----- Forwarded Message -----
From: "John C Fouke" <[log in to unmask]>
To: Maps-L
Sent: Friday, June 25, 2010 8:14:11 AM
Subject: Fw: USGS SPOT 4/5 North American Data Buy

Note the *.ppt slides.

----- Forwarded by John C Fouke/RGIO/USGS/DOI on 06/25/2010 08:05 AM
-----

Brad Quayle/WO/USDAFS
06/23/2010 11:00 AM




cc

Subject
USGS SPOT 4/5 North American Data Buy






Greetings Everyone,

In December 2009, the USGS EROS instituted a data agreement with SPOT
Image Corporation to acquire and distribute SPOT imagery for the
continental United States through December 16, 2010. The primary
objective of the data buy is to ensure the availability of
mid-resolution multispectral satellite data in the advent of a potential
of a gap in
Landsat data continuity. As part of the data buy agreement, one of the
receiving stations at EROS collects both SPOT 4 and SPOT 5 nadir
acquisitions between 50o N and 23.5o N. All data are processed on site
at EROS using a SPOT processing system. The acquired SPOT 4/5 data are
available for free access via the USGS EarthExplorer website (
http://earthexplorer.usgs.gov) approximately 12-24 hours following
acquisition. All SPOT data on Earth Explorer are provided as L1A
products with L1Gst products anticipated to be available starting in mid
to late
June.

Please note that free access to SPOT 4/5 data in EarthExplorer is
limited to federal, state or local government personnel. If the SPOT -
North American Data Buy does not display under the "1. Select your
dataset(s)" section in Earth Explorer, it is likely that the
Affiliation/Department/Agency fields in your EarthExplorer profile do
not indicate that you are in the US Federal Government, Department of
Agriculture and Forest Service, respectively. To correct this situation,
either 1) create a new profile with the Affiliation/Department/Agency
fields populated appropriately, or 2) contact Brenda Ellis at USGS EROS
([log in to unmask]) and she can modify your existing profile.
Please also note that the license agreement limits the use/distribution
of these image data to federal, state and local governments.

For more information on the SPOT North America Data Buy, please see the
recent USGS press release (
http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=2495) and the attached
presentation. As a follow-on to this effort to ensure continuity of the
availability of Landsat-like data to government users, it is anticipated
that the USGS will issue an additional contract for the provision of
mid-resolution satellite data for calendar year 2011.