SpaceX has made the official request
The private space company Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) has officially requested a February 2, 2010, launch window for its new Falcon 9 delivery system. The announcement has been made by the US Air Force's 45th Space Wing, which has recently released a launch-range forecast for the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, in Florida. The launch facility is located near the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), from where shuttle launches take place. The Hawthorne, California-based company is one of the most promising private space technology companies in the world today, experts believe.Under the NASA Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program, SpaceX is one of the two companies accepted to provide crew and cargo resupply demonstrations between 2008 and 2010.
The American space agency plans to rely on private companies for a while, until it manages to get its Constellation Program rolling, around 2016. The space company was originally scheduled to test its new rocket in 2007, but the development stage for Falcon 9 and its smaller sibling, Falcon 1, lasted more than anyone anticipated. Last month, SpaceX announced that it planned to bring all the hardware necessary for the new rocket launch at the Cape Canaveral facility in November, and to launch the spacecraft one to three months later, Space reports. The thing about Falcon 9 is that it's designed to carry the Dragon space capsule to low-Earth orbit, and onwards to the International Space Station (ISS). The capsule is scheduled to begin hauling cargo to the orbital lab as soon as the concept is demonstrated. As the shuttle fleet is retired, at the end of 2010, the massive cargo space currently on the space planes will be taken away. Solutions to replace it involve using the European Space Agency's (ESA) ATVs, the Japanese Space Agency 's (JAXA) HTV, and the Russian-built, Soviet-era Progress capsules. However, none of these individual spacecraft is able to haul the large pieces of equipment that fit in the standard shuttle cargo bay. This is one of the main reasons why the next shuttle missions will focus on delivering as much spare parts to the ISS as possible, which will all be attached to specially designed storage platforms on the outside of the lab. SpaceX has great plans for its rockets and capsules. Within three years, the company's CEO, Elon Musk, says, the Dragon is scheduled to be retrofitted with equipment that will allow it to carry crews to orbit. This will make it possible for the United States to maintain their own crew capabilities, rather than rely on renting seats on Russian Soyuz capsules.
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Falcon-9-to-Launch-February-2-125903.shtml
Nov 6, 2009
RapidEye To Supply Satellite Imagery To The European Space Agency
RapidEye, the only geospatial solutions provider to own and operate a constellation of five identical Earth Observation satellites, announced today that a frame contract has been signed with the European Space Agency (ESA) to provide RapidEye satellite imagery for monitoring and change detection in areas prone to natural disasters.The contract between RapidEye and ESA is based on a list of pre-defined, high-risk areas, for which RapidEye will provide satellite imagery before and after an emergency event has occurred. With its constellation of five satellites, the RapidEye system has the capability to revisit an area daily, which accommodates frequent monitoring intervals and can provide the most up-to-date information on environmental changes. Michael Prechtel, Head of Sales and Marketing for RapidEye, commented, “We are proud to be a part of this European project that assists in monitoring and managing areas that are likely to be, and have been affected, by natural disasters. To support this project, we offer a special emergency order service to ESA by providing satellite data within 12-24 hours following a request. We look forward to contributing to the success of this project, as it will allow the European Community to be better prepared for critical environmental situations.” ESA will be using RapidEye's satellite imagery mainly for the project 'Safer', a security and emergency project of the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) program in Europe. GMES is a European program for implementing a European capacity for Earth Observation, with an objective to monitor and better understand the environment. By contributing to the success of the 'Safer' project, RapidEye will support ESA in reinforcing the European capacity to better respond to emergency situations deriving from storms, fires, floods, earthquakes or landslides. For more information about the GMES program of ESA please go to gmesdata.esa.int. Aside from offering satellite imagery of high-risk areas, RapidEye provides satellite data of millions more square kilometers of Earth, which can be chosen from the expanding collection of imagery in the RapidEye Library. The RapidEye Library can be accessed by contacting a distributor at www.rapideye.de/distributors, or RapidEye directly. The Library is continuously growing, with new images being downloaded from the satellites every day. For more information, please visit RapidEye's website at www.rapideye.de, or email an inquiry to sales@rapideye.de.
http://www.directionsmag.com/press.releases/index.php?duty=Show&id=39484
http://www.directionsmag.com/press.releases/index.php?duty=Show&id=39484
Google and Bing Maps Get Updated Satellite Imagery
The mapping sector is becoming increasingly competitive
Online mapping services are becoming increasingly popular and useful and, as a result of that, more profitable for those running them. All the big players are present in the space, Google, of course, which started it all, but also Yahoo and Microsoft. They each have their advantages, but what most people don't realize is that they all share pretty much the same mapping data, from the same providers. It's no surprise then that Google and Bing announced new satellite imagery on the very same day.
“We just shipped another 9,460 square kilometers of imagery onto Bing Maps. This month’s release showcases high precision imagery for the USA, Canada and the United Kingdom… it’s all 15-30 centimeter resolution imagery, so it’s pretty stunning,” the Bing Maps blog announced. Google also introduced updated imagery, but it also announced that it was stepping up the update frequency. “Today, I'm happy to announce that we're increasing the frequency of our updates to bring you the world's freshest and most complete imagery,” Senior Geo Data Strategist Matt Manolides wrote. “As a part of this announcement, we're also making some changes to the way that we tell you about new imagery.”Bing provided updated data for some English-language regions with some pretty high-resolution photos. It also updated some of the road data, though it hasn't released much details on that. You can check out new mapping data in the Bing Maps World Tour application that Microsoft provided. The interesting part of the Google announcement doesn’t necessarily lie in the images themselves, but in the fact that it has increased the rate at which these updates will come. Along with this, Google has also changed the way it will present the new data by providing users with a link to preview it inside Google Earth, but also with an embedded Earth plugin.
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Google-and-Bing-Maps-Get-Updated-Satellite-Imagery-126249.shtml
Online mapping services are becoming increasingly popular and useful and, as a result of that, more profitable for those running them. All the big players are present in the space, Google, of course, which started it all, but also Yahoo and Microsoft. They each have their advantages, but what most people don't realize is that they all share pretty much the same mapping data, from the same providers. It's no surprise then that Google and Bing announced new satellite imagery on the very same day.
“We just shipped another 9,460 square kilometers of imagery onto Bing Maps. This month’s release showcases high precision imagery for the USA, Canada and the United Kingdom… it’s all 15-30 centimeter resolution imagery, so it’s pretty stunning,” the Bing Maps blog announced. Google also introduced updated imagery, but it also announced that it was stepping up the update frequency. “Today, I'm happy to announce that we're increasing the frequency of our updates to bring you the world's freshest and most complete imagery,” Senior Geo Data Strategist Matt Manolides wrote. “As a part of this announcement, we're also making some changes to the way that we tell you about new imagery.”Bing provided updated data for some English-language regions with some pretty high-resolution photos. It also updated some of the road data, though it hasn't released much details on that. You can check out new mapping data in the Bing Maps World Tour application that Microsoft provided. The interesting part of the Google announcement doesn’t necessarily lie in the images themselves, but in the fact that it has increased the rate at which these updates will come. Along with this, Google has also changed the way it will present the new data by providing users with a link to preview it inside Google Earth, but also with an embedded Earth plugin.
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Google-and-Bing-Maps-Get-Updated-Satellite-Imagery-126249.shtml
Nov 3, 2009
ITT Picked to Build Advanced Imaging Systems for Japanese Weather Satellites
Multi-million Dollar Contract is Largest Foreign Space Win Rochester, N.Y.
ITT (NYSE:ITT) announced today that Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Japan's largest satellite manufacturer, has selected ITT Space Systems to build the imaging systems for two geostationary satellites being built for the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA). The two geostationary satellites, named Himawari-8 and Himawari-9, will provide round-the-clock weather forecasts and severe weather alerts for the eastern Asia and Oceania. The Himawari payloads will be based on the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) that ITT is currently building for the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R-series, or GOES-R, for NOAA's next-generation geostationary constellation. This improved imager has the capability to monitor three times the amount of atmospheric conditions than current generation payloads, creating superior imagery data for severe weather analysis and forecast every 30 seconds. "This is a key win for ITT Space Systems Division. It's our largest international contract to date; and when combined with the Advanced Baseline Imager work we're doing for NASA, firmly establishes ITT as the worldwide leader for design and development of this class of meteorological instrument," said Rob Mitrevski, vice president for Commercial and Space Science. "We're very proud of the fact that ITT meteorological payloads will help save lives and protect property around the world for many years to come." The Himawari (Japanese for "sunflower") satellites, formally known as the Japanese Geostationary Meteorological Satellite series, are part of the World Weather Watch project within the World Meteorological Organization. Himawari-8 is expected to launch in 2014, followed by Himawari-9 in 2016.
