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Officials from several departments and agencies of the United States of America and the United Arab Emirates Space Agency met in Washington, D.C., during the week of March 16-20, 2015, to review a broad list of potential areas of space cooperation.

The United States and the United Arab Emirates officials discussed strengthening civil and national security space collaboration. They agreed on developing a strategic approach that would focus on building mutual confidence and understanding of space systems on which both countries rely for economic, environmental, security, and social well-being.

Initial discussions focused on space policy and regulatory developments, long term sustainability of space activities, space security, space exploration, bilateral space science cooperation, weather monitoring, the use of satellite-based applications, and exchanges of best practices.

Areas of future conversations and collaboration may focus on important uses of satellite-based data and value-added applications such as: land and sea resource management; space situational awareness; earth observation; climate change research; meteorology; positioning, navigation, and timing; satellite communications; early warning; earth observation; space weather monitoring and opportunities for early discussions on new systems and future space-related missions.

Additionally, discussions may explore opportunities for fair and open global trade and commerce for commercial space systems, ground-based capabilities, and managing the space environment to contribute to space flight safety by reducing the risks of collisions and damage by space debris.

Relevant agencies from the United States and United Arab Emirates will consult periodically to continue discussions on current and future space cooperation.

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(March 25, 2015) Scientists are making advances in the use of satellite radar data – such as those from the Sentinel-1 mission – to monitor Earth’s changing surface. Italy’s Phlegraean Fields – or Campi Flegrei – is a large, active volcanic area near the city of Naples near Mount Vesuvius. Since the 1970s, the ground has been rising owing to the volcanic nature of this area.


“In 2012, deformation rates up to 3 cm a month prompted the Italian Civil Protection Department to move from the base (green) alert level of the Campi Flegrei Emergency Plan to the attention (yellow) level,” said Sven Borgstrom from Italy’s National Institute for Geophysics and Volcanology.

“The uplift continues today: radar imagery from the Sentinel-1A satellite captured over the area between October 2014 and March 2015 show that the ground is rising by about 0.5 cm per month.”

This is just one of the many findings being presented this week at the Fringe Workshop on advances in the science and applications of ‘SAR interferometry’ held at ESRIN, ESA’s centre for Earth observation, in Frascati, Italy. Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar, or InSAR, is a remote sensing technique where two or more images of the same area are combined to detect slight changes occurring between acquisitions.

Tiny changes on the ground cause changes in the radar signal and lead to rainbow-coloured interference patterns in the combined image, known as an ‘interferogram’. The Fringe Workshop takes its name from these coloured fringes seen in the interferograms.

Small movements – down to a scale of a few millimetres – can be detected across wide areas. Tectonic plates grinding past one another, the slow ‘breathing’ of active volcanoes, the slight sagging of a city street through groundwater extraction, and even the thermal expansion of a building on a sunny day.

This year, the workshop is paying particular attention to new results from the Sentinel-1 mission. Launched in April of last year, Sentinel-1A became the first satellite in orbit for Europe’s Copernicus programme, and has been delivering important data for an array of operational and scientific applications.

In Norway’s Svalbard archipelago, Sentinel-1 data are being used to monitor ice loss from the Austfonna ice cap. Earlier this year, the satellite captured the ice cap’s outlet glacier flowing at 3 cm per day.

With over 420 participants, this year’s Fringe workshop has seen the largest turnout since its inauguration in 1991 – when four specialists met to discuss the early InSAR results from the ERS-1 mission. Radar interferometry has come a long way since, with contributions from satellites such as Envisat and now Sentinel-1A.

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AWS released the pics to highlight the urgent need for action on climate change and humanitarian disasters

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has released 85,000 satellite images of Earth into the public domain to draw attention to the growing problems of climate change and humanitarian disasters.

The pictures can be accessed via Amazon’s latest Public Data Set Landsat on AWS and were taken aboard Landsat 8, an American Earth observation satellite that launched in February 2013.

AWS’ Jed Sundwall said in a blog post: “We hope to accelerate innovation in climate research, humanitarian relief, and disaster preparedness efforts around the world by making Landsat data readily available near our flexible computing resources. We have committed to host up to a petabyte of Landsat data as a contribution to the White House’s Climate Data Initiative.”

Researchers and software developers can use the data to analyse the effect of things like global warming on the earth’s surface and to develop new products without having to collect or store the data themselves, reducing bandwidth costs.

A number of companies have already used the data to demonstrate how it can be used. Esri has developed in-browser visualisation and analysis using ArcGIS Online, while MapBox is using the images to show how the surface of Earth is constantly changing with its Landsat Live offering.

