The Commerce Department relaxed restrictions on companies selling high-resolution satellite imagery, according to a DigitalGlobe [DGI] statement.
The long-awaited updated approvals will allow DigitalGlobe to sell imagery to all its customers at up to 0.25m panchromatic and 1.0m multispectral ground sample distance (GSD) six months after its WorldView-3 satellite is launched. WorldView-3 is set to launch Aug. 13 or 14 from Vandenberg AFB, Calif. The updated approvals will also immediately allow DigitalGlobe to sell its highest resolution imagery available from its current constellation, which is 0.41m panchromatic provided by GeoEye-1.
DigitalGlobe currently operates a fleet of five high-resolution earth imaging satellites. Two of those satellites, GeoEye-1 and WorldView-2, collect imagery sharper than 0.5m and all customers will have access to that imagery at the highest native resolution. WorldView-3 will provide even higher resolution at 0.31m, and GeoEye-2, which is “substantially complete,” will capture similarly sharp images when launched to replace a satellite currently in service or as an expansion to the constellation. DigitalGlobe CEO Jeffrey Tarr said in a recent investor call that reduced resolution restrictions may generate enough incremental demand to justify an early launch of GeoEye-2.
The announcement comes on the heels of Google [GOOG] announcing June 11 it acquired Skybox Imaging for $500 million in cash. Jeffries investment bank analyst Howard Rubel said the next day in a note to investors that the regulatory change “further distances” DigitalGlobe’s offering from Skybox’s solution as Skybox lacks a meaningful library and has a substantial investment in front of it over a number of years to deliver its constellation. Skybox is a startup that provides high-fidelity imagery and analytics.
DigitalGlobe shares finished up $1.00 per share on NASDAQ at the close of trading June 12. DigitalGlobe shares closed down June 11 after news of the Google-Skybox merger.
DigitalGlobe also said it plans to shift WorldView-1 into a different orbit, in which it will image the earth in the afternoon local time each day. This will allow the company to monitor changes on the earth at various times each day. Customers will be able to image a particular area with multiple satellites in the morning and again with WorldView-1 in the afternoon. A DigitalGlobe spokesman did not respond to questions by press time.