The land remote sensing commercialization Act of 1984

This article examines the effect that private-sector remote sensing activities might have on the international community and on the future of international cooperation in space. It describes in detail The Land Remote Sensing Commercialization Act of 1984, recently passed by the US Congress and signed by President Reagan. The article concludes that it is possible to develop domestic regulations that balance the economic interests of the private sector with the legal and political concerns of the international community.     

The benefits of remote sensing for energy policy

A strong remote sensing regime is a necessary component of any contemporary national or international energy policy. Energy is essential to the functioning of modern industrial society, and as such it is the responsibility of governments to produce sound national energy policies in order to ensure stable economic growth, ecologically responsible use of energy resources and the health and safety of citizens. Comprehensive, accurate and timely remote sensing data can aid decision making on energy matters in several areas. This paper looks at the benefits that can be realized in resource exploration, weather forecasting and environmental monitoring. Improvements in the technology of remote sensing platforms would be of great value to buyers of energy, sellers of energy and the environment. Furthermore, the utility of such information could be enhanced by efforts of government agencies to communicate it more effectively to the end-user. National energy policies should thus include investments not only in satellite system hardware to collect data, but also in the services required to interpret and distribute the data.     

Towards a coherent remote sensing data policy

Access to space-based remote sensing data is critical for Earth science and the study of global change. This article summarizes a variety of US government Earth science data policies and problems. The authors examine current efforts to develop data policies for the next generation of US remote sensing programmes, noting likely problems based on past experiences. They argue that the goal of US Earth science data policy should be to provide the widest possible dissemination of data. Setting such a goal permits the development of a simple, coherent data policy that serves scientific, commercial and US government interests.     

Estimated corrections for the atmosphere in remote sensing problems

This paper makes an attempt to offer a unification of the procedure of atmosphere corrections in remote sensing problems, using a Monte Carlo method for the calculations.     

International collaboration: the cornerstone of satellite land remote sensing in the 21st century

Satellite land remotely sensed data are used by scientists and resource managers world-wide to study similar multidisciplinary earth science problems. Most of their information requirements can be met by a small number of satellite sensor types. Moderate-resolution resource satellites and low-resolution environmental satellites are the most prominent of these, and they are the focus of this paper. Building, launching, and operating satellite systems are very expensive endeavors. Consequently, nations should change the current pattern of independently launching and operating similar, largely redundant resource and environmental satellite systems in favor of true and full collaboration in developing, launching, operating, and sharing the data from such systems of the future. The past decade has seen encouraging signs of increasing international collaboration in earth remote sensing, but full collaboration has not yet been attempted. A general strategy to achieve such international collaboration is presented here, including discussion of potential obstacles, ideas for organizing and overseeing the long-term process toward collaboration, and short-term objectives whereby early successes critical to accomplishing long-term goals can be achieved.     

The IRS-P3 remote sensing mission

ISRO has developed the PSLV rocket (Polar Spacecraft Launch Vehicle) for polar orbiting satellites up to 1000 kg and is conducting a series of test missions. One of this is the IRS-P3, an remote sensing satellite with German participation. The payload consists of 3 scientific instruments: The wide field sensor WiFS for vegetation monitoring (ISRO), the imaging spectrometer MOS (DLR/Germany) for coastal zone and ocean studies an the X-ray astronomy payload (ISRO). The paper gives technical details and parameters on the launch vehicle, the satellite, the instruments and scientific goals and data utilization.     

Expanding global access to civilian and commercial remote sensing data: implications and policy issues

Current and planned developments in the field of civilian and commercial satellite imagery promise a major expansion in international accessibility to remote sensing data and technologies. This paper addresses the implications of the expanding global access to land remote sensing data and their derived products. While atmospheric, meteorological, and oceanographic data is also widely available at cost or free of charge, it is land remote sensing - specifically the unique systems with high-resolution and frequent revisit times - that are of primary concern for international and regional security issues. Military and intelligence satellites are not addressed in this discussion of expansion due to their inherently controlled access, unless such systems also provide commercially available imagery or products (as is the case with some Russian systems).     

