Skip to content

RapidEye news…

High Revisit Capability Allows for Fast Coverage of Persistently Cloudy Areas…Added to USDA/FAS/OGA/IPAD Prime Vendor Contract…AAMHatch Named Australian Distributor…


RapidEye Takes On A Challenge: Repetitive Coverage In Brazil

Brandenburg / Havel, Germany, October 1, 2009 – RapidEye, the only geospatial solutions provider to own and operate a constellation of Earth Observation satellites, announced today that they will supply the state of Bahia with RapidEye satellite imagery through their Brazilian distributor Santiago & Cintra Consultoria.

“RapidEye has been selected to provide the state of Bahia imagery because of their capacity to return to an area multiple times until a low cloud cover image can be acquired, and because of their high quality satellite data. Bahia is quite difficult to image with low cloud cover, as it is a tropical area, and the five RapidEye satellites are the best system out there to capture these challenging images. RapidEye satellite imagery will provide the state of Bahia with updated land use information for decisions on environmental issues, agriculture and infrastructure. The imagery will be used by multiple organizations and decision makers that are related to territorial planning with a socio economic sustainable approach.” commented Rita Pimentel from SEI – Bahia Government Organization.

“This contractual agreement will provide proof of our system capabilities. We have already delivered 250,000 square kilometers of imagery in September,” commented Michael Prechtel, Head of Marketing and Sales for RapidEye. “It is hard to predict when this area will be cloud free. With the RapidEye system, we can continue to return to the area until we achieve our goal of a low cloud covered image. The successful completion of this project will highlight our advantageous imaging capabilities for frequent monitoring in tropical areas like the state of Bahia and the Amazon area.”

If you are interested in demonstration products (free test data) from Brazil, please visit RapidEye’s website at www.rapideye.de/demo-products or email demoproducts@rapideye.de.

Images of your region or area of interest can be chosen from the expanding collection of imagery in the RapidEye Library by contacting a distributor or RapidEye directly. The Library is continuously growing, with new images being downloaded from their satellites every day. For more information, please contact the company’s website at www.rapideye.de, and www.santiagoecintraconsultoria.com.br, or email an inquiry to sales@rapideye.de.

About Santiago & Cintra Consultoria

Santiago & Cintra Consultoria is a provider of geo-IT consulting services and solutions for many industries, such as government, oil & gas, forest and agriculture, environment, telecommunication, utilities, mining, education and others. For more information about S&C Consultoria or its products and services, please visit www.santiagoecintraconsultoria.com.br.

For more information about SEI – Bahia Government Organization, please visit www.sei.ba.gov.br.

RapidEye Added to USDA/FAS/OGA/IPAD Prime Vendor Contract

Brandenburg / Havel, Germany—RapidEye, the only geospatial solutions provider to own and operate a constellation of Earth Observation satellites, announced today that they are the latest addition to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Foreign Agricultural Services (FAS), Office of Global Analysis (OGA) and the International Production and Assessment Division (IPAD) Prime Vendor Contract.

Under the contract, RapidEye will provide the four agencies with their levels 1B and 3A satellite imagery products. The agencies will have the ability to order imagery either from RapidEye’s existing archive (the RapidEye Library), or the option of tasking the RapidEye constellation of satellites if an area they are interested in has not been imaged.

Robert Tetrault, IPAD/Office of Global Analysis/FAS/USDA, Satellite Imagery Archive Manager, stated, “The use of RapidEye satellite data should allow our crop analysts to use a finer resolution data set. We look forward to testing this imagery to see how it supports our convergence of evidence methodology. The convergence of evidence methodology is used to develop our crop acreage and yield estimates which is vital to our global food security analysis.”

“We look forward to providing multi-temporal, in-season data collection programs to enhance USDA’s crop and vegetation monitoring efforts,” said John Ahlrichs, Vice President of RapidEye. “This contract will give USDA agencies instant access to our imagery for better monitoring and decision making.”

The IPAD/Office of Global Analysis/FAS/USDA is responsible for global crop condition assessments and estimates of area, yield, and production for grains, oilseeds, and cotton. The primary mission of OGA is to target, collect, analyze, and disseminate timely, objective, useful, and cost-effective global crop condition and agricultural market intelligence information. One of OGA’s key missions is to provide unbiased commodity estimates and forecasts to create a marketing edge for U.S. producers in world markets (Source: USDA and NASA). The Prime Vendor Contract vehicle allows them to obtain agriculture analysis solutions using satellite imagery and ancillary information quickly and cost effectively.

Derrick Williams, III, Division Director, IPAD, stated, “The purpose of this contract is to promote efficiency. We are making the best use of every taxpayer dollar. The Prime Vendor Contract helps the USDA achieve our goal – which is to have a contract in place that allows us to access products provided by the commercial industry and get the best price and performance possible. The Prime Vendor Contract provides the IPAD/Office of Global Analysis/ FAS/USDA with the best possible imagery based global agriculture analysis solutions at the best possible prices and meets our stringent delivery specifications and our clients needs which range from Global Food Security to Climate Change.”