DNI Budget Released
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence released the fiscal year 2009 budget the National Intelligence Program (NIP). The aggregate amount appropriated was $49.8 Billion. That's an increase of two billion dollars over last year. Director Dennis Blair said, "the release of the budget figure for the National Intelligence Program is an important element toward greater transparency."Intelligence programs are absolutely critical to supporting our policymakers, troops and diplomats in the field", said Blair.
http://www.federalnewsradio.com/index.php?nid=125&sid=1801157
US Spy Agencies Spent Nearly $50 bn in 2009
US spy agencies have spent $49.8 billion in fiscal year 2009, which is $2 billion more than the previous year and the second such multibillion-dollar increase in as many years. The aggregate figure was released by National Intelligence Director, Dennis Blair, on Friday. The Us has 16 intelligence agencies, which include the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Pentagon, and the Homeland Security Department. Around 80 percent of the intelligence budget is consumed by the Pentagon intelligence agencies, including the National Security Agency, the National Reconnaissance Office, National Geospatial Intelligence Agency and the Defense Intelligence Agency, AP reported. According to the Office of the Director National Intelligence (ODNI), the budget has grown for two years running, from $43.5 billion in 2007 to $47.5 billion in fiscal 2008. The ODNI has refused to provide any other specific details on how much each agency spends and on what, saying the release of such information "could harm national security." Budgets for the United States' 16 intelligence agencies and their 200,000 employees were a closely-guarded secret until 2007. Under a law passed that year, however, the US secret intelligence community has been required to disclose the annual budget. The Clinton administration voluntarily disclosed the budget in 1997 and 1998. It was then $26.6 billion and $26.7 billion, respectively.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=15896
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=15896
NGA Named One of Washingtonian Magazine’s 50 Great Places to Work
The November 2009 Washingtonian magazine, which focused on "Great Places to Work," highlights The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) as one of five government agencies identified by employees as places in the Washington, D.C., area where the "pay, mission, culture, flexibility and benefits were the best part of working at their agency." Said agency director, Vice Adm. Robert B. Murrett, “Washingtonian magazine just confirmed what we have known for many years—the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency is one of the best places to work.”The November issue states, "We've identified these five agencies as good choices if you want a government job." The November issues also features 45 other employers from a diversity of industries, including nonprofits and associations, and a variety of fields, including public relations, health care, financial services, government contracting and law, among others.As one long-time employee at NGA’s Defense Intelligence Agency support team sees it, “Professionalism is key. The things people do here are amazing, and the talent is just amazing. NGA provides the work force training and state-of-the art tools of the trade” that enable the mission. “NGA is truly a great place to work and I will continue to do so,” he added.Added employee Lauren Coghlan, “I enjoy working in a diverse workplace where I know I’m contributing to a meaningful mission and benefitting from a supportive work environment.”NGA is a Department of Defense combat support agency and a member of the national Intelligence Community. The agency’s mission is to provide geospatial intelligence (GEOINT), which is the exploitation of satellite or airborne images, fused with other intelligence and geospatial information such as mapping, charting and geodesy to help warfighters and national decision makers visualize what they need to know. NGA is the nation’s eyes. Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., NGA also has major facilities in the Washington, D.C., Northern Virginia and St. Louis, Mo., areas with NGA support teams worldwide. Visit our Web site at www.nga.mil.
http://www.directionsmag.com/press.releases/index.php?duty=Show&id=39346
http://www.directionsmag.com/press.releases/index.php?duty=Show&id=39346
Oct 30, 2009
South Korea eyeing four spy satellites
South Korea is eyeing the purchase of at least four spy satellites to monitor North Korea.
Local reports citing an unnamed Defense Ministry official said the purchase would extend over a 10-year period.
The South Korean official said Seoul was considering the option but no official decision had been taken. He did not elaborate.
The news came hot on the heels of local media reports commenting on the Defense Ministry's decision to forge technological cooperation with countries including Germany to pick up the spy satellites.
Seoul's consideration of an expanded spy arsenal against North Korea follows Pyongyang's testing of short-range missiles off its east coast last week.
The Yonhap news agency confirmed the launches that covered the "no sail" zones in parts of the east and west coast of the country.
Citing military experts, the news agency said the launches appeared to be a regular military exercise. Still, the experts did not rule out the possibility that Pyongyang was demonstrating its firepower.
The launches were the first to be reported since early July. They came amid an international scramble to bring the hard-line communist state back into the fold of nuclear disarmament talks with six nations.
On Monday Kurt Campbell, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asia, said Washington was ready to meet one on one with Pyongyang, but only if it leads "rapidly" to full-fledged six-nation denuclearization talks.
In April, North Korea denounced the six-nation forum and its agreements as null and void. The communist state later also tested an atom bomb.
Earlier this month, however, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il told Chinese envoys the North was willing to return to six-way talks, insisting, nevertheless, that it first negotiate directly with the United States to mend "hostile relations."
The six-nation talks have involved China, Japan, North and South Korea, Russia and the United States.
South Korean newspaper Dong-A Ilbo recently reported that the military plans to buy four spy satellites by 2020. The daily cited an internal memo of the Defense Ministry.
The ministry is purported to have said that Korea could buy them relatively cheaply provided it joins forces with nations such as Germany, which have already developed spy satellites.
It said its own multipurpose satellites, developed for the private sector, were unsuitable for military activities.
With 28,500 troops stationed in South Korea, the United States bolsters the nation's 655,000-strong armed forces against the North's 1.2 million-strong army. It also provides some satellite intelligence.
In a recent statement, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned that the United States will never have "normal, sanctions-free relations" with a nuclear-armed North Korea and demanded Pyongyang's full nuclear disarmament.
http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Security-Industry/2009/10/28/South-Korea-eyeing-four-spy-satellites/UPI-83631256744630/
Local reports citing an unnamed Defense Ministry official said the purchase would extend over a 10-year period.
The South Korean official said Seoul was considering the option but no official decision had been taken. He did not elaborate.
The news came hot on the heels of local media reports commenting on the Defense Ministry's decision to forge technological cooperation with countries including Germany to pick up the spy satellites.
Seoul's consideration of an expanded spy arsenal against North Korea follows Pyongyang's testing of short-range missiles off its east coast last week.
The Yonhap news agency confirmed the launches that covered the "no sail" zones in parts of the east and west coast of the country.
Citing military experts, the news agency said the launches appeared to be a regular military exercise. Still, the experts did not rule out the possibility that Pyongyang was demonstrating its firepower.
The launches were the first to be reported since early July. They came amid an international scramble to bring the hard-line communist state back into the fold of nuclear disarmament talks with six nations.
On Monday Kurt Campbell, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asia, said Washington was ready to meet one on one with Pyongyang, but only if it leads "rapidly" to full-fledged six-nation denuclearization talks.
In April, North Korea denounced the six-nation forum and its agreements as null and void. The communist state later also tested an atom bomb.
Earlier this month, however, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il told Chinese envoys the North was willing to return to six-way talks, insisting, nevertheless, that it first negotiate directly with the United States to mend "hostile relations."
The six-nation talks have involved China, Japan, North and South Korea, Russia and the United States.
South Korean newspaper Dong-A Ilbo recently reported that the military plans to buy four spy satellites by 2020. The daily cited an internal memo of the Defense Ministry.
The ministry is purported to have said that Korea could buy them relatively cheaply provided it joins forces with nations such as Germany, which have already developed spy satellites.
It said its own multipurpose satellites, developed for the private sector, were unsuitable for military activities.
