What type of business is Space Imaging Middle East (LLC)?
Space Imaging Middle East (SIME) is in the business of providing access to remote sensing satellites and selling data and information products derived from Earth imagery.
Is Space Imaging Middle East government owned?
SIME is privately owned.
Is Space Imaging Middle East a part of Colorado-based Space Imaging?
No. SIME is an independent company. However, SIME is a Regional Affiliate of Space Imaging.
When was the company founded, and who are its investors?
SIME was founded in November 1997 to provide local access to the world's first high-resolution, commercial imaging satellite system. It began commercial operations in February 1998, selling IRS and Landsat 5 data of the Eastern Europe, Middle East, Gulf and Central Asia regions. Data from the IKONOS sensor was added to SIME's portfolio or products and services in January 2000.
SIME is a limited liability company majority owned by UAE investors.
What satellites do you have access to?
SIME downlinks and distributes digital imagery as follows:
How do customers do business with Space Imaging Middle East?
SIME's Customer Support team, based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, is available to customers 0930-1900hrs (GMT+4) Sunday-Thursday and Saturday 0900-1300 (Gmt+4). The team is trained to assist clients in the selection of the appropriate imagery for their project requirements and will guide customers through the entire ordering process.
In addition to direct sales, customers can make full use of the Space Imaging Global Network (SIGN) consisting of the other Regional Affiliates of Space Imaging and their distributors and resellers. SIGN was conceived and developed in order to optimize collection, sales and marketing reach for imagery based information products, and result in an efficient, global collection program, which would ensure that local customers were provided the best, most efficient service possible.
Space Imaging acts as SIME's regional distributor for the Americas. Other Regional Affiliate business operations have been established in Athens, Greece (Space Imaging Europe), Tokyo, Japan (Japan Space Imaging), Seoul, Korea (Space Imaging Asia).
Customers may also take advantage of the International Alliance Program, which serves government clients worldwide with solutions for government requirements. The International Alliance program brings together the best technologies, customization, integration and training services, based on IKONOS, IRS and other satellite systems. These systems enable the company to provide best-of-class solutions based on the most stringent requirements placed by government clients. The International Alliance program provides fixed, mobile and transportable ground stations; specialized collection, processing and analysis tools; and a suite of additional services providing long-term support to clients.
SIME's customer also benefit from SIME's links with other Space Imaging International Ground Station Partners. Other IRS partners, such as EUSI in Europe, NASDA/RESTEC in Japan, and Antrix in India, have built significant commercial operations on data and products derived from the IRS constellation.
Is Space Imaging Middle East (SIME) a spy satellite company?
No, SIME is a commercial provider of Earth imagery and information products that sells imagery to commercial, consumer and government customers alike.
How many employees does Space Imaging Middle East have?
There are 18 employees at SIME.
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What does one-meter data show? What objects can you "see" in the images?
In a one-meter resolution image, objects that are one-meter in size on the ground can be distinguished, provided those objects are well removed from other objects and have separate and distinct visual characteristics. For example, objects such as swimming pools, cars and trucks, boats and tennis courts, which are all recognizable because of their context within their surroundings, can easily be detected. White stripes in parking lots and crosswalks are also visible because of the sharp contrast against the black asphalt. One-meter imagery cannot "see" individual people. A large number of people grouped together, on the other hand, could be seen, such as in a football stadium but there, we only know these are people because we are familiar with the context.
Unlike the 10-meter images available from France's SPOT satellites and the 5-meter images available from IRS, could the pictures from IKONOS let analysts discern missile launchers and tanks and distinguish between fighter planes and bombers?
One-meter imagery does give the user a much greater ability to distinguish many types of objects. In military applications one-meter imagery would provide the capability mentioned.
Are you selling any value-added products or just pictures?
In addition to providing imagery, SIME offers high-quality, value-added information products through collaboration with specialist third-party suppliers. Government agencies can use these products to help design infrastructure, manage urban development and perform tax assessments. Another example of a value-added service is the precision scouting service for agriculture. With this product, SIME contracts with agribusiness to periodically image agricultural fields. Experts can use the imagery and information products to determine crop vitality and monitor growth. Growers will be able to realize substantial savings by identifying problems at an early stage.
