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Richmond, B.C. – MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (TSX: MDA), a provider of essential information solutions, announced today that it has signed a $4.6 million (CAD) contract to provide RADARSAT-2 satellite imagery to the European Space Agency (ESA). The imagery will be delivered from July 2009 until September 2010.
The RADARSAT-2 imagery will be used to provide information on ice and disaster mapping applications in support of the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) program. GMES was established to provide key users in Europe with access to accurate and timely information services to better manage the environment, understand and mitigate the effects of climate change and ensure civil security.
Launched in 2007, RADARSAT-2 is the world’s most advanced commercial C-band Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite. RADARSAT-2 offers new imaging capabilities and a faster turn-around schedule for data acquisition and product delivery. It provides enhanced information for applications such as environmental monitoring, ice mapping, resource mapping, disaster management, and marine surveillance.
Adrian Bohane, MDA’s Geospatial Services Director of Data Sales said ‘We are very happy to conclude this contract with ESA and to become a data partner to the ESA GMES Space Component program and to supply RADARSAT-2 data to their operational users.’
GMES is a joint program between the European Commission and ESA, in which ESA is responsible for the GMES Space Component. Services provided through GMES fall into five main categories: services for land management, services for marine environment, services relating to the atmosphere, services to aid emergency response and services associated with security. These services have the potential to significantly improve many environmental concerns such as natural resource management, food security, biodiversity and air-quality forecasting.
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