IMAGING

Hancom Group to launch Sejong-1 satellite in 2022

In the first half of 2022, Hancom InSpace, an affiliate of Hancom Group, working in cooperation with Spire Global, will launch Korea’s first private satellite for Earth observation. With this event, Hancom Group will be the first non-governmental entity in South Korea to put into space a satellite weighing less than 100 kg.

With the launch of Sejong-1, Hancom Group will complete the first step in creating a worldwide remote sensing data service belt linking space, the aerial area, and the ground, using satellites and drones equipped with ultra-high-resolution sensors. www.hancomglobal.com

Research contract with US Army for Capella Space

Capella Space has signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the US Army Space and Missile Defense Technical Center (SMDTC). Through this agreement, it integrates its Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data into the US Army’s Payload Development Lab, exploring this and other space-based technology concepts within both simulated and test environments. Capella’s SAR data is unique in that it collects high-quality imagery easily, quickly, and securely. It is the first US commercial SAR constellation operator.www.capellaspace.com

New high resolution Pelican Satellites and Fusion with SAR

At its Explore 2021 user conference, Planet announced two major new products: Pelican, a next-generation fleet of satellites for very high resolution imagery that will begin launching next year and be operational in 2023, and Fusion with SAR, a cuttingedge data enhancement to its existing Fusion Monitoring product.

When fully operational, the Pelican constellation replenishes and upgrades Planet’s existing high resolution SkySat fleet with better resolution, more frequent image revisit times, and reduced reaction time and latency. The Fusion line will now include SAR (synthetic aperture radar) data, enabling customers to see through clouds with a data stream of continuous landscape monitoring. www.planet.com

Expanding Vexcel Aerial Imagery Collection Program Into Japan

Vexcel is expanding its aerial imagery collection into Japan. This new addition increases the footprint of the Urban Area program, an ultra-high-resolution collection focused on major metro areas around the globe. Japan’s largest cities, encompassing more than 68% of the population, will be collected under the expanded program.

Customers from insurers to smart city planners, utility providers to HD map developers, will see Japan urban centers from multiple perspectives in a higher resolution. Products from the collection include Oblique and True Ortho aerial imagery, as well as Digital Surface Models and Multispectral imagery with a ground sample distance resolution of 7.5 centimeters (2.9 inches).

This Urban Area information is collected by fixed-wing aircraft while carrying the award-winning UltraCam Osprey 4.1 sensors, designed and manufactured by Vexcel Imaging.

Vexcel collects the largest aerial program worldwide annually, delivering geospatial data at a resolution, clarity, and accuracy that’s never been delivered on a global scale. Vexcel is the only aerial information program with ultrahigh resolution urban area and wide area data collected annually around the globe.

RedTail delivers LiDAR system to DoD

RedTail LiDAR Systems has delivered six LiDAR systems to the 707th Ordnance Company stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. These systems will provide Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) technicians an opportunity to assess how LiDAR can be used to enhance their operations.

The RedTail LiDAR Systems RTL-450 was integrated onto the Teledyne FLIR SkyRaider Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) to address a broad range of the EOD community’s 3D mapping needs. The underlying LiDAR technology used in the RTL-450 was licensed from the Army Research Laboratory (ARL). The MEMS mirror-based design provides enhanced 3D imagery due to the fact that the laser pulses are steered to the ground in a very well-defined and controlled scan pattern. The LiDAR technology is ideal for applications where Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML) algorithms can be used for target detection and classification due to the high point density of the point clouds. www.redtaillidar.com

Carbon neutral farming in Northern Ireland

A European Innovation Partnership project to accelerate the move towards net carbon zero farming is using specially commissioned LiDAR data to create a baseline for future measurements. Working with ARCZero (Accelerating Ruminant Carbon Zero) aerial mapping company Bluesky recorded LiDAR measurements for seven commercial farms across Northern Ireland. This data is being used to calculate above ground carbon storage, which will be combined with the results from a whole business Life-Cycle Analysis calculator to inform future farming practices.

Each farm is supplying input and output data at the start and the end of project, which will be analysed using the AgReCalc carbon footprint tool. The farms will also undertake soil analysis to measure carbon content and bulk density. The Bluesky LiDAR data is being processed by researchers at the Agri- Food and Biosciences Institute, using ArcGIS, to locate and measure above ground carbon storage. arczeroni.org