GAF CONTINUES TO PROVIDE OCEAN COLOUR DATA TO ESA OPERATIONALLY

GAF AG, the exclusive supplier in Europe of optical Indian Remote Sensing data from several missions, continues the operational provision of ocean colour data from the Ocean Colour Monitor aboard the Indian Oceansat-2 in near real time to ESA to further promote scientific research and applications.

ESA and GAF agreed the continuation of the data acquisition from the Ocean Colour Monitor (OCM) aboard the Oceansat-2 Indian remote sensing (IRS) satellite until 31‑Mar‑2019. Part of the agreement is also an option to extend the operations up to 31‑Mar‑2020.

Since the start of the operational acquisitions on 1^st January 2016, OCM data from all the satellite passes within the five degree visibility cone of the Neustrelitz ground station have been acquired, processed to create system corrected image products and geo-physical parameter products, and delivered to ESA in near real time (NRT) to subsequently further promote scientific research and applications. Thanks to the wide swath of the OCM, Europe and the surrounding waters are covered every two days.

After registration, the data can be accessed free of charge through ESA’s Third Party Missions dissemination service. See also ESA’s Earth Online.

GAF’s sub-contractor, the German Aerospace Agency (DLR), provides GAF with the satellite data reception service at its ground station in Neustrelitz.

The Oceansat-2 activities in Neustrelitz are funded by and carried out under the Earthnet programme and its Third Party Mission activities of the European Space Agency.

The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Space Agency.

About ESA / ESRIN:www.esa.int/About_Us/ESRIN

ESRIN, the ESA Centre for Earth Observation, is one of the five ESA specialised centres situated in Europe. Located in Frascati, a small town 20 km south of Rome in Italy, ESRIN was established in 1966 and first began acquiring data from environmental satellites in the 1970s. Since 2004, ESRIN has been the headquarters for ESA's Earth observation activities.

In addition to providing users with data from its own Earth observation satellites, ESA has for many years provided users with access to a number of non-ESA EO missions – so called Third Party Missions (TPM). ESA’s TPM scheme has operated for more than 30 years, providing EO data to users in Europe and around the world, and currently includes over 40 instruments on more than 35 missions.

About DLR:www.dlr.de/eoc/

The German Remote Sensing Data Center (DFD) is an institute of the German Aerospace Center (DLR). Together with the centre’s Remote Sensing Technology Institute (IMF), it comprises DLR’s Earth Observation Center (EOC), which coordinates DLR’s activities relating to Earth observation data from satellites and aircraft. DFD focuses on the reception, archiving, distribution and utilisation of data.

In addition to applied research, DFD has expertise in the development and operation of satellite ground systems.