CNN Reports on Aging Earth Observation Satellites

In a brief report entitled "U.S. could lose aging eyes in the sky," CNN listed the challenges with aging earth observation satellite system this way:

• Tights budgets, growing costs and failed launches hurt satellite programs, report finds
• "We'll be hobbling through the year 2012," Idaho scientist says
• Nearly three-quarters of 23 Earth-observation satellites could go dark by 2020
• NASA calls the report from National Research Council (NRC) "overly pessimistic"

The NRC report goes on to say that, "These precipitous decreases [in satellite fleet] warn of a coming crisis in Earth observations from space, in which our ability to observe and understand the Earth system will decline just as Earth observations are critically needed to underpin important decisions facing our nation and the world," according to a May report from the Academy's National Research Council. "Advances in weather forecast accuracy may slow or even reverse, and gaps in time series of climate and other critical Earth observations are almost certain to occur."

Exelis Visual Systems Announces Release of ENVI 5

Exelis shared this information on May 1 (but I didn't get it until May 3):

India Launches Satellite with SAR Capabilities

Several Indian news sources area reporting on the launch of India's RISAT-1, an earth observing satellite to monitor weather and crops. Launched Thursday by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), the satellite carries on board a synthetic aperature radar (SAR) sensor.

According to the Daily Bhaskar,

RISAT-1, culmination of nearly ten years of effort by ISRO, has the capability to take images of the earth during day and night as well as in cloudy conditions. Till now, India depended on images from a Canadian satellite as existing domestic remote sensing spacecraft cannot take pictures of earth during cloud cover.

According to Asian Scientist Magazine,

Though ISRO officials maintain that the primary role of the nearly Rs. 500-crore mission is to help in the field of agriculture and paddy monitoring during the kharif season and provide data during natural disasters, speculation is rife that it has a military role too. This theory is triggered by the fact that it is equipped with the first India-made synthetic aperture radar (SAR).

Space Enterprise Council to Host Forum on Commercial Remote Sensing

The Space Enterprise Council of TechAmerica, a lobbying organization in Washington, D.C., is hosting a forum on the state of commerical remote sensing and specifically on the status of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency's EnhanceView contract. The forum will be held Friday April 27, 9 - 10 a.m. at the Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2325. In a statement from the Council, they commented that,

Proposed cuts in the President’s Fiscal Year 2013 budget request will have a profound impact on the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency’s Enhanced View (EV) Program. A weakened U.S. commercial imagery industrial base would create a real opportunity for foreign competitors, particularly in Europe, to take over the industry.  The Pentagon’s budget decision may damage a vital U.S. industry, impact national security, allow foreign competitors to acquire U.S. organic capabilities, and or force U.S. government consumers to go without this much-needed capability.

Representatives from GeoEye, Google, ITT Exelis and NOAA are expected to speak at the forum.

Race for More Spectral Resolution for Earth Observation Satellites Is On

The race in space for commercial earth observation satellites was primarily for ever increasing spatial resolution. From the early days of Landsat’s 80 meter spatial resolution till today’s sub-meter accuracy on GeoEye and DigitalGlobe satellites, the demand for seeing objects on the ground more clearly was tantamount. Higher spectral resolution, however, took a back seat. But the next generation of satellites could change the perspective of users. While sub-meter spatial resolution will help you identify the class of ground-based objects, sub-classification can only be achieved by adding more spectral bands with narrower band widths.

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