RADARSAT-2 Information

We are pleased to announce that ImageOne Co. Ltd. of Japan and the Finnish government are joining the growing group of organizations committing to RADARSAT-2 pre-launch data purchases.

ImageOne Co. Ltd, Japan's leading provider of satellite imagery and services, and a RADARSAT-1 distributor since 2000, has signed a $2.4 million US agreement for the exclusive distribution rights to RADARSAT-2 data in Japan. The agreement is for 6 years.

"This signing secures the continuation of the established and successful business relationship between ImageOne Co. Ltd and RADARSAT International, " said Adrian Bohane, RADARSAT International's Director of Worldwide Sales.

Finland (through the Finnish Institute of Marine Research) has signed an agreement worth $1.04 million US for RADARSAT-1 and -2 data and services over the years 2004 - 2008. The agreement, brokered by the National Technology Agency (TEKES), provides several Finnish government institutions with access to RADARSAT-1 and -2 data.

"The signing of both of these pre-launch commitments with established RADARSAT-1 clients acknowledges their commitment and confidence in the new capabilities of RADARSAT-2 and the RADARSAT program," said John Hornsby, President of RADARSAT International.

Currently, the Finnish Ice Service uses RADARSAT-1 data in the production of ice chart maps for commercial mariner and harbour authorities. And the Finnish Environmental Institute uses RADARSAT-1 for operational oil spill detection.

Just a reminder that the deadline for submitting your Letter of Intent to the RADARSAT-2 Science and Operational Applications Research (SOAR) program is quickly approaching. If you are interested in testing the new RADARSAT-2 features (e.g. high-resolution, new beam modes, multi-polarization) we encourage you to submit your Letter of Intent by the end of December.

In order to avoid problems submitting your Letter of Intent, we strongly suggest that you type your submission in a word processing package and then cut and paste it into the on-line submission program. There is a system limitation of only 20 minutes to submit a proposal prior to the system going off line. If you are having problems, send us an email and we will assist you in the submission process.

To-date, we have received some excellent Letters of Intent submissions covering a range of research topics and projects. Don't hesitate any longer - we look forward to hearing from you!

During the month of November focus has been on the integration of the subcomponents of the ground segment for RADARSAT-2. Ground segment integration is the process of verifying that all subsystems work together in a reliable manner to provide the required Ground Segment functionality such as planning satellite tasking, communicating with the satellite and producing the RADARSAT-2 data products.

Almost all components have passed factory acceptance testing. Various components were also tested for their communications capabilities and compatibility with the satellite. The testing showed that the ground segment can successfully command the satellite components, and receive and process health and status telemetry data from the satellite. We also took this opportunity to use beta versions of automated procedures for flight operations.

An excellent summary of the ground segment components has be written for the Canadian Journal of Remote Sensing, June 2004 Special Issue.

RADARSAT-2 Data to Help with Monitoring Environmental Indicators of Vector-borne Disease

Space-borne remote sensing technology has been used to help identify breeding grounds for environmental diseases such as malaria. The proximity of a population to these breeding grounds is an important source of information to define populations at risk and to facilitate rapid action with respect to mitigation and control initiatives. Radar remote sensing platforms have a unique advantage to providing a timely view of tropical regions which often have substantial cloud cover hindering optical remote sensing imagery.

RADADSAT-2, with its new multi-polarization option and higher-resolution products, will provide much needed operational capabilities for disease risk mapping through the identification of environmental variables conducive to breeding those diseases.

MDA's Geospatial Services, is a global leader in providing data, information products and services from the majority of commercially available radar and optical Earth imaging satellites. These satellites include RADARSAT-1, ENVISAT, ERS, LANDSAT, IKONOS, QuickBird, EROS A, RESOURCESAT-1 and IRS. Our global markets include natural resource management and environmental monitoring, ice mapping, agriculture, ship detection, mapping and surveillance.

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