got geoint?

Once again, the editorial staff of got geoint? is faced with a dearth of news GEOINT-related news to share – and thus the new, and emerging “Wednesday News Round Up” post. They say that celebrities can sell anything and and this certainly rings true in today’s post — with news of Google collaborating with indie super group Arcade Fire (pictured) and veteran actress Sigourney Weaver. In addition, we have some news from DigitalGlobe and more. And to re-hash our ever-popular Monday morning expression: fire up that second cup of coffee and read on.

DigitalGlobe Announces the Development of WorldView-3
DigitalGlobe, a leading global content provider of high-resolution earth imagery solutions, today announced that it had contracted Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corporation to build its next imaging satellite, WorldView-3. The company also contracted with ITT Corporation to build the imaging system for WorldView-3. The imaging system will be capable of capturing 8-band multispectral high-resolution imagery. The WorldView-3 satellite is scheduled to be ready for launch in 2014 and will further expand DigitalGlobe’s industry-leading collection capacity, ensuring that DigitalGlobe can meet future assignments while continuing to deliver value-added products that satisfy current customers’ needs for information and insight derived from advanced imagery applications. Read the full press release here.

Google and Arcade Fire Collaborate on the Geekiest Music Video Ever
Google displayed the power of HTML5 this Monday, thanks to a unique music video collaboration with indie-rock band Arcade Fire. The unusual partnership, which goes under the project name of The Wilderness Downtown, was directed by Chris Milk and offers site visitors an undoubtedly new browsing experience. The project is made of an impressive mashup of Arcade Fire’s video for “We Used to Wait,” along with inventive use of Google’s mapping service. When you visit the site you will be instructed to enter the address of the home you grew up in, and after a few minutes–once the background technology loads and does its magic–the experience will begin. Read the full PC World article here.

Sigourney Weaver Narrates New Google Earth Animation on Brazil’s Controversial Belo Monte Dam for Amazon Watch and International Rivers
Amazon Watch and International Rivers have teamed up to create a state-of-the-art 10-minute Google Earth 3-D tour and video narrated by actress Sigourney Weaver, with technical assistance from Google Earth Outreach, in support of Brazil’s Xingu River Forever Alive Movement. Download the tour or view the video on amazonwatch.org. The tour allows viewers to learn about the harmful impacts of, and alternatives to the massive Belo Monte Dam on the Amazon’s Xingu River. If built, the Belo Monte Dam would be the third-largest hydroelectric dam in the world. The dam would divert the flow of the Xingu River, an important tributary of the Amazon River, in order to produce electricity for industrial mining operations in the region. The dam’s reservoirs would flood 668 square kilometers and displace more than 20,000 people. Late last week, the Brazilian government signed the concession to build the $17 billion-dollar project, ignoring local, national, and international opposition, proven financial and technical risks, and the ready availability of clean energy alternatives. Read the full Google Earth press release here.

Google to Use ‘Spy Drones’ for Street Mapping
Internet search engine giant Google has plans to use “spy drones” similar to the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) used in military operations for surveillance and bombing to prepare more accurate maps of streets across the globe. Sven Juerss, the chief executive of Microdrones GmbH, a German firm which builds UAVs, has said that his company has already supplied Google with one aircraft and expects to provide “dozens” more in the future, The Telegraph reported on Tuesday. While this story is a bit old, it is certainly worth checking out here.

Boeing’s Secret Robot Space Plane Vanishes… For Almost Three Weeks
Boeing’s unmanned space vehicle, the X-37B (also known by its prototype designation, OTV-1), launched in April. Its top-secret mission and undisclosed capabilities have engendered plentiful speculation from amateur astronomers, space-policy enthusiasts and arms-control activists alike. Recently, however, the spacecraft pulled off a new trick: a vanishing act. The robotic space plane, which looks like a scaled-down version of the space shuttle and has the approximate payload capacity of a standard-bed pickup truck, disappeared July 29 until it was spotted again Aug. 14. While it would be cool if the X-37B’s mysterious disappearance was due to a Star Trek-style cloaking device, amateur astronomers say it’s likely due to a minuscule change in the spacecraft’s orbit. Read the full Executive Biz post here.

Happy Wednesday!

Tags: Acrade fire and Google, Arcade Fire, Arcade Fire and the Wilderness Downtown, DigitalGlobe, DigitalGlobe and Ball Aerospace, DigitalGlobe and WorldView-3, DigitalGlobe WorldView-3, GEOINT 2010, got geoint?, Sigourney Weaver and Google Earth, The Wilderness Downtown, USGIF, WorldView-3