IMAGING

China successfully launches remote sensing satellite

China recently has successfully launched a remote-sensing satellite to carry out scientific experiments and provide early alerts about natural disasters. The Yaogan XX satellite will be used to conduct scientific experiments, carry out land surveys, monitor crop yields and aid in preventing and reducing natural disasters. The launch marked the 190th mission for the nation’s Long March rocket family. http://articles. economictimes.indiatimes.com

China to launch satellite for Venezuela

The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) has signed an agreement with Venezuela for in-orbit delivery of a second remote sensing satellite for the country, the company said. CASC subsidiary Great Wall Industry Corporation will be the major contractor of the project, the corporation said. But the corporation did not give a specific timeframe for the project. www.globalpost.com

Atlas 5 launches DigitalGlobe’s WorldView-3

An Atlas 5 rocket blasted off from California and streaked into orbit carrying the most powerful remote sensing satellite ever built for the commercial market, a spacecraft capable of zooming in on a baseball field and detecting home plate from an altitude of nearly 400 miles.

Powered by a Russian-built RD-180 first-stage engine, the rocket streaked away to the south over the Pacific Ocean toward a polar orbit where DigitalGlobe’s WorldView-3 satellite will be able to image the entire planet as it rotates below.

Capable of resolving surface features as small as one foot across, WorldView-3 features a state-of-the-art multi-spectral imaging system, a high-speed data downlink operating at 1.2 gigabits per second and control moment gyroscopes that will allow ground controllers to quickly re-orient the spacecraft for ondemand observations. www.cbsnews.com/

NM Group Selects Leica RCD30 Cameras

Leica Geosystems has announced that NM Group has selected three sets of its latest Leica RCD30 aerial medium format cameras as a multi-angle camera system to capture infrastructure assets with the highest quality. These systems have been added to an existing airborne sensor suite to execute high-quality helicopter based corridor mapping.

This innovative solution with 80 megapixel resolution provides the highest possible detail available from a helicopter platform. A simultaneous full color and near infrared (NIR) downwards camera provides new opportunities to intelligently manage vegetation on asset corridors, in addition to the creation of high-quality imagery mosaics