On the 31st January NASA launched their Soil Moisture Active Passive satellite, generally known by the more pronounceable acronym SMAP, aboard the Delta 2 rocket. It will go into a near polar sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 685km. The … Continue reading
Monthly Archives: January 2015
Is space a good investment?
Space is an expensive, and uncertain, environment to work in, and decisions to invest in space technology and missions are frequently questioned in the current global economic climate. Headline figures of tens of millions, or billions, do little to counter … Continue reading
Why counting animals from spaces isn’t as hard as you think
Last week the keepers at London Zoo were busy counting their 17,000 animals, as part of the annual headcount. Knowing numbers is vital within the wild too, but counting animals on the plains of Africa is more challenging. Traditionally wild … Continue reading
The Satellite Earth Observation Industry Began …
The satellite Earth observation (EO) industry, arguably, began 37 years ago yesterday. Now, before everyone starts tweeting and emailing hear me out. Although by this date EO satellites were in orbit, data successfully collected and imagery produced, the concept of … Continue reading