About IPAD/Office of Global Analysis/FAS/USDA:

International Production and Assessment Division (IPAD), Office of Global Analysis (OGA), Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), has the primary responsibility for USDA’s international activities – market development, trade agreements and negotiations, and the collection and analysis of statistics and market information. As such a primary mission of IPAD/Office of Global Analysis/FAS/USDA is to target, collect, analyze, and disseminate timely, objective, useful, and cost-effective global crop condition and agricultural production information. The purpose is to provide unbiased commodity estimates and forecasts to create a marketing edge for U.S. producers in world markets. For more information contact Robert Tetrault, Satellite Imagery Archive Manager at Robert.Tetrault@fas.usda.gov or call 202-720-1071.

About Global Marketing Insights, Inc.:

Since 1997, this woman-owned firm, Global Marketing Insights, Inc. provides a wide range of geospatial and remote sensing business planning and market research services, including targeted product/service market studies and competitive market research to government agencies and private sector firms seeking to increase their market share. Global Marketing Insights, Inc. is the prime vendor contract vendor liaison for the IPAD/Office of Global Analysis/FAS/USDA and is the author of the 2005-2015 International Remote Sensing Study and the 2006-2016 Asian Remote Sensing Study, and the 2008-2018 Africa Remote Sensing Study. For more information contact Sherry Loy, Geospatial Market Specialist at: sherryloy@globalinsights.com or 216-525-0600.

AAMHatch Named Australian Distributor For RapidEye Products

Brandenburg / Havel, Germany, September 24, 2009 – RapidEye, the only geospatial solutions provider to own and operate a constellation of Earth Observation satellites, announced today that AAMHatch of Australia has signed as one of their distributors

The contract was signed last week between AAMHatch’s General Manager, Brian Nicholls and RapidEye CEO, Wolfgang G. Biedermann.

AAMHatch will market and distribute RapidEye products in Australia and New Zealand (including their Antarctic territories), Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia and the South Pacific Island nations.

“We know that AAMHatch has many years of experience in business mapping and GIS, and is very well respected in these fields. They are well positioned to aggressively develop and ensure market uptake of RapidEye data in this large region which covers most of Oceania. RapidEye also recognize that AAMHatch has a well dispersed network of staff and offices to secure sales and support for our products,” commented John Ahlrichs, Vice President of RapidEye. “We look forward to a long-lasting business relationship.”

“The RapidEye system offers some unique benefits to the marketplace in Australia, New Zealand and the Oceania region. We look forward to working with our clients and partners on the adoption and operational implementation of the RapidEye content, tools and services,” espoused Brian Nicholls, General Manager of AAMHatch. “We welcome the opportunity to work with RapidEye and other RapidEye partners around the world to commercialise this technology.”

Currently, RapidEye is working on completing its worldwide network of distributors in order to facilitate easy access to RapidEye products in their customers’ own languages and regions. For a full list of RapidEye’s distributors

About AAMHatch

AAMHatch operates from an extensive office network throughout Australia, South East Asia and South Africa. AAMHatch specialises in providing business mapping, GIS and Location Based Services to a broad base of Government and Business clients. The AAMHatch Group is a multi-disciplinary team of over 200 geospatial professionals with an award-winning culture of innovation and passion that actively contributes to client success.

_For more information about AAMHatch, please visit their website

About RapidEye AG

RapidEye is an ISO-certified geospatial information provider focused on integrating customized and industry specific solutions into the workflow of global customers in agriculture, forestry, energy, infrastructure, government, security and emergency. RapidEye experts and the satellite system – a constellation of five satellites capable of downloading over 4 million km² of high resolution, multi-spectral imagery per day, and a ground segment for processing and archiving data – allow for cost-effective customized services. The unique combination of large area coverage, high spatial resolution and the possibility of daily revisit to an area provide for superior management information solutions. Currently, more than 110 experts from more than 20 countries are employed by RapidEye, with plans to grow the team to 140 by late 2009.

RapidEye benefits from a public-private partnership with the Space Agency of the German Aerospace Center (DLR), which is supported by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology. RapidEye is also cofinanced by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). For more information on ERDF please contact efreinfo@mw.brandenburg.de.

RapidEye is a “Selected Landmark in the Land of Ideas” and therefore part of the event series “365 Landmarks in the Land of Ideas”. This program is run by the initiative “Germany – Land of Ideas” and Deutsche Bank. Being a “Selected Landmark” RapidEye will stand for Germany being a “Land of ideas” in 2009 and will demonstrate Germany’s spirit of innovation. The initiative is under the patronage of Germany’s federal president Horst Köhler. www.land-of-ideas.org

For more information about RapidEye, please visit www.rapideye.de.

RapidEye Contact
RapidEye AG
Molkenmarkt 30
14776 Brandenburg a. d. Havel, Germany
press@rapideye.de
Follow us on Twitter! www.twitter.com/rapideye_ag

Head Office/Sitz der Gesellschaft: Brandenburg an der Havel Management Board/Vorstand: Wolfgang G. Biedermann Chairman of Supervisory Board/Vorsitzender des Aufsichtsrates: Juergen Breitkopf Commercial Register/Handelsregister Potsdam HRB 17 796 Tax Number/Steuernummer: 048/100/00053 VAT-Ident-Number/Ust.-ID: DE 199331235 DIN EN ISO 9001 certified

SOURCE.