Brandenburg / Havel, Germany, July 1, 2009 – RapidEye, the only geospatial solutions provider to own and operate their own constellation of Earth observation satellites, announced today a new strategic partnership agreement with Washington, DC area based MDA Federal (formerly Earth Satellite Corporation – EarthSat) to be one of their distributors in the United States
. This partnership grants MDA Federal distribution rights for products and services to some U.S. government markets and was signed earlier this month.
“Since MDA in Vancouver was our prime contractor for our space and ground segment, it was only natural that MDA Federal in the United States would be part of our distributor network. We have been discussing this agreement for a long time, and have finally made it official. We're proud to have them as part of our distribution network,” commented Wolfgang Biedermann, CEO of RapidEye.
Greg Koeln, President of MDA Federal, said, “MDA Federal has been providing geospatial products and services to U.S. government agencies, conservation organizations, and various corporations since 1969. We are extremely pleased to partner with RapidEye and to provide the U.S. government with products and services derived from RapidEye data. We believe that RapidEye data will provide our clients with unique capabilities including: land use analysis, terrain categorization, change detection, alternative source data for creating high-resolution geospatial products, and unique agricultural assessments.”
RapidEye's worldwide network of distributors continues to grow to provide customers an avenue to purchase RapidEye products in their own region and in their own language. You can follow the progress of RapidEye's partner team by visiting www.rapideye.de/home/about-us/distributors-partners/.
About MDA Federal
MDA Federal Inc. (formerly Earth Satellite Corporation, founded in 1969) has been preeminent in the development and use of powerful and advanced geospatial technologies. MDA Federal Inc. is the U.S. subsidiary of MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (MDA), the prime contractor for RapidEye’s space and ground segment, in Richmond, British Columbia. MDA Federal’s Quality Management System is certified to ISO 9001-2000 with design.
For 40 years, MDA Federal Inc. has conducted resource programs around the world for private and public clients. MDA's technical staff have made substantial contributions to the advancement of image processing, information technology and GIS. In addition to providing essential geospatial products to U.S. civil, defense, and intelligence agencies, MDA Federal also provides weather and agricultural information to more than 200,000 customers every day.
About RapidEye AG
RapidEye is an ISO-certified geospatial information provider focused on integrating customized and industry specific solutions into the workflow of global customers in agriculture, forestry, energy, infrastructure, government, security and emergency. RapidEye experts and the satellite system – a constellation of five satellites capable of downloading over 4 million km² of high resolution, multi-spectral imagery per day, and a ground segment for processing and archiving data – allow for cost-effective customized services. The unique combination of large area coverage, high spatial resolution and the possibility of daily revisit to an area provide for superior management information solutions. Currently, more than 100 experts from more than 20 countries are employed by RapidEye, with plans to grow the team to 140 by late 2009.
RapidEye benefits from a public-private partnership with the Space Agency of the German Aerospace Center (DLR), which is supported by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology. RapidEye is also co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). For more information on ERDF please contact
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For more information about RapidEye, please visit www.rapideye.de
Top iPhone related GIS and Geo Tech news stories from 2009 - At the end of the year its always interesting for us to look at some of the stats and results to identify trends and more important, to see what our readers think is hot! In the "news" category it seems that iPhone related geo tech items were extremely popular.
10 Awesome GIS and Mapping apps for the iPhone - I recall last year at the ESRI UC when an iPhone was on stage showing a prototype app (think ArcPad on iPhone). It was then that I realized the iPhone platform is going to be BIG in mapping and there's a ton of opportunity for developers.
Nokia Booklet 3G, unboxing video and image gallery... Those of you in the USA who pop in to BestBuy occasionally, you may have seen a stand showing off the Nokia Booklet 3G. A sleek, 3G enabled, SIM slot (AT&T) sporting netbook.
Interesting Tweeple - 10 Geo Technology & Geo-Social Women of Twitter - given the growing love for geospatial and location-aware technologies, I’ve decided to hype 10 women that I feel make a significant contribution to the Geo-Twittersphere. If you’d like to add 10 knowledgeable and useful Twitter contacts to your Geo following list I highly suggest the following: (in no particular order)
10 Geo Social Location-Aware Apps Making Waves... With Twitter's opening of their location API to developers there's going to be a ton of third party apps that will enable Twitter users to share location-aware information via their Twitter accounts.
Signs that indicate you may be a GeoGeek (aka. GeoNerd) and some suggested Geo blogs - Chances are good that if you are a Geo Geek then you already know it and likely refer to yourself as one. However, there’s many of you out there that may be on the fence and wondering… “am I a Geo Geek?" Read on for a comprehensive list of signs you might be a GeoGeek followed up by some suggested Geoblog reading.
Real-time GPS Mapping and GIS Solution Aids Efficient Disaster Management - Saturday, February 7, 2009 will forever be known as Black Saturday in the State of Victoria, Australia. In the midst of a 10-year drought, a record breaking heat wave descended upon the state, with temperatures exceeding 45 degrees C (110-120 deg F), breaking all-time record highs in some cities - Victoria Police Use Trimble Juno SC Handhelds to Speed Assessment of Damage Caused by Bush Fires.
10 Ways Your Tech Business Can Take Advantage of Twitter - Many companies and individuals are still asking themselves how can I use Twitter in my business? The following is a small sampling of some of the ways that your technology business can use Twitter to your advantage.
2010 ESRI Federal User Conference February 17-19, 2010, Washington D.C. Walter E. Washington Convention Center - The FedUC is the largest geospatial conference for federal agencies. Connect with other leaders, decision makers, and GIS professionals.
The International LiDAR Mapping Forum 2010 - Tenth Anniversary Event! ILMF 2010 will be held from March 3 - 5, 2010 at the Hyatt Regency in Denver at Colorado Convention Center.
The NAVTEQ 2010 Global LBS Challenge Awards Ceremony will be held during Ignite at O'Reilly Where 2.0. Be among the first to hear as NAVTEQ announces the winners for the North America region. Participants will be competing for a global prize pool of $10 million and growing by showcasing pre-commercial location-enabled apps using NAVTEQ map data & products. March 30, 2010, during Ignite Where, 7:30pm - 9:00pm, at the Marriott San Jose, CA
WHERE2.0 2010 - Now in its sixth year, the Where 2.0 Conference is where the grassroots and leading edge developers building location-aware technology intersect with the businesses and entrepreneurs seeking out location apps, platforms, and hardware to gain a competitive edge. For 15% use Discount Code: whr10lbs
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