- October 22, 2008
- Posted by: EARSC
- Categories: EARSC News, Uncategorised
Brandenburg/Havel, October 21, 2008 – The first public release of a RapidEye image is being unveiled today on the company’s website. This demonstration image highlights the capabilities of RapidEye imagery in many market segments, by showing diverse landscapes that include agricultural fields, forests, cities and roads.
Our customers have been waiting for this moment for a long time, stated Michael Prechtel, RapidEye’s Head of Marketing and Sales, “Requests keep coming in, and our own internal team has been waiting for imagery to test the various service modules being developed. If everything stays on schedule, we will be able to start delivering in December.”
The image shows the area of El Bolsón in Argentina near the Argentinian-Chilean border. El Bolsón is situated in the far southwest of the Río Negro Province in Argentina at the foot of the Piltriquitron Mountain.
The image was recorded by RapidEye’s camera built by Jena-Optronik of Jena, Germany from the satellite RapidEye # 1, named Choros, at a nadir view angle and has a pixel size of 5 meters. It was downloaded to KSAT (Kongsberg Satellite Services) in Svalbard, Norway and electronically transmitted to the RapidEye headquarters in Brandenburg, Germany.
“We are very pleased about the quality of this image,” commented Pietro Widmer, RapidEye’s Head of Operations and Engineering, “This is an important step and we will continue with commissioning the processing systems built by MDA (MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates Ltd.) and initiate the crucial image
calibration activities of all five satellites to ensure we will deliver to our customers only top quality data and services.”
The commissioning and calibration phase that the RapidEye system is currently undergoing is expected to last into December, allowing for commercial operations to start by the end of this year. At that time RapidEye plans to have radiometrically corrected and orthorectified demonstration datasets available for download on the company website. They will include all accompanying metadata files.
For a closer look at the image of El Bolsón, Argentina, please visit the RapidEye website at www.rapideye.de/home/news/.
Additional technical information about RapidEye’s Standard Image Products can be downloaded in their Product Specifications document at www.rapideye.de/home/products/ If you would like to be notified as soon as demonstration products become available, please subscribe to the company newsletter by emailing to newsletter@rapideye.de .
About RapidEye AG
RapidEye is an ISO-certified geospatial information provider focused on integrating customized and industry specific solutions into the workflow of global customers in agriculture, forestry, energy, infrastructure, government, security and emergency. RapidEye experts and the satellite system – a constellation of five
satellites capable of downloading over 4 million km² of high resolution, multi-spectral imagery per day, and a ground segment for processing and archiving data – allow for cost-effective customized services. The unique combination of large area coverage, high spatial resolution and the possibility of daily revisit to an area provide for superior management information solutions. Currently, more than 90 experts from more than 20 countries are employed by RapidEye, with plans to grow the team to 140 by early 2009. RapidEye benefits from a Public-Private-Partnership with the Space Agency of the German Aerospace Center (DLR), being supported by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology. For more information, please visit www.rapideye.de
Photo: Download RapidEye’s image from www.rapideye.de/home/news/press area/
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Contact
RapidEye AG
Molkenmarkt 30| 14776 Brandenburg/Havel | Germany
14776 Brandenburg a. d. Havel, Germany
press@rapideye.de
Toll Free (US): +1 800 940 3617
Phone: +49 3381 8904-0 | Fax: +49 3381 8904-101
info@rapideye.de | www.rapideye.de
