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Orbimage
Wins NextView;
Space Imaging Plans for the Future
At the end of September the National
Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) announced that
Orbimage, not rival Space Imaging, was awarded the second
$500 million NextView contract that will put a next
generation imaging satellite in orbit. DigitalGlobe won
the first one against Space Imaging last September.
Orbimage will build and fly OrbView-5 (right) which
will collect .41 meter (panchromatic, aka black and white)
imagery. The bird should be in orbit by 2007 and the
company has already begun plans for its financing. The
rest of the team includes General Dynamics, Kodak/ITT
Industries, and Boeing Launch Services for the satellite
and as well as IBM and MacDonald, Dettwiler Associates of
Canada for the ground segment.
Orbimage was the last of the three commercial
companies to get its 1-meter or better resolution
satellite, OrbView-3, up and running last June. The
115-person company emerged from bankruptcy within the last
year. With this contract Orbimage is back in the game
heading in the right direction, both for its investors and
employees. Its stock was up significantly after the
announcement.
Space Imaging recently sold its Federal
Civil/Commercial Solutions (once Pacific Meridian) to
Geo360. The Rocky Mountain News reported that L3
Communications had an agreement in place to buy Space
Imaging, should it win the contract.
Space Imaging representatives suggested that the
short term future is good and that the company expects a
good year-end revenue. After that, it’s not clear.
Layoffs are possible, as is winding down operations or the
outright sale of the company. The company’s Mark Brender,
quoted in the Denver Post, noted that “without a
NextView contract it’s going to be much harder to raise
capital to build a next-generation imaging system to
replace Ikonos.” Lockheed Martin, one of Space
Imaging’s largest owners has said it will not make any
further investments in the company.
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