GeoEye, Inc., a premier provider of superior satellite and aerial-based geospatial information and services, announced today that GeoEye Imagery Collection Systems Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of GeoEye, Inc., has signed a procurement contract with Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, an operating unit of Lockheed Martin Corporation, to complete the development and construction of the GeoEye-2 satellite and the associated command and control system. Prior to entering this procurement contract, GeoEye and Lockheed Martin have been performing long-lead development and procurement activities for the GeoEye-2 satellite under an interim purchase agreement.
The GeoEye-2 imagery satellite is being built to support GeoEye’s EnhancedView contracts with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) and also to meet the growing demands for imagery from commercial and international customers. Financial terms of the contract are not being disclosed.
Matt O’Connell, GeoEye’s chief executive officer and president, said, "We are pleased to have a finalized contract to ensure that Lockheed will meet our delivery schedule on time and on budget. When GeoEye-2 is operational in 2013, it will deliver the world’s highest resolution and most accurate color imagery to our government and commercial customers."
Bill Schuster, GeoEye’s chief operating officer, said, "The GeoEye-2 imagery satellite will benefit from significant improvements in technologies and capabilities that Lockheed Martin and GeoEye have designed into the new satellite to better meet our customers’ demands for increased quantities of imagery at higher resolution. Our enhanced tasking capabilities with the GeoEye-2 satellite and the ability to collect more imagery at a faster rate will please both our domestic and international customers."
Follow us on Twitter.