IMAGING

First professional grade civilian mapping UAS successful

Applanix Corp and American Aerospace Advisors Inc have completed a successful series of test flights of AAAI’s RS-16 platform equipped with Applanix’ DMSUAV aerial photogrammetry payload. This is the first successful mission for a longendurance UAS (unmanned aerial system) capable of producing professional grade, directly georeferenced mapping imagery for civilian applications such as pipeline monitoring, power line and emergency response mapping. Tests were conducted over restricted airspace in the state of New Jersey. A joint team from Applanix and AAAI planned and flew a sequence of missions to evaluate the capabilities of the UAS. www.applanix.com

Beijing to step up aerial surveys of disputed islands

The State Oceanic Administration (SOA) will conduct regular aerial patrols over all islands claimed by China, intensifying air and sea surveillance in the East and South China seas. The SOA recently issued instructions for patrols that will be supported by high-resolution aerial photography and video and new aerial remote sensing technology. The most important islands will be surveyed at least twice a year. www.scmp.com

China’s HD earth observation satellite is on

China’s high-definition earth observation satellite “Gaofen 1” is now in operation. It is expected to play an important role in disaster relief, resources, and environmental survey. It is China’s first high-resolution remote sensing satellite, was launched into space in April. It be followed into space by another four satellites before the end of 2016, forming a high-definition earth observation system. http://english.cri.cn/

ScanEx RDC starts to spread COSMOSkyMed radar images in Russia

ScanEx Research & Development Center and the Italian e-GEOS company have signed a reseller agreement, under which ScanEx RDC began to distribute COSMOSkyMed radar images in Russia. For now on ScanEx RDC is capable of providing data received from all operating commercial ERS radar satellites! http://press.scanex.ru/

EU’s first Sentinel to launch ‘in April’

Copernicus will fly a constellation of satellites known as the Sentinels to take a continuous “health check” on the planet and to acquire data that can help inform and enforce EU policies. It has been announced that the first spacecraft in the series will go into orbit, most likely, in early April. Sentinel 1a will use radar to map the surface of the Earth. A key role will be to provide rapid damage maps to enable emergency services and aid agencies to respond to natural disasters such as earthquakes and severe flooding events. www.bbc.co.uk/

Belgian consortium to build Vietnamese EOS

A consortium of Belgian aerospace companies including QinetiQ Space have signed a pre-contract agreement with the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST). The contract consists of the construction of the satellite, ground station and test facilities, the training of Vietnamese partners, and the operation of the satellite for one year. Alongside the aerospace company from Kruibeke, the Walloon companies Spacebel and Amos are also part of the entirely Belgian consortium. www.spacenv.qinetiq.com

Italian Predator B UAVs to get maritime wide-area search capability

The Italian Air Force (Aeronautica Militare Italiana [AMI]) is to upgrade its General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc (GAASI) MQ-9 Predator B medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) UAVs with a new maritime radar mode for search-and-rescue (SAR) duties. The AMI’s six MQ-9s will have their Block 30 Lynx Synthetic Aperture Radar/Ground Moving Target Indicator (SAR/GMTI) multimode radars enhanced with a maritime widearea search (MWAS) mode that is optimised for detecting and imaging very small vessels, such as those used by migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea from North Africa. www.janes.com

French-UAE intel satellite deal in doubt

A United Arab Emirates (UAE) deal to purchase two intelligence satellites from France worth almost 3.4 billion dirhams (US $930 million) is in jeopardy after the discovery of what was described as “security compromising components.

A high-level UAE source said the two high-resolution Pleiades-type Falcon Eye military observation satellites contained two specific US-supplied components that provide a back door to the highly secure data transmitted to the ground station. www.defensenews.com

Ground-based UAV radar at five sites by US Army

The US Army plans to install a new ground-based sense and avoid (GBSAA) network at five installations by 2016 to ensure its UAVs can deconflict with other aircraft in domestic airspace. The five sites are Fort Hood in Texas, Fort Riley in Kansas, Fort Stewart in Georgia, Fort Campbell in Kentucky, and Fort Drum in New York. The army decided to develop GBSAA as a more efficient means of complying with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations for flying in domestic airspace. The FAA requires aircraft in domestic airspace to be able to ‘sense and avoid’, a problem for unmanned aircraft with no pilot in the cockpit.

Army, LAPAN agree to develop rockets

The Indonesian Army (TNI AD) and the National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop missiles, rockets, and unmanned aerial vehicles. LAPAN will develop technologies for rockets, remote sensing satellites, atmospheric sciences and technology for unmanned aerial vehicles for spying and monitoring activities to support the state defense. www.antaranews.com