Welcome to the Monday Morning News Kick Off from the new got geoint? blog. We hope everyone had an enjoyable weekend. This week kicks off with news from major U.S. commercial imagery companies, concerns surrounding the rising popularity of unmanned aircraft, increased government censorship, and more. So, fire up that second cup of coffee and read on!
GeoEye Expands Tampa Office
GeoEye announced the expansion of its Tampa office to support the U.S. military's growing demand for geospatial analytics. The office in Tampa is one component of a virtual analytics center that will aggregate and analyze unclassified imagery and open source data to predict areas where threats are more likely to emerge.
DigitalGlobe announced NGA will renew its EnhancedView SLA for Option Year 3
DigitalGlobe announced the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency has informed the company that it plans to exercise DigitalGlobe's service level agreement for the EnhancedView contract for the entirety of option year three, which begins September 1, 2012 and continues through August 31, 2013.
What is DHS Doing with $180 Million in Drones?
A new report released by the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security, says Customs and Border Patrol has not adequately planned resources needed to support its current unmanned aircraft inventory, creating "mission creep."
The Pentagon Releases List of Potenital UAV Bases
In other UAV news, the Pentagon released a report listing 110 potential bases where unmanned aircraft are likely to fly. The report reflects the demand for airspace to test new systems and train UAV operators.
White House to Reconsider Commercial Space Imagery Policy
AOL Defense's Colin Clark reports from the USGIF GEOINT Community Week workshop series on the future of U.S. commercial remote sensing. Several government sources familiar with the effort pointed out that while the policy on commercial space imagery will be reviewed there is no firm commitment to change the existing policy.
Raytheon extends Navy Satellite Reach
Raytheon will extend satellite services to cover the remote polar region as a result of a $19 million Navy contract to modify the Navy Multiband Terminal to link it with the Air Force's Enhanced Polar Satellite (EPS), which will allow both services to overcome communications gaps in that region.
Google Sees Sharp Rise in Government Censorship
Goog'e biannual Global Transparency Report revealed the web giant has received more than 1,000 requests from governments around the world to remove items such as YouTube videos and search listings in the past six months.