Space Imaging has also developed products like Analyst, a comprehensive software package that integrates geographic information systems (GIS), remote sensing, imagery analysis, photogrammetry and cartography tools into a single workstation. Analyst is available from SIME.
How do IKONOS products and technical capabilities differentiate from those of Earthwatch and OrbImage?
The IKONOS system allows autonomous tasking by SIME. Since IKONOS is a sun synchronous satellite it ensures better consistency and more imaging days. SIME and Space Imaging offer more product choices from IKONOS, giving us the edge on product offerings.
The development of IKONOS consumer products is directly based on customer inputs, including delivering more manageable file sizes for new imagery users. Information from the field indicates that IKONOS products are more accurate, more visually interpretive, more competitively priced, compatible with existing customers' systems and made more available worldwide. IKONOS is also first to market.
Will IRS and other satellite imagery continue to be available from Space Imaging Middle East now that IKONOS is in orbit?
Yes. Our imagery product line was designed to provide complementary sets of information products to our customers, because customers have wide-ranging needs. For some applications, one-meter resolution images will be most appropriate; for others, lower resolution will be required. In many cases, a customer will find high utility in obtaining multiple resolutions for the same project.
What are Space Imaging Middle East's markets?
The collection of SIME's Earth imagery products are a regional resource for governments, business and private citizens. The primary markets served by the company are mapping, agriculture, forestry, oil and gas exploration, media, insurance, utilities, telecommunications, real estate, environment, civil government, military, and transportation. The company's selection of products provide a wealth of information about the Earth's ever-changing cultural and natural features. Access to this new level of visual information will allow for a deeper understanding of the environment, international security, and economic change. Using the image products created by IKONOS and other satellites in SIME's constellation:
With the ability of IKONOS to scan large swaths of the planet with map-level detail, SIME can also provide definitive and rapid solutions to help planners determine land ownership in nations moving toward private ownership.
Is Space Imaging Middle East the only commercial digital satellite imagery provider headquartered in the region?
Yes.
What are the advantages of being first in the market to launch a one-meter bird?
Space Imaging and SIME are revolutionizing the way satellite imagery products are used. By being the first to have a one-meter product, we will have the opportunity to define the de facto standard for high-resolution satellite imagery. We provide more than just data products -- we provide information products that help customers make decisions about the world around them on a daily basis. Our competitors haven't announced a similar plan, and our customers expect more than just data. We are delivering value-added information products.
How does the IKONOS launch affect the rest of the commercial industry? GIS industry?
We're expecting an overwhelming response from industries that haven't necessarily thought of using imagery in their daily business practices. We anticipate the use of our products in new markets once the information is cost effective and readily available. The value of Earth information in everything from agriculture assessment to the monitoring of current events for the media will spark creativity in the marketplace. For the GIS industry, our imagery will be unequaled in the timeliness, accuracy, accessibility, GIS-readiness and high information content of the imagery. GIS users in local government alone will appreciate the value of satellite imagery for urban planning, road and highway planning, tax assessment, environmental impact studies, and utility network planning, to name a few.
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What is IKONOS?
The IKONOS satellite is the world's first commercial satellite to collect images with one-meter resolution. IKONOS is derived from the Greek word for "image."
Is the IKONOS system fully funded, and what is the cost of the satellite?
Yes, IKONOS is fully funded but we do not disclose specific satellite costs. Total company investment is $750 million.
Who built the IKONOS satellite system?
The IKONOS satellite system was built by Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems (Sunnyvale, Calif.). The communications, image processing and customer service elements were built by Raytheon Company (Garland, Tex.). The camera was built by Eastman Kodak (Rochester, NY).
When was IKONOS launched?
IKONOS was launched September 24, 1999 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.
Which launch vehicle being used for IKONOS?
The IKONOS satellite was launched aboard a four-stage Lockheed Martin Athena II launch vehicle from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The Athena II is a 93-foot high launch vehicle. The launch vehicle is named after the Greek Goddess of Wisdom, Thrift and Industry.
