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May 2000
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Reduction in Radarsat DEM Pricing
Z/I Imaging to display IKONOS colour stereo images
Allocation of INSAT system capacity approved
SPOT's "Virtual Receiving Station" Covers Los Alamos Fires
Satellites predicts disease outbreaks
Reduction in Radarsat DEM Pricing
RADARSAT International (“RSI”), has announced that it was now offering pricing of US $1.25 per square kilometre for RADARSAT-1-derived digital elevation models (“DEMs”) and orthorectified images (“ORIs”). Additional discounts are available for larger volumes. This new pricing is made possible through RSI’s strategic partnerships with value-added companies. More detailed information are available at
www.rsi.ca
Z/I Imaging to display IKONOS colour stereo images
Z/I Imaging Corporation has announced on May 25 at the annual American Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) Conference that they are the first commercial vendor to incorporate support for Space Imaging’s IKONOS stereo imagery in a commercial-of-the-shelf photogrammetric production system. Using the native data without having to pick only 8 bits/band provides stunning clarity and colour depth. The demonstration images are comprised of one metre resolution IKONOS monochromatic data fused with four metres resolution IKONOS colour data. Using the ImageStation Stereo Display software, the images are epipolar resample in real time while being displayed.
Allocation of INSAT system capacity approved
A policy envisaging the allocation of Insat system capacity for non-government users, registration of Indian satellite systems by private companies and limited use of foreign satellites in special circumstances has been approved by the Union Government. Under this policy, the Insat capacity will be made available to private Indian service providers on a commercial basis, subject to availability, after meeting certain requirements. The Department of Space (DoS) will be the administrative machinery in all matters related to the satellite systems which will allocate Insat capacity for private users on commercial basis, on request. The companies with foreign equity of less than 74 per cent are now allowed to set up Indian satellite systems. These companies may submit applications for registering their satellite systems to the Committee for Authorising the Establishment and Operation of Indian Satellite System (CAISS), located at the SatCom programmes office at the ISRO headquarters in Bangalore. The service licensing departments may allow the use of foreign satellites only in consultation with the DoS.
SPOT’s “Virtual Receiving Station” Covers Los Alamos Fires
SPOT’s three satellites were programmed to acquire and quickly deliver daily imagery of the Los Alamos fires burning in New Mexico, as part of SPOT’s “virtual receiving station” (VRS) concept. The purpose of SPOT’s VRS was rapid delivery of large and frequent image coverage in response to client needs, without the client having to invest in infrastructure to receive and manage that imagery. The imagery is being used by the US Department of Energy and other agencies to perform mapping, resource management and damage assessments. With three satellites and six sensors, SPOT can acquire repeat imagery on a very rapid cycle, offering agencies an abundance of information to assist their efforts. In a pilot project effort, the imagery is being sent to the US Army Corps of Engineers, Engineer Research and Development Centre’s Topographic Engineering Centre (TEC) for processing and potential distribution to government agencies involved in disaster management activities. TEC’s emergency response capability adds significantly to this rapid response effort.
Satellites predicts disease outbreaks
NASA is providing new insights from space that may help health officials predict outbreaks of deadly water-borne cholera, a bacterial infection of the small intestine that can be fatal to humans. Scientists have learnt how to use satellites to track blooms of tiny floating plant and animal plankton that carry cholera bacteria by using satellite data on ocean temperatures, sea height and other climate variables. The work is described in a recent paper co-authored by University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute (UMBI) and NASA researchers that appeared in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The effort was a cooperative project between NASA’s Office of Life and Microgravity Sciences and Applications and UMBI. The study was also supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Environmental Protection Agency. The other authors include Byron Wood, Ames; Anwar Huq, UMBI; and George Fuchs and A. S. G. Faruque, the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh. More information about the cholera-tracking project is available on
http://www.geo.arc.nasa.gov/sge/health/projects/cholera/cholera.html
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