UrtheCast to Receive Canadian Space Agency Technology Award of $2 Million to Support Development of its OptiSAR™ Constellation
VANCOUVER, April 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - UrtheCast Corp. (TSX:UR) ("UrtheCast" or the "Company") today announces that will be awarded a technological Contribution Agreement ("CA") of $2.0 million from the Space Technologies Development Program ("STDP"), implemented by the Canadian Space Agency ("CSA").
This Contribution Agreement will aid UrtheCast in the development of its upcoming, unprecedented OptiSAR™ Constellation, currently slated for deployment in 2020-2021. The 16-satellite OptiSAR™ Constellation is expected to consist of eight X and L-band SAR satellites and eight high-resolution optical satellites, flying in a paired, tandem configuration. By capturing SAR and optical data in unison, each satellite pair is expected to help UrtheCast deliver Earth imagery regardless of weather conditions and with extremely high revisit rates — allowing for cloud-free imaging and improved identification of ground targets.
UrtheCast has been awarded this CA based on its experienced team of SAR and space-mission experts, its technology partner Nanowave, its successful technological track record, and the anticipated impact of OptiSAR™ technology upon the Earth Observation industry. Because this unprecedented technology continues to demonstrate increasing market interest, it is expected to greatly enhance Canada's industry competitiveness, internationally.
"The award will help us maximize the utility and commercial advantage of what will be an extraordinary Constellation and we're extremely proud that the CSA appreciates this revolutionary, industry-changing direction. We're right now on the verge of harnessing what we expect will become one of our industry's most powerful Earth-imaging systems," explains UrtheCast President and Chief Executive Officer, Wade Larson.
The EO market has shown strong interest in the development of applications using dual-band data, and as such, the $2.0 million allotment is expected to assist UrtheCast in fulfilling this need in the marketplace. The development of this Earth-sensing system is expected to greatly augment UrtheCast's competitive advantage, allowing it to serve a wider segment of the existing EO market, while creating new opportunities for our current and future data clients.
ABOUT URTHECAST CORP.
UrtheCast Corp. is a Vancouver-based technology company that serves the rapidly evolving geospatial and geoanalytics markets with a wide range of information-rich products and services. The Company currently operates four Earth Observation sensors in space, including two cameras aboard the International Space Station and two satellites, Deimos-1 and Deimos-2. Imagery and video data captured by these sensors is downlinked to ground stations across the planet and displayed on UrtheCast's cloud-based web platform, or distributed directly to partners and customers. UrtheCast is also developing and anticipates launching the world's first fully-integrated constellation of multispectral optical and SAR satellites, called OptiSAR™, which the Company believes will revolutionize monitoring of our planet with high-quality, high-resolution, and high-revisit imagery in all weather conditions, any time of day. Common shares of UrtheCast trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange as ticker 'UR'.
For more information, visit UrtheCast's website at www.urthecast.com.
Forward Looking Information
This release contains certain information which, as presented, constitutes "forward-looking information" or "forward-oriented financial information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking information involves statements that relate to future events and often addresses expected future business and financial performance, containing words such as "anticipate", "believe", "plan", and "expect", statements that an action or event "may", "might", "could" or "will" be taken or occur, or other similar expressions and includes, but is not limited to; its plans for and timing of expansion of its product offering and value-added services; its future growth and operations plans; and the acceptance by its customers and the marketplace of new satellite imaging content, technologies and solutions. Such statements reflect UrtheCast's current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by UrtheCast, are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors could cause UrtheCast's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements that may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including, among others: any delays or failures in the design, development, construction, launch and operational commissioning of the proposed OptiSAR™ constellation; the Company being unable to convert the Memoranda of Understanding in respect of funding of the OptiSAR™ constellation into binding, definitive agreements; interruptions to or failures of UrtheCast's infrastructure; legal and regulatory changes, as well as those factors and assumptions discussed in UrtheCast's annual information form dated March 29, 2016, (the "AIF"), which is available under UrtheCast's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. Forward-looking information is developed based on assumptions about such risks, uncertainties and other factors set out herein, in the AIF, and as disclosed from time to time on UrtheCast's SEDAR profile. UrtheCast undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements except as required by Canadian securities laws. Readers are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements.
SOURCE UrtheCast Corp.
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