Press Release

Canada’s RADARSAT-1 Produces the Mosaic of Australia

By SpaceRef Editor
July 10, 2001
Filed under , ,

Saint-Hubert, July 12, 2001 – A mosaic of Australia taken by
RADARSAT-1, the renowned Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite operated by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), was presented today to conference delegates
attending the International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS) in
Sydney, Australia.


“The absolutely outstanding results of the Australia mosaic,” said
Surendra Parashar, CSA Director of Satellite Operations, “reaffirms our
commitment to pursue similar projects that will continue to enhance the knowledge, understanding and protection of our global resources and environment.”


The Australia mosaic, a compilation of 165 images captured from
mid-November 2000 to mid-February 2001 demonstrates the timely and detailed
observation capacity of RADARSAT-1 and the expertise of RADARSAT International who, in a joint project with the CSA, processed the high-resolution data required to create the Australia mosaic.


“We are very happy to have worked with the CSA to produce this mosaic.
By creating the mosaic of Australia we now have a “baseline” from the
winter 2000-2001 against which users can perform future change detection
studies. For example, the mosaic can be used as a reference point to look at
changes in urbanization, desert encroachment and coastline morphology”, said
Roland Knight, President of RADARSAT International.


RADARSAT-1 provides Canada and the world with an operational radar
satellite system capable of delivering timely and critical data to assist
disaster relief and emergency rescue efforts while also delivering the
information required by commercial and scientific users in the fields of
agriculture, cartography, hydrology, forestry, oceanography, ice studies and coastal monitoring.


The first such map ever produced of Australia by an Earth Observation
satellite, the Australia mosaic is part of an on-going project of the
Canadian Space Agency, which has generated the production of mosaics of
Antarctica, Canada, the United States and now Australia. Currently
underway is the comprehensive data mapping of Africa which is projected for
completion in 2002.


A PhotoShop version of the Australia mosaic may be downloaded for
publication with attribution from the following website:
ftp://ftp/pub/communication/gallery/images/HighRes/satellites/radarsat_1/aus
tralia_mosaic/australia.jpg

About RADARSAT International (RSI)


RSI, a wholly owned subsidiary of MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates
(TSE-MDA, www.mda.ca), is a worldwide provider of products and
information solutions derived from Earth-observation (EO) satellite data.


About the Canadian Space Agency


Established in 1989 with its headquarters situated in Saint-Hubert,
Quebec, the Canadian Space Agency coordinates all aspects of the Canadian Space
Program. Through its Space knowledge, Applications and Industry
Development business line, the CSA delivers services involving: Earth and the
Environment: Space Science; Human Presence in Space; Satellite
Communications; Generic Space Technologies; Space Qualification
Services and Awareness. The Canadian Space Agency is at the forefront of the
development and application of space knowledge for the benefit of Canadians and
humanity.


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For information:
Andre Leclair
Senior Communications Advisor
Tel.: (450) 926-4370
International Fax: (450) 926-4352
andre.leclair@space.gc.ca
http://www.space.gc.ca


Cory Rossignol
Corporate Communications Radarsat
Tel.: (604) 231-5000
crossignol@rsi.ca
http://www.rsi.ca

SpaceRef staff editor.