GeoEye-1: future plans

GeoEye-1 satellite acquired first color image of half-meter ground resolution at 21:00 Moscow time on October 7, 2008. GeoEye Inc. launched its satellite back on September 6 from Vanderberg Air Force Base in California. It will be able to capture 0.41 m resolution black-and-white images and 1.65 m resolution images in color mode.

Over 500 million dollars were spent to GeoEye-1 launch program, including insurance and creation of four receiving stations.

The successful start of GeoEye-1 operations is backed up by the GeoEye company plans to initiate selling images this fall already. Though the satellite collects imagery at 0.41-meter ground resolution, due to U.S. licensing restrictions, commercial customers will only get access to imagery that has been processed to half-meter ground resolution.

The first object, captured by GeoEye-1 satellite was the Kutztown University, showing the campus, which includes academic buildings, parking lots, roads, athletic fields and the track-and-field facility. Brad Peterson, GeoEye's vice president of operations, said “the quality of the imagery will be even better as we continue the calibration activity."

ScanEx R&D Center is the distributor of IKONOS satellite imagery, operated by GeoEye, Inc.

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