at the annual Geoint 2007 Symposium, the Open Geospatial Consortium, Inc. (OGC) announced that Microsoft Corporation has joined the consortium as a Principal Member. Government agencies worldwide are realizing the power of geospatial applications to meet their missions in ways that are unprecedented – from public safety applications to famine and hunger relief. According to

Reducing humanity’s vulnerability to disasters and environmental change

A very fruitful “Briefing to European EO Service Industry on the planning of future ESA EO exploitation activities (2008 – 2012)” took place at ESRIN last 4th October. The meeting hosted more than 100 people from ESA member states, new countries participating to EOEP-3 and countries participating in the PECS (Plan for European Cooperating States)

The British National Space Centre supported by Disaster Monitoring Constellation International Imaging Ltd have taken over the rotating six-month leadership of the International Charter ‘Space and Major Disasters’, a joint initiative by global space agency members to provide emergency response satellite data free of charge to rescue authorities responding to major natural or man-made disasters anywhere in the world.

Mr. Gerard Brachet, chairman of the United Nations Committee for the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UN COPUOS)

Hamisu Muhammad A first satellite called NX2 designed and manufactured solely by Nigerian engineers will be launched side by side with NIGERIASAT-2 in the last quarter of 2009, Nigerian minister of science and technology has said. Speaking after a visit to Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL), United Kingdom, Minister of Science and Technology, Mrs. Grace

EARSC Newsletter. Issue 11 at EOMAG

ESRI Geoinformatik, GmbH and Intermap Technologies Corp. are teaming up to enable Geographic Information Systems (GIS) users to gain access to mapping data, applications, and solutions based on Intermap’s highly-accurate 3D elevation data and ESRI’s GIS and Mapping software.

ESA PR 30-2007. ESA’s Member States participating in the GMES Programme approved the transition to Phase-2 of Segment 1 of the GMES Space Component Programme. Oversubscription of the programme by the ESA Council at ministerial level in 2005 was confirmed, with oversubscription to phase 2 of 116%, giving a total amount of €500 million. This

ESA is operating since two years the Service Support Environment (SSE – services.eoportal.org ), which offers to EO (Earth Observation) Service and Data Providers alike the opportunity to prototype, test and provide simple or orchestrated EO and GIS related services, keeping full control of processes and IPR. ESA wishes to invite current and potential Service

R&D-performing Small and Medium-sized companies (SMEs) are the entrepreneurial stars of Europe. Responding to their specific needs, the Commission has adopted today EUROSTARS, a new Joint Programme with 27 EUREKA countries to finance R&D partnerships with research-performing SMEs. In addition to the Commission contribution of EUR 100 million, 22 EU Member states1 and 5 countries

If the European Union is going to promote the economic and social development of all its Member States, it is essential that the various sources of funding that can support this are used in a coherent way. In a policy paper presented today, the European Commission offers guidance to national and regional authorities on how

A 1-day briefing will be held at ESRIN on 04-Oct-2007 in order to help shape the next five years’ activities within ESA exploitation programs : EO Market Development (EOMD) and Data User Element (DUE). In the morning, ESA will present the current status and future planning of activities (2008-2012). The afternoon will be an opportunity

With what happens to ice and snow in the Arctic having a direct effect on Europe’s climate, a new research project is keeping a close eye on climate change in this coldest of regions. The goal of the EuroCryoClim project will be to develop an operational and sustainable system capable of monitoring climate changes in

EUMETSAT’s bilateral relationship with the China Meterological Administration (CMA) is becoming closer with the planned start of the operational exchange of meteorological data on a trial basis starting in early September. The plan was discussed during the visit by a senior delegation from the CMA to EUMETSAT on 28 August. The Chinese delegation, led by

Our 12th Annual Symposium in early 2008, proclaimed
by the United Nations as The International
Year of Planet Earth, will emphasize the benefits of the
space program for society. This time we are asking the
question ‘How can space address Earth’s global challenges
in the 21st century?’