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Many of us got to experience some pretty fun things while in college. From travels abroad to sports and let’s be honest, some good old-fashioned college partying. But, we have yet to run across any college students who get the rare privilege of crashing a NASA satellite. University of Colorado at Boulder undergraduates were lucky to have the opportunity to crash (come on now – how cool is that?) the Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite, or ICESat, in the Arctic. The satellite had been in orbit for seven years – and UC Boulder students have been controlling the satellite for that time period. Why did they crash the satellite? The satellite had outlasted its targeted design life, before its primary sensor – a laser device intended for measuring ice thickness, forest cover – failed last year. So, yes, while college can often include learning how to do keg stands, it can also present an incredible opportunity like this for students. Go U.C. Boulder.

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Once again, the editorial staff of got geoint? is faced with a dearth of news GEOINT-related news to share – and thus the new, and emerging “Wednesday News Round Up” post. They say that celebrities can sell anything and and this certainly rings true in today’s post — with news of Google collaborating with indie super group Arcade Fire (pictured) and veteran actress Sigourney Weaver. In addition, we have some news from DigitalGlobe and more. And to re-hash our ever-popular Monday morning expression: fire up that second cup of coffee and read on.

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The scaling back of the US military mission in Iraq means Washington’s spies will have fewer “eyes and ears on the ground” in the country, a senior intelligence official said Tuesday. US military units operate with their own intelligence resources, including translators and officers assigned from spy agencies such as the National Security Agency and the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency. But the drawdown of US forces to less than 50,000 troops will curtail the reach of US intelligence services, the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told reporters. Read the full AFP story here.

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Welcome to the Friday’s Food for Thought Post on got geoint? Yes, it is Friday and you are merely a few hours away from spending two precious days away with friends and family. Or perhaps you have a weekend date with your DVR to catch up on your favorite TV shows. Eitherway, congratulations. You made it to Friday. Earlier this week, we did a post about situational GEOINT awareness for the average consumer. So, we thought the concept of “situational awareness” and just how “aware” we can be to our surroundings. Oh, and yes, we apologize for the Mike “The Situation” photo – could not help ourselves. Happy Friday!

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On September 9-10, more than 100 leaders from the Earth Observation community including senior executives from satellite operators, manufacturers, government agencies and service providers, will be gathering in Paris for Euroconsult’s upcoming Symposium on Earth Observation Business, which takes place during World Satellite Business Week. This high-profile event is a unique meeting place to discuss market trends and the opportunities and challenges ahead in the growing and changing Earth observation sector. Following is an exclusive podcast with Adam Keith, Director, Earth Observation, Euroconsult about this event and other EO trends and topics.

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Welcome to the Friday’s Food for Thought post from got geoint? We hope everyone had a productive week and are gearing up for back to school time – man, how fast summer flies by. This week’s FFT theme is all about the next generation of GEOINTers and what makes them tick. By better understanding this new generation — many who are enrolling as freshmen in college — we will be better suited to create the next leaders of our community. And, we end this post with the anthem for how to deal with the upcoming generation – treat them right. Happy Friday!

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Perhaps it is a reaction to the current administration, but Ayn Rand, the Russian-American novelist, philosopher, playwright and screenwriter who penned Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged has gained in influence these days. So much so that one fan decided to spread the “Read Ayn Rand” message globally, well, um, at least on the globe itself. Nick Newcomen drove 12,328 miles across the United States to “write” this message that can only be seen on Google Earth. According to worldsbiggestwriting.com, he used a GPS logger (Qstarz BT-Q1000X)3 to record his “writing.” He turned on the device when he wanted to write and turned off the device between letters. He then input the recorded GPS data into Google Earth resulting in the image you see in this post. What is next? Google Earth being used to spread political messages from all walks of life?

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While technological advances in the areas of geospatial imagery, full-motion video, and other raw data have increased the volume of information available to decision makers and warfighters, the intelligence community (IC) still struggles to ensure that data is timely and truly actionable. In many ways, this is the Achilles’ heel for our nation’s overall intelligence capabilities. With the help of industry, the IC has built out the most innovative and forward-thinking intelligence-gathering solutions through imagery and mapping, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) data collection, and video, but none of this innovation is of use if it does not help advance our missions abroad.

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Welcome to the Monday Morning News Kick Off post from got geoint? As always, we have pulled together the most key stories for you to jump start your work week. And for this Monday, there is no shortage of news to share. From the proposed DoD budget cuts to how the military is engaging in a shadow war on terror to a story about an innovative 3D mapping tchnology being developed at UC Berkeley, we have it all for you in one convenient spot. So, as we always say, fire up that second cup of coffee and read on.

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Welcome to the Friday’s Food for Thought post from got geoint? As always, we hope everyone had a productive week and is enjoying the final weeks of summer and vacation season. As the GEOINT community knows, it was a very big week. Well actually a very big two weeks. General Clapper was confirmed as the new DNI and Letitia Long was inducted as the new Director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), while breaking down major barriers by being the first woman to head an Intel agency. So, this week’s FFT post is all about breaking down barriers and the major strides that women have made. Happy Friday!

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