IMAGING

GeoTerra selects Vexcel’s UltraCam Merlin 4.1

GeoTerra, USA has acquired the UltraCam Merlin 4.1 2010 digital aerial camera system by Vexcel Imaging. This marks GeoTerra’s transition to Vexcel’s fourth-generation camera systems and reinforces their commitment to delivering versatile, reliable, and high accuracy imagery for engineering and government mapping projects at all levels. www.vexcel-imaging.com

“Full Stream Ahead,”successfully launched

Rocket Lab successfully launched its 65th Electron rocket to date on a mission in support of its customer, BlackSky, and the next launch for its Gen-3 satellite constellation. Teams launched the mission, dubbed ‘Full Stream Ahead,’ from Pad A at Rocket Lab’s launch complex in Mahia, New Zealand, at 11:57 a.m. NZT on June 3 (7:57 p.m. EDT, 2357 UTC on June 2). The mission placed the latest of BlackSky’s Gen-3 satellites into a mid inclination, low Earth orbit at 470 km (292 mi) in altitude. According to the company, it’s Earth-observing service features “very high-resolution imagery and AI-enabled analytics for daily intelligence operations.” BlackSky said it would use its Spectra tasking and analytics platform “to demonstrate how various AI and machine learning techniques affect tasking, multi INT collection, automatic tipping-and cueing, direct downlink and moving target engagement processing timelines within an exercise environment.” www.blacksky.com

RIEGL celebrates grand opening of new hangar in Krems

RIEGL proudly celebrated the grand opening of its new state-of-the-art hangar in Krems, Austria, located conveniently only a short driving distance from the RIEGLWorld Headquarters in Horn. This special occasion marks a significant step in RIEGL’s strategic expansion in the field of airborne LiDAR, reinforcing the company’s long-term commitment to technological excellence, operational efficiency, and customer-focused innovation

The newly inaugurated hangar will serve as the central base for RIEGL’s airborne operations, currently housing two survey aircraft—a Diamond DA62 MPP and a Cessna T206H— both ready to be equipped with RIEGL’s high performance LiDAR systems for final calibrations and testing. The facility is designed to support the full spectrum of airborne system integrations, calibrations, and testing, enabling faster deployment and enhanced service capabilities for clients worldwide. www.riegl.com

Maxar and Saab form strategic partnership

Maxar Intelligence have announced a strategic partnership with Saab to jointly develop next-generation multi-domain battlespace solutions, with a specific focus on advanced space-based C5ISR systems (Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) for the digital battlefield and GPS resilience for autonomous drone systems. These solutions will help Europe accelerate the development of more advanced sovereign space-based capabilities.

Through a Teaming Agreement, Saab can access Maxar’s geospatial intelligence and advanced mission products like Raptor, as well as draw upon the company’s technical expertise. The deal expands on Maxar’s existing relationship with Saab, which has most recently focused on deploying Maxar’s Raptor product for autonomous drone navigation and operation in GPS denied environments. www.maxar.com

Planet Labs renews EO contract with the German Government

Planet Labs Germany GmbH announced the German Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community (BMI) and the German Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy (BKG) have signed a seven-figure contract with Planet with a one year term and an option to renew for two more years.

The deal includes a fixed rate of all of Planet’s data products over Germany, including insights from Planetary Variables, water monitoring services from Planet’s partner EOMAP and access to Planet’s Insights Platform. planet.com

Taiwan developing space capabilities for all-weather imaging

Taiwan is advancing its space capabilities with plans to launch two sophisticated synthetic-aperture radar satellites, designated FORMOSAT-9, in 2028 and 2030 as part of a strategic initiative to bolster the island’s surveillance of both territorial lands and surrounding waters. The Taiwan Space Agency unveiled these ambitious plans during a legislative briefing on Jun 18, highlighting a key advantage of the SAR technology: its unparalleled ability to penetrate cloud cover and capture high-resolution images regardless of weather conditions — a critical feature for Taiwan, where persistent cloud coverage often hampers conventional optical satellite imaging.

While the payload for the initial satellite would be sourced from international partners, the second satellite would feature domestically developed technology, reflecting Taiwan’s push toward greater self-sufficiency in critical space infrastructure. news.tvbs.com.tw

Honda hails successful reusable rocket test

Honda has successfully tested an experimental reusable rocket as it seeks to expand into the space sector. It hopes to develop the tech prowess for a suborbital launch by 2029, conducted a test flight of its rocket on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido.

The prototype device, around six meters (20 feet) tall, landed only 37 centimeters (a little more than a foot) from its designated landing spot after the one-minute flight. Demand for satellite launch rockets is expected to increase in coming years as expectations grow for “a data system in outer space,” the Honda statement said. www.cbsnews.com

Mengzhou spacecraft for China’s moon mission passes key test flight

China has completed the inaugural test f light of its next-generation Mengzhou crewed spacecraft, executing a critical zero-altitude escape trial at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in the Gobi Desert.

The successful test hints at differences in the plans of China and the United States to “return to the moon”.

