[Satellite News 08-04-08] Astrium announced that it expects the THailand Earth Observation Satellite (THEOS) will be launched August 6 on board a Dnepr rocket from the Yasny launch site in Russia.
    THEOS will observe the Earth from the same orbit as the French Spot-5 satellite, providing Thailand with worldwide geo-referenced imagery. THEOS will also offer image-processing capabilities for applications in cartography, land use, agricultural monitoring, forestry management, coastal zone monitoring and flood risk management.
    The Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency’s THEOS contract with Astrium includes the production and launch of one optical satellite, the development of the ground segment necessary to operate and control the satellite directly from Thailand and facilities for image archiving and processing.