Satellite imagery company DigitalGlobe Inc. has now opened full access to super-detailed images taken by the Colorado-build WorldView-3 satellite.
The Longmont-based company company's (NYSE: DGI) WorldView-3 launched last August. It was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. in Boulder.
The U.S. Department of Commerce last spring relaxed a longstanding national security restriction on how detailed the images could be. The standard dropped from a half-meter resolution to 30 centimeters, which the company says allows it to sell images that are five time clearer than its competitors.
- Click the image above to view DigitalGlobe's high-resolution images taken over Crimea, New Zealand, Brazil and elsewhere.
DigitalGlobe sells satellite images and data for commercial use to the likes of Google, for maps, and developers for real estate location scouting, and to energy and mining companies.
Its biggest business is selling non-classified images to U.S. government agencies needing images that aren't classified as top secret and can be shared with foreign governments, humanitarian aid groups and others.
The 30-centimeter resolution is capable of showing power lines and manhole covers in street — details that previously required photographs taken by plane, which can be impractical, expensive or even illegal in some areas, the company said.
"Today marks a significant milestone for our customers, who will now benefit from a level of image quality that has never before been available from commercial satellite providers," said Hyune Hand, DigitalGlobe senior vice president for product management and marketing.
Prior to the rule change, DigitalGlobe had been limited to less detailed images than two of its orbiters, WorldView-2 and Geoeye-1, could take.
WorldView-3 is expected to trigger a $50 million a year increase in revenue recognized from a contract with the Virginia-based National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, which orders non-classified images under the EnhancedView program.
Early demand for the higher resolution prompted DigitalGlobe to announce last year that it will move up the launch of its high-res WoldView-4 satellite to mid-2016 to meet the high-resolution demand.
The satellite, formerly called GeoEye-2, was built by Jefferson County-based Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co. in Sunnyvale, California.