With 28,500 troops stationed in South Korea, the United States bolsters the nation's 655,000-strong armed forces against the North's 1.2 million-strong army. It also provides some satellite intelligence.
In a recent statement, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned that the United States will never have "normal, sanctions-free relations" with a nuclear-armed North Korea and demanded Pyongyang's full nuclear disarmament.
http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Security-Industry/2009/10/28/South-Korea-eyeing-four-spy-satellites/UPI-83631256744630/
Google Maps Navigation: Another Shot at iPhone
Amid rising competition between Google’s Android mobile operating software and the iPhone, Google this morning is sending another shot Apple’s way. It’s debuting a free beta version of a new navigation service, a la TomTom’s or Garmin’s popular devices, that offers turn-by-turn, real-time navigation with Google Maps—but only on devices using its new Android 2.0 software.
In particular, that’s likely to be Verizon’s much-anticipated new Droid phone that was introduced this morning. Mobile expert Greg Sterling of Opus Research, who like me attended a pre-briefing yesterday at Google, notes that the service could give Verizon at least temporary bragging rights over the iPhone, advantages it has been touting in recent in-Steve-Jobs’-face ads on the Droid. “It’s going to be a strong competitive differentiator in the short term,” says Sterling, who’s impressed by the navigation service.
In fact, the service offers bells and whistles beyond those of dedicated navigation devices, such as integration with Google’s Street View, satellite imagery, and the ability to search destinations by name rather than address. For that reason, TomTom, Garmin, and the rest of the dedicated GPS navigation crew have even more reason to worry than Apple.
Google didn’t rule out offering the service on the iPhone and said it’s working with Apple but didn’t provide a time frame or any promise that a similar service for the iPhone would be forthcoming. Vic Gundotra, Google’s vice president of engineering for mobile and developer, said the software has “stringent” hardware requirements.
Anyway, here are the features of Maps Navigation, from Google’s press information site (Google’s blog post is also up now):
Google Maps Navigation (Beta) is an Internet-connected GPS navigation system that provides turn-by-turn voice guidance as a free feature of Google Maps on Android 2.0 phones.
Google Maps Navigation uses your phone's Internet connection to give you the latest maps and business data. You never need to buy map upgrades or manually update your device because you're always using the most recent data from Google Maps. And this data is continuously improving, thanks to users who report maps issues and local businesses on Google Local Business Center.
But that's not all that's different about Google's approach to GPS navigation. Google Maps Navigation was built from the ground up as an Internet-connected GPS system, making the following features possible:
* Search in plain English. No need to know the address. You can type a business name (e.g. “starbucks”) or even a kind of a business (e.g. “thai restaurant”), just like you would on Google.
* Search by voice. Speak your destination instead of typing (English only): "Navigate to the de Young Museum in San Francisco".
* Traffic view. An on-screen indicator glows green, yellow, or red based on the current traffic conditions along your route. A single touch on the indicator toggles a traffic view that shows the traffic ahead.
* Search along route. Search for any kind of business along your route, or turn on popular layers such as gas stations, restaurants, or parking.
* Satellite view. View your route overlaid on 3D satellite views with Google's high-resolution aerial imagery.
* Street View. Visualize turns overlaid on Google's Street View imagery. Navigation automatically switches to Street View as you approach your destination.
* Car dock mode. For certain devices, placing your phone in a car dock activates a special mode that makes it easy to use your device at arm's length.
http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/techbeat/archives/2009/10/google_maps_nav.html
In particular, that’s likely to be Verizon’s much-anticipated new Droid phone that was introduced this morning. Mobile expert Greg Sterling of Opus Research, who like me attended a pre-briefing yesterday at Google, notes that the service could give Verizon at least temporary bragging rights over the iPhone, advantages it has been touting in recent in-Steve-Jobs’-face ads on the Droid. “It’s going to be a strong competitive differentiator in the short term,” says Sterling, who’s impressed by the navigation service.
In fact, the service offers bells and whistles beyond those of dedicated navigation devices, such as integration with Google’s Street View, satellite imagery, and the ability to search destinations by name rather than address. For that reason, TomTom, Garmin, and the rest of the dedicated GPS navigation crew have even more reason to worry than Apple.
Google didn’t rule out offering the service on the iPhone and said it’s working with Apple but didn’t provide a time frame or any promise that a similar service for the iPhone would be forthcoming. Vic Gundotra, Google’s vice president of engineering for mobile and developer, said the software has “stringent” hardware requirements.
Anyway, here are the features of Maps Navigation, from Google’s press information site (Google’s blog post is also up now):
Google Maps Navigation (Beta) is an Internet-connected GPS navigation system that provides turn-by-turn voice guidance as a free feature of Google Maps on Android 2.0 phones.
Google Maps Navigation uses your phone's Internet connection to give you the latest maps and business data. You never need to buy map upgrades or manually update your device because you're always using the most recent data from Google Maps. And this data is continuously improving, thanks to users who report maps issues and local businesses on Google Local Business Center.
But that's not all that's different about Google's approach to GPS navigation. Google Maps Navigation was built from the ground up as an Internet-connected GPS system, making the following features possible:
* Search in plain English. No need to know the address. You can type a business name (e.g. “starbucks”) or even a kind of a business (e.g. “thai restaurant”), just like you would on Google.
* Search by voice. Speak your destination instead of typing (English only): "Navigate to the de Young Museum in San Francisco".
* Traffic view. An on-screen indicator glows green, yellow, or red based on the current traffic conditions along your route. A single touch on the indicator toggles a traffic view that shows the traffic ahead.
* Search along route. Search for any kind of business along your route, or turn on popular layers such as gas stations, restaurants, or parking.
* Satellite view. View your route overlaid on 3D satellite views with Google's high-resolution aerial imagery.
* Street View. Visualize turns overlaid on Google's Street View imagery. Navigation automatically switches to Street View as you approach your destination.
* Car dock mode. For certain devices, placing your phone in a car dock activates a special mode that makes it easy to use your device at arm's length.
http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/techbeat/archives/2009/10/google_maps_nav.html
DigitalGlobe Announces New Agreement with Microsoft for High-Resolution Aerial Imagery
New Clear30 Program Exclusively Available through Bing Maps and DigitalGlobe
DigitalGlobe (NYSE: DGI), a leading global provider of commercial high-resolution world-imagery products and services for defense and intelligence, civil government, and commercial customers, today announced it has signed an agreement with Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) to launch the Clear30 program, an initiative to distribute high-resolution, 30-cm aerial imagery of contiguous landscapes, initially in the U.S. and Western Europe. These orthophoto mosaics will be available through Bing Maps and through DigitalGlobe channels. The Clear30 initiative is a new agreement that expands the current relationship between Microsoft and DigitalGlobe and reflects a commitment to increase accessibility and use of high-resolution digital imagery. To collect the first ever multicontinental aerial imagery from 30 cm, the companies will use the UltraCamG, a large format digital aerial camera manufactured by Vexcel Imaging GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft, which is based on Vexcel's UltraCam large format camera systems, the top selling large format aerial sensors internationally. "We're excited about the launch of the Clear30 program and our continued relationship with DigitalGlobe," said Steve Stanzel, general manager of Bing Maps at Microsoft Corp. "By providing DigitalGlobe exclusive access to our advanced UltraCamG imagery, we can provide our mutual customers easy access and integration of high-resolution digital aerial orthophotos for vast landscapes around the world.""We are very pleased to be expanding our relationship with Microsoft and look forward to introducing the UltraCamG imagery into our world imagery solutions," said Jill Smith, chairman and chief executive officer of DigitalGlobe. "The addition of large quantities of very high-resolution digital aerial imagery, collected quickly and published on a consistent update schedule, will further enhance our ability to distribute a comprehensive digitized globe to our customers."The companies did not provide financial details concerning the agreement.Imagery from the UltraCamG will further expand DigitalGlobe's industry leading ImageLibrary and will complement the satellite imagery products available from the DigitalGlobe high-resolution satellite constellation, including the recently launched WorldView-2 satellite. Current collection areas for the UltraCamG program include the contiguous United States and Western Europe.