Current policy issues in remote sensing: report by the International Policy Advisory Committee of ISPRS

The role of remote sensing in promoting sustainable development, its general benefits and easing access to remotely sensed images, especially for developing countries, have all been examined by the International Policy Advisory Committee of the ISPRS in 2003. This report, a slightly revised version of an article that appears in the September 2003 issue of the ISPRS's Highlights magazine, presents the committee's findings and recommendations.     

海洋遥感雷达的一体化发展趋势

利用雷达高度计、微波散射计、海洋波谱仪和合成孔径雷达SAR（Synthetic Aperture Radar）观测海面风、浪等海洋动力环境要素的技术已经日趋成熟,针对现有单星多传感器体制存在的重量大、稳定性差、功耗高、整星系统复杂等缺点,首先对以上四种海洋微波遥感器的发展和应用情况进行了梳理,随后根据目前的发展趋势,提出了一种新的多模式一体化设计方法并进行详细描述,最后,对未来星载海洋微波遥感器的多模式一体化技术进行了展望,为今后海洋微波遥感器的多模式一体化研究提供参考。     

Multispectral remote sensing of aerosols

Aerosols are common atmospheric constituents that occur both naturally (clouds, sea spray, dust, smoke, and volcanic emissions) and artificially (smog, smoke, certain hazes, detonation products, and industrial emissions). Some, like the great dust bowl storms in the U.S. in the 1930s, are a combination of natural and manmade agents. Most aerosols are difficult to model because they are composed of small, non-spherical particles whose optical constants and particle sizes are poorly known. Spectroscopic observations of aerosols in the thermal infrared atmospheric window between 8 and 13.5 μm offer the opportunity to detect aerosols both day and night down to very low column densities. Such observations can also identify the gross chemical composition of the particles and, in some cases, the actual sizes and shapes. In this paper, we discuss thermal i.r. observations of three types of aerosols: satellite measurements of volcanic dust, ground-based observations of airborne desert soil and both ground- and space-based measurements of cirrus clouds.     

Security implications of remote sensing

Major technical advances in remote sensing have developed sophisticated systems with both extensive military and civilian applications. Not only the USA and USSR, but a growing number of other countries such as China, France, India and Japan are actively engaged in remote-sensing R&D. This article reviews the capabilities of civilian satellite technologies and programmes of various nations, and examines the implications for national and international security. Many states are concerned about the commercial availability of data on their economic resources and national security-related activities. A particular problem is the possible misinterpretation of remotely-sensed data.     

The activities of ocean colour remote sensing in China

This article reviews the development of ocean colour remote sensing over the past decade in China. China launched its first remote sensing satellite FY-1A on 7 September 1988 and its second, FY-1B on 3 September 1990. Both of them had a Very High Resolution Scanning Radiometer (VHRSR) which involved two channels (0.48–0.53 and 0.53–0.58 u) for measuring ocean colour. A new polar orbiting satellite FY-1-02 was scheduled to be in orbit by 1998 with an improved VHRSR which has more (10) channels and is more sensitive for ocean colour remote sensing. The special programme of the ocean colour satellite HY-1 has been approved by the Chinese government, as has the planning of another new generation polar orbiting remote sensing satellite, FY-3. A type of sensor has been developed known as the Chinese Moderate Imaging spectroradiometer (CMODIS). Following its review, the article will describe the future activities of ocean colour remote sensing in China and explain their scientific goal.     

The market of remote sensing data: A developing business

The past ten years have demonstrated the valuable contribution of space remote sensing to the management of natural resources. A second generation of observation satellites has been set up with Landsat D and SPOT to support operational applications all over the world. Such satellites have been established in light of economic pay-offs that should be illustrated hereafter.     

某遥感卫星平台的微振动试验研究

为了研究动量轮/控制力矩陀螺造成的微小振动在卫星结构内的传递规律,文章利用某遥感卫星平台在国内首次开展了气浮和悬吊两种状态下的卫星微振动对比研究试验。分别在两种边界下进行了背景噪声测试及模态试验,分析了两种边界条件对试验结果的影响;测量了动量轮/控制力矩陀螺工作造成的微振动响应。通过对试验结果的分析,总结了典型微振动源的主要扰动成分及其传播规律。研究表明:两种边界引入的噪声对试验结果的影响均较小,微振动响应在传播过程中会大幅衰减;动量轮及控制力矩陀螺工作时引起的扰动响应从总体上看受边界的影响不大。     

