Satellite To Monitor Arctic

The Canadian government will immediately become one of the biggest users of the data to be collected by Radarsat-2. Satellite images will be used to monitor everything from border security to the size of the Arctic ice cap to deforestation in B.C. "This has significant ramifications not only for our sovereignty as a country, for our capacity to observe and monitor shipping in the North and, in a general way, to serve Canadian sovereignty," said Prentice during a tour of the Canadian Space Agency David Florida Laboratory in Ottawa. Radarsat-2 will zip around the Earth on a pole to pole orbit at an altitude of about 800 kilometres. It has an expected operational lifetime in space of about seven years. Its budget is about $600 million, which includes a $60 million launch fee. "The satellite will travel around the Earth about 14 times a day. So it's speed is about 17 kilometres a second. So it's very fast," said Luc Brule, Radarsat-2 program manager for the Canadian Space Agency. Brule says the satellite also means Canada will have state-of-the-art eyes in the sky. "In the case of an optical satellite, you need light and you need to make sure there are no clouds. If you have no light and there are clouds, you cannot see the ground. In the case of a satellite like this, it can see through clouds and it can work day and night," he said. .... http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20071025/radar_sat_071025/20071025?hub=Canada&s_name=

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