European Space Imaging Renews Contract with Maxar Technologies

European Space Imaging and Space Imaging Middle East have extended their long-standing partnership with Maxar Technologies to continue acquiring and supplying very high resolution satellite imagery to Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. Maxar Technologies is a provider of comprehensive space solutions and secure, precise geospatial intelligence.

European Space Imaging has been acquiring satellite imagery from Maxar satellites since 2003 through its multi-mission ground station at the German Aerospace Centre. This renewed agreement will see the company expand on previous investments to upgrade the ground station. New upgrades will include the tasking of the upcoming Legion satellites with near-real-time provision, as well as improving delivery times of currently orbiting satellites.

“This partnership is key to providing European and North African customers with the highest-quality satellite imagery data at unparalleled efficiency in the collection and delivery process,” said Adrian Zevenbergen, managing director of European Space Imaging. “With Maxar’s WorldView Legion satellites set to launch and the planned upgrades to our ground station at the German Aerospace Centre, we at European Space Imaging look forward to new business opportunities that will benefit both our team and the Earth observation community as a whole.”

Improved Near-real-time Processing

Installation of the ground station is scheduled for mid-2022 at the latest. This upgrade will allow for tasking WorldView Legion satellites and the direct reception and processing of data once in service (a launch window of 15 May to 13 June has been secured), as well as heritage data from the current WorldView constellation. Furthermore, it will significantly improve near-real-time processing and delivery times for all satellites, getting the data into the hands of the user with unprecedented speed. Maxar’s combined constellation will provide revisit rates of up to 15 times per day for monitoring missions, increasing not only capacity but also access to 30cm resolution for customers.

“This enduring alliance between Space Imaging Middle East, European Space Imaging and Maxar Technologies has been fundamental to the success of all parties involved for many years, and we are very pleased to see it extended further,” said Maitha Juma, chair of Space Imaging Middle East and European Space Imaging. “Together, our companies provide the most advanced geospatial data and services both regionally and globally.”

In addition to collecting imagery over Europe and leveraging the extensive Maxar archive for customers, European Space Imaging will continue to offer innovative Maxar products such as 15cm HD, SecureWatch, Analysis Ready Data (ARD) and a range of 3D products and tools.