got geoint?

What happens when good satellites go bad? They drift through space, joining the massive amounts of debris floating out there like a zombie, potentially threatening other functioning satellites. This could certainly be the case with the Galaxy 15 commercial satellite that recently lost contact with the ground, and is now being dubbed by engineers as being “zombiesat.” Experts believe that this defunct satellite will probably drift to one of two “gravity wells” that catch most out-of-control spacecraft. The more challenging issue is that Galaxy 15 could threaten nearby satellites because its communications package is still working, and it could interfere with working satellites, and even siphon off their signals. The word is that this is the first time a satellite event like this has occurred, and we don’t really know what ramifications that Galaxy 15 will have on the myriad of commercial and military satellites floating around in space. We assume only time will tell. Read more about “zombiesat” here.

Full Article

The U.S. military has access to the world’s best topographic maps. It is now trying to build “culture maps” that include details such as a region’s tribal affiliations, ethnicity, religion and language. The commander of U.S. Central Command, Army Gen. David Petraeus, in a number of speeches has repeatedly said that “human terrain” is the decisive element in counterinsurgency operations. “His remarks have had a rippling effect across the intelligence community,” said Jesse Wilson, who works at the command’s Afghanistan Pakistan Intelligence Center of Excellence. Officials there are pairing human terrain analysts with traditional intelligence teams. Traditional intelligence, based upon satellite and aircraft imagery of the geophysical environment, worked well in past wars where open battle spaces far removed from civilians were the norm. Commanders needed to know the lay of the land in order to attack the opposing force. But in current conflicts, they are relying upon soldier interactions with the local people to gather information. Check out the full article from the NDIA’s National Defense Magazine here.

Full Article

It certainly seems that satellite imagery is dominating our news cycle today. We just did a post about GeoEye’s stellar financial results. And, yesterday, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) said that it has begun the procurement process for new satellite imagery orders in the first half of 2010. The NGA issued a statement of requirements to get industry input, as well as guide the strategic planning process. Industry analysts believe that the new imagery orders could amount to several billion dollars in revenues for DigitalGlobe and GeoEye over the next five years. Read more here.

Full Article

We certainly embrace stories about USGIF members and major players doing well. And, we have a story to share along those lines. GeoEye reported that second-quarter revenue more than doubled to $72.7 million from $34.2 million from Q2 last year. The increase in business is a result of the government’s demand for the company’s high-resolution digital imaging. The company said that government revenue in the second quarter was $47.5 million, almost two-thirds of total revenues for the period.

Full Article

Tomorrow, USGIF member compant DigitalGlobe is hosting a will host a webinar called “Deeper Analysis, Faster Insight: Enhanced Applications with WorldView-2′s New Spectral Bands.” We highly recommend you check it out. The company’s Principal Scientist, Dr. Kumar Navulur, will discuss how the new spectral bands on the WorldView-2 satellite, set to launch October 6th, will provide improved value for remote sensing applications. Mark your calendars for 11:00am and 7:00pm (MDT), and click here to learn more.

Full Article

Yesterday, the Air Force officially announced that it was officially canceling the Transformational Satellite Communications System (TSAT) program. In a move that reinforces Defense Secretary Robert Gates previous statements about eliminating the program, the Department of Defense has formally terminated contracts with companies that include Lockheed Martin and Booz Allen.

Full Article

The recent explosion of commercial synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and its applications has provided tremendous opportunities for all users, including those in the Defense, Intelligence and Homeland Security communities. In addition, the recent DoD announcement that the Space Radar program will lose its funding further underscores the potential opportunities for commercial SAR providers to augment this defense capability.

Full Article

It is certainly exciting when a major player in the GEOINT space decides to go public. And, that is exactly what is happening with USGIF member, DigitalGlobe. The company just announced that it will officially IPO later this week. With the Obama administration’s plans to use more commercial satellite imagery for intelligence gathering, it seems that the timing is right for the public offering, which is slated to happen on Thursday. DigitalGlobe will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DGI.

Full Article

As many of you may have seen last week, USGIF member, GeoEye made available its first high-resolution imagery from its GeoEye-1 satellite on Google Earth. We recommend you peruse the Google Earth preview site to check out the images. In addition, we have pulled a few key images for your enjoyment below.

Full Article

First, we hope everyone had a safe, healthy and happy Christmas, and we hope you are enjoying some downtime on this Friday. Second, the number of applications of satellite imagery seems to increase everyday — it is truly limitless. For example, CNN ran this story about archeologist from the University of Alabama who has used satellite imagery to unearth some previously unknown ruins in Egypt.

Full Article