Sundall added: “Because of Landsat’s global purview and long history, it has become a reference point for all Earth observation work and is considered the gold standard of natural resource satellite imagery. It is the basis for research and applications in many global sectors, including agriculture, cartography, geology, forestry, regional planning, surveillance and education. Many of our customers’ work couldn’t be done without Landsat.”
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There is a potential treasure trove of scientific knowledge in the variety and amount of data collected through remote Earth observation. But the potential is only half the story – developing ways to effectively use that data is another challenge.

Jack Kaye of NASA spoke to issues surrounding Earth observation by satellites at the 2015 Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) held in February in San Jose, California.

Kaye, associate director for research in NASA’s Earth Science Division, emphasised the variety of data that can be collected from space and the multitude of ways that data can be used to learn more about Earth and its population.

For example, something as simple as comparing the relative intensity of lights at night can be fruitful information for those studying the location and development of populations.

“Night lights are a great way of thinking about human geography,” Kaye said. “You can look at where people are. The North Korea-South Korea border is very clear, because there are very few night lights in North Korea.”

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Disasters triggered by natural hazards are an unparalleled threat to sustainable development. In March 2015, experts and representatives of countries from all over the world are gathering in Sendai, Japan, to strengthen disaster risk reduction on a global scale. From this Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR) a new international agreement will emerge, the post-2015 framework for disaster risk reduction, aiming to guide national, regional, and international efforts to reduce the vulnerability and the exposure of people, infrastructures and resources to disaster risks.

In doing so, disaster risk managers and decision-makers depend greatly on the detailed and reliable assessment of risks. Satellite-based technologies such as Earth observations provide advanced products and tools that support these efforts. Such products can be used to monitor and measure indicators related to infrastructure and land use (e. g. topography, urbanization, or transportation networks), to measure atmospheric and environmental variables (e. g. soil moisture, precipitation, or temperature) and to detect changes over time caused by both planned development and unforeseen crises.

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(March 2015) Landsat 8 satellite images made available on Amazon Web Services in humanitarian aid and education drive

Amazon Web Services has made available more than 85,000 satellite images of Earth in an attempt to bolster the firm’s commitment to climate change and humanitarian aid.

In a blog post, AWS’ Jed Sundwall said that the Landsat 8 images are accessible through Amazon’s latest Public Data Set Landsat on AWS.

Landsat 8 is an American Earth observation satellite which was launched in February 2013. The Landsat program has been running since 1972 and is the longest ongoing project to collect such imagery. Landsat 8 is the newest Landsat satellite and it gathers data based on visible, infrared, near-infrared, and thermal-infrared light.

Gold standard

Sundwall said: “Because of Landsat’s global purview and long history, it has become a reference point for all Earth observation work and is considered the gold standard of natural resource satellite imagery. It is the basis for research and applications in many global sectors, including agriculture, cartography, geology, forestry, regional planning, surveillance and education. Many of our customers’ work couldn’t be done without Landsat.”

“We hope to accelerate innovation in climate research, humanitarian relief, and disaster preparedness efforts around the world by making Landsat data readily available near our flexible computing resources.”

The scenes are all available in the landsat-pds bucket in the Amazon S3 US West (Oregon) region.

Amazon Web Services said it has been testing its approach to the image hosting over the past few months and has been “amazed” by what some people have been able to do with the information.

Use cases

A company called Mapbox is using Landsat on AWS to power Landsat-live, a map that is always being updated with the latest imagery from NASA’s Landsat 8 satellite. The map also overlays the images with street data to provide as much context as possible. Geographic systems provider Esri has created a demonstration of how ArcGIS Online can visualise Landsat data for visualisation and analysis within a browser.

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NASA is beginning work on a new satellite mission that will extend critical climate measurements of Earth’s oceans and atmosphere and advance studies of the impact of environmental changes on ocean health, fisheries and the carbon cycle.

Tentatively scheduled to launch in 2022, the Pre-Aerosol Clouds and ocean Ecosystem (PACE) mission will study Earth’s aquatic ecology and chemistry, and address the uncertainty in our understanding of how clouds and small airborne particles called aerosols affect Earth’s climate. PACE will be managed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

“Knowing more about global phytoplankton community composition will help us understand how living marine resources respond to a changing climate,” said Jeremy Werdell, PACE project scientist at Goddard. “With PACE, we will learn more about the role of marine phytoplankton in the global carbon cycle.”

NASA has long used satellites to observe the global ocean’s microscopic algal communities, which play a significant role in the ocean’s ecology and the global carbon cycle. PACE will provide a global view of the planet’s microscopic ocean algae called phytoplankton. Phytoplankton live in the sunlit upper layer of the ocean, producing at least half of the oxygen on Earth and form the base of the marine food chain.

