Spot 5 National Mosaic 2012 Released By South African National Space Agency (SANSA)

The South African National Space Agency (SANSA) released the Spot 5 National Mosaic 2012 at a recent event with key stakeholders in government departments and private industry.

According to SANSA, the imagery which is collected over a period of 12 months is downloaded and processed by SANSA into the comprehensive tool which is delivered free to stakeholders who utilize this information to address issues facing South Africa, such as planning for infrastructure and housing, agriculture, water and environmental management and national census, amongst others.

The mosaic is made up of 485 images taken by the SPOT 5 satellite which has been processed and compiled to make up the entire map of the country. The detail within each of the tiles of the mosaic provides information of an area 60km by 60km.

“The information and data from SANSA have been used by the Department of Human settlements to understand urban spread and how to address the concern of informal settlements”, said Aubrey Matshego, Department of Human settlements directorate: Spatial information at the launch of the mosaic.

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SPOT 6 First Satellite Image!

Below is the a SPOT 6 satellite image acquired 3 days after the launch on September 9. It is an image from Bora Bora French Polynesia.

Title : SPOT 6 Satellite Image - Bora Bora French Polynesia
Location: Society Islands - Pacific Ocean
Image Type: Optical
Resolution: 1m - 5m
Date: 09/12/2012
Copyright: 2012 Astrium Services

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Free SPOT Images now in USGS Archive

The U.S. Geological Survey has begun to distribute, over the Internet, SPOT satellite image data collected over parts of North America between 1986 and 1998.

The USGS is distributing this data at no charge through the USGS Earth Explorer search and order tool. Access is open to any registered user within the U.S., provided he or she agrees to use the SPOT data for non-commercial purposes.

Spot Image Corporation of Chantilly, Va., is the U.S. subsidiary of the French satellite imagery provider, Spot Image SA. With two operational earth observation satellites in orbit and four more under development, Spot Image is a leading commercial supplier of geospatial information.

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SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger

SPOT LLC unveiled the new "SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger," which is 30 percent smaller than the SPOT Satellite personal tracker. It features custom messaging modes, and uses a GPS chipset and satellite communications to offer enhanced reliability and performance, the company said.

The SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger uses the GPS satellite network to determine a customer's location and the SPOT network to transmit that information to friends, family or an emergency service center. The device also lets people track users progress in real-time via Google Maps. It also features a SOS 9-1-1 Alert button to let emergency responders coordinate a rescue with the users’ GPS location, the company said.

The latest model offers globally recognised symbols for its message buttons to accommodate use in international markets and drive distribution to customers in North and South America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

The new SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger will include the following new features designed to enhance customer usability:

* 30% smaller and lighter than the original model at 5.2 ounces
* New enhanced satellite antenna for improved performance in foliage or canopied environments
* Advanced GPS performance chipset
* GPS Acquisition light
* “Message Sending” indicator light
* Dedicated GPS Tracking button
* New, dedicated pre-programmable Custom Message button
* Protective covers over S.O.S and Help button to prevent inadvertent message transmission
* Illuminated buttons
* Choice of orange or silver
* Included case and neoprene fastening band

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SPOT distributes KOMPSAT-2 imagery

SPOT Image Corporation announced that it has entered into an agreement with KAI Image as the distributor of KOMPSAT-2 products to customers across North America. Through this partnership, SPOT Image Corporation can now offer users very high resolution (VHR) satellite imagery for projects requiring the detail of a 1-meter image.

By signing this agreement, SPOT Image Corporation will promote, distribute, service, and support data capabilities for KOMPSAT-2 in the United States. KOMPSAT-2 is a 10-bit system featuring four bands (red, green, blue and near infrared), which simultaneously collects 1-meter panchromatic and 4-meter multispectral imagery to produce a standard 1-meter natural color product. The blue band capability of KOMPSAT-2 makes it an ideal solution for mapping shallow water, differentiating soil from vegetation and water penetration studies, such as corral mapping. This will allow SPOT Image to further enhance its current high resolution satellite offerings to a broad marketplace that includes defense, homeland security and commercial applications.

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ERDAS, Spot Image announce partnership

ERDAS and Spot Image announce a new partnership, increasing both organizations' involvement in the Heterogeneous Mission Accessibility - Interoperability (HMA-I) project.

The European Space Agency (ESA) issued the HMA contract in 2005, defining the architecture and interoperability standards for harmonized data access across the ground segments of the European and Canadian missions contributing to the ESA's Global Monitoring for Environment & Security (GMES).

ERDAS developed the EO Proxy Framework to expose legacy catalogs through Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) HMA interfaces. Spot Image is already contributing to ESA’s Global Monitoring for Environment & Security (GMES), with plans to implement the HMA interfaces on top of its existing legacy ground segment architecture.

