Tim Ripley
Singapore would opt to purchase a ground station to allow greater access to digital imagery from the Ikonos satellite for "targeting purposes".
The commercially-funded satellite was launched last September by Lockheed Martin and the Space Imaging consortium, which involves US giants Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, Japan's Mitsubishi, Singapore's Van Der Horst, South Korea's Hyundai Space and Aircraft, European-based Remote Sensing Affiliates, Sweden's Space Corporation and Thailand's Loxley. It is positioned in a polar orbit allowing the whole of the earth to be captured at regular intervals with its electro-optical sensors.
Hammond says the Singapore government was softening its previous hardline attitude to aerial photography of the island being made widely available.
"I am sure the Singapore government is aware of the capability of the Ikonos - they are likely to be a customer of ours," says Hammond. "They have undergone a paradigm shift in attitude and realise they can't do anything about it. I don't think they are about to take Lockheed Martin to the World Court or take us to court in Singapore. This stuff is going to be out there."
Civilian organisations are likely to be the main customers of Ikonos services, says Hammond. "There is major interest in Australia to monitor power lines and other infrastructure."
Ikonos imagery is available in a variety of formats, including colour imagery to 5m resolution and black and white imagery to 1m.
Hammond says the consortium has a network of offices around the world, including one in Singapore, to promote the "reasonably priced" service. It is planned to allow customers access to the products via the Internet.
Singapore's armed forces and other Southeast Asian militaries are expected to be early customers of the new Ikonos earth observation service, which can produce imagery of 1m resolution for as little as $34 per image.
"The images are available at a Seven-Eleven in your neighbourhood now," Robert Young, Lockheed Martin's Asia Pacific region president, declared at Asian Aerospace 2000 yesterday. "It's a real leap forward in capability - 10 years ago only the US National Reconnaissance Office had access to this quality of imagery.
"Indonesia, Japan and beyond are all interested. Only people in the dog-house with our government, such as North Korea and Vietnam, would not be allowed to buy the imagery."
Bob Hammond, Lockheed Martin's vice-president for South Asia, says it is likely that Singapore would opt to purchase a ground station to allow greater access to digital imagery from the Ikonos satellite for "targeting purposes".
The commercially-funded satellite was launched last September by Lockheed Martin and the Space Imaging consortium, which involves US giants Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, Japan's Mitsubishi, Singapore's Van Der Horst, South Korea's Hyundai Space and Aircraft, European-based Remote Sensing Affiliates, Sweden's Space Corporation and Thailand's Loxley. It is positioned in a polar orbit allowing the whole of the earth to be captured at regular intervals with its electro-optical sensors.
Hammond says the Singapore government was softening its previous hardline attitude to aerial photography of the island being made widely available.
"I am sure the Singapore government is aware of the capability of the Ikonos - they are likely to be a customer of ours," says Hammond. "They have undergone a paradigm shift in attitude and realise they can't do anything about it. I don't think they are about to take Lockheed Martin to the World Court or take us to court in Singapore. This stuff is going to be out there."
Civilian organisations are likely to be the main customers of Ikonos services, says Hammond. "There is major interest in Australia to monitor power lines and other infrastructure."
Ikonos imagery is available in a variety of formats, including colour imagery to 5m resolution and black and white imagery to 1m.
Hammond says the consortium has a network of offices around the world, including one in Singapore, to promote the "reasonably priced" service. It is planned to allow customers access to the products via the Internet.
Source: Flight Daily News
