Video explains changing economics of space

Friday, August 28. 2009
In the news

For Space Blog readers that didn't catch our blog Watch SSTL and DMCii on TV, you can watch a clip of DMCii and SSTL in the Discovery Channel program How do they do it? below.

We would encourage anyone who missed the show to take a look at the official How do they do it website.



Find out more about SSTL's unique approach to space and to learn more about DMCii's satellite imaging using the DMC constellation visit the DMCii website.

Posted by Robin Wolstenholme in In the news at 11:53 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)
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New DMC satellites deliver stunning images

Thursday, August 20. 2009
Remote sensing

It's a busy time for both SSTL and DMCii as the new DMC satellites UK-DMC2 and Deimos-1, which were launched on the 29th July are commissioned and their imaging systems thoroughly tested and calibrated.

Just a week after launch, DMCii had already begun acquiring stunning satellite imagery from both satellites using the new 22m multi-spectral imaging payloads that they carry onboard. This would not have been possible without the new 22m multi-spectral imager that was developed by SSTL's Optical Payloads Group (OPG) in Sevenoaks, Kent. In a addition to the more obvious resolution increase it has over the previous 32m DMC imager, it includes a number of technological advances that improve the quality and calibration of the images DMCii receives.

First UK-DMC2 satellite image
First UK-DMC2 satellite image


This first image shows the states of Texas and Oklahoma, USA. The DMC satellites are specifically designed to image very large areas with rapid response and at regular intervals, as shown in this first multi-state image. The new satellites can image much larger areas in a single pass than the previous DMC satellites due to advances in onboard storage and high speed satellite downlinks to the Earth.

Don Benito, Spain. Deimos-1


This is one of the first 11 images taken by Deimos-1, see the Deimos-1 gallery provided by the satellite owner Deimos Space for more.


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Posted by Robin Wolstenholme in Remote sensing at 15:24 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)
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Watch SSTL and DMCii on TV

Wednesday, August 12. 2009
In the news

SSTL & DMCii are scheduled to be featured on the Discovery Channel’s "How Do They Do It?" television programme. Tune in to either Discovery Channel or Discovery HD at 20:00 on Thursday 27th August (Updated).

If you are not one of the 1.2 billion who already watch the program, "How Do They Do It?" showcases a wide variety of technology and inventions from around the world from the cutting-edge to the well established, telling the story behind the technology and essentially explaining how things work.

The SSTL/DMCii section is entitled “How do they make the satellites that provide pixel perfect pictures of the earth from deep space?”, which seems partucularly timely, considering the SSTL built UK-DMC2 and Deimos-1 satellites have just been launched and are supplying their first satellite images to DMCii as this blog is published.

For those readers outside the UK, the program will be followed by a US version on the Science Channel in early September. Space Blog will keep readers up to date nearer the time, with details where possible.

Posted by Robin Wolstenholme in In the news at 18:02 | Comment (1) | Trackbacks (0)
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Nigerian satellites tested at RAL

Tuesday, August 11. 2009
Remote sensing

Nigeria's NigeriaSat-2 and NX earth observation satellites are undergoing tests at the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s (STFC’s) Rutherford Appleton Laboratory.

Nigerian satellites at RAL
The two satellites in the SSTD at RAL
NigeriaSat-2 and NX are being built for Nigeria's National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) and will form part of the Disaster Monitoring Constellation (DMC) when they are launched next year.

NigeriaSat-2 was designed and built by Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL), and is based on their latest SSTL-300 earth observation satellite platform will deliver a high-resolution (2.5 metre) imaging system onboard a highly agile platform.

NX, which is based on the SSTL-100 platform was built by Nigerian engineers as part of their training and development scheme at SSTL in Guildford, UK. It will provide 22-metre imaging, enhancing the capability that is currently provided by NigeriaSat-1, which was launched in 2003. These latest satellites will provide not only continuity to Nigeria’s current space capability, but significantly advance the country’s space assets.


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Posted by Robin Wolstenholme in Remote sensing at 11:57 | Comment (1) | Trackbacks (0)
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