GeoCarta

GeoEye-1 Successfully Launched

The GeoEye-1 Satellite was successfully launched into space From Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA, GeoEYe Corp. announced. The firm reported that the satellite, which is billed as the world’s highest resolution, commercial Earth-imaging satellite, had signaled the firm’s ground station in Norway and would begin testing.

See also: Hurricane Hanna Delays GeoEye-1 Launch

The Map Thief Reviewed

The Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star reviews Heather Terrell’s “The Map Thief, ” calling it “a rip-roaring read that fuses real history with mystery and spotlights the deceptive underbelly of the international art scene.”

See also: ” Heather Terrell Publishes Historical Novel “The Map Thief”

SPOT Satellite Messenger Awarded

The SPOT Satellite Messenger, a previous “GPS Gadget of the Week ” has been awarded Field & Stream Magazine’s Best of the Best Award in the hunting technology category for 2008.

See also: GPS Gadget of the Week: Spot

Tags: GeoEye, Heather Terrell, SPOT, The Map Thief

W hat went wrong at Magellan ? That’s the question being asked over at GPS Business News . The magazine reports that three top executives have left the firm in recent months as Magellan’s share of the U.S. PND market has tumbled.

Among those leaving:

• Nelson Chan, CEO
• Christian Bubenheim, VP-Product Marketing
• Clay Babcock, Sr., Dir.Product Planning

Magellan also failed to show at the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin; abruptly canceling their booth. GPS Business News reports that they have been unable to get Magellan’s PR folks to comment. Top executives leaving and and a tight-lipped PR Dept. have the magazine wondering out loud if the firm’s exit from the PND market isn’t fast approaching.

Tags: Magellan, PND

R ussia’s GLONASS navigation system will be increased from the current 16 satellites to 30 by 2011, the head of the Russian Space Agency said on Friday. Anatoly Perminov said that Russia plans to launch six satellites by the end of 2008 and six more next year. "Therefore, the satellite navigation system will become truly global," he said. Mr. Perminov’s comments were reported by the Russian News Agency Novosti .

Mr. Perminov touted a fully operational GLONASS as having a number of advantages over its foreign competitors such as better coverage in Arctic zones. "This is one of the most important preconditions for the successful development of natural deposits and for oil and gas production on the shelf," he said. The arctic region has seen increased exploration from Russia, the United States, and Canada as the world expands its search for oil.

Tags: Anatoly Perminov, GLONASS, Russian Space Agency

Will the Census Bureau’s New Gadget be Ready in Time?

With preparation for the 2010 census reaching a critical stage, the U.S. Census Bureau has yet to resolve key technology issues in its plan to deploy thousands of handheld computers to make data collection more efficient and accurate. That is according to a report issued by the Government Accounting Office (GAO).

Mostly known for use in dividing up seats in Congress, data collected during the decennial survey is used by a wide variety of planners in government and the private sector, mainly in GIS applications. The troubles in the Handheld Computer (HHC) program have raised questions about the accuracy and efficiency of the upcoming census. Continue Reading »

Tags: 2010 Census, Harris Corp., TIGER, U.S. Census Bureau

"…maps are pretty simple objects, but they’re telling a story…" Kris Harzinski tells the Minneapolis Star-Tribune , "… a journey or a road trip or going to visit a friend. Hand-drawn maps give personal perspective." To celebrate those personal stories Mr. Harzinski has launched the Hand Drawn Map Association . The association has a website that allows anyone to submit their hand drawn maps and other diagrams to share with the world.

More from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune: Continue Reading »

Tags: Hand Drawn Map Association, Kris Harzinski

T he United States and Canada are set to launch a joint scientific mission to map the natural resource rich arctic seafloor the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) announced. The purpose of the expedition is to establish the outer limits of each country’s continental shelf, as defined in the Convention on the Law of the Sea . Under the international agreement, a country can extend it’s territorial claims to include areas of the sea that are part of its continental shelf, even if the shelf extends beyond the standard 200 nautical mile limit. The area beneath the arctic sea has been the focus of increased international interest recently as the world seeks new sources of oil. Continue Reading »

Tags: Arctic Map, Geological Survey of Canada, Oil and Gas Above Arctic Circle, USGS

T he launch of the GeoEye-1 satellite has been pushed back from the previously scheduled Thursday liftoff GeoEye Inc. announced today. The rocket and satellite are sitting on the launch pad ready to go at Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA. However, the launch has been delayed by Hurricane Hanna’s projected path off the east coast of Florida.

I’m sure the geographically astute readers of this blog are wondering "why is a launch in California delayed by a hurricane on the other side of the continent?" The answer is that the delay has nothing to do with the weather on the west coast. In order to fire up the rocket you have to have certified Delta II launch specialists to do it. Their home base is at Patrick Air Force Base, in Florida. With a hurricane headed for their homes, the launch specialists are understandably electing to stay put. GeoEye says they are aiming for a September 7, launch date.

Tags: GeoEye

G eoEye Inc. has signed a deal with Google to provide imagery from its new GeoEye-1 satellite to Google Earth and Google Maps after the spacecraft is launched on September 4th, Reuters reported. While Google will continue to use imagery from other providers, such as GeoEye’s chief rival DigitalGlobe, the deal calls for GeoEye to provide its imagery exclusively to Google. That means no other online mapping services will be able to access imagery from GeoEye’s new satellite.

The GeoEye-1 will be the world’s highest resolution commercial earth-imaging satellite, offering images at .41 meters resolution in black and white and 1.65 meters in color. A spokesperson for Google told Reuters the firm would begin receiving half-meter resolution imagery from the new satellite after 45 to 60 days, after its launch.

Tags: GeoEye, Google Earth, Google Maps

Oceanographers at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) have released a map forecasting the impact Hurricane Gustav may have on five major areas along the Northern Gulf of Mexico. The most damage is caused by inundation, where a hurricane’s storm surge is higher than the primary dune or beach berm and the entire beach system is submerged. The map below shows the projected inundation for the Isles Dernieres which are just west of where Gustav is reportedly making landfall. The map projects the storm surge and innundation if Gustav makes landfall nearby as a Category 3 hurricane or higher. The darker the red, the higher the water will be over the the islands.

With Gustav downgraded to a Category 2 hurricane, the area may come out better than it was feared The Isles Dernieres are a group of barrier islands that have suffered erosion for years. They serve an important purpose of protecting the mainland by taking the brunt of the storm surge and wave action during a hurricane. In the late 1990’s, a restoration project raised the height of the island from 1-1.5 meters to 2.4 meters high, an elevation believed sufficient to contain a Category 1 storm surge.

For a complete summary of Hurricane Gustav maps, see The Map Room.

Tags: Gustav, Isles Dernieres, USGS

GTX Corp.

Abdou Named Exec. VP & General Counsel

GTX Corp. has appointed Mark Abdou as Executive Vice President and General Counsel the firm announced. Before joining GTX, Mr. Abdou was a partner at Richardson & Patel, LLP (R&P), we he served a diverse base of clients which included GTX Corp. GTX Corp develops miniaturized GPS satellite tracking and location-transmitting technology devices for integration into branded licensee consumer products. Mr. Abdou was selected as a Rising Star of 2008 in Southern California by the industry publication Super Lawyers. Continue Reading »

Tags: Cartography and Geographic Information Society, Dr. Jeong Chang Seoung, Dr. Michael Leitner, GTX Corp., Mark Abdou, Richard Savage, Ron Ludchak, Topcon, Topcon Tierra