European Space Imaging and EC sign new framework supply contract from VHR

European Space Imaging (EUSI) announced today that it has been awarded a new framework contract for the supply of global Very High Resolution (VHR) satellite imagery. The contract was signed on April 5, 2006 and is valued at 11.4 million EUR (14.5 million USD) over the next four years. The imagery will be collected by the IKONOS, OrbView and future GeoEye-1 satellites. With this contract, European Space Imaging will remain the European Commission??s largest provider of VHR satellite imagery.

 

The bulk of the imagery will be received and processed at European Space Imaging??s own satellite tasking and ground processing center at the German Aerospace Center??s premises in Oberpfaffenhofen, just outside Munich. From there, data is delivered to customers across Europe minutes after collection using high-speed fiber optic lines.

 

The IKONOS and OrbView imagery products will be used for the Commission??s agricultural control program and in support of the European Union??s humanitarian and security projects around the globe.

 

?®Since its start in 2003, very high-resolution data has become the major data source of the EC Remote Sensing Controls of area-based subsidies?∆, said Jacques Delinc?‡, Unit Head Agriculture and Fisheries, Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen (IPSC) at the European Commission Joint Research Centre (EC-JRC). ?®The IKONOS sensor is imaging the majority of the areas concerned and operates at a very high success rate. We are pleased to have signed this second Framework Supply Contract with EUSI concerning IKONOS and OrbView data and hope to continue the very good collaboration through the period 2006-2009?∆.

 

Delilah Al Khudhairy, Head of the Support to External Security Unit at the EC-JRC, IPSC: “Data from the IKONOS and OrbView-3 satellites is very cost-effective, and contributes towards providing information that is invaluable in enhancing the European Community??s response and reconstruction planning in humanitarian disasters. Furthermore, the type of support that we provide to the European Commission necessitates that reliable and independent information is made available in a timely manner. European Space Imaging’s products and services enable us to provide that kind of support to the European Commission”.

?®I am proud that the European Commission has selected us as their major provider of VHR satellite imagery for their very demanding programs,?∆ said Adrian Zevenbergen, European Space Imaging??s managing director. ?®Together with the German Aerospace Center DLR we have invested heavily in our satellite imaging technology center for Europe over the last three years and it is rewarding that our efforts and expertise are recognized by an important customer such as the European Commission. We will continue our commitment to innovation with the launch of the GeoEye-1 satellite early next year, which will have the highest resolution ever commercially offered.?∆

 

European Space Imaging (EUSI) is a leading provider of global multi-mission satellite imagery to customers in Europe. EUSI, headquartered in Munich, Germany, is the European Regional Affiliate of GeoEye, the world??s largest commercial satellite imagery company and operator of the OrbView-2, OrbView-3 and IKONOS satellites. In early 2007, GeoEye will launch its next-generation VHR satellite, GeoEye-1, with a ground resolution of 0.41 meters panchromatic and 1.65 meters multispectral. EUSI operates its own regional satellite operations center for direct satellite tasking and local data reception over Europe and North Africa. The company??s image archive comprises more than 12 million square kilometres of IKONOS data from Europe, Africa and the Middle East. High-quality imagery products can be generated at any time and make EUSI the most efficient European provider of high-resolution satellite imagery.

 

(Credits European Space Imaging) 

 

For information on our imagery archive and products, please visit www.euspaceimaging.com.

 

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