Astrium GEO-Information Services, which has already signed partnership agreements to supply Pléiades data with three leading players in the remote-sensing industry—PASCO Corporation in Japan, Beijing Eastdawn Information Technology in China and MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates (MDA) in Canada—is thus adding very-high-resolution products for precision mapping and photo-interpretation to its portfolio, available to customers worldwide.
Pléiades 1A, launched on 16 December 2011, is the first in a constellation of twin Earth-imaging satellites, the second of which is set for launch in the coming months. This constellation offers exceptional performance for civil applications. Besides their 50-cm resolution after resampling, the Pléiades satellites’ agility enables them to image points out to 1,500 km either side of nadir. The two satellites will be phased to guarantee daily revisits to any point on the globe.
Pléiades complements the SPOT satellites, the latest of which, SPOT 6, is set to be orbited in September this year. SPOT 6 and SPOT 7 will offer lower-resolution (1.5 m) wide-swath (60 km) data for mapping very large areas. The Pléiades (1A and 1B) and SPOT 6 and SPOT 7 constellations will be equally spaced in Earth orbit, giving Astrium Services a capability by 2014 to supply very recent imagery and multiscale, quick-response services unique in the civil market. These satellites will make Astrium Services the first operator in the world to offer customers a full palette of optical and radar Earth-imaging data at scales from medium to very-high resolution.
Through its GEO-Information services, Astrium is recognized as one of the leaders in the geo-spatial information market, not least thanks to the now fully integrated skills and resources of the former Spot Image and Infoterra. The company provides decision-makers with complete solutions enabling them to increase security, boost agricultural performance, maximize oil & gas or mining operations, improve their management of natural resources, and protect the environment. It has exclusive access to data from the SPOT, TerraSAR-X and TanDEM-X satellites and Pléiades, coupled with a complete range of space-based data sources and airborne acquisition capability allowing it to offer an unrivalled scope of Earth observation products and services. This extensive portfolio covers the entire geo-information supply chain, from the generation of images to the provision of high added-value information to end-users.
By leveraging the synergies and expertise available across the whole of Astrium Services, its GEO-Information teams develop innovative, yet competitive, bespoke solutions based on the combination and integration of Earth observation, navigation and high-end telecommunications.
Source Astrium