Friedrichshafen / Tokyo, 23.02.2005 – The Japanese geo-information provider PASCO Corporation is the first distribution partner for TerraSAR-X radar data products. After a first agreement had already been reached in November of last year, Joerg Herrmann, Managing Director of the German Infoterra GmbH and Yoichi Sugimoto, President and CEO of PASCO, have now signed the official contract, worth € 10 Mio.
Almost two years prior to the start of the operative phase of the German radar satellite TerraSAR-X, PASCO has not only secured the exclusive distribution rights for the Japanese market as well as a substantial data contingent, but also the opportunity to receive TerraSAR-X data directly from the satellite, starting in late 2006 – as a Direct Access Partner.
Japan is a natural disaster prone country and suffers from earthquakes and typhoons every year. “We have great expectations from the capability and high resolution images of TerraSAR-X to provide us the information and monitoring in all weather conditions” says Yoichi Sugimoto. “Apart from the mapping and generation of digital surface models, we will target several applications, such as land slides, change detection, agriculture and forestry, car navigation and others.”
„We are extremely glad to have acquired such a renowned company as the exclusive distribution partner for the Japanese market,” states Joerg Herrmann. “The great interest in such partnerships, as well as the ambition of future partners to secure their data access rights and contingents at such an early stage; reassure us of the unique potentials TerraSAR-X has to offer.”
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About TerraSAR-X
Surrounding the Earth on a polar orbit at an altitude of 514 kilometers, TerraSAR-X will be collecting new-quality X-band radar data of the entire planet. The satellite will operate independent of weather conditions, cloud coverage, and illumination and will be capable of delivering data at a resolution up to 1 meter. TerraSAR-X, due to be launched in the second quarter of 2006, is currently being developed by EADS Astrium, while the German Aerospace Center (DLR) is preparing the ground segment.
About Infoterra
Infoterra GmbH was launched in 2001 for the purpose of pursuing the exploitation of TerraSAR-X and will be the only commercial provider of TerraSAR-X data worldwide. Currently, the company is preparing the global distribution of this data, scheduled to start in late 2006, by establishing a global partner network.
Infoterra GmbH is a 100% subsidiary of EADS Astrium, the leading European satellite company. Infoterra has a workforce of approximately 25 employees in Friedrichshafen, Germany and is part of the European Infoterra Group with companies in Germany, the UK and France. Infoterra collects and processes data obtained from Earth observation satellites and airborne campaigns. These tailor-made information products can be used in agriculture and forestry, urban and regional planning, cartography and resource management.
About PASCO
PASCO Corporation is based in Tokyo and provides advanced and innovative aerial photogrammetric, survey and GIS services in Japan and around the globe, backed by 50 years of experience since 1953. The company offers a complete range of measurement technology, ranging from airborne to ground and even ship-borne equipments. PASCO possesses world-leading geomatics technological capabilities, creates new business models and develops innovative products and services for governments and administrative agencies, corporations and individuals.
About EADS Astrium
EADS Astrium is Europe’s leading satellite system specialist. Its activities cover complete civil and military telecommunications and Earth observation systems, science and navigation programmes, and all spacecraft avionics and equipment. EADS Astrium, wholly owned subsidiary of EADS SPACE, which is dedicated to providing civil and defense space systems. In 2003 EADS SPACE had a turnover of € 2.4 billion and 12,000 employees in France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Spain.
EADS is a global leader in aerospace, defense and related services. In 2003, EADS generated revenues of € 30.1 billion and employed a workforce of more than 100,000.
