Indra incorporates RapidEye satellite capacity into its Earth Observation Service

Indra has signed an agreement making it the only company in Spain to market images from RapidEye's constellation of five satellites. This will strengthen the Earth observation service it provides for domestic and international public administrations, companies and organisations that require precise monitoring of a territory.

With this alliance, Indra has improved its range of specific remote sensing products and services for entities that manage natural resources (forest zones, water resources), economic activities related to the environment (agriculture, mining, timber farming, aquaculture), civil engineering, topography, and emergency and public safety management in the event of disasters, in addition to numerous other activities. The RapidEye satellites form part of the European Space Agency's catalogue of Category-1 satellites, which is an indication of the international relevance of access to data of this type.

The sensors on board the satellites are distinguished by their capacity to provide high resolution images (5 m per pixel) in five bands: red, green, blue, near-infrared and red edge. Red edge is directly related to the presence of nitrogen both in plants (thanks to their chlorophyll content) and in the ground. Moreover, the programming flexibility, revisit times and prices per km² provided by these satellites are unparalleled by any other satellites in their class.

All this information will enable Indra to, for example, prepare advanced remote sensing products and services to facilitate the monitoring of crops, providing advance production data, and estimate damage caused by adverse phenomena and the demand for water required in irrigation areas. This information allows events to be predicted and the right decisions to be made in each case.

Thanks to this agreement, Indra has access to images of anywhere in the world taken on a daily basis. Furthermore, it allows Indra to offer its customers images of extensive areas, even on the national and international scales. This capacity will be strengthened with access to a historical archive of images of more than 3 billion km².

International Experience

Indra has a team of over 30 professionals specialised in the treatment of satellite images from a highly diverse range of sensors and more than 30 years' experience in this area. Its activity focuses on the generation of satellite orthoimagery and high value added products. This team is responsible for developing new applications, process chains, automation systems and mass data treatment and storage systems, in addition to developments tailored to meet the specific needs of each customer in both quantitative and qualitative remote sensing. It also develops products for the dissemination of results, such as the creation of Geoportals.

Indra has participated in the main European programmes related to Earth observation. For example, it is one of the companies most involved in GMES (Global Monitoring Environment and Security), the programme promoted by the EU and the Commission to equip Europe with the autonomous capacity to observe the planet from space. It is currently participating in the GMES Initial Operations for Land Services (GIO-Land) programme for the European Environment Agency (EEA) in relation to the production of pan-European maps of wetlands, grazing land and water surfaces. Since early 2012 this programme has included RapidEye satellite coverage.

Furthermore, Indra has developed the data processing system of the European environmental satellite, SMOS. This satellite is providing the first images of the planet's soil moisture and ocean salinity, which are key factors in our understanding of Earth's water cycle. The company has also provided Spain with support and maintenance for the Integrated Image Data Management and Treatment System (SIGESTREDI) and for the Helios military satellite. It has also developed the ground segment of the Pleiades satellite and is leading the development of the Ingenio and Paz missions, Spain's first two Earth observation satellites.

Indra

Indra is the number one technology multinational in Spain and one of the leaders in Europe and Latin America. It is the second European company in its sector in terms of R&D, with €550 million invested in the last three years. Its turnover in 2011 was €2,688m and today more than half of its income is from international markets. The company employs 40,000 professionals and has customers in 118 countries.