Understanding the revenue potential of satellite-based remote sensing imagery providers

In April 2003, President Bush authorized the U.S. Commercial Remote Sensing Policy (CRSP). This policy directed the federal government to increase its reliance on commercial satellite imagery and mandated civil agencies to use commercial imagery to the greatest extent possible. One of the goals of this policy was to strengthen the domestic commercial remote sensing imagery industry. In support of CRSP, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) has awarded domestic satellite-imagery providers DigitalGlobe, Space Imaging, and Orbimage each several significant imagery purchase contracts. However, the question remains as to the long-term financial viability of each company and the extent of their reliance on the U.S. government for revenue. This paper begins to address this question by providing a framework for understanding the potential impact of U.S. government imagery acquisition decisions on their revenue