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The Earthnet Programme Office is planning to coordinate the following TIROS
activities :
- define the requirements of the Remote Sensing user community in terms of
AVHRR data archive and associated requirements for data product
generation.
- standardize data formats permitting the exchange of data from different
sources, providing data in the so-called Landsat Technical Working Group
defined Standard Format which is already used for Landsat TM and MSS, and
for SEASAT data.
- identify useful TIROS Remote Sensing data products, (images corrected and
thematic), and support the development/operational implementation of
application products, in oceanography, fisheries, land uses, fire
detection, agriculture, ice, monitoring etc.
APOLLO-FAST REMOTE SENSING DATA DISTRIBUTION NETWORK
The Apollo project will provide a high speed digital information transfer
system suitable for long data messages, transmitted from a small number of
information providers to many videly disparsed users. It uses the EUTELSAT
1 series of communication satellites developed by ESA and European
Industry. The information data rate over satellite link is of 1.536
Mbits/sec and the Apollo service zone covers mainly the European countries.
This system, designed for the dissemination of document facsimiles, is very
adequate to satisfy the European Remote Sensing User community. In fact,
this project will permit the preparation and validation of an operational
remote sensing data dissemination service as it will be necessary for the
ERS-1 mission. The Earthnet planned activities to use the Apollo
distribution system cover :
- distribution to selected users of identified Landsat and other missions
product in near-real time.
- exchange of data among Acquisition and Processing Facilities in order to
share the workload and to ensure adequate response time for near-real time
applications.
- make available to users the on-line database of Landsat quick looks and
similar reduced resolution products.
- investigate selective broadcasting schemes, with the appropriate
encoding/decoding algorithms and their suitability to remote sensing.
COLUMBUS, EURECA AND POLAR PLATFORM
The combination of the German/Italian initiatives on Columbus and the USA's
presidential proposal to establish a permanent space station with foreign
cooperation has stimulated a burst of activity in Europe, investigating the
cooperative possibilities.
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