What happened after launch, what was the sequential order of events?
After the IKONOS satellite separated from the Athena rocket, about an hour into the mission, the satellite was in its orbit. The solar arrays deployed, powering up the subsystems. We continued to receive telemetry data, and began to bring the various systems on-line, such as the Global Positioning System (GPS) unit, star trackers, configured the antennas, initialized the payload and continued to monitor the health of the satellite.
When was the satellite known to have been launched in accordance to plan?
In order for Mission Control to verify that the system was operating properly, about 48 hours of gathering telemetry data was required. The initial indication that the satellite is healthy came with the first acquisition of telemetry from the Alaska ground station about 90 minutes after launch. We saw that the orientation of the satellite was good, the solar arrays were deploying and subsystems were powering up; in short that the satellite was doing what it should at this point.
When did the satellite reach its proper orbit?
The satellite was be injected directly into orbit, so it took about 60 minutes.
When will the satellite begin producing imagery?
The satellite was capable of producing images within a couple of days. However, it took a number of weeks to calibrate the satellite so it would perform as we wanted it to, so we would know exactly where it was pointing and ensuring it imaged the areas it was instructed to.
How long will the satellite operate?
The satellite is optimized for a five-to-seven year life span.
With IKONOS circling the globe on a north-south axis 14 times a day, how often will the average piece of land visible?
Passing over any one region an average of twice a day, with the ability to collect 20,000 square kilometers in a single pass, IKONOS renders the average piece of land visible at one-meter resolution every three days and at two-meter resolution every day.
What happened during the first attempted launch of IKONOS?
On April 27, 1999, the Lockheed Martin-built Athena II rocket launched the IKONOS satellite from Vandenberg Air Force Base. The satellite never successfully reached orbit. The Lockheed Martin Astronautics Anomaly Investigation Team determined that, based on telemetry and flight data analysis, the Athena II's Orbit Adjust Module (OAM) fourth stage with the payload fairing and the satellite did not separate properly. As a result of carrying the extra weight of the payload fairing, the rocket did not achieve sufficient velocity to place the IKONOS satellite into Earth orbit. Any components that may have survived reentry would have fallen into the South Pacific Ocean.
How many successful launches has the Athena rocket achieved?
The April 27th launch was the fourth Athena mission since the vehicles became operational in 1997. All three prior flights of Athena I and II launch vehicles were successful.
How did this launch incident affect Space Imaging Middle East's business?
The April 27 launch incident was a minor setback to SIME's long-term business goals. The company is still in a very strong financial position, and continues moving forward with products from other platforms. Space Imaging had built a second IKONOS satellite specifically as back-up in case of an anomaly such as this.
Are there plans for a third high-resolution satellite from Space Imaging?
Space Imaging's five-year business plan calls for replacement satellites. Since the life span of IKONOS is 5-7 years, it's prudent to plan for the next generation system. Space Imaging is in the process of defining requirements for the next generation system and will use market response to IKONOS to shape future requirements.
Was the first IKONOS satellite insured? For how much money?
Space Imaging was insured for lost business only. Space Imaging does not disclose the amount of insurance money it were granted.
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The government has the right to issue shutter control orders on US-owned and operated satellites. How does that work? This is a question better suited for the U.S. government, but the IKONOS satellite system is very flexible. If directed by the government to limit imaging, Space Imaging can do one of three things. The sensor can be `turned off,' coverage over a particular area of the Earth can be limited, or the distribution of imagery can be limited.
How will Space Imaging comply with the U.S. government's orders?
Space Imaging has the technology and the contractual relationship with all customers to comply with all
U.S. laws.
Has the US government placed any imaging restrictions on Space Imaging's license?
Space Imaging's license to operate a high-resolution imaging system was issued in 1994. The company has always understood that the IKONOS satellite's image collection or distribution could be constrained where there was an immediate and substantial threat to a significant national security or foreign policy commitment of the U.S. Space Imaging expects, however, that such restrictions would be invoked only under the most extraordinary circumstances.
