Friday, May 29, 2009

The Commercialization Of Military Satellite Images

GeoEye-1

World's Highest-resolution Commercial Satellite -- Science Daily

ScienceDaily (May 27, 2009) — Since the early 1960s, super powerful spy satellites have been the stuff of the military and intelligence communities. Now two U.S. companies have launched commercial imaging satellites that offer the same sort of space-based images of the Earth to the public. One of these companies, GeoEye of Dulles, Va., launched a multi-million dollar satellite last year, and it's the highest-resolution commercial imaging satellite in the world.

From its vantage point of 425 miles in space, the 4,300-pound GeoEye-1 satellite orbits the Earth and focuses its powerful lens on the surface below, snapping electronic images that can resolve objects on the ground as small as 41 cm across (16 inches). That's approximately the size of home plate on a baseball diamond.

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My Comment: I have a funny feeling that this satellite was delivered under budget and on time.

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