Satellite Image News

Pleiades-1B Satellite Successfully Launched

Monique Romeijn — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 14:17:42 +0000

Pleiades-1B satellite was successfully launched on December 2, 2012 built by Astrium was launched off aboard a Soyuz launcher from the European Space Centre in French Guiana.

Pleiades-1B is the second dual-use, very-high-resolution satellite for the Pleiades constellation.

The launch of Pleiades-1B marks the third step in the formation of a constellation of four satellites combining a double daily revisit capability and an ingenious range of resolutions.

Pleiades-1B Satellite Sensor

Image Credit: ASTRIUM

Pleiades-1B Satellite Launch

Pleiades-1 (also known as Pleiades-1A) and 1B satellites will be phased 180° apart in the same near-polar sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 694 km, enabling daily revisits to any location on the planet which makes it ideal for mapping large scale areas including engineering construction projects, monitoring of mining, industrial and military complexes, conflict zones and crisis/disaster areas, natural disasters, evacuation and rescue operations.

Pleiades-1 and Pleiades-1B will deliver 0.5m imagery products, and SPOT-6 and SPOT 7, designed to assure continuity of service after SPOT-5 (2.5/5m) to supply high-resolution data products at 1.5m resolution. SPOT-6 was launched on September 9, 2012.

In addition to their high precision, the Pleiades satellites are also notable for their remarkable agility, which enables tilted imaging from nadir and operation in several acquisition modes (20 images over 1000 x 1000 km², stereo, 3D, mosaic, corridor, etc.). For more technical information on the Pleaides-1B satellite, please visit here.

About Satellite Imaging Corporation

Satellite Imaging Corporation (SIC), a privately held technology company that provides high resolution satellite imagery and other remote sensing products for analysis and mapping applications such as Geographic Information System (GIS).

The company specializes satellite imaging technology producing seamless orthorectified imaging mosaics, DEM’s and 3D terrain models for many industries using CAD and GIS applications using high, medium resolution mono and stereo satellite image data.

For more information, please contact us.

Website: www.satimagingcorp.com

SPOT-6 Satellite Successfully Delivers First Images

Monique Romeijn — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 18:54:39 +0000

SPOT-6 satellite built by Astrium, Europe’s leading space technology company, has delivered its first images just 3 days after launch. The satellite was successfully launched on September 9, 2012 by a PSLV launcher from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in India.

SPOT-6 Satellite

(Image Credit: Astrium)

SPOT-6 Satellite Image of Bora Bora, French Polynesia

Collected 3 days after launch

SPOT-6 Satellite Image Gallery

SPOT-6 satellite joined the Pléiades 1A in orbit and will later form with Pléiades 1B and SPOT-7 in 2014 after proposed launch.

SPOT-6 is an optical imaging earth observation satellite capable of imaging the Earth with a resolution of 1.5m Panchromatic and 6m Multispectral (Blue, Green, Red, Near-IR) and will offer imaging products to customers in defense, agriculture, deforestation, environment monitoring, coastal surveillance, engineering, oil and gas and mining industries.

SPOT-6 and SPOT-7 will ensure service continuity of SPOT-4 and SPOT-5 satellites, which have been operating since 1998 and 2002. Moreover, both ground and space segments have been designed for improved performances compared to previous SPOT missions, especially in term of reactivity from satellite tasking to product delivery and collection capacity. The constellation SPOT-6 and SPOT-7 will actually provide a daily revisit everywhere on Earth with a total coverage of 6 million Km² per day. SPOT-6 and 7 will have a service life of 10 years.

About Satellite Imaging Corporation

For more information, please contact us.

Website: www.satimagingcorp.com

Satellite Image of Nikumaroro Island – Amelia Earhart’s Final Destination?

