US move to source intel data from private sector to benefit satellite imaging firms

The announcement this week that even as the US National Reconnaissance Office will develop, build and operate a new type of intelligence-gathering satellite, the United States government will, as an interim measure, rely more on the private sector for its satellite mapping and reconnaissance needs, may turn out to be a potential boon to private sector imagery companies.

According to a statement made Tuesday, National Intelligence Director retired admiral Dennis C. Blair said, "When it comes to supporting our military forces and the safety of Americans, we cannot afford any gaps in collection." Now, as an interim measure, the Department of Defense and the US intelligence community will supplement data from current satellite imagery projects with products from commercial suppliers.

Industry experts suggest two commercial satellite imagery firms will very likely benefit the most from the announcement - Dulles-based GeoEye and Colorado firm DigitalGlobe. In their estimation, both companies could generate revenues as high as $750 million over the next five years.

GeoEye's latest satellite was commissioned in February and a more advanced version is due for launch in 2012. GeoEye-1, the company's latest satellite, orbits the earth once every 98 minutes, capturing images from an altitude of 423 miles. The resolution, apparently, is good enough to show the home plate on a baseball field.

According to Matthew O'Connell, president and chief executive, the company's next satellite will provide even higher resolution.

According to Adm Blair commercially available products could be made available much sooner than systems developed by the National Reconnaissance Office because they tend to be less complex than the systems the government builds.

A previous ambitious National Reconnaissance Office programme to build a cutting-edge satellite network, called Future Imagery Architecture, had to be canceled three years ago after missing a number of deadlines and going billions of dollars over budget. Adm Blair referred to the debacle in his statement.

"We are living with the consequences of past mistakes in acquisition strategy, and we cannot afford to do so again," he said.