Goddard will build PACE’s ocean color instrument. This PACE sensor will allow scientists to see the colors of the ocean, from the ultraviolet to near infrared, and obtain more accurate measurements of biological and chemical ocean properties, such as phytoplankton biomass and the composition of phytoplankton communities. These changes in the ocean’s color help identify harmful algal blooms.

Quantifying phytoplankton is essential for understanding the carbon cycle and tracking climate variability and change. The ocean absorbs atmospheric carbon dioxide into solution at the sea surface. Like land plants, phytoplankton use carbon dioxide to create their organic biomass via photosynthesis. Phytoplankton vary greatly in their size, function, and response to environmental and ecosystem changes or stresses such as ocean acidification.

Dissolved carbon dioxide also reacts with seawater and alters its acidity. About one fourth of human-made carbon dioxide ends up in the ocean.

NASA Goddard pioneered ocean color remote sensing 35 years ago with the very first satellite observations, and the Center has been committed to supporting the science ever since,” said Piers Sellers, deputy director of NASA Goddard Earth Science. “Goddard scientists play a critical role in generating and improving core satellite data sets for the international ocean biology community. We look forward to extending this important record into the future with PACE.”

In addition to gathering data on ocean color, PACE will measure clouds and tiny airborne particles like dust, smoke and aerosols in the atmosphere to supplement measurements from existing NASA satellite missions. These measurements are critical for understanding the flow of natural and human made aerosols in the environment. Aerosols affect how energy moves in and out of Earth’s atmosphere directly by scattering sunlight, and indirectly by changing the composition of clouds. Aerosols also can affect the formation of precipitation in clouds and change rainfall patterns.

The blend of atmospheric and oceanic observations from PACE is critical as ocean biology is affected by aerosols deposited onto the ocean, which in turn, produce aerosol precursors that influence atmospheric composition and climate. NASA is currently planning a second PACE instrument, a polarimeter, to better measure aerosol and cloud properties. These measurements will improve understanding of the roles of aerosols in the climate system.

Goddard’s proof-of-concept sensor for measuring ocean color – the Coastal Zone Color Scanner that flew on the Nimbus-7 satellite from 1978 to 1986 – was the first sensor to demonstrate phytoplankton biomass could be quantified from space. The Sea-Viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor or SeaWiFS mission collected data from 1997 to 2010 and was the first mission dedicated to routinely observe ocean biology, chemistry, and ecology for long-term climate research.

Currently, researchers employ the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer that flies aboard both NASA’s Terra and Aqua spacecraft, and the Visible Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite aboard the NASA-NOAA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership satellite, to measure biological and chemical properties of the ocean, as well as aerosol and cloud properties.

NASA capped the costs for PACE at $805 million, to cover the spacecraft, mission design and engineering, science, instruments, launch vehicle, data processing, and operations.

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(16 March 2015) A new concept that involves mounting an instrument on the International Space Station and taking advantage of signals from navigation satellites could provide measurements of sea-surface height and information about features related to ocean currents, benefiting science and ocean forecasting

We have all seen the beautiful photographs of our planet taken by astronauts, but orbiting Earth 16 times a day just 400 km above, the Space Station also offers a platform from which to measure certain variables related to climate change.

So, in 2011 ESA called for proposals to explore how the Space Station could be used to make scientifically valid observations of Earth. After reviewing and assessing numerous proposals, the result is to further develop the GEROS-ISS mission concept.

GEROS-ISS stands for GNSS reflectometry, radio occultation and scatterometry on board the ISS.

Global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) include GPS and Galileo satellites, which send a continual stream of microwave signals to Earth for navigation purposes, but these signals also bounce off the surface and back into space.

The idea is to install an instrument with an antenna on the Space Station that would capture signals directly from these satellites as well as signals that are reflected or scattered from Earth.

This process could be used to calculate the height of the sea surface, and to measure waves – or ‘roughness’ – that can then be used to work out the speed of surface winds.

GEROS-ISS is primarily an experiment to demonstrate new ways of observing Earth.

However, if taken beyond the testing phase this new approach would complement measurements from satellites carrying altimeters such as CryoSat and Sentinel-3, and satellites carrying wind scatterometers such as MetOp.

Importantly, it is the first concept to assess the potential of spaceborne GNSS reflectometry to determine and map ocean height at scales of 10–100 km or longer in less than four days. Current satellite altimeters, in comparison, offer global maps at scales of around 80 km, which are produced from multiple datasets every 10 days.

