The arrow-shaped 2,319-pound [1,052-kg] satellite blasted off at 1421 GMT (10:21 a.m. EDT) from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia. The 95-foot-tall [29-m-tall] Rockot launcher, a modified SS-19 ballistic missile, roared away from the snowy, forested spaceport on 420,000 pounds [1,868,000 N] of thrust.

The European Space Agency commissioned the GOCE mission to create a highly detailed, exceptionally accurate map of the planet’s geoid, a global model illustrating subtle variations in the gravity field if oceans were motionless. But oceans aren’t stationary. Ocean currents and changing sea levels can have drastic consequences on Earth’s climate. Scientists use the geoid’s reference surface to weigh against measurements of ocean activity. The comparisons allow scientists to more accurately study ocean circulation and sea level changes.

GOCE data will also provide a new understanding of tectonic activity that could lead to better forecasts of earthquakes and volcanoes. Scientists expect changes in Earth’s interior to show up in the satellite’s gravity measurements. GOCE, which stands for the Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer, is the first of six ESA Earth Explorer satellites built to focus on aspects of processes affecting the planet’s climate.

Source: Spaceflight Now, “Gravity mapper ascends to space atop Rockot booster”

The rider must stop to change horses on a long journey, even if he is in haste.

New product releases occur periodically, and products are sometimes discontinued. If a system makes use of many COTS components, maintaining it means upgrading its components regularly. The resultant overhead, whether measured in downtime, reinstallation costs, or anything else, is a necessary by-product of a COTS-based approach.

In addition, making small, incremental changes as the various COTS suppliers make their upgrades can prove to be much more economic than making very large changes at infrequent intervals.

The white paper, published by Frost and Sullivan outlines this importance by undertaking a survey of ten customers who have employed AGI technology in their projects. The results really prove the point.

- accelerate time-to-market by 4x
- enhance productivity by almost 70x
- generating a return on investment of up to 500%

In monetary terms, this can really make a different in the bottom line (and help to win the project in the first place).

A copy of the report is available here.

For each of the teams competing, AGI will supply a suite of software
worth around $150,000 each.

Let's see who gets to the Moon first!

I've watched too many companies falter because the original focus of the founder was either taken away or became diffuse. When the focus is not there, employees do not know where to put their energy. Important decisions are referred to commitee, since individuals are unsure of what the "right thing" is. A company gets bogged down in paperwork – which is just a cowards way of not taking a decision.

How do you avoid that? Some ideas to follow.

As the site says:

Based on the book Understanding Space: An Introduction to Astronautics Copyright
1996 McGraw-Hill Inc. by Jerry Jon Sellers, Wiley J. Larson (editor), this brief astronautics primer is designed to provide the reader with a conceptual overview of important topics in orbital mechanics. Understanding these key concepts will enhance your insight into the science behind Satellite Tool Kit and better equip you to apply these concepts to practical problems in space.”

If you are interested in learning more about space – in a way that anyone can understand – I heartily recommend you click on this link:

http://www.agi.com/partners/edu/AstroPrimer/primer1.htm

Here’s the answer, courtesy of absidea – the asylum for absurd ideas…

We had an early start to go to see our clients. It turned out that the meeting was more involved with what I am doing that with Greg – so I was very busy going around to see different applications of STK and getting things up-and-running.

A quick rush back to the airport to get the flight home…. then I discover there is a catering strike in Madrid, so I arrived pretty hungry back in Madrid – but early enough to see the little ones when they left school.