GeoEye, a leading source of geospatial information and insight, announced that it has successfully completed the System Critical Design Review, the last of four critical design reviews in its EnhancedView Program. This program includes the development of the GeoEye-2 satellite and an upgraded ground system architecture.
On January 26, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) approved the System Critical Design Review. This review was the final step to verify that GeoEye’s space, ground and overall system level designs meet the stringent operational and security requirements of the NGA. Completion of these four critical design reviews also confirms the system will support all mission requirements and federal space standards for the EnhancedView Program.
Carl Alleyne, GeoEye’s vice president of engineering, said, “This on-time achievement clears the way for bringing this important firm, fixed-price program to timely completion while meeting all of the U.S. government requirements.”
“These milestones validate that our upgraded ground systems and GeoEye-2 satellite are designed to support the needs of the national security community, from our intelligence analysts at home to our many warfighters abroad,” said Bill Schuster, GeoEye’s chief operating officer.
With 34-centimeter resolution imagery, GeoEye-2 will be the world’s highest resolution commercial satellite. When operational in 2013, GeoEye-2 will provide cost-effective, increased coverage and easier access for the U.S. government and its many other customers, which is particularly important during times of global crisis. GeoEye-2 will feature significant improvements over its predecessors, including enhanced tasking, the ability to collect more imagery at a faster rate and a new ITT Exelis camera.