The use of remote sensing to support the application of multilateral environmental agreements

There is a growing realisation of the increasingly varied and interesting possibilities for the use of Earth observation data to ensure compliance with international obligations generally, and treaty obligations in particular. Most examinations of the application of Earth observation data to monitoring states’ compliance with international obligations focus on the environmental sector. This paper proposes the use of remote sensing satellites for the support of multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs), especially land monitoring MEAs such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (1992) and the Kyoto Protocol (1997). It discusses the uses of remote sensing for treaty implementation or enforcement in general, and the admissability of satellite imagery as legal proof, before examining how Earth observation-derived data could be of benefit to specific MEAs. As sensors become increasingly sophisticated the use of remote sensing in this area should grow but it needs to be supported by its more widespread legal recognition as proof.     

Some consequences of the commercialization of satellite remote sensing

Remote-sensing technology developments will influence the flow and requirements of remote-sensing data until the end of this century. Sensing-upon-request modes of operation are becoming regular practice and, in combination with commercial sales, are leading to contracts in which copyright clauses and other conditions influence the distribution of remote-sensing data. Moreover, the introduction of programmable and directable sensor systems is making it easier to gather more data over certain areas at the cost of less or none over others, leading to potential indirect censorship. The development of a media market for remote-sensing products also brings a threat of actual censorship on the release and use of imagery. The effects of the technology developments and commercialization policies require a careful consideration of whether or not the present international remote-sensing regime, as governed by the UN principles relating to remote sensing of the Earth from space, can continue unmodified in future.     

The modular optelectronic multispectral scanner system for spaceborne remote sensing

A multispectral scanner system for spaceborne remote sensing of land and coastal/ocean features is under development for the German Ministry for Research and Technology. The system is based on the use of multilinear detector arrays for visible and infrared spectral bands.The electronically scanning image system MOMS (Modular Optoelectronical Multispectral Scanner) consists of individual spectral channel modules which can be grouped to dedicated mission tasks. Those dedicated tasks are land surface thematic mapping, sea or vegetation monitoring and in a stereo mode conventional photo interpretation and mapping.The basic performance data would allow up to 10,000 pixels per scan line, corresponding to about 20 m resolution at 200 km swath width out of observation satellite altitudes with narrower spectral bands than used on the current systems. High spectral resolution (up to 20 nm) is feasible at medium spatial resolution (～ 60 m).An experimental airborne scanner has been successfully flown in spring 1978. High-resolution modules development in the visible/NIR is under way and will be flight tested in early 1981.     

The use of remote sensing satellites for verification in international law

This paper examines the use of remote sensing satellites for verification in public international law. Verification always depends on the specific agreement or mission to be verified. There are no general framework rules: the means of verification and the verifying authorities vary from agreement to agreement and from mission to mission. Rapid technological development and the intensifying international cooperation have led to an increasing number of international verification missions. Whereas, in the past, verification was at the heart of intelligence and national services, the commercialization of the remote sensing industry and the information revolution have supported the creation of joint initiatives in this field. Traditionally, verification is associated with disarmament and arms control treaties, but the paper will underline that this is only one field of application for verification missions. It is important to note that there is no binding international regime specifically addressing such activity. The lack of legal certainty in this field also applies to the use of remotely sensed data as evidence in legal proceedings.     

Development of indigenous capability in remote sensing

This article examines the commitments of a number of space-faring nations to the development and application of remote-sensing activities, including the development of human resources. It also reflects on the ‘application syndrome’ in developing countries, resulting in an over-concentration on practical, short-term projects to the detriment of more long-term research capabilities. There is a growing awareness that this trend should not continue indefinitely, and that the developing countries should be concerned not only with what a given technology can do, but also with how and why it works the way it does. Through such a process, the developing countries can contribute to its growth and development, and make effective use of their research efforts in solving their own problems. The article concludes with a discussion of the efforts of the United Nations, particularly its Space Applications Programme, to foster the development of indigenous capability in remote-sensing technology.     

国内外遥感标准现状分析

简介国内外现有遥感标准的状况,并在梳理与分析的基础上,结合我国遥感技术的发展,对我国遥感标准化工作的规划提出发展建议.