2 New Imagery Satellites - 1/2 Meter Res

DigitalGlobe - Press Release

WorldView I, scheduled to launch no later than 2006, will be the most agile satellite ever flown commercially. The high-capacity, panchromatic imaging system features half-meter resolution imagery. With an average revisit time of 1.7 days.

WorldView II is planned to launch no later than 2008. Operating at an altitude of 770 kilometers, WorldView II will enable DigitalGlobe to offer half-meter panchromatic resolution and 1.8- meter multispectral resolution.

Added spectral diversity will provide the ability to perform precise change detection and mapping. WorldView II will incorporate the industry standard four multispectral bands (red, blue, green and near-infrared) and will also include four new bands (coastal, yellow, red edge, and near-infrared 2).

So I'll ask a stupid question: If a private company can launch this type of imagery satellite with 1/2 meter resolution, why the hell hasn't the US government done this yet? That resolution is better than the 1 meter aerial photography we have in Minnesota. I hear FEMA has a billion for updating it's flood maps - oh wait, that's going to be spent on beaurocratic bungling...I forget...

from SlashGISRS