There was an interesting article on the front page of the Technology section of The Globe and Mail on Thursday covering Orbimage. I could only find two of the companies publicly listed. One being Orbital Science (ORB), and EarthWatch's supplier (Intermap Technologies (IMP.A on the Canadian Venture Market at $1.25 Canadian)
Any thoughts on the future of internet satellite images?
The Globe and Mail, Thursday, February 10, 2000
I, spy
Images from advanced satellites are hitting the open market, giving businesses and consumers access to photos detailed enough to show hot dog carts from space
By Lawrence Surtees
A plunge down a Himalayan gorge deeper than the Grand Canyon gives the Yarlung Tsangpo River in Tibet one of the most ferocious stretches of white water in the world.
When Harry Wetherbee of McLean, Va., planned the National Geographic Society's kayak expedition to the little-explored gorge between Chu Belap and Rainbow Falls, he turned to sponsor Space Imaging Inc. for detailed satellite photos of the river.
Those pictures revealed several unmapped features, including a remarkable hairpin turn just below Rainbow Falls that could have spelled danger for the expedition. Mr. Wetherbee says the experience has convinced him that satellite photos will "become indispensable" for future expeditions.
As dramatic as those 1998 pictures were, however, they came from older remote sensing satellites that could only pick out objects that were at least five metres in size.
Now, a new generation of satellites is giving the public access to much higher resolution images -- at much lower prices. Consumers armed with a simple PC, Internet access and a credit card can buy inexpensive, sharp, one-metre-resolution images. By the end of the year, they will be able to choose from a handful of new operators expected to be in orbit, thanks to the declassification of high-resolution imagery technology by U.S. President Bill Clinton in 1994.
A number of operators have begun to construct libraries of photographs, the start of a cheap archive of space-based images. For less than $15, you can buy a photograph over the Internet that shows Toronto's Skydome stadium -- including the hot dog carts outside. But the archives are still relatively sparse, and most Canadian cities have yet to be included.
Space Imaging, based in Thornton, Colo., is the first commercial operator to launch a new generation of high-resolution digital imagery satellites for hire. With a resolution of one metre, the Ikonos satellite (pronounced eye-koh-nosis) can give customers pictures of any site on Earth, with detail previously only available on secret government spy satellites. Built by partner Lockheed Martin Corp., six-year-old Space Imaging launched Ikonos in late September.
From an altitude of 680 kilometres, Ikonos can discern the type of vehicle on a street or a single row of corn on a farmer's field -- but it's still unable to 'see' an individual person. (Current spy satellites have resolutions smaller than one-10th of a metre and can identify an ear tag on a deer.)
"Ikonos is having a big impact in a young market because no one has sold satellite imagery with this level of detail before," says Ron Stearns, an analyst with the aerospace and defence group at Frost & Sullivan of Mountainview, Calif.
Besides Space Imaging, a number of other U.S. operators have recently become licensed:
Orbital Imaging Corp. (OrbImage) of Dulles, Va., a subsidiary of Orbital Sciences Corp., plans to launch its one-metre OrbView-3 satellite later this year. It will be followed by the colour imaging OrbView-4 satellite by early 2001.
EarthWatch Inc. of Longmont, Colo., expects to launch its one-metre Quickbird-1 this summer. Founded by ex-Star Wars researchers in 1992, EarthWatch's partners include Boulder, Colo.-based Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Hitachi and ITT Industries.
Autometric Inc. of Springfield, Va., plans to launch a comparable satellite within a year.
Several firms outside of North America are close behind. |
