The vast potential of ESA's upcoming Sentinel-2 satellites came into focus last week at a symposium in Italy on how they will benefit current and future projects that exploit Earth observation data. The humid and moist tropical climate of Gabon yields immense forests that cover over 85% of the land, making them the number-two driver of the national economy - and deforestation a subject of concern. The GMES project on Forest Monitoring Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation mapped deforestation in Gabon from 1990 to 2010 using NASA's Landsat satellite. Read more
Sentinel-2B: Astrium wins new contract worth 105 million euros
European space leader Astrium has notched up another success in the field of Earth observation satellite construction. The company has been commissioned by the European Space Agency (ESA) to build the Sentinel-2B optical satellite, the next flight unit in the Sentinel series. The two parties signed the industrial contract, worth 105 million euros, today. Following on from the Sentinel-2A contract that was signed in spring 2008, this latest show of confidence brings the total revenue generated for Astrium by the Sentinel-2 programme to approximately 323 million euros. Read more
Astrium to build ESA's second Sentinel-2 satellite for GMES
ESA has awarded a contract worth 105 million euros to Astrium to build the second Sentinel-2 satellite. Once both are operational, this pair of satellites will provide global coverage every five days, delivering high-resolution optical imagery for GMES land and emergency services. Marking another milestone in Europe's Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) initiative, this contract follows hot on the heels of the agreement between ESA and Thales Alenia Space to build the second, or 'B units', for Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-3. Read more
Remote sensing solutions provider DMCii has won a 3.9 million contract from the European Space Agency (ESA) to acquire satellite imagery of sub-Saharan Africa. The data will constitute an essential part of the European funded Global Monitoring for the Environment and Security (GMES) programme and the contract includes changes to the companys systems to interface with the ESA image catalogue.
ESA and EUMETSAT sign GMES Framework Agreement ESA and EUMETSAT, the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites, signed on 20 July a Framework Agreement on the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) Programme.
Kopernikus - Europe's eye in the sky Kopernikus is the new name of the European joint earth observation activities previously known as GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security). Norway is also playing an active role in European space programmes.
GMES Programme renamed Kopernikus The new name of the European GMES Programme (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security) has been unveiled: Kopernikus. The European Commission Vice President Günter Verheugen announced the name today at the GMES 2008 Lille forum.
The European Space Agency and Astrium today signed a 195 million contract to provide the first Sentinel-2 earth observation satellite, devoted to monitoring the land environment, as part of the European GMES programme. As prime contractor, Astrium is responsible for the design, development and integration of the satellite, which will perform a high-end multi-spectral optical imaging mission.