EROS A and B – A Global, Rapid Tasking Satellite Constellation

Posted on May 7th, 2013
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Are you in need of a rapid, new collection over a time-sensitive project you are working on?

Or perhaps you need to monitor a construction project in a foreign country?

Do you need imagery that is more recent than the high and medium resolution satellite archives offer but don’t have $2000+ in the budget for tasking?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you should consider the EROS A and B satellite constellation for your next project. With the lowest minimum order price for a new collection of high and medium resolution satellite imagery, the EROS constellation … Read more

Image Hunter – A New Edition, Medium Resolution SPOT 6

Posted on May 7th, 2013
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Have you had a chance to test out our online imagery search engine, Image Hunter?

If not, give it a test drive now as all orders placed with Image Hunter will receive a 5% discount!

We are very excited to announce that in April, the newly operational medium resolution satellite, SPOT 6, was added to Image Hunter. With the addition of SPOT 6 imagery, you can now preview and order data from 10 commercial satellite platforms in a single location.

Image Hunter can be accessed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and is a one-stop shop for … Read more

Out of This World – VERTIGO on SPHERES

Posted on May 7th, 2013
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The SPHERES undergo testing onboard the International Space Station. (Photo Credit: NASA)

Many times I wonder what comes first in regards to NASA acronyms, the ultimate chicken and egg question. This month’s Reaching Orbit is a great example of this quandary. The Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites (SPHERES) is undergoing a new experiment called the Visual Estimation and Relative Tracking for Inspection of Generic Objects (VERTIGO). See, I wasn’t kidding. Despite the acronym overload, the experiment itself is very interesting.

To begin, the SPHERES experiment involves the use of three sphere-like satellites. These are not what you would … Read more

Our Changing Landscape – 2014 FIFA World Cup Preparations

Posted on May 7th, 2013
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In this monthly feature, we span the globe to examine Our Changing Landscape with time series of medium resolution RapidEye satellite imagery. The RapidEye archive dates back to late 2008 and already contains more than 4 billion square kilometers of data. This month, we look at Brazilian preparations for the next FIFA World Cup in 2014.

The RapidEye Constellation

RapidEye is a constellation of five 5-meter medium resolution satellites each offering five spectral bands of information. The RapidEye constellation offers a daily revisit time to every location on the planet with a huge footprint that is 77-km wide. The data … Read more

Case Study – RapidEye for Accurate Sugar Beet Harvest Prediction

Posted on May 7th, 2013
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The Southern Minnesota Beet Sugar Cooperative (SMBSC), based in Renville, Minnesota, utilized 5-meter 5-band RapidEye imagery purchased from Apollo Mapping to calculate the harvested acreage of sugar beet fields. This question and answer series was completed with Jody Steffel, Statistical Assistant, during April 2013.

Question 1: Can you provide me with an overview of your project, its duration and the study sites?
This study used 5-meter 5-band RapidEye imagery to predict harvested acres from multiple imagery dates for sugar beets in Minnesota. Our specific study site was in Central and Southwestern Minnesota and included 20 counties. The study spanned the … Read more

Moving Day at the 2013 Master’s – As Seen by Pléiades 1

Posted on May 7th, 2013
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A 50-cm Pléiades 1A natural color image collected over Augusta National Golf Club, Georgia on April 13, 2013, Moving Day at the Master’s PGA Golf Tournament and photo enhanced by Apollo Mapping. © CNES 2012, Distribution Astrium Services / Spot Image S.A., France, all rights reserved

It’s Saturday, April 13th, 11:07 AM at the Master’s as Keegan Bradley and Brian Gay have just stepped up to the first tee to open their Third Round at the 2013 Master’s, often referred to as Moving Day. Tiger Woods and the rest of the leaders are about two hours from their tee times … Read more

Outside the Box – Salt Caverns

Posted on May 7th, 2013
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Above is a map of naturally occurring salt deposits throughout the continental United States.

The United States is home to three types of natural gas storage facilities: depleted fields, aquifers and salt caverns. Depleted fields still hold more natural gas than any facility type, but since 2007, salt caverns have become the most common new sites for storage. Salt caverns offer several advantages. They are highly flexible in that they operate under extreme pressure making injection or delivery of natural gas a much quicker process. Salt caverns can also cycle gas more frequently; in other scenarios, there are just two … Read more

Have You Ever Wondered How Much Imagery High Resolution Satellites Collect?

Posted on May 7th, 2013
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Well, we definitely have! So in this monthly piece, we pick a high resolution satellite, a time period and a geography, and then report key statistics on the total amount of imagery collected. So without further ado, let’s jump into our analysis.

  • Graphic Region of Interest: southern Africa (as defined in the accompanying map)
  • Land Mass Covered: 9,281,242 square kilometers (sq km)
  • Time Period: December 1, 2012 to February 28, 2013
  • High Resolution Satellite: WorldView-2

Southern Africa WorldView-2 Imaging Statistics

  • Total Area Collected: 3,341,836  sq km; ~37,132 sq km per day
  • Area Collected @ 20% or Less Clouds & 30
    • … Read more
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