People on the ground can also use a geographical information system that displays farmer contact data, farm size and location, tree inventory and price information, which makes it easier to forecast and optimize cashew collection.

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Both spacecraft make use of the US space agency's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) to speak to the ground and controllers do not want any conflicts.

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He and his colleagues have made a start on this at Army City, where they are creating a system that will swallow, digest and combine data from satellites, aircraft and ground-based sensors, aligning them in a single, computer-based model of the site.

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