I believe a recent press release said they would take delivery of a second Probe-1 last month. Does anyone know if this occurred?
Also, the home page says something like:
Yellowstone is just one of a series of collections under the Memorandum of Agreement with Boeing. Along with the aircraft, Boeing has agreed to provide all crews and support infrastructure for multiple missions. The missions will include data collection for various sites in Northern Idaho including Lake Coeur d'Alene, Kellogg, and Wallace; various sites in Idaho and Washington for University of Idaho and Washington State University agricultural and noxious weeds studies; a Wyoming site for the MSU-Techlink Geosat oil and natural gas deposits study; and portions of Idaho's Clark Fort River for a separate environmental research study.
Earth Search hopes to make the images taken during the missions available to the public on the Internet through Earth Search's wholly owned subsidiary, TerraNet, Inc.,
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I'm wondering if the various data collections mentioned are revenue-producing assessments presently under contract, or whether ESSI is solely gathering data in hopes of later interest via TerraNet.
The way I see it, Boeing sees possibilities regarding the sale of its specialized aircraft to others for these purposes. Therefore, if correct, perhaps they are anticipating enough outside interest, i.e. volume, to have entered into the agreement, eh?
But, then enter TerraNet to throw a wrench in my theory.... Why would Boeing stand to increase sales to others through this arrangement if TerraNet puts the data out there, thereby reducing the need for others to buy/lease Probe1 units and technology from ESSI or specialized aircraft from Boeing?
To compete with competitors mentioned in the article, I'm assuming data will need to be competitively priced. If so -- 1) Won't they need volume interest in TerraNet? 2) Are they able to determine, perhaps from the competition they mention, that they will have that volume? 3) How will they be able to protect the data from downstream distribution, i.e., piracy? 4) Does anyone know who the largest competitor is... can we foresee interesting acquisition developments as the Noranda contract approaches renewal?
Things seem to be getting interesting once again. C'mon Larry, let's put this train on the fast track! |