In 1996, the Congress passed the Kyl-Bingaman Amendment to the Defense Appropriations Act. That law says that the U.S. government may not license an American remote sensing company to collect or disseminate imagery of Israel at a better resolution than what is generally available from remote sensing companies in other countries. As a result of this law the government made a determination that two-meter resolution imagery of Israel was currently available from non-U.S. satellite sources. Therefore, the company was verbally notified of this decision in July 1998 and received formal notification from the Commerce Department in September 1998.
Does the Israeli exemption set a precedent for other potential restrictions?
No.
How will the Kyl-Bingaman exemption affect Space Imaging's business plan?
Space Imaging believes that there will be little to no impact.
Does Space Imaging Middle East have to honor the U.S.-government imposed collection or distribution restrictions over Israel?
Yes. The restriction is that images of Israel cannot be distributed at a resolution any better than two meters.
Will IKONOS be free to image all U.S. military or federal government facilities?
There are currently no restrictions over the U.S.
Are any areas of the world technically inaccessible to the IKONOS satellite?
No. The satellite has a solid state recorder capable of storing images of any location in the world (other than the poles) and then transmitting the imagery later to a Space Imaging facility when the satellite comes in view of a receiving station. In addition, the Regional Affiliates provide access in their respective regions.
Does Space Imaging and Space Imaging Middle East have any mechanisms in place to keep a terrorist group from either tasking IKONOS or purchasing imagery already acquired?
There is no threat of any attempts by terrorists to task the IKONOS satellite. The command link from the IKONOS satellite to the ground station is encrypted and authenticated. Additionally, an activity window needs to be set up by Space Imaging's Primary Operations Center for the satellite to even "listen" for commands to collect imagery.
Space Imaging and Space Imaging Middle East will not sell imagery to defined terrorist nations or violate UN or bilateral trade restrictions.
Does Space Imaging Middle East ever turn down requests for imagery?
SIME will fulfill requests from customers unless there is a UN sanction, trade embargo or other governmental directive that would prohibit us.
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Can the IKONOS satellite be tasked independently?
SIME, other Regional Affiliates and International Alliance Partners who own a ground station can task the IKONOS satellite to take custom collections.
How will the IKONOS data be downlinked, through a central station or through the network of receiving stations?
Data can be digitally transmitted from the satellite to the Primary Operations Center in Thornton, Colorado (near Denver), or our remote sites in Alaska, Sweden, and Oklahoma. All processing for these four sites is performed in Denver. SIME, other Regional Affiliates and International Alliance Partners can receive and process imagery taken within their territory, which is a 2300-kilometer radius from where they chose to locate an antenna. Customers everywhere may access global imagery through Space Imaging's globally distributed, digital archive.
How many Landsat and IRS reception centers are operational today?
There are currently 18 Landsat and 7 IRS ground reception centers operational today.
Is there a way of determining cloud cover?
Space Imaging's system uses real-time weather data to optimize collection success and allows for immediate changes in tasking. Thanks to the flexibility of the system tasking software, these changes can occur up to a few minutes prior to the imaging overpass. For archived data, the cloud coverage estimates will be a standard part of the product delivery and will be available for use only by the customer in selecting imagery from the archive.
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How does the product-request-to-delivery cycle work?
Space Imaging's digital archive maintains an ongoing catalog of imagery and associated metadata (cloud cover, collection date, and other data characterizing the imagery), including a library of reduced resolution (browse) versions of each image. A customer may query this catalog via Space Imaging's Web site and view browse images to obtain information about imagery in the archive. Based on this information, the customer may place an order for an image product or digital terrain model (DTM) for a specific geographic area. If no imagery exists in the archive, new imagery can be collected.
Imagery can be delivered to customers in as little as a few hours, unless a custom collection is required, which may require a few days.
In addition to specifying the product type and geographic area, the customer may select among the following:
Specific images from the archive to be used for the product.
Map projection and Ground Sample Distance.
Imagery format.
Delivery medium.
What is the policy for archiving Space Imaging Middle East data? Will you archive all of the data or will you be selective?
All Earth information collected by the satellites is archived in the digital archive.
What are some unique features of the archive? How large is a terabyte?