http://www.gisuser.com/content/view/18914/2/
DigitalGlobe (NYSE: DGI), a leading global provider of commercial high-resolution world-imagery products and services for defense and intelligence, civil government, and commercial customers, today announced it has signed an agreement with Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) to launch the Clear30 program, an initiative to distribute high-resolution, 30-cm aerial imagery of contiguous landscapes, initially in the U.S. and Western Europe. These orthophoto mosaics will be available through Bing Maps and through DigitalGlobe channels. The Clear30 initiative is a new agreement that expands the current relationship between Microsoft and DigitalGlobe and reflects a commitment to increase accessibility and use of high-resolution digital imagery. To collect the first ever multicontinental aerial imagery from 30 cm, the companies will use the UltraCamG, a large format digital aerial camera manufactured by Vexcel Imaging GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft, which is based on Vexcel's UltraCam large format camera systems, the top selling large format aerial sensors internationally. "We're excited about the launch of the Clear30 program and our continued relationship with DigitalGlobe," said Steve Stanzel, general manager of Bing Maps at Microsoft Corp. "By providing DigitalGlobe exclusive access to our advanced UltraCamG imagery, we can provide our mutual customers easy access and integration of high-resolution digital aerial orthophotos for vast landscapes around the world.""We are very pleased to be expanding our relationship with Microsoft and look forward to introducing the UltraCamG imagery into our world imagery solutions," said Jill Smith, chairman and chief executive officer of DigitalGlobe. "The addition of large quantities of very high-resolution digital aerial imagery, collected quickly and published on a consistent update schedule, will further enhance our ability to distribute a comprehensive digitized globe to our customers."The companies did not provide financial details concerning the agreement.Imagery from the UltraCamG will further expand DigitalGlobe's industry leading ImageLibrary and will complement the satellite imagery products available from the DigitalGlobe high-resolution satellite constellation, including the recently launched WorldView-2 satellite. Current collection areas for the UltraCamG program include the contiguous United States and Western Europe.
http://www.gisuser.com/content/view/18914/2/
NSA To Build $1.5 Billion Cybersecurity Data Center
The massive complex, comprising up to 1.5 million square feet of building space, will provide intelligence and warnings related to cybersecurity threats across government.
The National Security Agency, whose job it is to protect national security systems, will soon break ground on a data center in Utah that's budgeted to cost $1.5 billion.
The NSA is building the facility to provide intelligence and warnings related to cybersecurity threats, cybersecurity support to defense and civilian agency networks, and technical assistance to the Department of Homeland Security, according to a transcript of remarks by Glenn Gaffney, deputy director of national intelligence for collection, who is responsible for oversight of cyber intelligence activities in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
"Our country must continue to advance its national security efforts and that includes improvements in cybersecurity," Sen. Robert Bennett, R-Utah, said in a statement. "As we rely more and more on our communications networks for business, government and everyday use, we must be vigilant and provide agencies with the necessary resources to protect our country from a cyber attack."
The data center will be built at Camp Williams, a National Guard training center 26 miles south of Salt Lake City, which was chosen for its access to cheap power, communications infrastructure, and availability of space, Gaffney said. The complex will comprise up to 1.5 million square feet of building space on 120 to 200 acres, according to the NBC affiliate in Salt Lake City.
According to a budget document for the project, the 30-megawatt data center will be cooled by chilled water and capable of Tier 3, or near carrier-grade, reliability. The design calls for the highest LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standard within available resources.
The U.S. Army Corps of engineers will host a conference in Salt Lake City to provide further detail the data center building and acquisition plans. The project will require between 5,000 and 10,000 workers during construction, and the data center will eventually employ between 100 and 200 workers.
As part of its mission, NSA monitors communications "signals" for intelligence related to national security and defense. Gaffney gave assurances that the work going on at the data center will protect civil liberties. "We will accomplish this in full compliance with the U.S. Constitution and federal law and while observing strict guidelines that protect the privacy and civil liberties of the American people," Gaffney said.
On Nov. 30, the Department of Homeland Security will formally open a new cybersecurity operations center, the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center, in Arlington, Va. The facility will house the National Cyber Security Center, which coordinates cybersecurity operations across government, the National Coordinating Center for Telecommunications, which operates the government's telecommunications network, and the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team, which works with industry and government to protect networks and alert them of malicious activity.
http://www.informationweek.com/news/government/security/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=221100260
The National Security Agency, whose job it is to protect national security systems, will soon break ground on a data center in Utah that's budgeted to cost $1.5 billion.
The NSA is building the facility to provide intelligence and warnings related to cybersecurity threats, cybersecurity support to defense and civilian agency networks, and technical assistance to the Department of Homeland Security, according to a transcript of remarks by Glenn Gaffney, deputy director of national intelligence for collection, who is responsible for oversight of cyber intelligence activities in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
"Our country must continue to advance its national security efforts and that includes improvements in cybersecurity," Sen. Robert Bennett, R-Utah, said in a statement. "As we rely more and more on our communications networks for business, government and everyday use, we must be vigilant and provide agencies with the necessary resources to protect our country from a cyber attack."
The data center will be built at Camp Williams, a National Guard training center 26 miles south of Salt Lake City, which was chosen for its access to cheap power, communications infrastructure, and availability of space, Gaffney said. The complex will comprise up to 1.5 million square feet of building space on 120 to 200 acres, according to the NBC affiliate in Salt Lake City.
According to a budget document for the project, the 30-megawatt data center will be cooled by chilled water and capable of Tier 3, or near carrier-grade, reliability. The design calls for the highest LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standard within available resources.
The U.S. Army Corps of engineers will host a conference in Salt Lake City to provide further detail the data center building and acquisition plans. The project will require between 5,000 and 10,000 workers during construction, and the data center will eventually employ between 100 and 200 workers.
As part of its mission, NSA monitors communications "signals" for intelligence related to national security and defense. Gaffney gave assurances that the work going on at the data center will protect civil liberties. "We will accomplish this in full compliance with the U.S. Constitution and federal law and while observing strict guidelines that protect the privacy and civil liberties of the American people," Gaffney said.
On Nov. 30, the Department of Homeland Security will formally open a new cybersecurity operations center, the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center, in Arlington, Va. The facility will house the National Cyber Security Center, which coordinates cybersecurity operations across government, the National Coordinating Center for Telecommunications, which operates the government's telecommunications network, and the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team, which works with industry and government to protect networks and alert them of malicious activity.
http://www.informationweek.com/news/government/security/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=221100260
NAVTEQ Awarded Contract With the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA)
NAVTEQ(R) map data and content will be used within NGA's global commodity dataset
CHICAGO, Oct. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- NAVTEQ, the leading global provider of digital map, traffic and location data for in-vehicle, portable, wireless and enterprise solutions, today announced that the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) has awarded NAVTEQ a contract as the map data and content provider for the comprehensive global commodity dataset (SATNAV) that offers transportation, public venues and miscellaneous points of interest data layers.
NGA provides responsive Geospatial Intelligence (GEOINT) products, support, services and information to the United States DoD components, and for national intelligence purposes. NAVTEQ map data and content will provide NGA with geocoding and map display capabilities for (GEOINT) products, as well as contribute toward national security objectives.
NAVTEQ map data includes geospatial information such as roads, cities, political boundaries, physical features, places, railroads, census boundaries, parks, schools, fire departments, police departments, and hospitals and many other geospatial vector data layers.
"NAVTEQ is proud to expand our relationship with the NGA on such a crucial program that serves the global map data needs of the US Federal Government Defense and Intelligence Community," said Roy Kolstad, vice president, Enterprise Americas, NAVTEQ. "This contract award offers another validation point for the best-in-class nature of the NAVTEQ product portfolio in serving our Government customers. We look forward to expanding our relationship with the NGA as their needs evolve."
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/navteq-awarded-contract-with-the-national-geospatial-intelligence-agency-nga-67198317.html
CHICAGO, Oct. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- NAVTEQ, the leading global provider of digital map, traffic and location data for in-vehicle, portable, wireless and enterprise solutions, today announced that the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) has awarded NAVTEQ a contract as the map data and content provider for the comprehensive global commodity dataset (SATNAV) that offers transportation, public venues and miscellaneous points of interest data layers.