A system based on GEROS-ISS would, therefore, complement existing satellite systems, helping to map ocean variability at finer spatial and temporal scales over a range of seas in tropical and temperate regions.

It would also refine our understanding of how well the concept would work for measuring the roughness of the ocean surface.

In this respect, the development of GEROS-ISS benefits from experience gained with the UK’s TechDemoSat-1, which also measures ocean-surface roughness using a similar technique. It is also hoped that NASA’s upcoming CYGNSS constellation of mini satellites will help pave the way for GEROS-ISS.

In addition, GEROS-ISS uses a technique called radio occultation whereby the antenna receives signals that are refracted as they pass through the atmosphere. This can be used to generate vertical profiles of atmospheric humidity, pressure and temperature, as does the GRAS instrument on the MetOp satellites, for example.

Jens Wickert who leads the science team that proposed GEROS-ISS said, “It is very flexible, combining different mission concepts and applications in one: GNSS-reflectometry to determine sea-surface height, scatterometry to measure sea-surface roughness and radio occultation for atmospheric studies.”

ESA engineer Manuel Martin-Neira noted, “The original concept actually goes back over 20 years and has matured considerably through numerous studies and campaigns, however, it has never been duly tested from space.”

“Being able to use the International Space Station in this way means that we can quickly validate innovative observing techniques without having to build an entire satellite, and we expect this to lead to new opportunities for science,” added Michael Kern, ESA’s GEROS-ISS mission scientist.

Jason Hatton, GEROS-ISS project coordinator, said, “The concept is still going through feasibility studies, but the aim is to launch the experiment towards the end of 2019.

“It would be carried to the Space Station on a cargo vehicle and installed on ESA’s Columbus space laboratory using a robotic arm, after which GEROS-ISS would run for at least a year.”

The GEROS-ISS feasibility studies are being carried out through ESA’s General Studies Programme.

(source: ESA) adn soacenewsfeed

VANCOUVER, JULY 16, 2014 | UrtheCast Corp. (TSX:UR) (“UrtheCast” or “the Company”) today provided an update on the commissioning process for its Medium-Resolution Camera (“MRC” or “Theia”) and its Ultra HD, High-Resolution Camera (“HRC” or “Iris”). The MRC has achieved Initial Operational Capability (“IOC”), completing the MRC’s commissioning phase. Theia is now capable of commercial imaging and UrtheCast will continue to refine the operational and processing systems required to meet increased order volumes and produce value-added consumer products and services.


“Successful completion of the MRC’s commissioning phase is a significant milestone for our team. We’re extremely grateful for the hard work of the engineering teams at UrtheCast, RSC Energia, and Roscosmos. This is another testament to how well these teams continue to work together,” commented UrtheCast’s Chief Technology Officer, Dr. George Tyc.

UrtheCast is continuing commissioning and calibrating the HRC. The Bi-axial Pointing Platform (“BPP”), which controls the pointing of the HRC, is experiencing difficulties in achieving the pointing control precision needed for the HRC to meet image quality specifications. Our engineering team together with RSC Energia believes it has developed a solution to this problem using existing gyroscopes on the HRC to improve the BPP pointing control. This solution has been successfully tested on the ground. The on-orbit implementation of this solution requires software updates and the installation of additional cabling inside the Zvezda module. These new cables need to be delivered to the International Space Station (ISS). As a result, there will be a several month delay in commissioning the HRC.

“We are very pleased with the solution developed by the team, and with the results of the ground tests demonstrating the expected performance. While there is never a 100% guarantee until the test results are replicated on-orbit, we are very confident this solution will enable us to capture high-resolution imagery and video with the HRC,” said UrtheCast’s CEO, Scott Larson. “Operations in space are complex and not always as predictable as many of us would like them to be. Although the technical issues affecting the commissioning of the HRC have delayed our previously disclosed commissioning schedule, we believe these issues can be resolved and we do not expect that this delay will affect the viability of our product offering.”

UrtheCast has notified its insurers regarding the potential of a claim against our in-orbit insurance policy for revenue interruption due to the commissioning delay and costs related to implementing the proposed solution.

The Company’s recent announcement regarding the opportunity to install and operate sensors on the NASA module of the ISS will result in additional development costs. UrtheCast anticipates funding these development costs over the next 3 years from a combination of non-dilutive third party funding, available cash and internal cash flow. UrtheCast is currently in an advanced stage of negotiation on a long-term contract that, if successfully concluded, would provide a substantial source of non-dilutive financing for the additional sensors.

UrtheCast will also host a conference call at 8:00 a.m. ET on July 16, 2014.

