yandex buys 10 mn sq.km of images: Yandex, a Russian search engine, purchased high resolution images of 10 million sq.km of the Earth territory from ScanEx. The resolution shall be 0.8m per pixel.

SciSys wins satellite project contract: SciSys, the specialist supplier of bespoke software systems, IT based solutions and support services, has been awarded a contract to support the Full Operational Capability (FOC) Phase of Europe’s Galileo System. This was achieved after successful completion of the European Union (EU) competitive dialogue process and final negotiations with Astrium UK as the prime contractor for the Galileo Ground Control Segment. The SciSys baseline contract is worth around €2m and will run until the end of 2013, with an optional maintenance extension into 2014.

Bulletproof vest has GPS, sends alert: The S-911 Vest from Laipac Technology is chest armor with brains. It has sprouted a GPS system. It’s designed for military, police, law enforcement agencies etc. It is the invisible eye for the Commander during tactical missions. It provides automatic GPS tracking with accurate position, time, date, speed & heading.
www.laipac.com

Indonesia develops NSDI using cloud: Indonesia’s National Coordinating Agency for Survey and Mapping, BAKOSURTANAL, is developing its National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) using cloud computing technology. This initiative aims to provide accurate and reliable geospatial information to government agencies and the general public.
www.futuregov.in

Space Wing installs large software sustainment release

The 50th Space Wing’s 2nd Space Operations Squadron installed a major software release containing 104 fixes to the GPS Ground Segment. This is the largest sustainment release to the GPS ground segment since transitioning to the Architecture Evolution Plan system in 2007. Since 2007, the GPS Directorate has been concentrating on delivering new capability software to the ground segment for the IIF satellite, increasing navigation signal strength and anti-spoof capability.

Brussels Celebratory Launch Events: The launch of the two operational Galileo IOV (In-Orbit Validation) satellites on 20 October is a first in the history of the European Union. It is a moment to celebrate this unique and ambitious European collaboration.

UniStrong holds 40 pc GIS market share in China: Beijing UniStrong Science & Technology Co. Ltd. holds approximately 40 percent GIS market share in China, according to a report by Orient Securities Company Ltd. In next five years, the company is poised to do the business of approximately 100 billion yuan (USD 15.6 billion), China Daily reported.

50th Space Wing gains control of newest GPS Satellite: The 50th Space Wing’s 2nd Space Operations Squadron accepted command and control of the second Global Positioning System Block IIF satellite. The Space and Missile Systems Center’s GPS Directorate, located at Los Angeles Air Force Base, remained in control of the satellite during a 30-day on-orbit checkout period before the hand-off to 2 SOPS. The next-generation GPS IIF satellites built by Boeing will provide improved accuracy through advanced atomic clocks, a longer design life than legacy GPS satellites, and a new third civil signal, L5 that will eventually benefit commercial aviation and safety-of-life applications

TRIUMPH-VS software updates version 1.6 is released: Javad has released Version 1.6 of TRIUMPH-VS software. Its new features include Polish language support and Action button debounce. It has also improved Map screen performance, Languages support, Point coordinates input, Fixed Base Station action, Solution RMSes display in Action screen, US Survey units (feet) support, Device temperature monitoring and UHF Setup.

France to begin investigation of Apple’s location-based tracking services: The issue over location-based tracking has been plaguing Apple for a while now. The Cupertino-based company along with Google were questioned by the government over privacy concerns with location-based tracking. A federal lawsuit was also filed against Apple several months ago and not too long ago Apple recently settled a similar lawsuit in South Korea by paying a $3,000 fine and an additional $1,000 to a South Korean user, who seemed to take an issue with the tracking. Given that the fine Apple had to pay in South Korea seems like a pittance, we’re guessing the legal fees will cost a lot more and it appears that Apple may have to start digging into their coffers again as France has started their own investigation.