To receive a PDF of the Conference Agenda – please email: jonathan.shepherd@informa.com
Contact
Jon Shepherd
Senior Marketing Executive
Informa Plc
Haines House
21 John Street
London
WC1N 2BP
UNITED KINGDOM
Tel: + 44 (0) 20 7017 5664
Fax:+ 44 (0) 20 7017 4121
jonathan.shepherd@informa.com

NOAA’s budget includes financial resources to purchase two next generation satellite programmes

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Vice Admiral Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere asked 1 Million US Dollar to cover National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOOA)’s satellite activities, which represents 30 % of the whole Agency’s budget.

NESDIS (NOAA Satellite and Information Service) will allocate its financial resources to purchase its two next generation satellite programmes: GOES-R (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite) and NPOESS (National Polar- orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System).

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Earth‘s wetlands are vital to the water cycle and havens for wildlife, but they are under threat. GlobWetland, an ESA-led initiative in collaboration with the Ramsar Convention Secretariat, has been addressing this issue by using satellite imagery to provide detailed wide-area views of individual wetlands to aid national and local conservation efforts.

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Because the success of wetland conservation ultimately comes down to individual wetland managers, the GlobWetland products and services are user-oriented and based on specific requests of users across 50 sites in 21 countries worldwide.
Based on user requirements, GlobWetland products include base maps, land use-land cover (LULC) maps and change detection maps – with historical Earth Observation (EO) satellite images being compared with current acquisitions to see what changes have occurred during the last ten years or more.
Integrating the EO-derived products and services into the user’s traditional working procedures requires training to secure capacity building and to achieve a well-defined amount of competence. This is especially important in Africa where the lack of updated geo-information and the inefficient in-situ monitoring networks hinder the conservation efforts of wetland managers and water authorities.
In support of all African countries participating in the project, GlobWetland – which is funded by ESA’s Data User Element (DUE) – hosted a five-day training seminar, developed jointly by Wetlands International and Vexcel, last week from 24-28 April in Lake Naivasha, Kenya, for users to understand and integrate the EO-derived products and services into their work.
Participants from Algeria, Egypt, Lake Chad, Senegal, South Africa and Kenya attended the training which featured lectures, ‘hands-on’ work with sample products and field work methods carried out in an area adjacent to the training facility.
Remote Sensing Officer for the Lake Chad Basin Commission Garba Sambo Hassan, said: “The training has been really stimulating. I used to perform these tasks manually, which is tedious and cumbersome. I am now anxious to get back to the office and use these products to update my past work. It is marvellous.”
The seminar also sought to help African users critically assess their requirements, suggest new products, identify inefficiencies and take over the process. All the training materials were consolidated on a CD and given to all African end users at the close of the session. In addition, all attendees received an ESA TIGER initiative training kit. GlobWetland makes up an integral part of the TIGER initiative, which focuses on the use of EO data for improving water resource management in Africa.
Abundant water makes wetlands the most biologically diverse ecosystems on Earth, more productive even than tropical rainforests. Unlike rainforests, they are scattered across the world, providing regional flood and erosion prevention, water purification and nutrient recycling.
For much of the 20th Century, wetlands were drained or otherwise degraded. However, growing understanding of the vital importance of wetlands led to the signing of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands in 1971.
Today more than 1 424 wetlands – a total area of 129 million hectares – have been designated as Wetlands of International Importance. The Ramsar Convention‘s 145 national signatories have committed to maintaining the ecological character and are obliged to report on the state of listed wetlands they have designated.
(Credits ESA)

A frieze depicting planet Earth, assembled from satellite pictures on a scale of 1:1,000,000,000 will be unfurled around UNESCO’s Paris Headquarters as part of the Organization’s 60th birthday celebrations.

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The “Belle île en ciel” exhibition, which offers visitors a voyage around the world in 600 metres, has been opened on 29 March (5p.m.) by Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO, Jean-Jacques Dordain, Director-General of the European Space Agency; and Jean Mallot, President of Vulcania European Park.
The exhibition, supported by the European Space Agency, the Parc européen Vulcania, PlanetObserver, Spot Image, RATP (Paris public transport authority) and L’Express magazine, raises awareness of the Earth’s fragility. Assembled from pictures in the PlanetObserver database, the frieze will go on display with 60 panels illustrating the major challenges facing humanity and the protection of its heritage; from water cycle management to biodiversity, pollution, deforestation, global warming and natural disasters, as well as education, communication, dialogue between civilizations and the preservation of human cultures.
Humanity’s most important heritage is the Earth, “a beautiful island in the sky” where, for better or worse, over 6.5 billion people live. The advent of observation satellites has helped to raise awareness of our home planet’s limits. Study of our environment, using satellites such as Meteosat, ERS and the ESA’s Envisat polar platform, has helped to shed light on major climate changes underway. The data gathered enables scientists to model those changes’ long-term impact. To improve and feed the models, the ESA has set up satellite projects in the framework of the “Living Planet” programme intended to enhance our knowledge about such major issues as ocean circulation, ocean salinity, atmospheric dynamics and the melting of the polar ice caps. In addition, with the European Union it is planning the GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security) initiative in order to coordinate observations from space for the protection of the environment and people.
The themes dealt with in the exhibition highlight the issues on which UNESCO and the ESA have been cooperating since 2000. Those projects use aerospace technologies to meet humanitarian needs, protect the environment, manage natural disasters, improve education and preserve culture. The satellites’ global coverage and ability to fly over the same regions on a regular basis make them a key tool for managing the planet.
In 2001, for example, the ESA and UNESCO launched the BEGo (Build Environment for Gorillas) project, which uses optical imagery and radar by satellite to help protect mountain gorilla habitats in Rwanda, Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo. Special products have been developed from the data in cooperation with the main organizations involved in protecting the gorillas, such as the WWF, International Gorilla Conservation Programme (IGCP) and WildLife Conservation Society.
In 2002, after the Johannesburg World Summit for Sustainable Development, the ESA and UNESCO launched the TIGER initiative, which uses satellite data to manage water resources in Africa. Designed to meet Africa’s water needs, TIGER brings together over 150 organizations – water agencies, remote detection centres and universities — that take part in its various activities, workshops and training sessions. In this way, TIGER supports decision-making processes and contributes to technical, human and institutional capacity-building to ensure sustainable water resources management.
Since 2003, the ESA has also participated in the protection of the 812 World Heritage Sites, under a cooperation agreement that enables UNESCO to use satellite data to help monitor and manage the sites
Contact
Press Relations Section,
tel. +33 (0)1 45 68 17 06
(Credits UNESCO)