Non-U.S. firms provide niche imagery products: Imagesat, Spot benefit from growing demand for satellite data, intelligence.

• Author: Book, Elizabeth G.
• Position: Space Industry Update

International satellite-imagery providers Imagesat and Spot have emerged as the top non-American commercial suppliers of remote-sensing data to the U.S. military.

Imagesat Corporation is based in Limassol, Cyprus, with its technical offices in Tel Aviv, Israel. Together with Toulouse, France-based Spot Image, they contribute most of the non-U.S. commercial satellite images to the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) and other government agencies.

NIMA functions as a clearinghouse that purchases satellite images, not only for the Defense Department, but for other federal agencies, such as the Departments of Homeland Security and Agriculture. NIMA purchases commercial imagery from two U.S. companies-DigitalGlobe and Space Imaging--but also buys images from several non-U.S. firms, when domestic providers are not available, said David Burpee, a NIMA spokesperson.

In 2002, NIMA's purchase of commercial foreign imagery comprised less than 3 percent of the total commercial imagery purchased for that year. "Some foreign capability is not replicated by U.S. commercial companies," said Jean Mears, a NIMA spokesperson.

Imagesat distinguishes itself from its competitors "in that the company sells the exclusive right to directly task the satellite camera and download the imagery data from Eros A (Earth Resources Observation Satellite), with complete autonomy and secrecy, to its satellite operating partner (SOP) customers," said Menashe Broder, chairman and chief executive officer of Imagesat. Eros A, a sun-synchronous, polar-orbiting satellite, was launched in December 2000. It is the first in a constellation of satellites that Imagesat plans to deploy during this decade.

To protect its customer's secrets, Imagesat has no knowledge of the targets the satellite camera seeks, "nor do we see the images that are collected by the SOP customer," he said. "Our customers, in effect, acquire their own reconnaissance satellite in an agreed-upon footprint at a fraction of the cost than it would rake to build their own," Broder said.

"Autonomy and secrecy are very attractive to the intelligence and military customers we support. They particularly are attracted to the notion that the satellite camera is their's over their footprint, at all times. There is no shutter-control with our satellite," Broder said.

"Imagesat's SOP Program allows SOP customers to get intelligence in real time. They do nor have to ask for the satellite imagery from someone else. They do...