BAE Systems’ Geospatial Exploitation Products (GXP) Group was contacted by the Homeland Security Operations Center (HSOC) to help with Hurricane Katrina disaster relief. The HSOC put out the call to GXP on Friday, September 2, when it became apparent that they would need assistance in gathering and analyzing up-to-date information.
Rick Racine and Chris Higgins of the Reston, Virginia office of BAE Systems GXP received the call and responded immediately, offering what help they could later that evening. They granted the HSOC temporary SOCET GXP software licenses, and installed the software on several workstations, which allowed HSOC staff to perform image and geospatial analysis on the affected areas. With contacts at Space Imaging, SPOT Image, and the Nevada Air National Guard 152nd Intelligence Squadron, Chris and Rick were able to secure a wealth of current and archived imagery of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, from New Orleans to Mobile. The high-resolution satellite imagery was transmitted, loaded into SOCET GXP, and projected on to HSOC’s large screens to provide capabilities for in-depth analysis.
To assist with the recovery phase, BAE Systems’ Spectral Systems Advanced Technologies team, out of Washington, D.C., was contacted by the U.S. Navy to gather and process hyperspectral high-resolution data of the Gulf region. The imagery they provide is a valuable resource for remediation and cleanup operations.