NGA provides responsive Geospatial Intelligence (GEOINT) products, support, services and information to the United States DoD components, and for national intelligence purposes. NAVTEQ map data and content will provide NGA with geocoding and map display capabilities for (GEOINT) products, as well as contribute toward national security objectives.
NAVTEQ map data includes geospatial information such as roads, cities, political boundaries, physical features, places, railroads, census boundaries, parks, schools, fire departments, police departments, and hospitals and many other geospatial vector data layers.
"NAVTEQ is proud to expand our relationship with the NGA on such a crucial program that serves the global map data needs of the US Federal Government Defense and Intelligence Community," said Roy Kolstad, vice president, Enterprise Americas, NAVTEQ. "This contract award offers another validation point for the best-in-class nature of the NAVTEQ product portfolio in serving our Government customers. We look forward to expanding our relationship with the NGA as their needs evolve."
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/navteq-awarded-contract-with-the-national-geospatial-intelligence-agency-nga-67198317.html
Intelligence spending rises again to $49.8 billion
WASHINGTON — U.S. spy agencies spent $49.8 billion in fiscal year 2009, $2 billion more than in 2008 and the second such multibillion-dollar increase in as many years.
National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair released the aggregate intelligence budget Friday. Congress in 2007 passed a law requiring that overall intelligence spending to be made public, as the 9/11 Commission had recommended.
The budget includes money spent by 16 different intelligence entities, from the CIA to the FBI, the Pentagon to the Homeland Security Department. Around 80 percent of the intelligence budget is consumed by the Pentagon intelligence agencies, including the National Security Agency, the National Reconnaissance Office, National Geospatial Intelligence Agency and the Defense Intelligence Agency.
Item by item details of the budget, however, remain classified.
The spy agencies spent $47.5 billion in 2008, a $4 billion increase over the 2007 budget. The national intelligence budget had until 2007 been classified, although the Clinton administration voluntarily disclosed it in 1997 and 1998. It was then $26.6 billion and $26.7 billion, respectively.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iR3WfkH9RqpVTvjvUX3LAj2LtZmgD9BLG6485
National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair released the aggregate intelligence budget Friday. Congress in 2007 passed a law requiring that overall intelligence spending to be made public, as the 9/11 Commission had recommended.
The budget includes money spent by 16 different intelligence entities, from the CIA to the FBI, the Pentagon to the Homeland Security Department. Around 80 percent of the intelligence budget is consumed by the Pentagon intelligence agencies, including the National Security Agency, the National Reconnaissance Office, National Geospatial Intelligence Agency and the Defense Intelligence Agency.
Item by item details of the budget, however, remain classified.
The spy agencies spent $47.5 billion in 2008, a $4 billion increase over the 2007 budget. The national intelligence budget had until 2007 been classified, although the Clinton administration voluntarily disclosed it in 1997 and 1998. It was then $26.6 billion and $26.7 billion, respectively.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iR3WfkH9RqpVTvjvUX3LAj2LtZmgD9BLG6485
Oct 27, 2009
U.S. Spies Buy Stake in Firm That Monitors Blogs, Tweets
America ’s spy agencies want to read your blog posts, keep track of your Twitter updates — even check out your book reviews on Amazon. In-Q-Tel, the investment arm of the CIA and the wider intelligence community, is putting cash into Visible Technologies, a software firm that specializes in monitoring social media. It’s part of a larger movement within the spy services to get better at using ”open source intelligence” — information that’s publicly available, but often hidden in the flood of TV shows, newspaper articles, blog posts, online videos and radio reports generated every day.Visible crawls over half a million web 2.0 sites a day, scraping more than a million posts and conversations taking place on blogs, online forums, Flickr, YouTube, Twitter and Amazon. (It doesn’t touch closed social networks, like Facebook, at the moment.) Customers get customized, real-time feeds of what’s being said on these sites, based on a series of keywords. “That’s kind of the basic step — get in and monitor,” says company senior vice president Blake Cahill. Then Visible “scores” each post, labeling it as positive or negative, mixed or neutral. It examines how influential a conversation or an author is. (”Trying to determine who really matters,” as Cahill puts it.) Finally, Visible gives users a chance to tag posts, forward them to colleagues and allow them to response through a web interface.In-Q-Tel says it wants Visible to keep track of foreign social media, and give spooks “early-warning detection on how issues are playing internationally,” spokesperson Donald Tighe tells Danger Room.Of course, such a tool can also be pointed inward, at domestic bloggers or tweeters. Visible already keeps tabs on web 2.0 sites for Dell, AT&T and Verizon. For Microsoft, the company is monitoring the buzz on its Windows 7 rollout. For Spam-maker Hormel, Visible is tracking animal-right activists’ online campaigns against the company.“Anything that is out in the open is fair game for collection,” says Steven Aftergood, who tracks intelligence issues at the Federation of American Scientists. But “even if information is openly gathered by intelligence agencies it would still be problematic if it were used for unauthorized domestic investigations or operations. Intelligence agencies or employees might be tempted to use the tools at their disposal to compile information on political figures, critics, journalists or others, and to exploit such information for political advantage. That is not permissible even if all of the information in question is technically ‘open source.’”Visible chief executive officer Dan Vetras says the CIA is now an “end customer,” thanks to the In-Q-Tel investment. And more government clients are now on the horizon. “We just got awarded another one in the last few days,” Vetras adds.Tighe disputes this — sort of. “This contract, this deal, this investment has nothing to do with any agency of government and this company,” he says. But Tighe quickly notes that In-Q-Tel does have “an interested end customer” in the intelligence community for Visibile. And if all goes well, the company’s software will be used in pilot programs at that agency. “In pilots, we use real data. And during the adoption phase, we use it real missions.”Neither party would disclose the size of In-Q-Tel’s investment in Visible, a 90-person company with expected revenues of about $20 million in 2010. But a source familiar with the deal says the In-Q-Tel cash will be used to boost Visible’s foreign languages capabilities, which already include Arabic, French, Spanish and nine other languages.Visible has been trying for nearly a year to break into the government field. In late 2008, the company teamed up with the Washington , DC , consulting firm Concepts & Strategies, which has handled media monitoring and translation services for U.S. Strategic Command and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, among others. On its website, Concepts & Strategies is recruiting “social media engagement specialists” with Defense Department experience and a high proficiency in Arabic, Farsi, French, Urdu or Russian. The company is also looking for an “information system security engineer” who already has a “Top Secret SCI [Sensitive Compartmentalized Information] with NSA Full Scope Polygraph” security clearance. The intelligence community has been interested in social media for years. In-Q-Tel has sunk money into companies like Attensity, which recently announced its own web 2.0-monitoring service. The agencies have their own, password-protected blogs and wikis — even a MySpace for spooks. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence maintains an Open Source Center, which combs publicly available information, including web 2.0 sites. Doug Naquin, the Center’s Director, told an audience of intelligence professionals in October 2007 that “we’re looking now at YouTube, which carries some unique and honest-to-goodness intelligence…. We have groups looking at what they call ‘citizens media’: people taking pictures with their cell phones and posting them on the internet. Then there’s social media, phenomena like MySpace and blogs.”But, “the CIA specifically needs the help of innovative tech firms to keep up with the pace of innovation in social media. Experienced IC [intelligence community] analysts may not be the best at detecting the incessant shift in popularity of social-networking sites. They need help in following young international internet user-herds as they move their allegiance from one site to another,” Lewis Shepherd, the former senior technology officer at the Defense Intelligence Agency, says in an e-mail. “Facebook says that more than 70 percent of its users are outside the U.S. , in more than 180 countries. There are more than 200 non-U.S., non-English-language microblogging Twitter-clone sites today. If the intelligence community ignored that tsunami of real-time information, we’d call them incompetent.”
