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European Space Imaging underlines its role as main provider of VHR satellite imagery to the European Commission

(Munich, 21/02/17) The Munich-based company has been awarded another major supply contract for VHR satellite data and services to support checks within the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

European Space Imaging announced today that the company has signed a multi-year framework supply contract with the European Commission for the provision of very high-resolution (VHR) satellite data and associated services in support of the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

This third exclusive framework agreement between the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) and European Space Imaging (EUSI) covers imagery from the most advanced fleet of VHR satellites and grants the JRC and the EU Member States access to imagery of the highest spatial and spectral resolution currently commercially available. The contract has an estimated total value of 38 million EUR over a period of up to 4 years and will be carried out by European Space Imaging its technology partner GAF AG and in close cooperation with the satellite operators DigitalGlobe and SI Imaging Services.

European Space Imaging will be responsible for providing satellite imagery and associated services directly to the European Union Member States for the Control with Remote Sensing (CwRS) and Land Parcel Identification System (LPIS) quality assessment of the CAP. The company will be managing all activities from satellite acquisition planning through to the final imagery delivery, including liaison with all stakeholders involved on EU and national level.

European Space Imaging has been the most reliable VHR imagery supplier to the European Commission in the Controls with Remote Sensing (CwRS) program and has delivered the bulk of the data for a yearly increasing number of control sites since the VHR program’s inception in 2004. The company operates its own satellite ground station with direct access to the leading constellation of five VHR satellites.

“Our efficiency and set-up allows us to support large and complex European programs such as CwRS. I want to thank our specialized teams and dedicated partners for their great achievement. We keep expanding our capacities to continue offering the best quality and service in the market. Again, in 2017, our company will make a multi-million Euro investment in improving our ground infrastructure technology and hiring additional staff,” says Adrian Zevenbergen, Managing Director of European Space Imaging.

About CwRS:

Since 1993, the European Commission (EC) has promoted the use of “Controls with Remote Sensing” (CwRS) as a system to control agricultural subsidies granted under the EC’s Common Agricultural Policy. Following the real time evaluation in 2003 and the successful operational application since 2004, the EC’s Joint Research Centre (Director General (DG) JRC), in agreement with DG AGRI, provides VHR satellite remote sensing data to the EU Member States (MS) administrations for their CwRS area-based subsidies.

Since 2010, VHR Imagery acquired under the CwRS campaign has also been used for the quality assessment of the Land Parcel Identification System – which is the main geo-database in the Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS – the main administration tool for managing of farmers’ applications).

The DG JRC provides technical guidance regarding the CwRS strategy as well as managing the image acquisition, ordering and communication with the MS administrations and image providers. Also, in close cooperation with the MS, it supports the definition of the imagery required. Satellite imagery is acquired through third party suppliers selected by the DG JRC like European Space Imaging who has been a key third party imagery supplier to these campaigns since the programs’ inception.

About European Space Imaging

European Space Imaging (EUSI) is the ‘go to’ company in Europe if you are looking for very high-resolution satellite data. Their current ’best’ offering is 30 cm data from the DigitalGlobe WorldView-3 satellite.
EUSI also operates a multi-mission ground station to provide direct satellite tasking. This enables optimized image collection strategies, flexibility and real-time weather assessments for new collections.
With a reputation for expert and personalized customer service EUSI has been providing tailored VHR imagery solutions from their Munich headquarters to meet the diverse project requirements of their customer base since 2002.

For more information please contact:

Penelope Richardson, Marketing Manager
European Space Imaging
Arnulfstrasse 199, Munich 80634
Tel: +49 (0) 89 1301420
Fax: +49 (0) 89 13014222