Terra Image To Distribute Spot Imagery in U.S.

摘要

A new joint venture is opti-mistic about the prospects for selling French satellite imagery to U.S. government clients. Terra Image USA LLC signed a deal in October to distribute imagery and products from the Spot Image series of satellites to U.S. federal civilian agencies and state and local governments. Spot Image Group, headquartered in Toulouse, France, markets imagery collected by the quartet of orbiting Spot satellites. The most capable, Spot 5, collects black-and-white photos sharp enough to distinguish objects 2.5 meters across and larger. Terra Image signed its marketing agreement with Spot Image Corp. of Chantilly, Va., the U.S. marketing arm of Spot Image. The contract, inked in October, runs through 2007, and Terra Image has two one-year options to extend the deal. Spot and Terra Image did not disclose the price Terra Image will pay for imagery. Terra Image, based in Santa Barbara, Calif., is owned by satellite imagery distributor lunctus Geomatics Corp. of Canada and a California-based venture capital firm Montecito Group.