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/10/exclusive-us-spies-buy-stake-in-twitter-blog-monitoring-firm/
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/10/exclusive-us-spies-buy-stake-in-twitter-blog-monitoring-firm/
New satellites to bolster hurricane forecasts
Hurricane forecasting should receive a big boost in 2015. That’s when NASA will launch the first in a series of GOES-R satellites into space.The $1.09 billion next-generation satellites are expected to double the clarity of today’s satellite imagery.They also should provide more than 20 times the information, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.For the National Hurricane Center in Miami-Dade County, this means receiving high-resolution imagery every 30 seconds to a minute – as opposed to every 7.5 minutes currently.In turn, forecasters will be able to more closely analyze a hurricane's core and the atmosphere around it, senior hurricane specialist Jack Beven said.“We think it has great potential to improve hurricane forecasting operations,” he said.In addition to bolstering track forecasts, the GOES-R satellites should help improve intensity predictions. "With higher resolution, we’ll be able to penetrate farther into the eye of a storm and get a better idea of its strength,” said Mark DeMaria, chief of NOAA’s Regional and Mesoscale Meteorology Branch in Fort Collins, Colo.Although the first GOES-R won't be operational for about five years, it's not likely that storm predictions will suffer in the interim; the hurricane center breaks forecast accuracy records each year.
http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/weather/hurricane/blog/2009/10/new_satellites_to_boost_hurric.html
http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/weather/hurricane/blog/2009/10/new_satellites_to_boost_hurric.html
America needs a strategy for intelligence-imaging
It is no surprise that with Democrats in control of the House of Representatives, the Senate and the White House, the result is disarray in the intelligence community. When they're not bashing or de-funding, they're investigating. It's a wonder they've found time to mess up spy satellite policy.
But they have. Embedded in the new defense policy bill - which is awaiting the president's signature - are the latest mixed messages about plans to use satellites to keep track of our enemies. If left untended, the tangle could undermine intelligence for years to come.
The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency recently issued a classified request to companies that operate private imaging satellites asking what further they can do to augment the existing U.S. spy satellite system, according to a Congress Daily report confirmed by intelligence community sources. Already integral to the nation's intelligence satellite system, this move to buy more commercial satellite imagery appears to be part of Obama administration plans to have such data supplement new National Reconnaissance Office satellites capable of greater detail than available commercially.
But congressional action supported by the administration is at odds with this effort. A provision in the 2010 defense authorization legislation directs the Defense Department to develop two of its own commercial-grade optical satellites. These could compete with commercial data, crippling private investment that directly benefits the U.S. military and intelligence agencies.
Further complicating matters is language in the defense authorization bill directing the Obama administration to review whether restrictions on the commercial sale of private satellite imagery should be loosened - potentially allowing the public sale of better quality data than is now available due to national security concerns.
These efforts come as Congress can't decide on long-term plans to replace the nation's intelligence satellites. The Obama administration has backed language in the House-version of the 2010 intelligence authorization ensuring the government buys more expensive satellites capable of higher quality images, supplementing it with private satellite data. A competing Senate plan, which is backed by many in the intelligence community, would instead buy a greater number of less expensive and technologically less sophisticated satellites, offering potentially greater coverage worldwide.
Creating a tangled mess of competing and contradictory satellite plans complicates both our ability to fight wars and to avoid them. In both Iran and North Korea, satellite surveillance is a key part of our ability to monitor nuclear programs and to persuade allies to back our anti-proliferation efforts. In Iraq and Afghanistan, they're key infrastructure for command decisions made every day.
While getting satellites into space is rocket science, creating a plan to manage and build the intelligence satellite system isn't. It has three parts: Encourage private investment that lets us take advantage of what the private sector can do best. Fill in the holes only where we must. Continue to improve our most powerful surveillance satellites as we replace them.
All Congress and the administration have to do is get on the same page.
http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/oct/25/eye-in-the-sky/
But they have. Embedded in the new defense policy bill - which is awaiting the president's signature - are the latest mixed messages about plans to use satellites to keep track of our enemies. If left untended, the tangle could undermine intelligence for years to come.
The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency recently issued a classified request to companies that operate private imaging satellites asking what further they can do to augment the existing U.S. spy satellite system, according to a Congress Daily report confirmed by intelligence community sources. Already integral to the nation's intelligence satellite system, this move to buy more commercial satellite imagery appears to be part of Obama administration plans to have such data supplement new National Reconnaissance Office satellites capable of greater detail than available commercially.
But congressional action supported by the administration is at odds with this effort. A provision in the 2010 defense authorization legislation directs the Defense Department to develop two of its own commercial-grade optical satellites. These could compete with commercial data, crippling private investment that directly benefits the U.S. military and intelligence agencies.
Further complicating matters is language in the defense authorization bill directing the Obama administration to review whether restrictions on the commercial sale of private satellite imagery should be loosened - potentially allowing the public sale of better quality data than is now available due to national security concerns.
These efforts come as Congress can't decide on long-term plans to replace the nation's intelligence satellites. The Obama administration has backed language in the House-version of the 2010 intelligence authorization ensuring the government buys more expensive satellites capable of higher quality images, supplementing it with private satellite data. A competing Senate plan, which is backed by many in the intelligence community, would instead buy a greater number of less expensive and technologically less sophisticated satellites, offering potentially greater coverage worldwide.
Creating a tangled mess of competing and contradictory satellite plans complicates both our ability to fight wars and to avoid them. In both Iran and North Korea, satellite surveillance is a key part of our ability to monitor nuclear programs and to persuade allies to back our anti-proliferation efforts. In Iraq and Afghanistan, they're key infrastructure for command decisions made every day.
While getting satellites into space is rocket science, creating a plan to manage and build the intelligence satellite system isn't. It has three parts: Encourage private investment that lets us take advantage of what the private sector can do best. Fill in the holes only where we must. Continue to improve our most powerful surveillance satellites as we replace them.
All Congress and the administration have to do is get on the same page.
http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/oct/25/eye-in-the-sky/
Oct 24, 2009
AAMHatch Offers New GeoEye-1 Multi-Site Option
Industry: Satellite Image DataLocation: , Australia
AAMHatch is pleased to announce the popular Multi-Site product is now available for 50cm GeoEye-1 satellite imagery. Multi-Site, already available for 80cm IKONOS imagery, allows clients interested in multiple captures over small areas to acquire the higher resolution and more accurate GeoEye-1 satellite imagery.We know the market is interested in this of product as a result of clients such as CTF Solutions. "CTF Solution has reached the milestone of acquiring more than 1,000,000ha of submetre resolution satellite imagery to undertake property planning and mapping. The majority of the high resolution satellite data we have utilised has been IKONOS multi-site data, which we are sourcing from GeoEye's Australian Reseller, AAMHatch", says Tim Neale - Director, CTF Solutions.Neale goes on to advise that, "Over the past year, AAMHatch has provided CTF Solutions with good advice and timely service, and we have been able to take good advantage of the cost-effective Multi-Site product for our clients, both in Australia and internationally.""As many clients wish to acquire imagery over multiple smaller sites or over multiple dates, this new option is really cost effective" says Lisa Dykes, AAMHatch Satellite Imagery Team Leader.The benefit of this new offer is really that the minimum new capture area of 100km2 is slashed to only 50km2 if the same site is imaged 3 times annually or 3 separate sites of 50km2 are ordered at the same time. This equates to a 50% saving on each new capture order. The added advantage is that users still maintain the other benefits, i.e.1. 2km x 2km guaranteed cloud free area2. 15% cloud cover or less assurance policy3. Unparalleled horizontal accuracy of 3m (excluding terrain effects) without ground control4. 4 band multispectral imageryAbout AAMHatchAAMHatch is at the forefront of the spatial information technology revolution. AAMHatch's dynamic team pioneers the commercialisation of exciting innovations such as:High Resolution Satellite Imagery Pictometry - Visualise & Analyse Large format, aerial digital imaging Airborne LiDAR Terrestrial Laser Scanning 360 degree video (fully spherical video).For more information, visit www.aamhatch.comAbout Controlled Traffic Farming SolutionsCTF Solutions specialises in Controlled Traffic Farming (CTF), no-till and Precision Agriculture (PA) adoption. CTF Solutions is consulting directly to over 200 farmers and 19 grower and catchment groups, and has conducted 14 R&D and adoption programs for national and state agencies, as well as private companies.Our products include:Projects for land management change and catchment outcomes CTF Systems advice called "CTF for Success" provides a full 3m CTF system Advice on selecting the right GPS auto-steer Topography mapping for using data from Auto-steer systems or our GPS systems Yield mapping and analysis High resolution (80cm pixel) satellite imagery and crop vigour analysis Farm improvement program "Keep on Track" using our 11 point audit and timely visits.
