NASA's Real-Time Mission Monitor (RTMM) service offers real-time ephemeris and footprint information for a variety of satellites, including many important Earth observation (EO) satellites cherished by the geospatial analysis and remote sensing communities. The authors have developed an application utilizing the RTMM web service to make ephemeris and footprint data more accessible to the general public. Users can watch accurate 3D models of EO satellites, generated using Google Sketch-Up, orbit the Earth in real-time within the Google Earth globe browser. Temporal and spatial queries allow users to find the position of satellites in the future or the next time that a given footprint will be imaged. The web application leverages several open-source technologies including the Python web framework Django, the DBMS PostgreSQL DMBS with PostGIS extensions and the Javascript library ExtJS. Data from the RTMM is ingested and cached by the web application, feeding KML/KMZ updates in real-time or fore/backcasting the position of satellites within the web browser. Remote sensing and GIS analysts will find obvious utility in the application, but perhaps the most significant value is for the public at large and particularly students who can gain insight into how our planet is studied from space, what tools we use and where they are now.

FOSS solutions play a key role in solving problems and filling the gaps where you COTS or closed-source solutions might fall short. In addition, it is important for managers to understand that many COTS solutions used in their organizations might already have a mix of FOSS frameworks supporting a COTS implementation – think various Apache or Python projects to name a few. Having knowledge of and understanding open data and open source software frameworks can have many benefits in solving your customer’s problems and creating real solutions and workflows that improve their bottom line. In our industry, Geospatial FOSS solutions are more times than not built on significant private and not-for-profit industry-supported efforts that have a long and successful history, level-of-support and following. As a Geospatial program manager - putting forth the effort to educate your organization’s senior leadership and encouraging your team to learn about and effectively integrate FOSS to complement your already-in-place COTS solutions can lay the groundwork for expanding options for your customers, rather than limiting them. Examples in a collaborative regional/local government and private-sector partner setting will be highlighted.

Since the last FOSS4G conference in North America in 2007 there has been a profound shift in how the value of open source software is perceived.  No longer merely a "free" substitute for commercial equivalents, the open source model is highly valued as being particularly well suited for fast-moving, dynamic environments that move too quickly for commercial release cycles.  From "hot" startups to the US military, open source is now viewed as a key driver of innovative experimentation and rapid modification.  We'll discuss how this re-framing of the conversation bodes particularly well for the future of geospatial open source.