The Colorado Springs Gazette August 11, 2002
Web Sites Offer Views of Farms, Forests, Cities from Hundreds of Miles Up
By John Diedrich
The DigitalGlobe and Space Imaging Web sites show the world from another viewpoint -- hundreds of miles above Earth.
The companies are pioneers in the burgeoning business of commercial space imagery, and they post on the Internet samples of the pictures they take from space.
A photo of the Eiffel Tower on DigitalGlobe's site gives viewers a feeling of vertigo, like they're looking down on it from the top of a skyscraper. Space Imaging, based in Thornton, was the first one to sell high-resolution satellite images to the public, beginning in late 1999. DigitalGlobe, based in Longmont, began doing so earlier this year.
The companies sell to farmers, foresters and urban planners. The U.S. military is a big customer, buying pictures to make maps.
These aren't the first pictures from space available to the public -- the U.S. government has sold images for 30 years -- but these are the best so far.
In a picture from Space Imaging, viewers can see fences and tell the difference between buildings and trucks.
DigitalGlobe images are even sharper. They can show the difference between cars and pickups.
The companies can't compete with the quality of images from U.S. spy satellites, reportedly clear enough to see the color of a person's shirt or read a license plate.
But they produce sharper pictures than satellites owned by the rest of the world -- countries and companies alike.
Companies in this country must be licensed by the U.S. government before they can get into the business. The government regulates the quality and sale of the pictures.
The companies have to follow certain rules to get and keep a license.
For instance, DigitalGlobe can't sell its pictures for at least 24 hours because they sell the sharpest ones. Space Imaging can sell immediately.
Neither company can sell photos to companies, people or countries deemed unfriendly by the U.S. government, but officials know there are ways around it, such as using a phony buyer.
"It's digital, so once it's sold, it's hard to track. It's not like a pickup truck," said Gary Napier, a Space Imaging spokesman. "We are doing everything the government requires."
That includes shutting out other customers in favor of the government.
When the war in Afghanistan began last fall, the government took the unprecedented step of buying all the pictures Space Imaging was taking of the area for two months to help the war effort and ensure the pictures didn't go to the enemy.
The regulations governing how DigitalGlobe and Space Imaging operate and what they sell may be changing.
The White House is beginning to study the nation's space policy, which will include possible changes in the oversight of companies selling satellite pictures.
EYES IN THE SKY: Pictures from space are available at these Web sites:
www.spaceimaging.com/level1/index42.htm
www.digitalglobe.com
www.globalsecurity.org
Copyright 2002 Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