Monique Romeijn — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 14:38:33 +0000

IKONOS (1m) Satellite Image of Nikumaroro Island (Gardner Island) in the Republic of Kiribati

New evidence reported by The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR), a non-profit foundation promoting aviation archaeology and historic aircraft preservation shows that Amelia Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan possibly landed and eventually died on Gardner Island, now Nikumaroro in the Republic of Kiribati.

TIGHAR concluded that 57 of the 120 signals reported at the time are credible, triangulating Earhart’s position to have been Nikumaroro Island. Reports show that Amelia Earhart radioed their position, then landed on a reef at uninhabited Gardner Island, a small coral atoll now known as Nikumaroro Island that might have caused caused the “Electra” airliner to be swept away and that they lived for a time as castaways only to eventually perish on the uninhabited island.

Other evidence and artifacts found years ago on the island include broken glass, large numbers of fish, bird and turtle bones, several hundred mollusk shells, bone fragments, cosmetic jar, dried fecal matter that might be of human origin and a possible landing gear.

The Disappearance

Amelia Earhart the first woman and the second person to solo the Atlantic was last heard from on July 2, 1937. Earhart and Noonan, low on fuel and unable to find their next scheduled stopping point Howland Island, flew into overcast skies and intermittent rain showers. This made Noonan’s premier method of tracking and celestial navigation difficult. Earhart radioed the USCGC Itasca and was sent a stream of transmissions but she could not hear them. Her radio transmissions, irregular through most of the flight, were faint or interrupted with static. The ship tried to reply, but the plane seemed not to hear. At 8:45 Earhart reported, “We are on the line 157 337 …. We are running on line north and south.” Nothing further was heard from Earhart.

A rescue attempt commenced immediately and became the most extensive air and sea search in naval history. On July 19, after spending $4 million and scouring 250,000 square miles of ocean, the United States government reluctantly called off the operation. In 1938, a lighthouse was constructed on Howland Island in her memory.

The expedition is on-going and TIGHAR researchers will return to the area to search for the famous aircraft “Electra” that was believed to have been swept off a Pacific reef in 1937.

More about Amelia Earhart, visit here.

To read more on Amelia Earhart Project, visit here.

Watch an ABC News video here.

About Satellite Imaging Corporation

Satellite Imaging Corporation (SIC), a privately held technology company, provides global satellite imaging and processing services for a number of industries, including archaeology, oil and gas, mining, cadastre, tax mapping, construction, environmental, forestry and agriculture.

The company specializes in high and medium resolution satellite imaging products and technology producing seamless orthorectified Satellite Imaging mosaics DEM’s and 3D terrain models for many industries using GIS and CAD applications including, environmental studies, culture extraction, exploration for natural resources, engineering/construction utilizing high and medium resolution mono and stereo satellite image data and specialized Image processing techniques.

Website: www.satimagingcorp.com

Virunga National Parks Mountain Gorillas Threatened as Fighting Continues

Monique Romeijn — Mon, 14 May 2012 18:10:28 +0000

Virunga National Parks and its endangered mountain gorillas are threatened once again in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as rebels clash with the Congolese army in the park’s gorilla sector. The gorillas have been caught in a deadly crossfire for years and the bloody conflict is complicated by the pressures of a surging refugee population and an illegal charcoal trade decimating the park that are threatening the gorillas’ lives.

Virunga National Park is home to about 200 of the world’s remaining 783 mountain gorillas and are not frequently hunted for their meat, but can be maimed or killed by poachers leaving traps or snares for other animals. They have also been killed for their body parts to be sold to collectors.

Photo Credit: Professor Richard S. Muller

Satellite Imaging Technology Supports Monitoring of the Endangered Mountain Gorillas

Satellite images provide extremely useful information to Conservationists, Scientists and Researchers in viewing out-of-the-way remote places. Conservationists, for example, must monitor far-flung areas in need of protection. Wars, poverty, remoteness, lack of government involvement, and uncertainty over the best places and ways to focus limited resources can all hinder conservation efforts. Satellite imagery is giving scientists and conservationists some of the tools they need to get valuable information on land cover and land use changes in wild areas that are in need of protection.

