CSA Releases Satellite Image of Lac-Mégantic Disaster Area

The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) has releases a high-resolution image of the Lac-Mégantic train wreck that was obtained from CNES, the French space agency. The image taken on July 13th is from the Pléiades satellite.


According to the CSA the “picture was taken after Public Safety Canada activated the International Charter on Space and Major Disasters, in which the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) is actively involved. The data shared in the context of the Charter help damage assessment and support recovery efforts.”

“This animation map shows an overview of the destruction caused by the train derailment and explosion that occurred at Lac-Mégantic on July 6th, 2013. The product was developed by Effigis Geo-Solutions (Montreal, Canada) as part of their mandate in the Canadian Space Agency’s Rapid Information Products and Services (RIPS) initiative.
The International Charter Space and Major Disasters was activated by Public Safety Canada on a request received from Transport Canada. This is a damage assessment map based on QuickBird-2 satellite operations among the member space agencies for data acquisition following natural and technological disasters.”

About Marc Boucher

Boucher is an entrepreneur, writer, editor & publisher. He is the founder of SpaceQ Media Inc. and CEO and co-founder of SpaceRef Interactive LLC. Boucher has 20+ years working in various roles in the space industry and a total of 30 years as a technology entrepreneur including creating Maple Square, Canada's first internet directory and search engine.

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