RADARSAT International (RSI) of Richmond (British Columbia, Canada) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) of Saint-Hubert, Québec have announced that two international network stations have been awarded RADARSAT-1 product certification, increasing RSI's network of operational and product-certified ground stations to 14 worldwide. Those two stations are the Geo-informatics & Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA) in Bangkok, Thailand and the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE) based in Cuiaba, Brazil. Network stations are a significant element to the RADARSAT program because they provide both RSI and end users access to greater global radar satellite coverage for near-real time operations. RSI's goal is to lend support to this important network to help stations respond to market demands and operational needs.
Visit:
www.space.gc.ca and
www.rsi.ca
Top Stories
EarthScan and SOILTEQ announce strategic affiliation agreement
EarthScan Network, a provider of innovative agricultural services featuring web-enabled image and application distribution, and SOILTEQ, a leading developer and marketer of agricultural information management technology products and services, have announced the signing of SOILTEQ as a strategic Affiliate and Distributor of EarthScan's image-based products. SOILTEQ will become EarthScan's first distributor to offer a county base map option using five-meter panchromatic (b&w) satellite data to customers. SOILTEQ will also distribute EarthScan's complete product and service offering.
Visit :
www.soilteq.com and
www.EarthScan.com
OGC web services request for quotation now available
The Open GIS Consortium, Inc. (OGC) announces that the Request for Quotation (RFQ) for the Open Web Services Initiative, Phase 1 (OWS-1) is available at http://ip.opengis.org/ows. The OWS-1 Initiative aims to develop interfaces to enhance the growth of geospatial Web services. A Web service is a self-contained, self-describing, modular application that can be published, located, and dynamically invoked across the Web. Web services perform functions, ranging from simple requests to complicated business processes. Once a Web service is deployed, other applications, and other Web services, can discover and invoke the deployed service. OWS follows several previously successful initiatives that have helped accelerate the creation and deployment of interfaces to support open web services for spatial information and processing.
Visit :
ip.opengis.org/ows
Bermuda Electric Light Co. Goes Live With CES International's Centricity and ESRI
Concluding a rapid seven-month deployment, Bermuda Electric Light Company Limited (BELCO) has gone live with software from CES International and ESRI Inc., giving the island utility the ability to restore power faster during outages and improve day-to-day network reliability and efficiency. The integrated package of software includes an operations resource management (ORM) suite from CES International and automated mapping/facilities management (AM/FM) and geographic information systems (GIS) software from ESRI. The first phase of the BELCO-Centricity project involved extensive data conversion and the rapid deployment of a base Centricity operating model. In addition, CES delivered a new, pre-packaged and integrated AM/FM GIS system from ESRI. This phase also involved the deployment of the CES International OpsCentricity Trouble Management module and integration with the utility's call-handling systems. Now, when a customer calls to report an outage or other problem, the system uses computerized maps and the origin of the customer call to identify the location and cause of the problem.
Visit :
www.belco.bm/belco/belco_hme.html and
www.ces.com/
ImageSat International and Bank Leumi Le-Israel sign credit agreement of 70 million dollars
International and Bank Leumi have signed an agreement in which the bank will provide ImageSat with a credit line of up to seventy million dollars. The funds are intended for continuing the development of the "Eros" imaging satellite program, manufactured by Israel Aircraft Industries. "The signing of the credit agreement with Bank Leumi Le-Israel is a fundamental milestone for the success of ImageSat International," said CEO of ImageSat International, Jacob Weiss, at the agreement signing ceremony." Israel Aircraft Industry's MBT Division is carrying out the manufacturing and integration process of the new satellite, and the camera has been developed and constructed by Elop. A Russian launcher successfully launched ImageSat International's EROS A1 high-resolution imaging satellite on December 5, 2000.
Visit :
www.imagesatintl.com
Asia News
Changes In Earth's Crust May Signal Strong Quake In Japan
TOKYO (AP)--A government agency sent up warning signals this week of a potential earthquake after finding troubling changes in the movement of the Earth's crust under the country's fourth largest city, Nagoya, in central Japan.
The Geographical Survey Institute said satellite data show that the land mass has slowed and changed direction. Similar movements seen elsewhere in the country were followed by small quakes.
The data is just one method used to record changes in the Earth's crust, however, and Japanese Meteorological Agency officials were quick to refute the notion that a quake was imminent.
But the findings are troubling enough to have prompted an advisory panel comprised of government and university experts to have a special meeting on them scheduled for Friday.
"It's very worrisome," said Makoto Murakami, an earth crust specialist at the survey institute. "This is a very important discovery. This is one symptom of an earthquake that could bring a big tsunami with it."
Japanese Meteorological Agency officials said it was too soon to ring the alarm.
Source:
www.kishou.go.jp
Development of China's "Silicon Valley" Urged
BEIJING, July 26 (Xinhuanet) -- Chinese Vice Premier Li Lanqing has said that the construction of the Zhongguancun High-Tech Zone, known as China's "Silicon Valley", should be accelerated.
On an inspection tour on the zone in northwest Beijing on Wednesday and Thursday, Li said that the building of the zone will give a welcome boost to China's entry into the WTO and Beijing's hosting of the Olympic Games.
He noted that China is undergoing the reorganization of its economic structure, and special attention should be paid to high- technology in this respect. The zone signifies that China has met the development requirements of the advanced productive forces, he added.
The vice premier urged that the nation should get more intellectual property rights of its own in some key technologies.He pointed out that renovation should be encouraged in the zone. The software industry should be an important sector of the zone, and it will have a big share on the market, he said.
In addition, the zone should attract more experts from across the country and abroad by taking advantage of preferential policies. He urged that reform be adopted in management, and the operational system in the zone. Accompanying Li during the inspection tour were Jia Qinglin, secretary of Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, and Liu Qi, mayor of Beijing.
Source: Xinhua News Agency
Hitachi, IBM Japan Tie-up to Put Local Govts Online
TOKYO, July 26 - Hitachi Ltd. and IBM Japan Ltd. will form an alliance in the system integration business, targeting local municipalities seeking to go online, the firms announced Wednesday. The partners aim to increase competitiveness and catch up with industry leaders Fujitsu Ltd. (TSE:6702) and NEC Corp. (TSE:6701).
Under a licensing agreement, Hitachi will provide IBM Japan with core software and related technologies that will allow residents to lodge all kinds of local government applications and registrations over the Internet.
The pair will commercialize the system under separate names for sale next summer.
They hope the time and cost savings gained from sharing core software will help them win more system integration contracts.
Source:Asia Pulse
