Lockheed Martin selected for GeoEye-2

GeoEye, Inc. announced that it has selected Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company to build GeoEye-2, the Company’s next-generation, high-resolution Earth-imaging satellite system. Lockheed has already begun purchasing long-lead material and labor for the design, engineering and manufacturing of the satellite and the associated command and control system.

Matt O’Connell, GeoEye’s chief executive officer and president, said, “We chose Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company to build GeoEye-2 to ensure high confidence in mission success. They have a 50-year heritage of building imaging systems for the U.S. Government and have built several hundred Earth-imaging satellites—more than anyone else.”

Bill Schuster, GeoEye’s chief operating officer, said, “GeoEye-2 will be the same class of satellite as GeoEye-1 but will benefit from significant improvements in capabilities to better serve our customers’ demands for increased quantities of imagery at higher resolution. Some of these improvements include enhanced tasking capabilities and the ability to collect more imagery at a faster rate.”

Joanne Maguire, executive vice president of Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, said, “GeoEye-2’s increased resolution, along with the need for greater spacecraft agility, leverages our unparalleled experience in delivering highly reliable, precision remote sensing space systems for our customers.”

Lockheed Martin built GeoEye’s IKONOS satellite. Launched in 1999, IKONOS has exceeded 10 years of successful on-orbit operations. It continues to provide high-resolution imagery of the Earth to GeoEye’s commercial and government customers around the world.

www.geoeye.com