The results show that DigitalGlobe's constellation outperformed competitors by a wide margin, with DigitalGlobe satellites collecting imagery approximately two times faster than its nearest rival.
This enabled DigitalGlobe and its partner European Space Imaging to provide 66 percent of the total EU member states' requirement for very high-resolution imagery, including the most imagery with cloud cover equal to or less than five percent of the image.
"We're pleased to announce that our industry-leading constellation has once again enabled us to deliver unmatched performance and value thanks to significantly higher collection capacity, faster revisit and recapture, and unique weather optimized collection capabilities," said Andrea Bersan, international vice president at DigitalGlobe.
DigitalGlobe Constellation and ImageLibrary
DigitalGlobe's constellation is comprised of its
QuickBird,
WorldView-1 and
WorldView-2 satellites. WorldView-1 and -2 are the most advanced commercial imagery satellites currently on-orbit. Both use Control Moment Gyros (CMG), giving them far better agility and maneuvering speed than competing satellites.
As the satellites travel at roughly 27,000 kilometers per hour through their orbits, the CMGs are responsible for quickly adjusting the angle of the satellites, allowing them to photograph a wide range of locations on the planet's surface.
Subsequently, the satellites are able to capture much more imagery and far faster than would otherwise be possible. DigitalGlobe has also passed the milestone of obtaining more than one billion square kilometers (km2) of color imagery, 60 percent of which is less than two years old.
"Having the world's most advanced commercial imaging satellites and the world's largest imagery archive enables us to provide customers in Europe and worldwide a superior overall solution -- regardless of whether they need imagery captured in the last few hours, the last few months, or the last few years," added Bersan. "Additionally, our leading color archive is 1.7 times the size of our nearest competitor, giving customers access to the largest and most recent color imagery available."
Working jointly with European Space Imaging
European Space Imaging, which has been a data provider to the CwRS Campaign since very high-resolution sensors were introduced, manages and operates the image collection campaign using its own local satellite ground station. For the 2011 campaign, European Space Imaging was the only supplier to complete the program with a reliable 100 percent success rate.
The technical management of the CwRS Campaign is performed by the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission on behalf of the Directorate General for Agriculture and Rural Development. The campaign has been in operation for twenty years. With the successful introduction of very high-resolution sensors in 2004, hundreds of thousands of km² of agricultural land are monitored throughout Europe with strict technical criteria and constraints. Detailed information about the program can be found at http://mars.jrc.ec.europa.eu/mars/News-Events/17-GeoCAP-conference/Agenda/Gervasini
Adrian Zevenbergen, managing director of European Space Imaging, stated, "The CwRS Campaign is probably one of the largest and operationally most challenging image acquisition projects in Europe. With the highest success rate of all data providers involved, we are pleased to have demonstrated that local satellite tasking combined with individual collection planning does make a difference."
About DigitalGlobe
DigitalGlobe is a leading global provider of commercial high-resolution earth imagery products and services. Sourced from our own advanced satellite constellation, our imagery solutions support a wide variety of uses within defense and intelligence, civil agencies, mapping and analysis, environmental monitoring, oil and gas exploration, infrastructure management, Internet portals and navigation technology. With our collection sources and comprehensive ImageLibrary (containing more than two billion square kilometers of earth imagery and imagery products) we offer a range of on- and off-line products and services designed to enable customers to easily access and integrate our imagery into their business operations and applications. For more information, visit
www.digitalglobe.com.
About European Space Imaging
European Space Imaging (EUSI) is a leading supplier of Very High-Resolution satellite imagery to customers in Europe and North Africa. The company was founded in 2002 and is based in Munich, Germany. EUSI is the only European satellite data provider that operates its own Very High-Resolution satellite ground station for direct satellite tasking and local data downlink. EUSI has an excellent reputation for its customer service and has a diverse network of technological and commercial partners. The company maintains long-term, direct relations with the major European and international institutions working in disaster management, national and regional security, environmental monitoring and mapping. With its dedicated satellite ground station in Munich, Germany, customers benefit from Priority Local Satellite Tasking for rapid collection and same-day production and delivery.
DigitalGlobe is a registered trademark of DigitalGlobe.
Safe Harbor Statement
Our reports, filings, presentations and public announcements may contain or incorporate forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Forward-looking statements relate to future events or our future financial performance. We generally identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "may," "will," "should," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "could," "intends," "target," "projects," "contemplates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "potential" or "continue" or the negative of these terms or other similar words, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words.
Any forward-looking statements are based upon our historical performance and on our current plans, estimates and expectations. The inclusion of this forward-looking information should not be regarded as a representation by us that the future plans, estimates or expectations will be achieved. Such forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties and assumptions. A number of important factors could cause our actual results or performance to differ materially from those indicated by such forward looking statements, including: the loss, reduction or change in terms of any of our primary contracts; the loss or impairment of our satellites; delays in the construction and launch of WorldView-3; delays in implementation of planned ground system and infrastructure enhancements; loss or damage to the content contained in our ImageLibrary; interruption or failure of our ground system and other infrastructure, decrease in demand for our imagery products and services; increased competition that may reduce our market share or cause us to lower our prices; our failure to obtain or maintain required regulatory approvals and licenses; changes in U.S. foreign law or regulation that may limit our ability to distribute our imagery products and services; the costs associated with being a public company; and other important factors, all as described more fully in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K.
We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any of these forward looking statements.
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