Galileo IOV launch services contract signed
ESA and Arianespace signed a contract for the launch of the fi rst four operational Galileo satellites on two Soyuz launch vehicles from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. ESA’s Director of the Galileo Programme and Navigation-related Activities, Mr René Oosterlinck, and the Chairman and CEO of Arianespace, Mr Jean-Yves Le Gall, signed the launch services contract in the presence of Mr Paul Verhoef, Programme Manager of EU Satellite Navigation Programmes at the European Commission. The Galileo In- Orbit Validation (IOV) Launch Services Contract covers the launch of the fi rst four operational Galileo satellites using two Soyuz launch vehicles that will lift off from the Guiana Space Centre (Centre Spatial Guyanais – CSG),

Chandrayaan-1 completes mission
The Indian Space Research Organisation has completed all the primary objectives of the Chandrayaan-1 lunar reconnaissance mission. The scientifi c objective of the spacecraft was remote sensing of the Moon in visible, near infra-red, low energy x-ray and high-energy x-ray regions. The intention is to prepare a 3-D atlas of both the near and far side of the moon, with a high spatial and altitude resolution – down to fi ve metres in the optical. www.isro.org

Study GIS at Hong Kong Polytechnic
The Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University is now accepting applications for Master of Science/ Postgraduate Diploma in Geomatics (GIS/ Surveying). It is the longest running postgraduate program in GIS and the only one in Geomatics (Surveying) in Hong Kong. www.lsgi.polyu.edu.hk

Safe Navigation in Korea

In Korea, the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs shall soon provide small ships off the coast of the Korean peninsula with differential GPS information through mobile phones and other personal devices. Until now small avoided using professional equipment because of the price of the hardware. http://english.mltm.go.kr

Norway joins Galileo project
The Norwegian government will give a boost by providing 68.9 million euros (92.5 million dollars) towards the 3.4 billion euro project. While Norway is not a member of the 27-member bloc, the
country’s economy and business minister Sylvia Brustad said it was important that Oslo took part in Galileo’s development. “The project will be of huge importance for the development of the European space industry and it is therefore important that Norwegian businesses are now able to compete,” Brustad said in a statement. In September, the European Commission and the European Space Agency, which includes Norway as a member, shortlisted 11 European firms which are bidding for future contracts connected to Galileo. www.newsabout- space.org/story/157986254.html

Yaogan 6 launched
China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation have recently launched the Yaogan 6 remote sensing satellite. It will mainly be used for land resources survey, environmental surveillance and protection, urban planning, crop yield estimates, disaster prevention and reduction, and space science experiments. Xinhua Agency

Ohio researcher tracks H1N1 virus
An Ohio State University Medical Centre biomedical informatics researcher is tapping the power of the Ohio Supercomputer Centre to monitor the spread of the H1N1 influenza virus. Associate professor Daniel Janies synthesizes large, diverse datasets to understand the spread of infectious diseases over hosts and geography. The resulting maps can be viewed with Google Earth. Janies will project the evolutionary tree of the virus’ mutations and host shifts onto the globe using web application, Supramap. www.osc.edu

Loran is best. Keep it!
Says a recent study which was completed in March 2007 by the Independent Assessment Team (IAT). The report has been let out of detention, just in time to counter recent efforts by the Obama administration, the Department of Homeland Security, and the US Coast Guard to throttle the program. The IAT “unanimously recommends that the US government complete the eLoran upgrade and commit to eLoran as the national backup to GPS for 20 years.” The IAT’s conclusion has long been informally known throughout the GPS industry, but the report’s release adds considerable weight, expertise, and specifics to a long, determined campaign to preserve the program. Release of this report now comes only after an extensive Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) battle waged by industry representatives against the federal government. The report asserts that “eLoran is the only cost-effective backup for national needs; it is completely interoperable with and independent of GPS, with different propagation and failure mechanisms. … It is a seamless backup, and its use will deter threats to US national and economic security by disrupting (jamming) GPS reception.” www.ida.org

…Senate Committees support eLoran

Two leading Senate committees publicly back the eLoran system and question the US President’s latest budget proposal. The FY 2010 Concurrent Budget Resolution releases views from the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs backing the continued support for the Loran system, acknowledging the investment already made in infrastructure upgrades and recognizing the studies performed and multi-departmental conclusion that eLoran is the best backup to GPS. Senator Jay Rockefeller, the Chairman of the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, wrote the committee recognized the priority in “maintaining LORAN-C while transitioning to eLORAN” as means to enhance the homeland security, marine safety and environmental protection missions of the Coast Guard. Senator Collins, the ranking member on the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs wrote that the President’s budget overview proposal to terminate the LORAN-C system is inconsistent with the recent investments, recognized studies and mission of the US Coast Guard. The letter recognizes the $160 million investment already made toward upgrading the LORAN-C system to support the full deployment of eLoran http://budget.senate.gov/republican/ pressarchive/CommitteePrint.pdf

…US proposal to terminate loran-C draws fire from UK

A last-minute change in US loran policy has raised serious concerns among international navigation and security organizations. In late February, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) removed loran-C funding from the President’s budget, provoking an immediate response from the UK. The key issue was the continuing need for loran-C and eLoran to provide a backup to GPS, in the event of satellite failures or signal disruption. The UK’s position was that until the OMB’s announcement, the US supported the view that loran provides a backup to GPS, with the Department of Homeland Security stating that loran “will mitigate any safety, security or economic effects of a GPS outage or disruption.” In January, a highlevel DOT panel of independent experts, chaired by Professor Brad Parkinson – the former USAF official in charge of satnav development, now dubbed “The father of GPS” – unanimously recommended that “the US government complete the eLoran upgrade and commit to eLoran as the national backup to GPS for 20 years.” Today, government and commercial communications, finance, utilities, ATC and many other vital services in the US and overseas depend on precise GPS timing, and loran-C and eLoran are the only long-range, unjammable backups that can provide comparable accuracy. www.ainonline.com

Third party database & technologies to drive mobile LBS
The consumer LBS market has steadily evolved over the past few years. A number of factors – including the development of third-party location databases and technologies – are poised to finally drive real LBS market growth on mobile phones. According to Frost & Sullivan, ‘North America Consumer LBS Market – The Wireless Carrier Opportunity’, estimates that carrier-generated consumer LBS revenues totalled over $480 million in 2008 and projects this figure to surpass $3.0 billion in 2013. www.frost.com

HP announces expansion of Designjet
HP has expanded its Designjet largeformat portfolio with a range of new workgroup and multifunction printers, software solutions and new media choices to address the needs of vertical segments, IT managers and production operators. The new products, solutions and large-format papers are ideal for GIS, architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) and mechanical computer aided design (MCAD) workgroups. www.hp.com