The successful 2008 launch of the RapidEye satellites marked a turning point in the Earth observation industry. The lessons learned offer a roadmap to getting future satellite programs—government and commercial—from the drawing board to the launch pad. By Kevin P....
Technology Advances Support Emergency Responses in Extreme Environments
Building an operative offshore emergency response capability for oil and gas operations requires the right combination of tools to ensure effective decisions are made during the critical first 24-48 hours of an event. By Paul Kennedy, MDA Geospatial  Services Inc....
Global Elevation Data Enhance Exploration and Development
From seismic planning to pipeline routing, accurate elevation data can support a range of oil and gas applications. By Michael Hall, geologist, Airbus Defense and Space (www.geo-airbusds.com), Leicester, United Kingdom. Oil and gas exploration and development...
Energy Firms Turn to Space for Offshore Data
Satellite-derived bathymetry reduces risk and cost of offshore seismic surveys. By David Critchley, CEO, Proteus (www.proteusgeo.com), Abu Dhabi, UAE, and Bristol, United Kingdom. In recent years, energy companies have relied increasingly on high-resolution satellite...
Geospatial Solutions Energize the Oil Patch
Virtually any business with assets that can be imaged and mapped will benefit from geospatial capabilities. There’s no more compelling evidence of this, however, than in the petroleum industry. According to U.K. firm Exprodat, it’s generally estimated that more...
USGS iCoast Needs You to Help Identify Coastal Changes
By Ethan Alpern, public affairs specialist, U.S. Geological Survey (www.usgs.gov), Reston, Va. Hurricane season started again in June. Do you know what happens to U.S. coasts after these extreme storms? The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently launched a...
NGA's Long Touts GEOINT Immersion
By Jacquelyn Karpovich, Office of  Corporate Communications, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (www.nga.mil), Springfield, Va. According to National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) Director Letitia A. Long, the agency’s transformation from a...
Industry Updates Jul-Aug 2014
Google Buys Skybox Imaging for $500 Million Google agreed on June 10, 2014, to buy Skybox Imaging, a provider of high-quality satellite images, as the technology giant continues its lofty ambitions for its Internet offerings. Initially, Skybox will help improve...
Swimming with Ice Cubes in Lake Superior
Air temperatures in the states and provinces around the Great Lakes suggest that meteorological summer has arrived. But the icy grip of winter is lingering in cool water temperatures and drifting chunks of ice. For nearly seven months, ice has been afloat somewhere on...
Climate Change Apparent in the United States
Climate change is already affecting the American people in far-reaching ways.†So begins an extensive report issued by the U.S. Global Change Research Program on May 6, 2014. The Global Change Research Act of 1990 requires that Congress and the president should be...