Developed for China’s 2030 lunar ambitions, the modular Mengzhou spacecraft features two variants: a near Earth version supporting space station operations with a seven-astronaut capacity and a deep-space model for lunar missions. Its reusable return capsule and advanced technologies place it among the world’s most capable crew vehicles. www.scmp.com

India To Launch $1.5 Billion Joint Earth Mission With NASA In July

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) are set to launch satellite NISAR (NASA ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) from India’s Satish Dhawan Space Centre this July. The $1.5 billion Earth-observing satellite, weighing nearly three tonnes, will monitor the planet’s surface with unmatched precision, using advanced radar to scan land, ice, and water every 12 days.

Jointly developed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and ISRO’s Space Applications Centre, NISAR is the world’s first Earth-observing satellite equipped with dual-frequency radar, L-band and S-band. Using Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) technology, it will actively beam radar signals to Earth and analyse the reflections to create high-resolution images. Unlike optical satellites that depend on sunlight and clear skies, NISAR can capture data day or night, and even “see” through cloud cover, smoke, or dense vegetation.

What sets NISAR apart is its commitment to open data. The high resolution imagery and insights it collects will be made freely available to scientists, agencies, and governments across the globe. www.ndtv.com

Vietnam-France Satellite Agreement

Airbus Defence and Space, CNES, and Vietnam’s VAST have signed a Declaration of Intent to deepen cooperation on Earth observation, building on the VNREDSat-1 program. Signed during President Macron’s official visit to Hanoi, the agreement signals intent to jointly develop next-generation satellite systems leveraging Airbus and CNES’s CO3D technologies. It also includes plans for technology transfer, capacity building, and expanded data collaboration.

Indonesia’s Fishing Vessels Use Japan’s Ocean Eyes Satellite Data

Japanese startup Ocean Eyes has launched its first overseas venture in Indonesia, deploying AI-enhanced satellite data from Japan’s Himawari satellites to improve f ishing efficiency by predicting optimal catch zones up to 14 days in advance. By integrating hourly-updated environmental forecasts with maps of likely fish congregation areas, the system addresses declining fish hauls linked to warming seas and inefficient traditional methods.

Study warns of rise in magnitude 8 earthquake

Days before a devastating magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck Myanmar, flattening buildings and killing thousands, a team of Chinese seismologists published a study warning of a heightened risk of such disasters in the area.

With the death toll now estimated to have passed 3,000, the seismologists have predicted the March 28 quake will not be the last such incident, with their research indicating there is currently a higher risk of catastrophic earthquakes across China and neighbouring regions.

The timing of the research, which links seismic cycles to fluctuations in the Earth’s rotation, has sparked intense debate about whether the planet’s tectonic stress fields are entering a dangerous new phase.

The peer-reviewed study, led by senior engineer Zhu Hongbin with the Beijing Earthquake Agency, was published on March 20 in the Journal of Geodesy and Geodynamics, an academic publication run by the China Earthquake Administration.

They analysed around 150 years of seismic data – from 1879 to the present day – to identify six major earthquake “active periods” in China and adjacent regions.

Each period correlates with shifts in the Earth’s rotational speed – measured through changes in the length of a day (LOD) – and corresponding tectonic stress realignments, according to Zhu and his colleagues.

An active period from 1897 to 1912 clustered 12 major quakes along the Pamir-Baikal seismic belt in East Asia. Subsequent phases migrated clockwise: to the northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (1920-1934), its southeastern edge (1946 1957), Yunnan and north China (1970 1976), and the Bayan Har block on the eastern Tibetan Plateau (2001-2015).

The current phase, the sixth, centres on the Bayan Har block’s periphery, with researchers cautioning that stress fields may now pivot northeast, increasing the risk in Sichuan, Yunnan and the Himalayan front.

“The region may currently be entering the nascent phase of a new seismic active period,” Zhu’s team wrote. Since 1867, Earth’s LOD f luctuations have cycled through four major acceleration-deceleration periods and 16 shorter phases.

Deceleration phases amplify north-south tectonic stresses, historically triggering megaquakes in the Pamir-Baikal belt. Acceleration phases, however, intensify northeast-directed stress, destabilising the margins of the Tibetan Plateau.

The study highlights accumulating strain in locked segments of the Longmenshan Fault in southwest China, which was the site of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, as well as the Eastern Himalayan Syntaxis, where GPS measurements show India’s northward push accelerating.

The Myanmar quake, occurring during a transitional LOD phase, happened to fall in one of the predicted high-risk areas due to heightened northeast-oriented stress. Satellite data reveals a 500km-long (310-mile-long) rupture zone extending all the way south to Thailand, with thrust mechanisms consistent with these forces.

Striking just 280km (174 miles) from the Tibetan Plateau’s southeastern edge, the Myanmar earthquake has intensified scrutiny of Zhu’s findings.

But while the tremor aligns with the predicted northeast stress shift, sceptics argue that global seismic activity in 2025 remains below historical averages.

“There’s no evidence Earth has entered a shaking mode,” Gao Mengtan, a senior researcher with the China Earthquake Administration, told state media on Monday.

“Seismic activities this year are actually quieter than before,” he said.

The Myanmar disaster was followed by a magnitude 7.3 quake 100km (62 miles) northeast of Tonga on March 30, though fortunately there was no resulting tsunami risk for coastal regions. Meanwhile, smaller tremors rattled Tibet, Xinjiang and Guangdong last week, unnerving residents. www.scmp.com