Japan Earth Observer (JEO) newsletter No. 18 is out. This one is a news roundup on Japan's space, EO, and geospatial industry. www.japanearthobserver.com/jeo-18-news-...

JEO 18 - News Roundup - 30 July 2026

Topping this news roundup, JAXA’s H3 rocket has returned to flight, plus the usual funding and contract announcements.

japanearthobserver.com

Japan Earth Observer (JEO) newsletter No. 17 is out. This is an update on the Japan Space Strategy Fund as industrial policy. www.japanearthobserver.com/jeo-17-japan...

JEO 17 - Japan's Space Strategy Fund in 2026

JAXA has started the third funding cycle of the Space Strategy Fund, and it's time to check in on this key pillar of Japan's industrial policy and space R&D investment.

japanearthobserver.com

My former Azavea colleague, @rosszb.bsky.social, is running for Berkeley City Council on a safe streets and housing construction agenda. Ross is recently a new father and a very kind and thoughtful human being. We need more elected officials and public servants like him. www.rossforberkeley.com

In Spain today: installation of solar panels above major irrigation channels. Channels of more than 100 kms transport water from dams to farmland. - Reduces evaporation -Provides large agricultural areas with power & supports irrigation -Decreases use of water in food production, doubling the crop.

Japan Earth Observer (JEO) newsletter No. 16 is out. There is recent news on Japan's space, EO, and geospatial industry, leading off with the return to flight of the H3 rocket. www.japanearthobserver.com/jeo-16-news-...

JEO 16 - News Roundup - 25 June 2026

Topping this news roundup, JAXA’s H3 rocket has returned to flight, plus the usual funding and contract announcements.

japanearthobserver.com

Japan Earth Observer (JEO) newsletter #15 is out with the details of ArkEdge’s new satellite technology aimed at supporting VDES, the successor to the ageing AIS ship-tracking technology used for the last 25 years. www.japanearthobserver.com/jeo-15-arked...

JEO 15 - ArkEdge, VDES, and the Future of Maritime Safety

ArkEdge Space recently launched a new satellite that forms part of a test constellation for maritime situational awareness and VDES, the successor to AIS.

japanearthobserver.com

Japan Earth Observer (JEO) newsletter No. 14 is out. There is recent news on Japan's space, EO, and geospatial industry. www.japanearthobserver.com/jeo-14-news-...

JEO 14 - News Roundup - 27 April 2026

In this news roundup, new satellites and technology demos, ispace strategy changes, plus the usual funding and contract announcements. There are also a couple of new sections with notable videos, repo...

japanearthobserver.com

Japan Earth Observer (JEO) newsletter No. 13 is out. This edition focuses on the impact on Japan of NASA’s recent changes to its lunar exploration plans www.japanearthobserver.com/jeo-13-how-n...

JEO 13 - How NASA's Lunar Pivots will Impact JAXA

NASA has made a series of dramatic announcements about changes in direction for its lunar exploration plans, and it's going to have a significant impact on Japan and other partners.

japanearthobserver.com

Japan Earth Observer (JEO) newsletter #12 is out. There is recent news on Japan's space, EO, and geospatial industry. www.japanearthobserver.com/jeo-12-news-...

JEO 12 - News Roundup - 14 Mar 2026

In this news roundup, we have several new funding and contract announcements, the HTV-X cargo separation from the ISS, another KAIROS rocket failure, Chinese export controls, and much more.

japanearthobserver.com

Japan Earth Observer (JEO) newsletter #11 is out. This edition is a news roundup on Japan's space, Earth observation, and geospatial industries. www.japanearthobserver.com/jeo-11-news-...

JEO 11 - News Roundup - 20 Feb 2026

A periodic news roundup on the space, Earth observation, and geospatial industries in Japan.

japanearthobserver.com

Japan Earth Observer (JEO) newsletter #10 is out. This one is about what to expect in 2026 in the Japan space, EO, and geospatial ecosystem www.japanearthobserver.com/jeo-10-what-...

JEO 10 - What to Watch for in 2026

A monthly newsletter about the space, Earth observation, and geospatial industries in Japan. This issue outlines some stories to follow in 2026 including launch, satellites, deep space, debris managem...

japanearthobserver.com

Japan Earth Observer (JEO) newsletter #9 is out. There is recent news on Japan's space, EO, and geospatial industry. www.japanearthobserver.com/jeo-9-news-r...

JEO 9 - News Roundup - 11 Feb 2026

A periodic news roundup on the space, Earth observation, and geospatial industries in Japan.

japanearthobserver.com

Japan Earth Observer (JEO) newsletter #7 is out. There is recent news on Japan's space, EO, and geospatial industry + a deep dive on the new HTV-X cargo freighter. www.japanearthobserver.com/jeo-7-htv-x-...

