Satellite Earth imagery provider DigitalGlobe on Oct. 31 said its U.S. government business is showing almost no effects of the budget issues that have frozen or reduced spending in most federal agencies, and that its commercial business was growing as well. Longmont, Colo.-based DigitalGlobe, which acquired competitor GeoEye in January and is now a near-monopoly provider of imagery to U.S. government agencies, also reiterated its call for a relaxation of regulations that limit the sharpness of images it can provide on the open market. The current limit on ground sampling distance is 50 centimeters, a measure that corresponds to the size of the objects a satellite can detect from orbit. Sharper imagery, which DigitalGlobe satellites currently are able to provide, is limited to the U.S. government or customers specifically approved bv U.S. authorities.
展开▼