3D Fly-through Simulation of Visoke Volcano in

Virunga National Parks (DRC and Rwanda)

1m Stereo IKONOS Satellite Image Data and 5m DTM

To watch video click on image.

Read our stories on Virunga National Parks:

Satellite Images and GIS Supports Conservation Efforts in Virunga National Parks, Africa

Virunga National Parks Gorilla Murders – Caught in the Line of Fire – Satellite Imaging Update

Satellite Image of Mount Nyamulagira Volcano in Virunga National Parks

For further information and news visit Wildlife Direct to read the latest up to minute news about the mountain gorillas.

About Satellite Imaging Corporation

Satellite Imaging Corporation (SIC), a privately held technology company, provides global satellite imaging and processing services for a number of industries, including oil and gas, mining, cadastre, tax mapping, construction, environmental, forestry and agriculture.

Website: www.satimagingcorp.com

Pleiades-1A Satellite Captures First Panchromatic Images

Monique Romeijn — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 19:38:17 +0000

Pleiades-1 (0.5m) satellite sensor captured the first panchromatic satellite images after its successful launch from Kourou launch site (French Guiana) via a Russian Soyuz ST rocket on December 16, 2011. The launch marked a new step in French-Russian cooperation: it is the second time when the Russian launch vehicle “Soyuz-ST” took off from the French site. The Pléiades system was designed under the French-Italian ORFEO program (Optical & Radar Federated Earth Observation) between 2001 and 2003.

Pleiades-1 will represent the first very high-resolution satellite from SPOT and will be capable of providing orthorectified color data at 0.5-meter resolution (roughly comparable to GeoEye-1) and revisiting any point on Earth as it covers a total of 1 million square kilometers (approximately 386,102 square miles) daily. Perhaps most importantly, Pleiades-1 will be capable of acquiring high-resolution stereo imagery in just one pass, and can accommodate large areas (up to 1,000 km x 1,000 km).

Pleaides-1 (0.5m) Satellite Image of Casablanca Mosque

To view in high resolution click image.

(Image credit: CNES)

Pleaides-1 (0.5m) Satellite Image of San Francisco Airport

To view in high resolution click image.

(Image credit: CNES)

To view more Pleiades-1 Satellite Images, visit here.

The Pléiades constellation is composed of two very-high-resolution optical Earth-imaging satellites. Pléiades-1 and Pléiades-2 will provide coverage of Earth’s surface with a repeat cycle of 26 days. Their great agility enables a daily access all over the world, which is a critical need for defense and civil security applications, and a coverage capacity necessary for the cartography kind of applications at scales better than those accessible to SPOT family satellites. Moreover, Pleiades have stereoscopic acquisition capacity to meet the fine cartography needs, notably in urban regions. Pléiades-2 will launch in mid-2012.

Pleaides-1 Satellite Sensor

(Image credit: Astrium/CNES)

The satellite will feature four spectral bands (blue, green, red, and IR), as well as image location accuracy of 4.5m (CE90) without ground control points, a wide swath of a scene (20 km, whereas the best US remote sensing satellites have 11-16 km of swath width). Image location accuracy can be improved even further — up to an exceptional 1 meter — by the use of GCPs. Because the satellite has been designed with urgent tasking in mind, images can be requested from Pleiades-1 less then six hours before they are acquired. This functionality will prove invaluable in situations where the expedited collection of new image data is crucial, such as crisis monitoring.

Furthermore, Pleiades constellation offers new services delivering precise geospatial information in record time and capabilities that marks a shift in the Earth imaging sector. With 450 images acquired every day by each satellite, five acquisition scenarios, and three daily tasking plans, the Pleiades system is tailored to meet the needs of real-time applications.

To view specifications on the Pleiades-1, visit here.

To watch a video of the Pleiades-1 satellite launch, visit here.

