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Envisat breaks the terabyte barrier
June 26, 2002
Only three months after the launch of ESA's Envisat spacecraft, the largest and most capable satellite ever built to monitor the Earth's environment, the Envisat system recently passed one of its most significant milestones to date. Last Sunday, 23 June 2002, the Envisat system for distributing satellite imagery reached the terabyte mark of data transferred over the satellite channel.
A terabyte of data - one trillion bytes, a thousand billion bytes, or 1000 gigabytes - is equivalent to the text contained in about one million books.
And, because each byte of data is multi-cast to approximately four users, stepping over the terabyte threshold also brings the total to 4 terabytes of data, roughly the same amount of data contained in 6000 compact disks, transmitted through the Earth observation Data Dissemination System (DDS) and delivered safely to end-users.
Data Dissemination System
The DDS network usually transfers information only a few hours after acquisition by the satellite. The satellite-based network is carrying data acquired by Envisat in its current initial commissioning phase, and is expected to be used during normal Envisat operations.
The Envisat DDS also consists of a pair of Ku-band uplink stations, one in Kiruna, Sweden, and the second located at ESA's ESRIN facility in Frascati, Italy, plus another 20 operational receiving stations throughout Europe. The DDS network uses the 8MHz satellite capacity on Eutelsat`s W1 satellite.
"Such a fast and safe data dissemination system is of paramount importance," said Stephen Briggs, head of ESA's Earth Observation Applications Department. "It provides timely access to data and allows us, when necessary, to transmit near real-time data for emergency management and for time-critical emergency applications."
ESA's DDS system was developed jointly by Italy's Intecs HRT and GCS in Austria. Both companies also provide ongoing support and daily operations services.
Data transmission is achieved through a reliable transmission protocol by GCS based on an IP-multicast transmission over a digital video broadcast (DVB) satellite link. DVB is a digital standard that includes a specification for transmitting images over satellite links.
The DDS system is designed to accommodate an expanding number of transmit and receive stations, along with the potential to upgrade total satellite throughput to a minimum of 8 Mb/s.
The DDS system is used mainly for Envisat data distribution. However, it is capable of handling multiple missions. A portion of it already carries ERS data, and is used for dissemination of Earth observation data under cooperative agreements with other agencies.
European Space Agency (ESA)
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Scientific Explorer's Mind Blowing Science Kit for Young Scientists
by Scientific Explorer
Mind blowing experiments to delight and educate young scientists! Erupt a color changing volcano. Mix up magic ooze with a mind of its own. Play with sand that never gets wet. Mix safe chemicals and watch colors change before your eyes. You'll amaze yourself and your friends as you explore the science behind these truly remarkable reactions.
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The Everything Kids' Science Experiments Book: Boil Ice, Float Water, Measure Gravity-Challenge the World Around You! (Everything Kids Series)
by Tom Robinson (Author)
Science has never been so easy - or so much fun! With The Everything Kids' Science Experiments Book, all you need to do is gather a few household items and you can recreate dozens of mind-blowing, kid-tested science experiments. High school science teach Tom Robinson shows you how to expand your scientific horizons - from biology to chemistry to physics to outer space. You'll discover answers to questions like: Is it possible to blow up a balloon without actually blowing into it? What is inside coins? Can a magnet ever be "turned off"? Do toilets always flush in the same direction? Can a swimming pool be cleaned with just the breath of one person? Get ready to enter the laboratory and learn how to conduct cool experiments, understand scientific terms...
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Scientific Explorer's Disgusting Science - A Kit for Studying the Science of Revolting Things
by Scientific Explorer
Grow your own friendly germs and fuzzy molds. Mix up a batch of coagulating fake blood. Even make a stinky intestine. learn the science behind unmentionable bodily functions while doing some truly NASTY Experiments. Ages 8+
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The Science Book: Everything You Need to Know About the World and How It Works (National Geographic)
by National Geographic (Author), Marshall Brain (Foreword)
A delight for the casual reader, yet so complete and wide-ranging that science buffs and students will welcome it, The Science Book encapsulates centuries of scientific thought in one richly illustrated volume. Natural phenomena, revolutionary inventions, and the most up-to-date investigations are explained in detailed text, and 2,000 vivid illustrationsincluding 3-D graphics and pictogramsmake the information even more accessible and amazing to discover.
