SPOT 4 Availability in Russia Extended

ScanEx Research & Development Center (Russia) and French Spot Image (France) have signed an agreement, entitling ScanEx with exclusive rights starting late July 2010 to distribute SPOT 4 satellite data over the territory of Russia and Belarus. Granting of exclusive rights to ScanEx to operate with SPOT 4 data expands the possibilities of operating with satellite data and ensures a high degree of their availability in Russia.

SPOT 4 space vehicle made a good showing over its operation period. Onboard equipment ensures imaging of the Earth at the spatial resolution of 10metres in panchromatic and 20 metres in multispectral modes with a swath width of 60km.

SPOT 4 data is used to resolve tasks of plotting and updating maps at scales of 1:100 000, 1:200 000, emergencies monitoring and damage assessment, agricultural and forestry monitoring, etc. In 2010 only SPOT 4 data were used for floods monitoring on Russian rivers, for harp seals whelping areas detection on the White Sea in order to prepare recommendations for the ship captains to bypass the animal habitats. Most widely SPOT 4 data has been applied this summer during the operational fire situation monitoring campaigne in Russia. Detailed images enabled to monitor the consequences of fires and to map the burnt areas.

ScanEx Center has been working with SPOT 4 data in direct access mode since 2006. Almost all the Russian territory has been covered with cloud-free SPOT 4 images several times since then. Data is being delivered both to proprietary network of ground receiving stations UniScan and to those installed at the Roshydromet, Federal Forestry Agency, "Avialesokhrana" (Aerial Forest Fire Center), Emercom of Russia, Fire Fighting and Civil Protection Department of the Volgograd Region Administration, S.P. Korolev Samara State Aerospace University, etc.