Weekly GEOINT Community News

Airbus and Partners Launch Starling Satellite Service

Airbus, along with The Forest Trust and radar satellite imagery company SarVision, launched Starling, an innovative satellite service enabling companies to demonstrate how they are implementing their “No Deforestation” commitments. The launch follows a successful six-month pilot phase in Ferrero and Nestlé’s palm oil supply chains. Starling gives unbiased monitoring of large areas on a regular basis while detecting and identifying forest cover changes. The service also provides unprecedented accuracy with a combination of 1.5-meter SPOT images and radar that cuts through cloud cover, allowing year-round monitoring. This accuracy also means Starling can easily differentiate between crop types and recognize replanting and deforestation.

KeyW Wins Aviation Collection Services Contract

KeyW recently announced it received a new aviation collection services contract from a global customer. When combined with previously awarded airborne Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance contracts from the same customer, the total value of these awards is approximately $9 million.

SSTL Selected to Build Galileo Navigation Payloads

Under an Authority to Proceed signed with European multinational technology company and prime contractor OHB-System AG, Surrey Satellite Technology (SSTL) recently began construction on eight navigation payloads for Galileo, Europe’s global navigation satellite system. The contract will be worth approximately €140 million, and is a continuation of a long and successful cooperation between SSTL and OHB-System AG, with the pairing having previously built 22 full operational capacity satellites for the Galileo Constellation. Fourteen of SSTL’s Galileo FOC navigation payloads are currently operational in orbit, with a further eight payloads already delivered to OHB for integration and test.

Australia Invests $500 Million in Improved Satellite Imagery Access

According to Australian Defence Magazine, the country’s government has committed $500 million to improve access to commercial satellites to provide information to government agencies. The information will be used to support Australia’s defense priorities to include defense operations, border protection, and humanitarian missions. This investment will also create opportunities for Australian companies interested in satellite technology and imagery analysis.

Photo Credit: Airbus Defence and Space