About Satellite Imaging Corporation

Satellite Imaging Corporation
36842 Meadow Creek Court
Magnolia, Texas 77355-8603
U.S.A.

Toll Free (866) 283-2952 (US and Canada only)
Tel: (1) 832-237-2900 Ext.: 202
Fax: (1) 832-237-2910
Website: www.satimagingcorp.com

Satellite Imaging Corporation (SIC) Signs Agreement With RapidEye AG for Distribution of RapidEye Satellite Image Data

Monique Romeijn — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 10:58:44 +0000

Satellite Imaging Corporation (SIC), a leader in the satellite remote sensing, GIS and mapping industry delivering to commercial customers fully processed and orthorectified high resolution satellite image data and geospatial data products, announced today that SIC is now part of RapidEye AG growing distribution network providing customers with a 5m imaging solution.

Leopold J. Romeijn, President & CEO of Satellite Imaging Corporation commented, “We look forward to partnering with RapidEye to provide our ever growing customer base with a cost effective 5m resolution imaging solution for covering large areas on all continents in support of various mapping applications and International oil & gas exploration activities”.

Click image to view RapidEye 5m ortho satellite image samples of Burghausen, Germany in full resolution.

Originally planned as an agricultural monitoring system using the RapidEye five spectral bands including a RedEdge (RE) multispectral band the RapidEye satellite sensors have demonstrated to be a cost effective global mapping tool in the 5m resolution range. The RapidEye constellation of Earth observation satellites with the capability to reach any point on Earth every day making the RapidEye satellite sensor suitable collecting areas in tropical regions generally affected by cloud cover. The satellites orbit at an altitude of 630-km. Customers can be provided with data of up to a maximum of 1,500-km in length and 77-km wide.

The RapidEye constellation of five satellites stands apart from other providers of satellite-based geospatial information in their unique ability to acquire high-resolution, large-area image data on a daily basis. The RapidEye system is able to collect an unprecedented 4 million square kilometers of data per day at 6.5 meter nominal ground resolution, and has amassed over 2.0 Billion square kilometers in its archive in just two years of commercial operation. The orthorectified RapidEye Image data is delivered with a ground resolution of 5 meters.

About Satellite Imaging Corporation:

The company specializes in mono and stereo satellite imaging technology producing seamless orthorectified Satellite Imaging mosaics DEMs and 3D terrain models for many industries using GIS and CAD applications including, flight simulations, terrain modeling, engineering and construction using high and medium resolution mono and stereo satellite image data.

Satellite Imaging Corporation
36842 Meadow Creek Court
Magnolia, Texas 77355-8603
U.S.A.

Toll Free (866) 283-2952 (US and Canada Only)
Tel: (1) 832-237-2900 Ext.: 202
Fax: (1) 832-237-2910

Website: http://www.satimagingcorp.com

Aerial Photography of Damage from Devastating Post EF5 Tornado that Hit Joplin Missouri

Monique Romeijn — Fri, 27 May 2011 11:55:08 +0000

This aerial photograph captured the post damage of an Enhanced Fujita Scale (EF-5) tornado that hit Joplin, Missouri on May 22, 2011, one of many tornadoes and storms that wrecked havoc on the Midwest this month. The death toll has risen to 132 and possibly more that have not been accounted for. There have been approximately 1,000 tornadoes in the US so far this year, according to the National Weather Service.

More than 500 people have been killed by twisters in 2011, making it the deadliest tornado year in the United States since 1953, according to the National Weather Service. The Joplin tornado was rated an EF-5, with winds in excess of 200 miles per hour.

Aerial Photograph (30 cm) of EF-5 Tornado Damage Joplin, Missouri

May 22, 2011

Click image to view in full resolution

Aerial Photograph (30 cm) of EF5 Tornado Damage – Joplin, Missouri

Joplin High School

Click image to view in full resolution

Satellite Imagery and Aerial Photography incorporated with Geographic Information Systems (GIS), can give State and Emergency officials a wealth of information for assessment, analysis and monitoring of natural disasters such as Hurricanes, Tornadoes and Cyclone damage from small to large regions around the globe.