Conference Call Details

UrtheCast will also host a conference call at 8:00 a.m. ET on July 17, 2014 — the details for which will be made available that morning, prior to the call.

An archived version of the conference call will be made available on the Company’s website after the live conference call.

For further details related to UrtheCast imagery and products, our Customer Experience Team is available, Monday through Friday, 6am to 6pm PT, by calling 1-800-669-3713 or emailing CX@urthecast.com.

About UrtheCast Corp.

UrtheCast Corp. is a Vancouver-based technology company that is developing the world’s first Ultra HD video feed of Earth, streamed from space in full color. Working with renowned aerospace partners from across the globe, UrtheCast has built, launched, installed, and will soon operate two cameras on the Russian segment of the ISS. Video and still image data captured by the cameras will be downlinked to ground stations across the planet and displayed on the UrtheCast web platform, or distributed directly to exclusive partners and customers. UrtheCast’s cameras will provide Ultra HD video and still imagery of Earth that will allow for monitoring of the environment, humanitarian relief, social events, agricultural land, etc. Common shares of UrtheCast trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange as ticker ‘UR’. For more information visit our website at urthecast.com.

Forward-looking Information

This release contains certain information which, as presented, constitutes “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking information involves statements that an action or event “will” be taken or occur (or similar language) and includes statements about the plans to operate camera components on the ISS, proposed image and video product offerings, expected partners and customers to distribute such products and proposed plans and timelines for commissioning of the HRC. Forward-looking statements are subject to various known and unknown risks, many of which are beyond the ability of UrtheCast to control or predict, and which may cause UrtheCast’s actual results to be materially different from those expressed or implied thereby, including, but not limited to, further delays in commissioning of the HRC, damage which may have occurred to the cameras during launch or installation, unexpected changes in Russian or Canadian government policies as well as those factors discussed in the Company’s annual information form dated March 26, 2014, (the “AIF”) and the Company’s short form base shelf prospectus dated April 7, 2014 (the “Prospectus”) which are available under UrtheCast’s SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. Forward-looking information is developed based on assumptions about such risks, uncertainties and other factors set out herein, in the AIF and Prospectus, and as otherwise disclosed from time to time on UrtheCast’s SEDAR profile. UrtheCast undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements except as may be required by applicable Canadian securities laws. Readers are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements.

SOURCE UrtheCast Corp

VANCOUVER, March 11, 2015 | UrtheCast Corp. (TSX:UR) (“UrtheCast” or the “Company”) today announces that it has signed its first brand partnership, teaming with PepsiCo Inc. (“Pepsi”) to provide the world’s first full-color, Ultra High-Definition video footage of Earth captured from space for the brand’s 2015 global program, the Pepsi Challenge. Harnessing UrtheCast’s Ultra HD video technology camera suite onboard the International Space Station (ISS), Pepsi will challenge live production conventions with the first-ever, epic film adventure shot from space.


“Enabling world change is especially important to us; in fact, it’s the core of the UrtheCast vision,” explained UrtheCast Chief Executive Officer, Scott Larson. “We’re truly excited to see the ways in which the new Pepsi Challenge will allow us to harness UrtheCast’s technology. This is proving to be a highly-innovative collaboration and we can’t wait to reveal what’s coming around the corner.”

For more information on the Pepsi Challenge, please visit.

For more information on UrtheCast visit our website.

About UrtheCast Corp.

UrtheCast Corp. is a Vancouver-based technology company that is developing the world’s first Ultra HD video feed of Earth, streamed from space in full color. Working with renowned aerospace partners from across the globe, UrtheCast has built, launched, installed, and will soon operate two cameras on the ISS. Video and still image data captured by the cameras will be downlinked to ground stations across the planet and displayed on the UrtheCast web platform, or distributed directly to partners and customers. UrtheCast’s cameras will provide Ultra HD video and still imagery of Earth that will allow for monitoring of the environment, humanitarian relief, social events, agricultural land, etc. Common shares of UrtheCast trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange as ticker ‘UR’.

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $66 billion in net revenue in 2014, driven by a complementary food and beverage portfolio that includes Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Quaker and Tropicana. PepsiCo’s product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including 22 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales. At the heart of PepsiCo is Performance with Purpose – our goal to deliver top-tier financial performance while creating sustainable growth in shareholder value. In practice, Performance with Purpose means providing a wide range of foods and beverages from treats to healthy eats; finding innovative ways to minimize our impact on the environment and reduce our operating costs; providing a safe and inclusive workplace for our employees globally; and respecting, supporting and investing in the local communities where we operate. For more information, visit www.pepsico.com.

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Nicole.Tronolone@pepsico.com