Euromap GmbH, the exclusive supplier of Indian Remote Sensing data in Europe, has become the first GMES Contributing Mission Entity to provide data from optical missions to ESRIN through dedicated operational interfaces.

Neustrelitz, Germany, October 14, 2010: Euromap GmbH, the exclusive supplier of Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) data in Europe, and the European Space Agency (ESA), which manages earth observation data access for GMES service projects in its role as the coordinator of the GMES Space Component, being part of the GMES programme as managed by the European Commission, today announced that they have commenced operations with the interfaces between Euromap and ESA’s Coordinated Data Access System (CDS) infrastructure.

Having passed the Operations Readiness Review milestone on June 25, 2010, Euromap has now become the first GMES Contributing Mission Entity (GCM) of an optical mission to operationally provide data and services through the version 1 interfaces developed as part of the GMES Space Component Data Access (GSC‑DA) project.

A corresponding GSC-DA contract, covering the development of interfaces and the supply of data from the IRS-P6 Resourcesat-1, IRS-P5 Cartosat-1, IRS-1C and IRS‑1D missions, was signed in May 2009 between ESA and a Euromap-led consortium, with the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) working as a sub-contractor.

The interface development was supported by the departments National Ground Segment and Information Technology of the DLR institute German Remote Sensing Data Centre (DFD). The DFD also operates the catalogue system providing access to quick looks and metadata relating to the IRS data received by Euromap in cooperation with the DFD at the ground station in Neustrelitz, Germany.

Frithjof Barner, Technical Director of Euromap, commented: “The software and interface development was a challenge for us as a small company, but by December 2009 we had managed to start making deliveries through the respective interfaces of about 4000 ortho products from the Resourcesat-1 LISS-III sensor as a contribution to the European wall-to-wall coverage Image2009. Having mastered this we feel well prepared for the operational phase and are looking forward to further cooperation with ESA.”

ESA's responsible for the GSCDA system development, Dr. Alessandra Tassa, said: “The development of interfaces is an achievement in the GSCDA project, since it allows reducing effort from operators and improves the quality of the provided services. Thanks to the developed interfaces, Euromap data products will be automatically circulated to ESA coordinating infrastructure, archived, catalogued and made available on-line to GMES users without operators’ intervention. In addition, semi-automated reporting will result in an improved monitoring of the provided services.“

About Euromap: www.euromap.de

Euromap Satellitendaten-Vertriebsgesellschaft mbH was founded in 1996 as a 100% owned subsidiary of GAF AG in order to create an efficient commercial structure to receive, archive and market Earth observation satellite data in Germany. Experience and expertise in data reception and processing is optimally combined in the company with marketing and distribution activities – thus providing the essential conditions for supporting a growing user-market for remote sensing data. Euromap GmbH is located in Neustrelitz, Germany.

About ESA / ESRIN: http://www.esa.int/esaMI/ESRIN_SITE/index.html

ESRIN, the ESA Centre for Earth Observation, is one of the five ESA specialised centres situated in Europe. Located in Frascati, a small town 20 km south of Rome in Italy, ESRIN was established in 1966 and first began acquiring data from environmental satellites in the 1970s. Since 2004, ESRIN has been the headquarters for ESA's Earth Observation activities.

ESA is developing and managing the Space Component for the GMES initiative. The Space Component includes a series of five space missions called ‘Sentinels’, which are being developed by ESA specifically for GMES. Besides specifically developed Sentinel satellites, ESA manages access to other GMES Contributing Missions. These Contributing Missions include both existing and new satellites, whether owned and operated at European level by either EUMETSAT, privately or publicly in ESA Member States. They also include data acquired from non-European partners. The Space Component forms the European contribution to the worldwide Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS).

About DFD: http://www.caf.dlr.de/caf/institut/dfd/

The German Remote Sensing Data Centre (DFD) is an institute of the German Aerospace Centre (DLR). Together with the centre’s Remote Sensing Technology Institute (IMF), it comprises DLR’s Applied Remote Sensing Cluster, which coordinates DLR’s activities relating to Earth observation data from satellites and aircraft. DFD focuses on the reception, archiving, distribution and utilisation of data. In addition to applied research, DFD has expertise in the development and operational performance of IT systems.

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