US: Earth imagery and information provider DigitalGlobe announced the formation of a joint venture with the technology company of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, TAQNIA. The joint venture will work in partnership with KACST to develop a constellation of highly capable small imaging satellites to support the needs of customers around the world.
In this regard, an agreement was between DigitalGlobe and TAQNIA and KACST on Sunday, February 21. Through this partnership, the two companies are aiming to develop six or more sub-meter resolution imaging satellites. The small satellites are expected to be capable of collecting imagery with anticipated 80 cm resolution and will leverage DigitalGlobe’s industry-leading ground infrastructure.
TAQNIA and KACST will benefit from DigitalGlobe’s imagery production platform and expertise and massive catalog of high-resolution, high-accuracy imagery, which will improve the native accuracy of the small satellite imagery. TAQNIA and KACST will also benefit from DigitalGlobe’s global distribution capability and existing customer relationships with the world’s largest buyers of commercial satellite imagery and geospatial information.
KACST will construct, integrate, and launch the satellites, and it will own 50% of the satellites’ imaging capacity inside of KACST’s communication cone, which includes Saudi Arabia and the surrounding region. DigitalGlobe will have rights to the other 50% of the capacity inside this region and 100% of the satellites’ capacity outside of the region. TAQNIA will be responsible for marketing and monetizing 50% of the capacity within the KACST communication cone.
Source: Businesswire