http://www.directionsmag.com/press.releases/index.php?duty=Show&id=38961
Release Appistry and NJVC to Deliver Secure Intelligence, Defense Clouds Solutions
Appistry, a pioneer in private cloud computing for the enterprise, and NJVC, oneof the largest information technology solutions providers supporting the U.S.Department of Defense, have announced a joint cloud computing solutionaddressing the unique security requirements of the intelligence and defensecommunities. The announcement was made yesterday evening during theAppistry/NJVC co-sponsored opening reception at the GEOINT 2009 Symposium in SanAntonio. The joint solution allows intelligence and defense enterprises to more easilyovercome the challenges associated with delivering mission-critical applicationsvia legacy data center architectures. By implementing a secure, reliable andcost-effective private cloud solution powered by Appistry CloudIQ Platform,joint customers are able to transform networks of commodity-grade servers intoan agile cloud environment that can be easily scaled and managed to supportsophisticated Web, SOA and analytical applications. "Intelligence and defense are industries where `mission critical` is a reality,not a buzzword," said Kevin Haar, CEO, Appistry. "Cloud-based solutions allowagencies to more easily and economically meet the challenge of today`sreal-time, data-intensive applications." NJVC brings to the solution offering proven success in deploying IT enterprisemanagement in very secure environments, allowing its customers to concentrateresources on their core missions. To gain more complete knowledge about theprivate cloud in a real-world environment, NJVC recently undertook a securecloud computing pilot study at its Center for Technology Integration facility,which accurately simulates the enterprise environment of a large intelligencecommunity network. Pilot result analysis showed astounding performance gains. "Together, NJVC and Appistry have developed a private cloud offering that isrelevant and workable for the intelligence and defense communities," said JodyTedesco, president and general manager, NJVC. "With the manageable, phased-inapproach that cloud computing offers, the risks are minimized while rewards aremaximized. We look forward to offering this solution to current and futurecustomers." NJVC and Appistry recently released a white paper on the pilot project,available by request or at either company`s booth at GEOINT. NJVC is located inbooth 855, and Appistry is in booth 749.
http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS82537+19-Oct-2009+BW20091019
http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS82537+19-Oct-2009+BW20091019
2d3 Launches AltiMap
AltiMap dramatically accelerates the production time of geo-registered maps from aerial imagery, by automatically creating mosaics from high- resolution photographsOct 20, 2009 - 2d3, Inc. (http://www.2d3.com), a leading provider of vision science solutions for industrial, defense, and entertainment applications, announced today the release of version 1.0 of its AltiMap software. The new software was developed to address the need to create accurate, geospatial maps from aerial imagery captured by high resolution cameras. AltiMap is available in several configurations to support cameras ranging from consumer available digital cameras up to the most advanced aerial imaging systems.Traditional automated mapping systems have been reliant upon costly and complex aircraft instrumentation and camera hardware. AltiMap removes this dependency and allows for the automated generation of the same quality of image product using images alone or images and a commercially available GPS receiver. The geo-located results can be exported as single images or tiled hierarchies of images, compatible with almost all mapping software such as Google Earth and ArcView GIS.“With the advent of freely available geospatial software and tools, we see great opportunity for products such as AltiMap to accelerate the production of geospatial imagery. AltiMap was developed to make it easy for anyone, from expert image analysts to aerial photographers, to create geo-located map product from aerial imagery without having to be an expert at image manipulation or photogrammetry,” commented Jon Damush, 2d3’s President, “Anyone familiar with attempting to use consumer photo stitching software to make a map will immediately recognize the benefits of AltiMap.”
http://www.directionsmag.com/press.releases/index.php?duty=Show&id=38909
Online Reseller MapMart to Offer TruEarth 15-meter Global Satellite Imagery
Littleton, Colorado-based TerraMetrics, Inc., a leading developer of high-precision terrain-rendering technologies and global satellite imagery for aviation, simulation and geospatial markets, announced today that the company’s TruEarth 15-meter global satellite imagery is now available online through the MapMart.com website. The advanced web portal allows customers to browse satellite imagery, elevation data, aerial photography, street maps and other geospatial data products from various sources and preview selections before purchase. MapMart, a division of IntraSearch, Inc., will carry the full TruEarth 15-meter global satellite imagery product line including TruEarth Standard and TruEarth Professional, two new imagery products in ECW and jpeg2000 formats that are tuned for applications requiring smaller dataset sizes. TruEarth imagery provides the best-available global-coverage data at 15-meter resolution and is processed using proprietary techniques to achieve its distinct natural-color balance. “Our partnership with TerraMetrics gives our customers access to 15-meter global satellite imagery that has exceptional visual appeal and reflects our ongoing commitment to deliver affordable, high-quality data and imagery,” said Michael Platt, MapMart president. “TruEarth imagery offers a choice of dataset sizes and formats that allows our customers to use the 15-meter imagery in a variety of applications.” “We are excited to partner with MapMart and offer the benefits of our TruEarth 15-meter global satellite imagery to a broader customer base,” said Greg Baxes, TerraMetrics president. “TruEarth 15-meter imagery provides a valuable, wide-area context for higher-resolution datasets. MapMart’s website makes it easy to bundle TruEarth 15-meter imagery with other data.”
http://www.directionsmag.com/press.releases/index.php?duty=Show&id=38781
http://www.directionsmag.com/press.releases/index.php?duty=Show&id=38781
Scientist Arrested
Scientist worked on early warning defense systems
A former government scientist arrested earlier this week tried to provide Israel with classified information on satellites and early warning defense systems, says a grand jury indictment.The grand jury indictment follows Monday's arrest of Stewart D. Nozette, who spent 16 years doing sensitive defense work for the Energy Department, the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.The information Nozette allegedly tried to provide Israel in an FBI sting operation dealt with "satellites, early warning systems, means of defense or retaliation against large-scale attack, communications intelligence information and major elements of defense strategy," said the indictment, which did not elaborate.Earlier this week, a former colleague said that Nozette was primarily a defense technologist who had worked on the Reagan-era Star Wars missile shield effort formally named the Strategic Defense Initiative.The former colleague, Stanford University professor Scott Hubbard, said Nozette worked on the Star Wars project at the Energy Department's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. According to the indictment, Nozette worked there from 1990 to 1999.One aspect of Nozette's work on the Strategic Defense Initiative involved a project called Timber Wind, an effort to develop a rocket engine powered by a nuclear reactor, said Steven Aftergood, director of the Project on Government Secrecy at the Federation of American Scientists."On a number of occasions I asked Dr. Nozette about the program, but he was always quite scrupulous about rebuffing my inquiries," Aftergood wrote on his group's Web site. "Timber Wind was canceled shortly after it became public, and other nuclear rocket initiatives likewise faded away in the 1990s, as the effort to develop nuclear rocketry for military or civilian applications surged and then collapsed."At the Energy Department, Nozette had a "Q" clearance, which is equivalent to the Pentagon's Top Secret clearance.Nozette, who received a Ph.D. in planetary sciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1983, faces a court appearance next Thursday before a federal magistrate. He is jailed without bond.Neither a criminal complaint filed earlier this week against Nozette nor the indictment allege that the government of Israel or anyone acting on its behalf violated U.S. law. The grand jury indictment alleging two counts of attempted espionage was handed up Wednesday.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jGSMPiXOLJNwVNZd7FNRLBw-QiYQD9BGDF8O0
SpaceX Fires Its Engines
The static firings validated the engines ahead of the company's maiden rocket flight.
A new rocket engine fired up for the first time in Texas last week, as Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), a private company, successfully tested the first-stage motor. The company, which is based in Hawthorne , CA , conducted two static firings of the engines for its Falcon 9 launch vehicle, in preparation for the rocket's maiden test flight. It is expected to lift off sometime later this year from Cape Canaveral , FL.
The successful tests--the first lasted ten seconds, the second 30 seconds--mean that SpaceX's first stage has passed structural and propulsion acceptance and the system can start its trek to Florida for integration into the Falcon 9.