View video of Four Days of Fury Tornadoes that hit the Midwest, visit here.

To view aftermath video, visit here.

More images on Joplin Tornado Damage.

About Satellite Imaging Corporation

Satellite Imaging Corporation
36842 Meadow Creek Court
Magnolia, Texas 77355-8603
U.S.A.

Toll Free (866) 283-2952 (US and Canada only)
Tel: (1) 832-237-2900 Ext.: 202
Fax: (1) 832-237-2910
Website: www.satimagingcorp.com

Space Shuttle Endeavour Captured by GeoEye-1 Satellite Sensor on Launch Pad 39A in Preparation of Last Voyage

Monique Romeijn — Sun, 15 May 2011 21:11:20 +0000

After 30 years of spaceflight, more than 130 missions, and numerous science and technology firsts, NASA’s space shuttle fleet will retire and be on display at institutions across the country to inspire the next generation of explorers and engineers.

GeoEye-1 (0.5 m) Satellite Image

Space Shuttle Endeavour on Launching Pad 39A.

Click image to view in full resolution

This half-meter resolution satellite image shows the Space Shuttle Endeavour on Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Florida, awaiting launch to the International Space Station. According to news reports, as of May 4, 2011, Endeavour will launch no sooner than May 16, 2011, which would be the 36th shuttle mission to the station and the 134th and final flight of Endeavour. GeoEye tasked its GeoEye-1 Satellite on May 1, 2011 to collect this image of Cape Canaveral at 10:53 a.m. local time, while flying 423 miles above the Earth at an average speed of 17,000 mph.

The Endeavour was launched on April 12, 1981 and was named after the first ship commanded by 18th century British explorer James Cook. On its maiden voyage in 1768, Cook sailed into the South Pacific and around Tahiti to observe the passage of Venus between the Earth and the Sun. During another leg of the journey, Cook discovered New Zealand, surveyed Australia and navigated the Great Barrier Reef.

More information on the Space Shuttle Endeavor on NASA website, visit here.

To watch Launch video on the Endeavor’s Final Voyage, visit here.

(Image Credit NASA)

Click image to view in full resolution

To view Endeavour’s Final Landing Homecoming, visit here.

About Satellite Imaging Corporation

The company specializes in high and medium resolution satellite imaging products and technology producing seamless orthorectified Satellite Imaging mosaics DEM’s and 3D terrain models for many industries using CAD and GIS applications including, environmental studies, culture extraction, exploration for natural resources, engineering/construction utilizing high and medium resolution mono and stereo satellite image data and specialized Image processing techniques.

Satellite Imaging Corporation
36842 Meadow Creek Court
Magnolia, Texas 77355-8603
U.S.A.

Toll Free (866) 283-2952 (US and Canada only)
Tel: (1) 832-237-2900 Ext.: 202
Fax: (1) 832-237-2910
Website: www.satimagingcorp.com

Satellite Images Show Mississippi River Flooding Disaster

Monique Romeijn — Thu, 12 May 2011 19:15:56 +0000

High resolution Satellite Images show the devastating floods of the Mississippi River in the Midwest hitting Arkansas to Tennessee, and Mississippi to Louisiana. Swollen by weeks of heavy rain and snow melt, the Mississippi River has been breaking high water records that have stood since the 1920s and ’30s. It is projected to crest at Vicksburg on May 19 and shatter the mark set there during the catastrophic flood in 1927. The river is expected to crest at 57.5 feet on May 19, about 1.5 feet above the 1927 record, according to the U.S. Corps of Engineers.

