Weekly GEOINT Community News

TCarta Awarded NOAA Grant to Enhance Satellite Derived Bathymetry Technology

TCarta Marine, a global provider of space-based hydrospatial solutions, has been awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The research focuses on enhancing Satellite Derived Bathymetry technology for application in the coastal waters of Alaska. Satellite Derived Bathymetry (SDB) extracts water depth measurements from multispectral satellite imagery using advanced physics-based algorithms. Traditionally, this technology has yielded the most accurate results in clear, calm waters; however, TCarta has recently taken the lead in expanding SDB applications to more challenging marine environments worldwide.

Lockheed Martin And NEC Put AI to Work on Programs Like NASA’s Artemis Mission

Lockheed Martin and NEC Corporation have signed a joint collaboration agreement to extend their partnership utilizing NEC’s System Invariant Analysis Technology (SIAT). The companies are also finalizing a licensing agreement with a multi-year option. Lockheed Martin and NEC have been working together to evaluate the effectiveness of SIAT for early production testing and operational scenarios. As a result, Lockheed Martin has integrated SIAT into the Technology for Telemetry Analytics for Universal Artificial Intelligence (T-TAURI) AI service. This allows the organization to drive proactive anomaly detection during the design, development, production and test phase of spacecraft development – even before applications in mission operations. NEC’s SIAT advanced analytics engine uses data collected from sensors to learn the behavior of systems, including computer systems, power plants, factories and buildings, enabling the system itself to automatically detect inconsistencies and prescribe resolutions. By integrating within Lockheed Martin’s T-TAURI platform, a comprehensive time series analysis framework, the team can gain an exhaustive, holistic understanding of a system, creating a foundational system for other advanced technologies like system-level digital twins. Since the initial partnership between NEC and Lockheed Martin, the teams have already seen applications for early pathfinding to detect production anomalies and software regression testing.

Solinftec and Planet Partner to Provide Real-Time Agronomic Insights

Solinftec will now incorporate Planet satellite data into their platform to guide crop management decisions made by farmers and agricultural retailers. Solinftec’s platform provides their users with agronomic insights while on the job, helping to inform complex, daily farm activities and agriculture retailer services. Incorporating Planet imagery will add a new layer of vital data to guide a wide variety of crop management decisions, including operational efficiency and better use of inputs and agriculture compliance, which ultimately reduces their environmental impact. Planet’s satellite imagery can be used to cover large growing areas, deliver field-level detail to observe spatial variability and ensure data is up to date across the season. This partnership between Solinftec and Planet helps bridge the gap between data sources in the cloud and agricultural decisions on the ground.

Airbus Wins its First Syracuse IV Ground Segment Program Contract

Within the Syracuse IV program, Airbus has been awarded a 10-year framework agreement called Copernicus for the construction and upgrading of part of the ground segment for the telecommunications satellites used by the French Armed Forces. As part of Copernicus, the French Directorate General of Armaments (DGA) has placed an initial order worth more than €100 million. This first order specifically covers the development of the future satellite communications management system for the French Ministry of Defense. This unique portal called Pegasus, accessible to all units, will enable the French Armed Forces to optimize use of the available capacities on military and commercial satellites. It will make it possible to coordinate requests entered by central military staff or any unit deployed on the ground, at sea, or in the air. Allocation of satellite capacities will be optimized in terms of operational criteria completed by the units, such as the type of terminals used, ground cover, level of cyber security, jamming resistance, as well as the need for availability. 

Red Hat Refines Kubernetes for Both Traditional and Cloud-Native Applications

Red Hat announced Red Hat OpenShift 4.7, the latest version of the industry’s leading enterprise Kubernetes platform. Designed to simplify and accelerate application modernization, the latest version of Red Hat OpenShift is based on Kubernetes 1.20 and helps remove the strain on IT teams as they seek to unite traditional applications with cloud-native ones. All of these new capabilities are built on the consistent platform that Red Hat OpenShift provides across the open hybrid cloud. Whether to address a competitive threat, expand business offerings or keep pace with consumer expectations, it’s critical for businesses to have an application modernization strategy.

Peer Intel

NGA Director Vice Adm. Robert Sharp swore in the U.S. Space Force’s newest officers during a ceremony at NGA’s east campus Feb. 5. U.S. Air Force Capt. Maxwell Hill and Capt. Jefferson Mitchell reaffirmed the Oath of Office, officially transferring from the USAF to the USSF. They join more than 16,000 service members officially known as guardians.

Image Caption: 32,000 miles of Alaskan coastline pose a challenge and an opportunity for Satellite Derived Bathymetry. Technologies developed to survey water clarity in daily satellite imagery (upper right inset) can be used as a tool to determine precise collection of high-resolution imagery for Satellite Derived Bathymetry surveying (lower right inset). | Image Credit: TCarta