20 September 2004
ACRES is now able to offer Landsat 7 ETM+ SLC-On to SLC-Off composite products. These products combine scenes from two different dates to remove data gaps that would otherwise be present in a single Landsat 7 SLC-Off scene. The SLC-On scenes which contain no data gaps were acquired before the Scan Line Corrector (SLC) malfunction on 31 May 2003.
The two scenes that make up the composite will each be processed normally through ACRES satellite image processing system and then combined using the USGS Gap Fill Algorithm. The composite product is generated by replacing the missing data of an SLC-Off scene with pixel values derived from a co-registered, histogram-matched SLC-On scene. This technique results in a fully populated "wall-to-wall" image product.
When ordering a Landsat 7 ETM+ SLC-On to SLC-Off composite product, customers need to identify both acquisition dates for SLC-Off data and SLC-On data. For best results, dates need to be chosen from similar seasons and with minimal transient data such as clouds, fires, snow or other ground cover changes.
These SLC-Off/On composite products will only be available as ortho-corrected products in Fast L7A format. Prices for SLC-Off/On composite products are less than those for the equivalent SLC-On archived products. A full scene SLC-Off/On composite product has a recommended retail price of $900.
ACRES are currently looking into the development of SLC-Off/SLC-Off composite products using data acquired from successive passes to minimise temporal effects. This product is expected to be available mid-December 2004.
2 August 2004
Hyperion and ALI data from the EO-1 satellite have had their processing prices reduced by approximately 50%. This brings the processing fee for this data down to US$250 (plus freight).
In addition, ACRES can now offer two free EO-1 Data Acquisition Requests (DARs) per month, which are normally valued at US$1485 each. This is a special arrangement only offered to ACRES customers because of the strong partnering relationship we have with USGS (United States Geological Survey).
Another benefit of ordering through ACRES is that if the Data Acquisition Request fee is applicable, it is only payable upon successful acquisition of cloud free (less than 25%) data by the USGS.
The EO-1 satellite was launched in 2000 as part of a one-year technology validation/demonstration mission. This mission has subsequently been extended. The Advanced Land Imager (ALI) instrument on EO-1 was used to validate and demonstrate technology for the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM). The Hyperion instrument is the first hyper-spectral sensor in space, collecting information over 220 contiguous spectral bands at 30-metre spatial resolution. This sensor has been the one of most interest to ACRES customers.
1 July 2004
Since the introduction of ACRES Landsat 7 ETM+ SLC-Off products in April this year, these products have attracted a 50% discount off the normal recommended retail price.
Initially this was an introductory offer until 30 June 2004, but the discounted offer is now being extended beyond 30 June until further notice.
For more information about the processing techniques used, and effects of SLC-Off on ACRES products, visit our SLC technical information page.
1 July 2004
Due to fluctuations in the exchange rate between the US and Australian dollar, new prices for ACRES RADARSAT products apply from 1 July 2004. The changes result in a decrease in price for all RADARSAT data processed by ACRES.
Prices for imported RADARSAT data remain unchanged.