Village Gamer

UrtheCast and Discovery’s Science Channel have announced an exclusive partnership to bring viewers the world’s first high-definition video of Earth, streamed in near real time, from the International Space Station (ISS) as it orbits over 200 miles above Earth. The programming will be developed once UrtheCast’s HD cameras are installed on the ISS and video streaming begins.

In addition, the Science Channel – harnessing UrtheCast’s dynamic HD video of Earth – will develop programming surrounding the UrtheCast project, including a special program that examines the history and technology that makes UrtheCast unique.

“This exciting partnership will tell UrtheCast’s unique story, and the story of Earth, in a highly compelling way,” says UrtheCast Co-Founder and Executive Vice President, Wade Larson. “The Science Channel speaks to a large audience of inquisitive minds; it’s precisely the type of audience that UrtheCast appeals to. We’re looking forward to working with the Science Channel team, and can’t wait to see the programming it leads to.”

“We are the home for space programming on television,” said Debbie Adler Myers, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Science Channel. “Our viewers expect us to have the best, most authoritative television programs about space. UrtheCast helps us build on that promise, giving Science Channel the most stunning live images of Earth for use online and on-air.”

In partnership with Russia’s largest space organization, RSC Energia, and the UK’s Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL), UrtheCast is currently building two cameras and utilizing a ground station network across the globe. Once the cameras ‘go live’ in late 2013, UrtheCast’s socially-integrated platform will begin to stream its dynamic Earth footage to the web and to user smartphones.

The UrtheCast vision began in 2010 when co-founders Wade Larson and Dr. George Tyc – both space industry veterans – hatched the idea of putting cameras on the International Space Station. Their idea soon evolved into an international project, spanning Vancouver, Toronto, Moscow, London, Vancouver, and San Francisco. The UrtheCast team continues to refine its unique goal: to provide an interactive Earth video platform for internet users, app developers, educators, media outlets, government bodies, humanitarian relief organizations, and environmental monitoring services.