The EO Proxy Framework can be interfaced on the legacy catalogue side with a web service. Spot Image has been working with ERDAS since 2007 on HMA project to develop a prototype exposing DALI, the Spot Image legacy catalogue, through OGC HMA catalogue interface, and has selected ERDAS technologies for implementing its operational services. ERDAS is providing the software, the maintenance and the technical support. Spot Image is developing the connector between DALI and the EO Proxy Framework and deploying the different components on a dedicated server, which will act as a gateway between the business Spot catalogue (wsDali) and ESA generic HMA client (EODAIL).

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SPOT Image: High Resolution DEMs in Alaska

SPOT Image Corporation is pleased to announce the recent completion of thirteen Reference3D geocells over the Chugach National Forest region of Alaska. These geocells are notable, as they provide the first broad area, DTED-2 quality DEM coverage in Alaska.

Reference3D provides a great DEM solution to fill in areas of Alaska where Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) DEM data is not currently available. The US Government has already purchased this data as a cost effective solution for their project in the Chugach National Forest region.

Reference3D is a unique geospatial product which is made up of a DTED-2 DEM, a 5m ortho-image, and a series of eight quality masks to allow users to view imagery that has been overlaid on a multi-dimensional landscape. Reference3D is produced using data collected from the High Resolution Stereo (HRS) sensor, a secondary instrument onboard the SPOT 5 satellite, which acquires stereoscopic images.

Reference3D is produced in Toulouse, France, in a partnership between Spot Image, S.A., SPOT Image Corporation’s parent company, and IGN Espace, an element of the Institut Geographique National, the French government cartographic agency.

Currently, Spot Image has collected over 112 million km2 of qualified HRS coverage from which Reference3D can be produced.

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SPOT Image gets GSA Contract

SPOT Image Corp. will soon be selling SPOT satellite imagery and related products and services to federal, state and local government agencies at pre-negotiated rates after the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) awarded the contract to the company.

The new SPOT contract greatly simplifies and accelerates the acquisition process for the multitude of government entities that rely on satellite imagery and derived products to better serve the American public.

Government users of geospatial information will be pleased to find that nearly the entire catalog of SPOT products has been offered in the GSA contract, including new and archived 2.5m – 20m standard SPOT images in a variety of scene sizes, geo-coded and ortho-rectified SPOTView custom mosaic products, Reference 3D data sets, Digital Elevation Models, SPOTMaps off-the-shelf mosaics, and Vegetation data. The GSA offering also includes some special processing services as well as new and archived imagery from the Taiwanese FORMOSAT-2 satellite.

To order SPOT imagery through GSA, visit the GSA Advantage web site at www.gsaadvantage.gov and enter the SPOT contract number (GS-35F-0014V) in the search box. General information on how to order through GSA can be found at www.gsa.gov. The contract is effective immediately and will continue through 2013.

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SPOT Imagery, Google Earth-Ready

SPOT Image Corp. today introduced two new service offerings developed to provide clients with direct access to SPOT satellite imagery in the Google Earth (TM) environment.

SPOT Globe For Google Earth Enterprise
The first offering, SPOT Globe for Google Earth Enterprise, delivers fusion-ready SPOT imagery to the growing number of organizations who rely on Google Earth Enterprise as their geospatial viewing and archiving solution.

Imagery is delivered in a pre-packaged and pre-ingested format for direct integration into existing Google Earth Enterprise globes along with other raster and vector layers.

The SPOT Globe offering includes the entire line of 2.5m SPOTMaps mosaics. These off-the-shelf products provide seamless uniform coverage comprised of 2.5 meter, natural-color SPOT 5 satellite imagery acquired in the past three years. Offered in regional and nationwide orthorectified mosaics, SPOTMaps serve as ideal geographic base maps for visualization, planning and mapping projects. Over 40 countries (more than 15 million sq. km) are now covered with SPOTMaps, and are available for use within Google Earth Enterprise.

“We are bringing our unique and extensive SPOTMaps coverage to Google Earth Enterprise users”, said Nicolas Stussi, Director of Services at SPOT Image Corp. “The SPOT Globe is a turn-key solution that makes SPOTMaps mosaics available and “ready-to-use” for Google Earth Enterprise customers, which saves users time and money.”

SPOT Imagery, Google Earth-Ready
SPOT Image Corp. is also introducing a service that provides SPOT imagery in a Google Earth-ready KML format. This format enables imagery to be loaded and viewed immediately in any version of Google Earth. The Google Earth-ready offering is available for all SPOT and Formosat-2 data.

To receive the KML formatted imagery, SPOT Image clients simply request it from Customer Service when placing the order. In addition to having the KML-formatted imagery delivered via FTP or CD/DVD, SPOT Image clients receive a network link giving them immediate online access to their imagery for visualization in Google Earth for 30 days.

Combined with SPOT rush data collection services, SPOT imagery can now be made available for use in Google Earth within 6-8 hours from data acquisition (for US customers only).

For more info, visit SPOT.

