Intel Community Backs High-Res Imagery Push

The White House is reviewing a proposal to lift the restriction preventing U.S. satellite imagery providers from releasing pictures with a resolution of less than 50 cm (19.7 in.). Adoption of the proposal to allow release of images with 25-cm resolution could kick off an explosion of global competition and products for satellite imagery providers hungry to expand substantially beyond the government market.

DigitalGlobe, the only remaining U.S. high-resolution satellite imagery provider, included the proposal in a licensing request filed last May. The first 50-cm license was provided in 2000. The company’s WorldView-3 satellite, capable of products with 31-cm resolution, is launching in August, and DigitalGlobe is worried its market share is being siphoned off by rival Airbus Defense and Space (formerly EADS Astrium) and others.

The U.S. intelligence community has “reached a consensus [that] bodes well for industry” supporting DigitalGlobe’s licensing request, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said at last week’s 10th Annual Geoint conference here. National Reconnaissance Office Director Betty Sapp says she would rather focus her agency, which builds and operates U.S. spy satellites, on the most difficult, high-end challenges. “We want to make sure we are not doing anything they can do,” she says.

This harmony grew out of dissent. The intelligence community once had four different positions among three agencies, according to a government official. The White House is moving swiftly to come to a final government position and issue the license as soon as possible, this official says. However, there is still some discord among agencies outside the intelligence community. One option is to phase in the lower-resolution products, first allowing 31-cm imagery to accommodate WorldView’s capabilities and later 25-cm products.



http://aviationweek.com/space/intel-community-backs-high-res-imagery-push

PSLV-C24 rocket successfully launches Indian GPS satellite IRNSS-1B into space

India's Polar Satellite Vehicle (PSLV) has its 25th jubilee flight of the rocket.The satellites will way-point all Indian missiles to their targets with an accuracy of 20 meters.






IRNSS-1B satellite is the second of seven which will make up the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS). The constellation will consist of four satellites in geosynchronous orbits inclined at 29 degrees, with three more in geostationary orbit. IRNSS-1B is one of the geosynchronous satellites, and is expected to be positioned at a longitude of 55 degrees east.

The earlier IRNSS-1A satellite was launched on July 1st 2013.The PSLV will launch two more such satellites before the end of 2014.

The geostationary satellites will operate at 34, 83 and 132 degrees east. The IRNSS system is expected to provide navigation signals to India with an accuracy of up to 20 meters.The IRNSS-1B will be useful in terrestrial, aerial and sea navigation. It will beam back accurate information on the position of trucks, cars, battle tanks, aircraft, missiles, ships and submarines with precise timing reference. Truck and car drivers, pilots of civilian or combat aircraft and ship captains can properly plan their route using the IRNSS satellites which will guide them towards their destination with the help of a receiver. The satellites will way-point the missiles to their targets.

The IRNSS-1B satellite is based on the I-1K satellite bus and has a fuelled mass of 1,425 kilograms (3,141 lb), or a dry mass of 614 kg (1,354 lb).It is powered by two solar arrays, which generate up to 1,660 watts of power. The spacecraft is expected to operate for ten years.