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Google saw-off the successful launch of GeoEye satellite into outer space, recently. The mission’s simple, grab high resolution imagery to provide mapping for Google Earth, oh and of course… exclusively to Google. Co-founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin were present at the launch. Learn more about the pre-launch as it was comprehensively covered before by StartupMeme.

GeoEye is the premier provider of geospatial information for the national security community, strategic partners, resellers and commercial customers to help them better map, measure and monitor the world.

The satellite took off from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. The GeoEye satellite lifted off into orbit on a Delta 2 rocket at 11:50am, 6th Sept, and the Google logo was prominently displaying on it. The GeoEye ground station in Norway relayed the downlink signal it received from GeoEye-1 confirming that the satellite successfully separated from the second stage of the launch (Boeing) vehicle.

All-at-a-time, GeoEye-1 will collect 0.41-meter ground resolution black-and-white (panchromatic) and 1.65-meter color (multispectral) images. GeoEye-1 is designed to take digital images of the Earth from 423 miles (681 kilometers). Moving at a speed of about 4.5 miles (7 kilometers) per second, the satellite camera can distinguish objects on the Earth’s surface as small as 0.41-meter or 16 inches in size. Although commercial customers will only get access to imagery at half-meter ground resolution, due to U.S. licensing restrictions.

An animated video of the satellite’s launch is available here.

GeoEye-1 will now undergo a calibration and check-out period before imagery products will be available for sale. GeoEye’s CEO Matthew O’Connell was quoted as saying:

Later this fall, we will start providing high-resolution color imagery of the Earth from our newest satellite to customers around the globe. The imagery from GeoEye-1 adds to the quantity and quality of that currently provided by our IKONOS satellite, and together this magnificent constellation will enable us to meet world-wide customer demand.

This launch, and our important relationship with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), shows how public-private partnerships can be successful for the collection of broad areas of the Earth. And all our customers can be assured of continued access to quality products and first-class customer service.

I happened to stumble past the history behind the project, so here’s a little bit about that: GeoEye-1 is part of the NGA NextView program. The program is designed to ensure that the NGA has access to commercial imagery in support of its mission to provide timely, relevant and accurate geospatial intelligence in support of national security.