NEWSBRIEFS – REMOTE SENSING

$2.4 million for satellite imaging

Mr. Gary Lunn, Minister of Natural Resources, announced a five-year, $2.4-million project to provide access to new, high-quality satellite images of Canada and also the improved and standardized satellite images will be available to all Canadians for free over the Internet.

The newer and higher-quality images will be used for mapping, monitoring Canadian wetland areas and managing natural resources, and will support government decision and policy makers in the fields of public safety, health and the environment, as well as our northern and Aboriginal communities. Natural Resources Canada will coordinate and manage the project, ensure the quality of the data and liaise with the contractors, TELUS Corporation and Iunctus Geomatics Corp., who are supplying the satellite images.
www.NRCan.gc.ca

ISRO opens up space to private industry

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is preparing to throw open its once closely guarded rocket programme to the private industry.“To start with, we’ll outsource non-critical applications that constitute 50 per cent of the rocket programme to the private sector,” said
Dr M Annamalai, Director, Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota Range. “For certain operations, we’ve invited tenders from the industry. We’ll give you the names (of industries) once the formalities are completed.”ISRO now plans to outsource a chunk of the work in the manufacture of indigenous rockets – – the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) — to the industry. It intends to hand-hold companies through the manufacturing process.
www.hindustantimes.com

Indian Air Force to acquire military satellite

The Indian Air Force (IAF) is planning to acquire ‘military satellite’ with the assistance of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Vice-Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal, Ajit Bhavanani, said. Addressing a programme of the ‘Aero Space Manufacturers Association’ organised by Aeronautical Society of India, he said an exclusive military satellite would provide information for defence forces to utilise modern weapons. www.hindu.com

Remote sensing satellite launched from Baikonur

A Russian Soyuz rocket launched a civilian Earth observation satellite into orbit to begin a three-year mission to keep tabs on natural resources and emergencies from space for both government and commercial users. The payload was the first such craft launched since 1999. The three-stage Soyuz rocket lifted off at 0800 GMT (4:00 a.m. EDT) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in central Kazakhstan. The almost 15,000-pound Resurs DK1 spacecraft successfully separated from the Soyuz upper stage less than nine minutes later in an orbit with an apogee of approximately 230 miles, a perigee of around 125 miles, and an inclination of about 70 degrees. The newest member of the Resurs satellite fleet is the first in an upgraded series of spacecraft with improved capabilities in imaging resolution and communications.
http://en.rian.ru

Beijing-1” satellite starts remote sensing service

China’s satellite “Beijing-1”, launched from Russia in October last year, started to provide a wide range of remote sensing services. It will be used to survey land resources, for geological research and water resources research, and to monitor floods and winter wheat, and used by urban planners and archaeologists. Government departments will also use the satellite during emergencies to aid decision-making of the central government. Source: Xinhua

Surrey Satellite Technology delivers Beijing-1 EO satellite

British satellite manufacturer Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) has just completed a landmark commercial satellite contract with the Beijing Landview Mapping Information Technology Co., Ltd (BLMIT) in order to commercialise the data services from Earth observation (EO) satellites. At a ceremony held in Beijing, BLMIT signed the formal inorbit acceptance of the high resolution EO microsatellite (Beijing-1) system built in cooperation with BLMIT.The 166 kg Beijing-1 is the EO satellite, carrying two payloads that provide high-resolution (4-metre) panchromatic images alongside medium-resolution (32-metre) multi-spectral images with an ultra-wide 600km imaging swath.
www.earsc.org