JEO 7 - The HTV-X Cargo Freighter and the LEO Supply Chain

A monthly news roundup plus a deep dive on the JAXA HTV-X cargo vessel and its future roles.

japanearthobserver.com

Congratulations to @libro.fm on becoming a certified B Corporation. I remember the excitement I felt when Azavea became a certified B Corp in 2010. The milestone shaped our organization culture forever after that. blog.libro.fm/b-corp/

Buy audiobooks & support local bookstores

Libro.fm makes it possible for you to buy audiobooks directly through local bookstores.

libro.fm

Japan Earth Observer (JEO) newsletter #6 is out. There is May/June news on Japan's space, EO, and geospatial industry + some of my observations from recent conferences in Japan www.japanearthobserver.com/jeo-6-spacet...

JEO 6 - SPACETIDE and FOSS4G Kansai 2025

A monthly news roundup plus some observations on the SPACETIDE and FOSS4G Kansai conferences.

japanearthobserver.com

Japan Earth Observer (JEO) newsletter #5 is out. There is news on Japan's space, EO, and geospatial industry in April + a deep dive on space-related items in the defense budget; JMoD is going shopping for satellites www.japanearthobserver.com/jeo-5-jmod-g...

JEO 5 - JMoD Goes Shopping

A monthly news roundup and a deep-dive on the Japan Ministry of Defense (JMoD) space-related budget.

japanearthobserver.com

New @developmentseed.org blog post from myself and @zacdezgeo.github.io: developmentseed.org/blog/2025-05... Cloud-Native Geospatial isn't just for data, it's for metadata too

Right-sizing STAC — Development Seed

A new way to query geospatial metadata without the overhead.

developmentseed.org

Funding opportunity! The Spyware Accountability Initiative is giving grants to civil society orgs fighting spyware abuse. Learn more + apply by June 13th at stopspyware.fund/apply #SpywareAccountability #Funding

Another brilliant must-read from Kevin Hawickhorst, this time on how we used to manage forms in federal government, a far better way than the Paperwork Reduction Act requires. www.statecapacitance.pub/p/trumans-bu... Stand by for more great PRA content this week!

Truman's Bureaucrats

Paperwork reduction before the Paperwork Reduction Act.

statecapacitance.pub

A new STAC link templates extension is open for review: github.com/stac-extensi... This extension offers a way to expose templated URIs in STAC, based on OGC API - Records.

GitHub - stac-extensions/link-templates: A construct to provide templated links in STAC, as originally defined in OGC APIs.

A construct to provide templated links in STAC, as originally defined in OGC APIs. - stac-extensions/link-templates

github.com

Opposite mode doesn't work. There has to be a positive vision for a government that works. www.eatingpolicy.com/p/opposite-i...

Opposite is not a winning strategy

Dems need alternatives whose strength comes from a positive vision of what to do, not defined by what not to do.

eatingpolicy.com

Imagine a trading card game (TCG) in which the heroes are middle-aged man volunteering in a rural Japanese town. Voila! www.tokyoweekender.com/entertainmen...

Middle-Aged Man Trading Cards Go Viral in Rural Japan Town

A trading card game consisting of real-life ojisan (middle-aged men) are going viral with kids in the city of Kawara in Fukuoka Prefecture.

tokyoweekender.com

Japan Earth Observer newsletter #4 is out. In addition to the news on Japan's space, EO, and geospatial industry + a deep dive on Japan's demographic and tech labor market challenges. Sound boring? Grab a ☕. Japan is living 3 decades in the future. www.japanearthobserver.com/jeo-4-japans...

JEO 4 - Japan’s High Tech Labor Pains

A monthly news roundup and a deep-dive on Japan's STEM Labor Workforce.

japanearthobserver.com

Japan Earth Observer newsletter #3 is out. In addition to the news on Japan's space, EO, and geospatial industry, there is a more detailed article about Japan’s Space Strategy Fund. Read and subscribe at www.japanearthobserver.com/jeo-3-japans...

JEO 3 - Japan's Space Strategy Fund

A monthly news roundup and a deep-dive on Japan's Space Strategy Fund.

japanearthobserver.com

Japan Earth Observer newsletter #2 is out. In addition to the news, there is a more detailed article about Japan’s QZSS regional navigation satellite constellation. Read and subscribe at www.japanearthobserver.com

Japan Earth Observer

A newsletter on the space, Earth observation, and geospatial industry in Japan.

japanearthobserver.com

The first edition of Japan Earth Observer (JEO), my new newsletter focused on the space, Earth observation, and geospatial industry in Japan, is finally out. This one is a long-ish 2024 year-in-review, but future ones will be more of a news roundup. Read and subscribe at www.japanearthobserver.com

And here is Cory Doctorow on the Free Our Feeds launch and how this aligns with past history around open source and open standards the contribute to human freedom pluralistic.net/2025/01/14/c...

My first post on Bluesky is.... to encourage you to support "fire exits" from Bluesky, through the establishment of the Free Our Feeds foundation and development of a truly federated social media ecosystem. gofund.me/9a266672

Donate to #FreeOurFeeds - help secure the future of social media, organized by Free Our Feeds

We are determined to free social media from billionaire control … Free Our Feeds needs your support for #FreeOurFeeds - help secure the future of social media

gofund.me

Russia is running GPS-jamming machines in St Petersburg and Kaliningrad, affecting aviation and sometimes shipping around Baltic Sea. Some of my most appreciated work has been localizing these machines in time, space and volume. Here's a rundown of previous geo-work, reversed chronological order.