The Clear30 Program – Edition 2

In eMap’s December 09 GeoView, I discussed DigitalGlobe’s newly announced nationwide aerial imagery acquisition program called Clear30. By the time you read this, the program, managed by Microsoft Vexcel, should be contracted and underway. It appears that imagery acquisition contracts will be awarded by Microsoft to a small group of major US aerial imaging companies that have experience with Vexcel Imaging’s UltraCam digital aerial imaging systems.

A new aerial sensor developed by Vexcel imaging, the UltraCamG, will be deployed for the US imagery collection program. The camera's characteristics will permit the imagery to be captured from an altitude of 5,000 meters (16,250 ft) above mean terrain, resulting in a final pixel size of 30-cm (1-ft). The imagery acquisition is to be completed in prioritized 1-degree cells across the US with major population centers given first priority for collection.

In related matters the National States Geographic Information Council (NSGIC) is scheduled to meet for its mid-year meeting in Annapolis the week of March 7th. If you recall, one of the major initiatives of NSGIC has been to spearhead the Imagery for the Nation (IFTN) program, a government funded program to capture high resolution digital aerial and satellite imagery of the US . The vision statement of IFTN is: “The Nation will have a sustainable and flexible digital imagery program that meets the needs of local, state, regional, tribal and federal agencies and is in the public domain.” It will be interesting to see how Clear30, a privately funded nationwide imagery program, will impact the IFTN program especially in these difficult times of government budgeting.

In next month’s GeoView, I will provide an update to these rapidly developing events that can have significant impact on not only the geospatial profession but to the US population at large.

David K. Nale
President/CEO
Certified Photogrammetrist
Certified Mapping Scientist
Professional Land Surveyor