Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company has been selected by GeoEye, Inc. to build the company’s next-generation, high-resolution Earth imaging satellite system known as GeoEye-2. Financial terms are not being disclosed at this time.
Lockheed Martin has begun start-up activities and procurement of long-lead components to support the earliest possible launch date for GeoEye-2. This effort will lead to a contract award for the design, engineering and manufacturing of the satellite and the associated command and control system.
Lockheed Martin Space Systems designed and built the world’s first commercial, high-resolution, Earth-imaging satellite, IKONOS, which has been providing 0.82-meter ground resolution imagery to GeoEye’s customers around the globe for more than a decade.
These map-accurate images are used for applications in national security, environmental monitoring, state and local government, disaster assessment and relief, land management and for many other geospatial applications.
Lockheed Martin’s GeoEye-2 solution will build on the company’s deep heritage and ability to execute within cost and schedule in this mission area and offer increased agility, resolution and flexibility over IKONOS and GeoEye-1.
This will enable the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency to provide critical geospatial situational awareness and global security information to intelligence analysts, war fighters and decision makers.
Commercial users will also benefit from access to GeoEye-2’s map-accurate color imagery. The spacecraft will feature a high-resolution ITT camera that has been in development for more than two years.