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ESA’s Gaia star surveying satellite launched

The European Space Agency launched its star-surveying satellite Gaia into space, hoping to produce the most accurate 3-D map of the Milky Way and to better understand the evolution of our galaxy.

Using its twin telescopes, Gaia will study the position, distance, movement, chemical composition and brightness of a billion stars in the galaxy, or roughly one per cent of the Milky Way’s 100 billion stars. The data will help scientists determine the Milky Way’s origin and evolution. The project is the successor to ESA’s Hipparcos satellite, which was launched in 1989 and measured the position of 100,000 stars in the Milky Way. www.cbc.ca/news/

No foreign spy satellite detected in last five years: India

Government of India has said it has not found presence of any foreign spy satellite in the last five years. It also stated that it was difficult to distinguish between high-resolution remote sensing satellites for civilian purposes and spy satellites. http://articles. economictimes.indiatimes.com/

KhalifaSat set to be launched in 2017

KhalifaSat, the UAE’s first locallybuilt satellite, is set to be launched in 2017. The KhalifaSat will be the third after DubaiSat1 and DubaiSat2, which have been built in Seoul, under a knowledge-sharing arrangement with the South Korean company Satrec. http://gulfnews.com/

China’s earth observation satellite inducted into service

China’s high definition earth observation satellite Gaofen-1 has been formally inducted into service. According to the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence (SASTIND), the satellite has undergone eight months of in-orbit tests since it blasted off April 26. It has met requirements and performed even better than expected by sending high quality photos, Xinhua reported. The satellite will help in geographic and resources surveys, environment and climate change monitoring, precision agriculture, disaster relief and city planning. www.business-standard.com

India’s sulfur dioxide emissions increases – NASA Satellite

Power plant emissions of sulfur dioxide – an atmospheric pollutant with both health and climate impacts – have increased across India in recent years, according to a new analysis of data from a NASA satellite.

The analysis of data captured by an instrument on NASA’s Aura satellite found that emissions of sulfur dioxide from Indian power plants have increased by more than 60 percent between 2005 and 2012, according to new research led by Zifeng

India surpassed the United States in 2010 to become the world’s second largest emitter of sulfur dioxide, after China, according to emission estimates previously published by Lu and scientists from universities and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. That same research showed that about half of India’s emissions come from the coal- fired power sector. www.spacedaily.com

Satellite-derived bathymetric and seafloor maps by Proteus

Proteus has delivered accurate bathymetric and seafloor classification maps for a joint UK-France amphibious military exercise on the Island of Corsica. In the pilot managed by the UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO), Proteus partnered with DigitalGlobe to derive accurate bathymetric measurements and identify four seabed types to a depth of 12 meters from multispectral satellite imagery without ground control. www.proteusgeo.com