The City of Natchez is expected to flood on May 21 with New Orleans to follow on May 23. Damage in Baton Rouge and New Orleans could be lessened if the U.S. Corps of Engineers opens the Morganza spillway to relieve pressure on levees but it would flood thousands of acres of farmland and thousands of homes.

WorldView-2 (Natural Color) Satellite Image of Flooding in the Midwest, Cairo, Illinois

(Image credit: DigitalGlobe)

WorldView-2 (False Color) Satellite Image of Flooding in the Midwest, Cairo, Illinois

(Image credit: DigitalGlobe)

The WorldView-2 Satellite sensor provides Multiband (8MS + 1PAN) Satellite Image data to support spectral analysis for various applications. The WorldView-2 Multispectral Band combination of 8-7-4 is providing a 2m resolution Satellite Image where the color blue is water and bright yellow healthy vegetation and darker yellow is vegetation affected by the flooding.

For a White Paper on the benefits of the 8 Spectral Bands of WorldView-2, please click here.

Remote Sensing gives State and Government agencies the ability to view the damage from multiple vantage points. The spatial resolution of an image determines the ability to view individual features such as buildings and bridges. It also affects the ability to monitor and assess damage conditions, and depends on the nature of the hazard itself.

To view more WorldView-2 Satellite Images, visit here.

Boat Tour on Flooding.

All Eyes on Mississippi River Levees, Spillways as Flood Tensions Continue Video.

About Satellite Imaging Corporation:

Satellite Imaging Corporation (SIC), a privately held technology company that provides high resolution satellite imagery from satellite sensors such as GeoEye-1, WorldView-2 WorldView-1, QuickBird and IKONOS, RapidEye and other remote sensing products for analysis and mapping applications such as Geographic Information System (GIS).

The company specializes in mono and stereo satellite imaging technology producing seamless orthorectified satellite imaging mosaics DEM’s and 3D terrain models for many industries using CAD and GIS applications including engineering and construction, homeland security, defense, intelligence and disaster response using high, medium resolution mono and stereo satellite image data.

For more information contact:

Satellite Imaging Corporation
36842 Meadow Creek Court
Magnolia, Texas 77355-8603
U.S.A.

Toll Free (866) 283-2952 (US and Canada only)
Tel: (1) 832-237-2900
Fax: (1) 832-237-2910
Website: www.satimagingcorp.com

Satellite Image of Devastating EF 4 Tornado Damage in Alabama

Monique Romeijn — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 12:55:04 +0000

Satellite image captured the destruction of a EF4 tornado that hit Tuscaloosa, Alabama and other areas of the South on Wednesday April 27th. The tornado had a maximum width of half a mile and a path length of 2.82 miles.The death toll keeps rising with over 340 claimed dead. The twister alone may register as the most powerful long-track tornado in US history.

IKONOS Satellite Image of Tuscaloosa, Alabama Tornado Damage

A series of tornadoes hit the South this week traveling in excess of 220 miles across Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee. Approximately 211 tornadoes were reported within a few hours’ span on Wednesday, including a series of so-called long-track twisters that raked across six states.

National Weather Service confirmed that an EF-5 tornado with winds up to 205 mph struck the city of Smithville Wednesday afternoon. The first EF-5 tornado to hit Mississippi since March 1966. EF-5 tornadoes being the most deadliest.

To view more satellite images of tornado damage, visit here.

About Satellite Imaging Corporation

The company specializes in mono and stereo satellite imaging technology producing seamless orthorectified Satellite Imaging mosaics DEM’s and 3D terrain models for many industries using CAD and GIS applications including, flight simulations, terrain modeling, engineering and construction using high and medium resolution mono and stereo satellite image data.

Satellite Imaging Corporation
36842 Meadow Creek Court
Magnolia, Texas 77355-8603
U.S.A.

Toll Free (866) 283-2952 (US and Canada only)
Tel: (1) 832-237-2900 Ext.: 202
Fax: (1) 832-237-2910
Website: www.satimagingcorp.com