Google Signs Exclusive Satellite Deal
The global internet giant, Google, has signed an exclusive deal with satellite company GeoEye for sole rights to images from its GeoEye One orbiter. GeoEye One produces the highest resolution satelitte that are commercially available to the public. These pictures of the earth’s surface Google wants to use for its mapping software, Google Earth. GeoEye One is set to launch this week, weather permitting.
Google spokeswoman Kate Hurowitz told Reuters that the company would begin receiving images from the new satellite within three months, once the systems on board had been checked.
“The combination of GeoEye’s high-resolution, map-accurate satellite imagery from GeoEye-1 and Google’s search and display capabilities provides users with access to rich, interactive visual image maps of the Earth,”
The satellite will orbit from 423 miles up but will be able to identify objects as small as 41 centimetres across. It will orbit the earth 15 times a day, mapping almost one million square kilometres of imagery per day.
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