The Science Book offers both a general overview of topics for the browsing reader and more specific information for those seeking deeper insight into a particular subject. Six major sections, ranging from the universe and planet Earth to biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics, encompass everything from microscopic life...
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Scientific Explorer's The Magic Science Wizard's Kit
by Scientific Explorer
Cast real smoke from your fingertips, make a wizard wand, and whip up color-changing potions in your test tube laboratory. Also included are laminated cards with wizard facts, an instruction booklet with 11 activities, lab equipment, and mysterious wizard powders that will mix together to mystify you!
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Snap Circuits Jr. SC-100
by Elenco Electronics Inc
Dr. Toy 100 Best Children's Products Winner We venture even Edison would be intrigued. Prepare to engineer 101 exciting, useful electronic gadgets & play lively electronic games with Snap Circuits Jr! This kit features a great collection of materials! The colorful and easy-to-follow format of the instruction manual makes circuit assembly stress-free and fun. All projects are simple to build and understand. Perfect for the novice engineer. All parts are mounted on plastic modules and snap together with ease. Leave the tools in the garage; everything you need for your electronics learning adventure is included. With Snap Circuits Jr. your understanding of electronics is a SNAP! 101 High Interest Projects Just a few: Flying Saucer, Music Alarm Combo, Pencil Alarm, Space...
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Science: The Definitive Visual Guide
by Adam Hart-Davis (Author)
This remarkable reference book tells the story of science from earliest times to the present day, taking in everything from ancient Greek geometry to quantum physics, and the wedge to the worldwide web. Exploring science in a thematic, highly approachable manner, each spread takes as its theme a specific event, discovery, invention, experiment, theory, or individual and explains why this subject was so significant in the development of scientific thought and what its impact on history has been. In addition to providing a broad-ranging and comprehensive history of science, the book also explains how science works, employing DK's trademark clarity and visual ingenuity to render tricky scientific subjects easily comprehensible.
Science is structured chronologically with five...
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Magic School Bus Journey into the Human Body Science Kit
by Young Scientist Club
The Magic School Bus and Ms. Frizzle take Young Scientists on a wild ride into the human body with these breathtaking experiments. Young Scientists bend bones, make joints, map taste buds, expand lungs, build a stethoscope, measure lung capacities and heart rates, perform the iodine starch test, spin glitter, simulate synovial fluid, create a human body poster, and much, much more! This exciting kit includes a life-size poster with eight sheets of body part stickers. So put on your seat belts, students, and get ready to discover The Human Body!
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Scientific Explorer's Tasty Science Chemistry in the Kitchen Kit
by Scientific Explorer
Who knew science could taste so good? With this kit, you’ll whip up cupcakes, cookies, candy, and more—all in the name of science! Learn what makes cakes rise, candy crystallize, and more real chemistry happen in the kitchen. Tasty Science is packed with ingredients, recipes, activity cards, a test tube laboratory, and lots more to explore the science of taste.
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The Complete Book of Science, Grades 5-6
by School Specialty Publishing (Author)
The Complete Book of Science for grades 5 to 6 teaches children important science skills! Children complete a variety of exercises that help them develop a number of skills in this 352 page workbook. Including a complete answer key this workbook features a user-friendly format perfect for browsing, research, and review. Over 4 million in print! The best-selling Complete Book series offers a full complement of instruction, activities, and information about a single topic or subject area. Containing over 30 titles and encompassing preschool to grade 8 this series helps children succeed in every subject area! ...
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