Last week, the biggest news coming out of the geospatial sector was the launch of the DigitalGlobe's WorldView-3 satellite from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

What makes this launch particularly unique is that satellite imagery from WorldView-3 will be 25cm-resolution, where as, in the past, commercial providers had been limited to selling 50cm resolution.

This is all been made possible thanks to the Department of Commerce recently relaxing some of its restrictions to allow companies like DigitalGlobe to sell higher-resolution imagery to customers like Google and Microsoft.

This will allow organizations leveraging Google Earth to have the highest resolution imagery possible, which can further enhance efficient data collection for supporting overall decision-making.  From major utilities to retailers and chain restaurants and defense agencies, virtually any organization can use this high-res imagery in ways that support business and mission goals.

“Having the highest available resolution is extremely important because it directly correlates with the amount of information you can extract from an image,” DigitalGlobe wrote in a June blog post. “Once an image is collected, new information can't be added through software or processing tricks. You can make a sharp image blurry, but not the other way around.”

The WorldView-3 launch also comes on the heels of other big news from Google: the launch of Google Maps for Business imagery.  As we highlighted in a recent Geo Data Convergence blog post, this will allow businesses to better leverage Thermopylae’s iSpatial for better data visualization. By using iSpatial, businesses can also now enhance the tracking and managing of their assets more efficiently for gaining better situational awareness through Google Earth imagery.

As the geospatial sector continues to evolve, we will be seeing more innovative uses of imagery and data in ways that enhance effectiveness and efficiencies.  The launch of WorldView-3 is the latest step in making geospatial data simpler and more ubiquitous.