The archive stores about five years worth of satellite and aerial imagery, or 100 terabytes. Space Imaging's automated "robot" stores digital tapes for about 90 days before they are placed into the
longer term archive. The robot has quick access to tapes containing about 10 terabytes worth of imagery. To put "terabyte" into perspective: One terabyte is equivalent to about 1.6 million books. The U.S. Library of Congress houses an estimated 30 terabytes of "book" data, or about one third of the data stored in Space Imaging's archive.
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(For complete product and pricing information, please see our Imagery Products section)
What are the estimated costs for various products (for archived imagery and new image orders)?
SIME licenses its products at a significant discount relative to comparable products that may be available from other sources. Standard products are generally sold based on a uniform price-per-unit geographic area, with price points based on minimum purchases. For commercial sales under Single-User license, product prices for delivery from archive fall in the range of $35 per square kilometer, with the lower range reflecting radiometrically- and geometrically- corrected imagery (for example Geo), and the higher range encompassing orthorectified products which apply geometric corrections to account for terrain and other scale variations to produce map-accurate imagery. SIME can produce a range of orthorectified products which meet U.S. National Map Accuracy Standards for scales between 1:50,000 and 1:2,400. The most precise products may require ground control to ensure positional accuracy as high as +/- 2 meters. These products are the most suitable for mapping and other projects requiring a high degree of map precision and accuracy. Customer product services and licensing options, including dedicated area collection, expedited delivery and site licenses, are available at a premium to standard pricing.
Is there a minimum order requirement for SIME IKONOS imagery?
Yes, the minimum order is a Single Scene product, priced at $3,509.
What are the data ownership rights? What are your policies and fees, if any, for reproduction rights?
SIME "licenses" rather than "sells" its imagery products, and does enforce licensing restrictions. SIME has the exclusive rights to the data collected by the IKONOS satellite over SIME's own territory. Customers wishing to reproduce and reuse imagery may become a value-added reseller.
How laborious is it for clients to update imagery of specific areas? Can they receive updates of specific areas regularly? And do they have to pay for the imagery each time or is a set number of images included in a price?
The IKONOS system has the ability to revisit any location almost every day. The system is designed to be flexible and responsive to SIME customers. Clients can receive updates through the company's maintenance subscription program, where Space Imaging agrees to provide updates at regular intervals.
Will Space Imaging Middle East provide free imagery when there are natural disasters and peoples' lives are at stake?
SIME respects humanitarian needs. However, SIME is a for-profit business and will prioritize imagery collection and provide it quickly to disaster response teams if products are ordered.
The Russians still parachute their film to earth and, under ideal conditions, a picture is available nine
days after it was shot (though the wait has been known to take months.) How quickly can Space Imaging Middle East, under ideal circumstances, get a picture out after the shutter snaps?
SIME will have the capability to provide a sample of the imagery collected within 300 minutes of collection. In the future, when Internet bandwidth increases, a 30-minute delivery would be possible.
Does Space Imaging Middle East plan to offer "E-Commerce"?
Space Imaging plans to provide an initial ability for customers to order products digitally over the Internet
before the end of year 2000.
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What are the characteristics of the satellite and sensor?
The complete IKONOS satellite weighs about 1600 pounds. It will orbit the Earth once every 98 minutes at an altitude of approximately 680 kilometers or 400 miles. It will be in a sun-synchronous orbit so it will pass a given longitude at about the same local time each day 10:30 a.m. The satellite orbit exactly repeats every 140 days. However, since the sensor is capable of viewing land mass far from the area directly below the path of the satellite, a site can be imaged almost daily, although not always at one-meter resolution. The satellite was designed and manufactured by Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems.
Raytheon Company built the ground system, image processing systems, archival system and customer service system to support the IKONOS satellite.
The digital imaging sensor is designed to produce images with superior contrast, spectral resolution and accuracy, providing customers with clear and precise products. Eastman Kodak Company is providing the integrated electro-optical payload, including the optical telescope assembly, the detectors and focal plane assembly and the high-speed digital processing electronics based on a Space Imaging proprietary design.
What is some technical information about IKONOS?
Please go to our Satellite Constellation section.
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