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SPOT Image Data Offer for AmericaView

Spot Image has created a web-based service to enable AmericaView members to purchase high-quality, satellite imagery, at substantially discounted rates, through a website developed specifically for AmericaView members.

Imagery offered in this service includes, all archived SPOT imagery collected by the SPOT family of satellites over North America and imagery from i-cubed’s 1m Nationwide Prime mosaic.

Access, buy SPOT Image Data.

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Spot Image, Google Earth Enterprise Partner

Spot Image Corp. today announced that it has been named a Google Earth Enterprise Partner. Spot Image Corp. will leverage this new partnership with Google to deliver imagery through current and planned web-based solutions to clients through Google Earth.

Spot Image Corp. will develop ‘ready-to-use’ image data sets for Google Earth and Google Earth Enterprise users in addition to creating a variety of advanced new information services and solutions. Spot Image Corp. plans to tap into the Google Earth Enterprise architecture to integrate the rich information content of SPOT satellite imagery into maps (2D) and Globes (3D).

“We have a unique and extensive data content, with millions of square kilometers of off-the-shelf imagery, that we can now offer for use in Google Earth and Google Earth Enterprise,” said Nicolas Stussi, Director of Services, Spot Image Corp.

Spot Image Corp. is also developing services that will allow its users to quickly access and share data in Google Earth when time-critical imagery is required. “Such a service will help better support agencies involved in disaster or quick-reaction support, and reach out more quickly and efficiently to a much broader group of users at various levels of the decision making process,” says Stussi.

Spot Image clients can expect these new offerings to be introduced in the U.S. in the summer 2008, and they will be expanded to other markets later this year. Spot Image intends to market these services primarily to Government, Oil & Gas, insurance and the real estate industries.

Google Earth Enterprise provides a variety of advantages to existing and future SPOT imagery clients. Imagery can be viewed and used with any standard web interface, and the Google Earth Enterprise environment is scalable for large organizations to allow access to an unlimited number of end users. In addition, Spot Image can archive and host SPOT imagery along with hundreds of other geospatial data layers within the Google Earth Enterprise solution.

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SPOTMaps Mosaics from SPOT maps

Spot Image has added nine new nations and regions to its line of SPOTMaps mosaics including Iraq, Kuwait and North Korea. Available for immediate purchase, SPOTMaps provide seamless uniform coverage comprised of 2.5-meter, natural-color SPOT 5 satellite imagery acquired within the past three years.

Offered in nationwide and regional orthorectified mosaics, SPOTMaps serve as the ideal geographic basemap layer for any visualization, planning or mapping project that requires a synoptic territorial view combined with close-up geographic detail. SPOTMaps may be purchased online at http://access.spot.com as entire mosaics or custom cut into the end user’s precise area of interest. The cost is only $3/square kilometer.

“SPOTMaps are being used extensively as basemap layers in defense/intelligence, oil and gas, and military communications applications,” said Bruce Ogden, SPOT Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “SPOTMaps arrive ready to upload and use in any GIS or digital mapping environment.”

Since introducing SPOTMaps products in 2007, SPOT has released more than 25 nations and regions including many parts of Europe, Africa and the Middle East. In addition to Iraq, Kuwait and North Korea, the latest SPOTMaps releases are Botswana, Zimbabwe, North Chile, Namibia, Eastern South Africa and Australia.

In addition to being available for immediate online purchase, SPOTMaps are unique products because they enable users to view entire territories from a regional perspective while also seeing detailed infrastructure and land forms at 2.5-meter spatial resolution. The mosaics are suitable for working at map scales up to 1:10,000 and integrate with any type of georeferenced database.

“SPOTMaps are orthorectified using digital elevation models derived from stereo images collected aboard SPOT 5 using the HRS instrument,” said Ogden. “This means that SPOTMaps are perfectly compatible with SPOT DEMs for clients needing to create three dimensional environments for infrastructure siting, environmental analysis, and mission planning.”

For further information:
Bruce Ogden
14595 Avion Parkway, Suite 500
Chantilly, VA 20151
Phone: 703-715-3110
Email: ogden@spot.com

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SPOT Satellite Imagery Coverage of Russia

ScanEx R&D Center has acquired almost the entire coverage with high resolution images of the Russian territory of 17 million square km.

ScanEx in agreement with the French SPOT Image company acquired the data from the two satellites – SPOT-2 and SPOT-4, performing continuous imagery of the entire Russian territory starting March 2006 at the resolution of 10 m in panchromatic mode and 20 m in multispectral mode.

The images are acquired by the network of universal ground receiving stations of ScaEx Center in Moscow, Irkutsk and Magadan. Also color mosaics were used to create the footprint of Moscow Region using the IRS 5.8 m resolution imagery in the New Kosmosnimki project.

The acquired image archive will be the basic data source to resolve a variety of tasks: maps updating, cadastre and arable lands monitoring, forestry and subsoil use monitoring, drug plants growing areas control and emergency areas monitoring in Russia.


Source : www.scanex.com/Spot_Russia

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