GOCE Earth Explorer Satellite

The European Space Agency is about to launch a mission to investigate the Earth's gravitational field and to map the reference shape of our planet - the geoid - with exceptional resolution and accuracy. The Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) will be placed onto a low altitude near sun-synchronous orbit by a Russian Rockot vehicle launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Nothern Russia, some 800 km north of Moscow. Lift-off is scheduled to take place at 16:21 CEST (14:21 UTC) on 10th September. The launcher is operated by Eurockot Launch Services, a joint venture between EADS Astrium... (read more)

2008-08-26 09:06:28

QuickBird Satellite Mission Ends

European Space Imaging has announced that on Tuesday 27 January, after 13 years of excellent performance, QuickBird approached its end of mission smoothly and re-entered the Earths' atmosphere at 01:59 UTC above the South Atlantic Ocean near southern Brazil. DigitalGlobe confirms that QuickBird de-orbited successfully. QuickBird was in orbit for more than 13 years, far exceeding its designed mission life. The satellite made over 70,000 trips around the Earth, contributing substantially to DigitalGlobe’s unmatched imagery catalogue and thus the understanding of our changing planet. The company thanks its customers and partners for their support of a very successful mission. Imagery... (read more)

2015-02-05 07:30:00

China Imaging Satellite

In November last year China successfully put into orbit the third of its ZY-2 second transmitting-type remote sensing satellites. China launched the first and second ZY-2 satellites in September 2000 and October 2002, respectively, and these are still in orbit. Compared with these previous two satellites, the third has improved overall performance and technology. The satellite is mainly meant for land resource surveying, environmental supervision and protection, city planning, crop-yield assessment, disaster monitoring and space scientific experiment. The launch marked the 82nd time that Long March carriers have been used and the fortieth consecutive successful launch since China launched the... (read more)

2005-03-16 12:00:00

Satellite Imagery for Mapping

The ICA Commission on Mapping from Satellite Imagery is responsible for educating and informing the geospatial- data handling community about the link between the raw data captured from satellite imagery and the extraction, presentation and application of information derived from such data. See previous report on this page, GIM March 2007. ToR The Terms of Reference of the 2007-2011 commission, approved at the Moscow ICC, August 2007, include fundamental work: “[…] analysis of existing and forthcoming satellite imagery in view of their potential inputs for producing and updating topographic and thematic maps and databases; and assessment of the cartographic capabilities... (read more)

2008-06-05 12:00:00

Mapping from Satellite Imagery

The emergence of new, low-cost, internet-based mapping tools like Google Earth, Google Maps, and NASA World Wind that make thousands of satellite images available to a wide audience has greatly influenced perception and awareness. This goes for both the general public and the scientific community, who now see the enormous potential of mapping from satellite imagery. Such tools highlight the crucial role of remote sensing in providing fast, up-to-date cartographic information for informed decision making, particularly for rapid mapping of pre- and post-disaster events, emergency planning, geomarketing, or even simpler activities like planning a holiday trip. The ICA Commission on... (read more)

2007-02-23 12:00:00

GMES Sentinel-2 Satellite

The European Space Agency and Astrium (Germany) today signed a €195 million contract to provide the first Sentinel-2 earth observation satellite, devoted to monitoring the land environment, as part of the European GMES programme. As prime contractor, Astrium is responsible for the design, development and integration of the satellite, which will perform a high-end multi-spectral optical imaging mission. Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) aims to deliver environment and security services and is being led by the European Commission. It is the European response to the ever-increasing demands of effective environmental policies. At the same time, it is the... (read more)

2008-04-18 09:12:40

Jason-2 Satellite

NOAA (Washington DC, USA) has announced the launch of a new satellite. The satellite will monitor the rate of sea-level rise and help measure the strength of hurricanes. NOAA will use data from the Jason-2/Ocean Surface Topography Mission (OSTM) to extend a 15-year record from two earlier altimeter missions that currently show sea level is rising at a rate of 3.2 mm/year - nearly twice as fast as the previous 100 years. The Jason-2/OSTM is scheduled for lift off June 15 at 1:47 a.m. from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. The spacecraft is a joint, international effort between NOAA, NASA,... (read more)

2008-05-22 09:36:05

Thai Surveying Satellite Theos

Thailand's first geography-surveying satellite ''Theos'' is expected to be launched into orbit October 2007. The six-billion-baht satellite, officially called Thailand Earth Observation System (Theos), is being built by France-based Astrium S.A.S. Equipped with two cameras, the satellite is expected to help the government better plan natural disaster management as it will be able to help monitor areas prone to floods and coastal areas at risk of being hit by tsunami waves. ''The most important benefit to us is the development of Thai personnel in the area of space technology,'' Science and Technology Minister Yongyuth Yuthavong said. More than 20 Thai... (read more)

2007-01-29 10:51:10

GeoEye-1 Satellite Launch

GeoEye (VA, USA), has announced the launch of the world\'s highest resolution, commercial Earth-imaging satellite, which is scheduled for 4th September 2008, from Space Launch Complex-2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB), California. The planned launch time is 11:50:57 a.m. PDT (2:50:57 p.m. EDT). A Flight Readiness Review was conducted on Aug. 28 and the launch vehicle, launch range, the GeoEye-1 satellite, and all other program elements are ready for launch. GeoEye-1 will be lifted into a near-polar orbit by a 12-story-tall United Launch Alliance Delta II 7420-10 configuration launch vehicle. GeoEye-1, designed and built by General Dynamics Advanced... (read more)

2008-09-02 11:14:47

First Galileo Satellite Repositioned

Surrey Satellite Technology (SSTL), UK, has completed the repositioning of the first Galileo test satellite, GIOVE-A, to a higher orbit to make way for the operational satellites of Europe's satellite navigation constellation. From the GIOVE-A operational headquarters, the operating team executed a series of precisely planned manoeuvres during July and August that have repositioned the satellite 113km above the orbit that the 27 operational Galileo navigation satellites will occupy. Since its launch in December 2005, GIOVE-A has achieved all of its mission objectives and remains in excellent condition well beyond its design life of two years. The test... (read more)

2009-10-02 11:33:50