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AstroVision Aims To Launch GEO EO Sat Service
Prospects for an Australian-owned geostationary imagery satellite have moved ahead with an agreement by Horizon Global to acquire 51 per cent of AstroVision Australia, a company which holds the Asia-Pacific rights for a set of advanced space cameras and sensors. Incorporated in 2003, AstroVision Australia is based in Sydney. Over the last year it has been familiarising Federal and State Government departments, and research organisations, on the potential uses of high speed imaging from cameras, infrared sensors, multispectral instruments and lightning detectors in Geostationary orbit. Investment vehicle Horizon Global has previously been involved in internet broadband content. Subject to completion of due diligence, Horizon Global will issue AstroVision shareholders a mix of shares in and options for purchases of shares in Horizon Global, in exchange for 51 per cent of AstroVision. AstroVision Australia's Managing Director Michael Hewins commented, "We are very excited by the strong support from Horizon Global. The financial backing will allow us to take the vital steps to developing market awareness for the capabilities of our technology and securing contracts with our targeted customer base." There will be 19,507,500 shares in Horizon at an implied value of 5.0 cents per share; 9,753,750 options on Horizon shares at a strike price of 10 cents on or before 31 December, 2007; and 7,753,750 options at a strike price of 15 cents on or before 31 December, 2008. Injection of funds under the arrangement will allow AstroVision to move to the next stage in plans for launch of a Geostationary satellite in equatorial orbit. This satellite will provide a rapid stream of imaging and sensing data for the Asia-Pacific, as far as latitudes 80 degrees north and south. A Geostationary satellite, orbiting at the same speed as the earth's rotation, would provide continuous coverage 24 hours a day, seven days a week, from a fixed location high above the Earth, allowing cloud weather patterns and cyclones to be monitored continuously. Movements of ships, ocean temperatures, emissions of volcanic ash, growth of pastures and locations of lightning strikes causing bushfires, are among many terrestrial and oceanographic observations which would be greatly enhanced through the satellite. Advanced instrumentation, derived from equipment developed primarily for NASA interplanetary missions, will provide much more frequent observations than is possible with present day equipment. Australia has been chosen as the headquarters for AstroVision because of an obvious gap in modern geostationary satellite coverage for the Asia-Pacific. Australia, and other countries in this region, are currently critically dependent for weather observations on one 11-year-old, partially disabled US geostationary imaging satellite, with obsolete instrumentation, operated on lease from the American National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Called GOES-9 (GOES stands for Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite), it has only limited remaining life. Sudden failure of GOES-9 would place our region in a precarious position, affecting a wide range of industries and economies. The AstroVision 24 hour satellite coverage will be distinct from, and complementary to, that offered by rapidly-orbiting Low Earth Orbit (LEO) imaging satellites. These LEOs give coverage for, at best, 15 minutes at a time once a day before disappearing over the horizon. The business model allows the total annual cost to be shared between a number of different government departments, research bodies, private clients, and users across the Asia-Pacific region. Related Links AstroVision SpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express 
Chile's Atacama Desert From Space
Paris (ESA) Nov 24, 2004This Envisat image was acquired over northern Chile's Atacama Desert, the driest place on Earth outside of the Antarctic dry valleys. Bounded on the west by the Pacific and on the east by the Andes, the Atacama Desert only knows rainfall between two and four times a century.
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