(By Balaseshan) GeoEye Inc. (NASDAQ:GEOY) said it has received a $111 million cost-share payment from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) for the construction of GeoEye-2 satellite, which is due to launch next year.
In early June, the company successfully passed a major milestone in their GeoEye-2 satellite's development as part of the NGA's EnhancedView program, triggering this cost-share payment.
When operational in 2013, GeoEye-2 will provide cost-effective, shareable imagery for the U.S. government and its many other customers, which is particularly important during times of global crisis.
The company said GeoEye-2 would set new standards with collection capabilities, accuracy and resolution exceeding that of the company's closest competitors.
Collecting at 34-centimeter resolution, GeoEye-2 would be an important long-term security asset for the U.S. Department of Defense, intelligence and other U.S. government agencies.
Chief Executive Matt O'Connell said in passing this critical milestone and receiving the $111 million cost-share payment, GeoEye has once again demonstrated its technical leadership and its ability to meet the U.S. government's stringent EnhancedView program requirements, on time and on budget.
The company owns and operates two Earth-imaging satellites, GeoEye-1 and IKONOS, and three airplanes with high-resolution imagery collection capabilities. GeoEye-1 is a commercial Earth-imaging satellite.
GEOY is trading down 0.78% at $15.20 on Thursday. The stock has been trading between $12.87 and $42.31 for the past 52 weeks.