More details on the engine from the the press release:
The first stage of Falcon 9 uses a cluster of nine SpaceX-designed and developed Merlin engines. Using rocket-grade kerosene and liquid oxygen, the cluster generates nearly a million pounds of thrust for the vehicle upon liftoff. The Merlin engine is one of the only liquid rocket engines designed in the United States in the last few decades, and is now among the highest performing gas generator cycle kerosene engines ever built, exceeding the Boeing Delta II main engine, the Lockheed Martin Atlas II main engine, and on par with the Saturn V F-1 engine.
http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/deltav/24290/
A new rocket engine fired up for the first time in Texas last week, as Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), a private company, successfully tested the first-stage motor. The company, which is based in Hawthorne , CA , conducted two static firings of the engines for its Falcon 9 launch vehicle, in preparation for the rocket's maiden test flight. It is expected to lift off sometime later this year from Cape Canaveral , FL.
The successful tests--the first lasted ten seconds, the second 30 seconds--mean that SpaceX's first stage has passed structural and propulsion acceptance and the system can start its trek to Florida for integration into the Falcon 9.
More details on the engine from the the press release:
The first stage of Falcon 9 uses a cluster of nine SpaceX-designed and developed Merlin engines. Using rocket-grade kerosene and liquid oxygen, the cluster generates nearly a million pounds of thrust for the vehicle upon liftoff. The Merlin engine is one of the only liquid rocket engines designed in the United States in the last few decades, and is now among the highest performing gas generator cycle kerosene engines ever built, exceeding the Boeing Delta II main engine, the Lockheed Martin Atlas II main engine, and on par with the Saturn V F-1 engine.
http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/deltav/24290/
Oct 17, 2009
Intelligence Community Legal Reference Book
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence last month published a revised “Intelligence Community Legal Reference Book” (pdf), updated through May 2009.
The 950-page document, which is more than 250 pages longer than the 2007 edition, includes basic intelligence-related legal materials such as the text of the National Security Act and various executive orders and procedures for intelligence sharing.
http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/2009/10/ic_legal_reference.html
The 950-page document, which is more than 250 pages longer than the 2007 edition, includes basic intelligence-related legal materials such as the text of the National Security Act and various executive orders and procedures for intelligence sharing.
http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/2009/10/ic_legal_reference.html
WorldView-2 Satellite Offering Higher Detail and Geospatial Accuracy
San Antonio-based Southwest Research Institute, an independent, nonprofit, applied research and development organization, has stated that it has supplied the DigitalGlobe’s (News - Alert) WorldView-2 satellite with key components to help the device produce unprecedented levels of detail and geospatial accuracy for imaging and mapping the Earth’s surface.
WorldView-2 features an advanced onboard imaging system with better than 0.5-meter panoramic resolution and 1.8-meter multi-spectral resolution and is capable of collecting images of up to 975,000 square kilometers per day.
The WorldView-2 telescope will have a 110-cm aperture and fly at a higher altitude of 770 km. WorldView-2 will incorporate the industry standard four multi-spectral bands (red, blue, green and near-infrared) and will also include four new bands (coastal, yellow, red edge and near-infrared 2).
The satellite was built by Ball Aerospace using its BCP-5000 spacecraft bus for remote sensing works and the high spatial resolution, multi-spectral satellite imagery is used for civil government mapping, land-use planning, disaster relief, exploration, defense and intelligence, and visualization and simulation environments.
SwRI (News - Alert) has stated that one of the key components they have provided to build the satellite is the Command Interface Formatter Module, a pair of these modules onboard offer the satellite complete uplink and downlink telemetry processing abilities.
Buddy Walls, manager of Avionics Systems in the SwRI Space Science and Engineering Division, said that the CTIF module is unique in that it provides significant hardware capabilities to offload traditional command and telemetry processing from the main spacecraft computer and to provide those core capabilities even if the main computer should go offline. CTIF builds on SwRI’s record of more than 50 mission systems with no on-orbit failures.
In addition to offering spacecraft avionics and computers, SwRI said it has extensive expertise in spacecraft instruments, theoretical and observational studies, space plasma physics, data analysis and science support, planetary exploration and stellar astronomy.
http://satellite.tmcnet.com/topics/satellite/articles/66421-worldview-2-satellite-offering-higher-detail-geospatial-accuracy.htm
WorldView-2 features an advanced onboard imaging system with better than 0.5-meter panoramic resolution and 1.8-meter multi-spectral resolution and is capable of collecting images of up to 975,000 square kilometers per day.
The WorldView-2 telescope will have a 110-cm aperture and fly at a higher altitude of 770 km. WorldView-2 will incorporate the industry standard four multi-spectral bands (red, blue, green and near-infrared) and will also include four new bands (coastal, yellow, red edge and near-infrared 2).
The satellite was built by Ball Aerospace using its BCP-5000 spacecraft bus for remote sensing works and the high spatial resolution, multi-spectral satellite imagery is used for civil government mapping, land-use planning, disaster relief, exploration, defense and intelligence, and visualization and simulation environments.
SwRI (News - Alert) has stated that one of the key components they have provided to build the satellite is the Command Interface Formatter Module, a pair of these modules onboard offer the satellite complete uplink and downlink telemetry processing abilities.
Buddy Walls, manager of Avionics Systems in the SwRI Space Science and Engineering Division, said that the CTIF module is unique in that it provides significant hardware capabilities to offload traditional command and telemetry processing from the main spacecraft computer and to provide those core capabilities even if the main computer should go offline. CTIF builds on SwRI’s record of more than 50 mission systems with no on-orbit failures.
In addition to offering spacecraft avionics and computers, SwRI said it has extensive expertise in spacecraft instruments, theoretical and observational studies, space plasma physics, data analysis and science support, planetary exploration and stellar astronomy.
http://satellite.tmcnet.com/topics/satellite/articles/66421-worldview-2-satellite-offering-higher-detail-geospatial-accuracy.htm
Google Hops On A New Satellite To Watch Us From Space
Last year, there was a lot of coverage of Google striking a deal with satellite imagery company GeoEye to be able to use the high resolution images from its new GeoEye-1 satellite for their Google Earth and Maps products. The exclusive deal saw Google shift away from its partnership with rival DigitalGlobe, which provides many of Google's rivals with imagery. Now, it looks like Google is back on board with a new DigitalGlobe satellite.
In a post today on its Lat Long Blog, Google reveals that DigitalGlobe has just launched their next-generation satellite dubbed WorldView-2 (no idea if this is to one-up GeoEye-1), and that the company will be getting new imagery from it. In the post, Google notes that it works "directly with several commercial satellite imaging providers." Presumably, that means the deal with GeoEye is still in place, and now Google has found itself on yet another state-of-the-art satellite that peers down on all of us, gathering data.
Now, the government has regulations on just how closely Google and these companies can look (mostly because the government itself wants to be the only ones that can see really, really close up on us). But still, this is starting to get mildly creepy. I'd love to know how many satellites they are using up there to get their imagery.
It was recently revealed that Google was breaking away from TeleAtlas as the provider of its mapping data in the U.S. (though it is supposedly still using it for some other parts of the world). One reason they can do that is because they now have so much data from this satellite imagery (as well as their Street View imagery).
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/12/AR2009101203421.html
In a post today on its Lat Long Blog, Google reveals that DigitalGlobe has just launched their next-generation satellite dubbed WorldView-2 (no idea if this is to one-up GeoEye-1), and that the company will be getting new imagery from it. In the post, Google notes that it works "directly with several commercial satellite imaging providers." Presumably, that means the deal with GeoEye is still in place, and now Google has found itself on yet another state-of-the-art satellite that peers down on all of us, gathering data.
Now, the government has regulations on just how closely Google and these companies can look (mostly because the government itself wants to be the only ones that can see really, really close up on us). But still, this is starting to get mildly creepy. I'd love to know how many satellites they are using up there to get their imagery.
It was recently revealed that Google was breaking away from TeleAtlas as the provider of its mapping data in the U.S. (though it is supposedly still using it for some other parts of the world). One reason they can do that is because they now have so much data from this satellite imagery (as well as their Street View imagery).
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/12/AR2009101203421.html
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