DigitalGlobe
Commercial satellite-imagery and geospatial-content provider built around high-resolution Earth-observation data.
Last updated August 26, 2026
AI crawler reads
2requests
1companies- Anthropic2
- Profile
- 2
- Controversies
- 0
- JSON · MD
- 0
- First read
- Nov 4, 2026
- Latest read
- Nov 4, 2026
From this site's server log
Overview
DigitalGlobe was an American commercial Earth-observation company that developed, operated, and commercialized high-resolution satellite imagery and related geospatial products. Its origins lay in WorldView Imaging Corporation, established in Oakland, California, in January 1992 in anticipation of the United States Land Remote Sensing Policy Act. That legislation opened the possibility for private companies to operate remote-sensing spacecraft and sell imagery, creating the regulatory foundation for a commercial satellite-imaging industry. Walter Scott founded the company and was joined later in 1992 by Doug Gerull, who became a senior executive and chief executive. Scott brought experience from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's Strategic Defense Initiative-related satellite concepts, while Gerull had led the Mapping Sciences division of Intergraph. The company received the first high-resolution commercial remote-sensing license issued under the 1992 law in 1993. Its early business model combined privately financed spacecraft development with sales to government agencies, defense and intelligence customers, mapping organizations, and commercial users. In 1995, WorldView merged with Ball Aerospace & Technologies' commercial remote-sensing operations and adopted the name EarthWatch. The company later changed its name to DigitalGlobe in September 2001. Its satellite program progressed from EarlyBird-1 and IKONOS-related capabilities to the QuickBird and WorldView families, steadily improving spatial resolution, collection capacity, spectral capability, and revisit performance. The resulting imagery was used in defense and intelligence, mapping, urban planning, environmental monitoring, agriculture, infrastructure analysis, disaster response, and online mapping services. DigitalGlobe expanded beyond spacecraft operations through acquisitions and distribution platforms. Its 2007 purchase of GlobeXplorer strengthened online access to imagery through web services and application programming interfaces. In 2013, it acquired GeoEye, adding the GeoEye-1 satellite and combining two major American commercial imagery businesses. DigitalGlobe also supported public-facing and crowdsourced applications, including Tomnod, which enabled users to help identify objects and locations in satellite images. Its imagery was used by government agencies including the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and NASA, by conservation organizations, and by online mapping services. The company became publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange in May 2009. It was acquired by MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates, now associated with Maxar Technologies, in a transaction completed on October 5, 2017. DigitalGlobe and MDA Holdings Company were combined under the Maxar Technologies structure. After the acquisition, DigitalGlobe's imagery assets and WorldView satellite capabilities formed a central part of Maxar's Earth-intelligence business. The separate DigitalGlobe corporate identity therefore became less prominent, although the satellite systems, imagery archive, and associated commercial capabilities continued within Maxar.
History
DigitalGlobe developed from WorldView Imaging Corporation, founded in Oakland, California, in January 1992 by Walter Scott. The company was created in response to the expected opening of the United States commercial remote-sensing market under the Land Remote Sensing Policy Act. Doug Gerull joined later that year and became a co-founder and chief executive. In 1993, the company obtained the first high-resolution commercial remote-sensing license issued under the new legal framework, allowing it to pursue a privately operated Earth-imaging satellite. The business was initially supported by private financing from Silicon Valley and international corporate investors. Its early technical and commercial strategy was to bring capabilities formerly associated with government and defense programs into a commercial service, selling imagery to public agencies as well as mapping, environmental, and other private users. In 1995, WorldView merged with Ball Aerospace's commercial remote-sensing operations and became EarthWatch Incorporated. This combination gave the company deeper spacecraft and sensor-development capabilities. EarthWatch launched EarlyBird-1 on December 24, 1997. Although the launch succeeded, the spacecraft lost communications after four days because of a power-system failure. The company nevertheless continued developing its satellite platform. IKONOS, originating from the GeoEye side of the later business history, launched in 1999 and demonstrated the commercial feasibility of sub-meter imagery. QuickBird launched in 2001 and became a major operational asset, offering finer-resolution panchromatic and multispectral imagery than earlier systems. EarthWatch adopted the DigitalGlobe name in September 2001. The company subsequently introduced WorldView-1 in 2007, WorldView-2 in 2009, WorldView-3 in 2014, and WorldView-4 in 2016. These satellites increased collection capacity and improved spatial and spectral resolution. DigitalGlobe complemented satellite operations with data distribution and software capabilities, acquiring GlobeXplorer in 2007 to expand online imagery access through web services and APIs. DigitalGlobe went public on the New York Stock Exchange in May 2009. In 2011, it was inducted into the Space Technology Hall of Fame for its contribution to commercial Earth-imaging technology. Its customers included the United States government, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, NASA, urban planners, conservation groups, and commercial mapping users. DigitalGlobe imagery also became a significant source of high-resolution content for online mapping products. The 2013 acquisition of GeoEye was a major consolidation step. It brought GeoEye-1 into the combined portfolio and strengthened DigitalGlobe's position against Airbus, whose relevant competitors included the SPOT and Pleiades systems. DigitalGlobe subsequently launched WorldView-3 and obtained regulatory permission to sell higher-resolution imagery more broadly than before. WorldView-4, originally developed as GeoEye-2, entered service in 2016 but was rendered inoperable by a control-moment-gyroscope failure reported in 2019. In February 2017, MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates agreed to acquire DigitalGlobe. The transaction was completed on October 5, 2017, and DigitalGlobe was combined with MDA Holdings Company under Maxar Technologies. The acquisition placed DigitalGlobe's constellation, imagery archive, and geospatial services within Maxar's broader space and Earth-intelligence business. The separate DigitalGlobe identity subsequently became less visible as Maxar consolidated its commercial Earth-observation operations.
- 2019
WorldView-4 becomes inoperable
[1]A control-moment-gyroscope failure left WorldView-4 unable to operate.
- 2017
Acquisition by MDA and integration into Maxar
[1]MDA completed its acquisition of DigitalGlobe on October 5, 2017; the combined businesses became part of Maxar Technologies.
- 2016
WorldView-4 launches
[1]The satellite formerly designated GeoEye-2 launched as WorldView-4 on November 11, 2016.
- 2014
WorldView-3 launches
[1]WorldView-3 launched on August 13, 2014, with high-resolution panchromatic, multispectral, and super-spectral collection capabilities.
- 2013
GeoEye acquisition
[1]DigitalGlobe purchased GeoEye, adding GeoEye-1 and consolidating major United States commercial imagery capabilities.
- 2009
DigitalGlobe lists on the New York Stock Exchange
[1]The company became publicly traded on May 14, 2009.
- 2007
GlobeXplorer acquisition
[1]DigitalGlobe acquired GlobeXplorer to broaden online imagery distribution through APIs and web services.
- 2001
EarthWatch adopts the DigitalGlobe name
[1]The company changed its name to DigitalGlobe in September 2001.
- 1997
EarlyBird-1 launches
[1]EarlyBird-1 launched on December 24, 1997, but lost communications after four days because of a power-system failure.
- 1995
WorldView becomes EarthWatch
[1]WorldView merged with Ball Aerospace's commercial remote-sensing operations and adopted the EarthWatch name.
Products and positioning
A high-resolution commercial Earth-imaging specialist serving government, defense, intelligence, mapping, environmental, and commercial geospatial users.
Earth-observation satellite · 1997
EarlyBird-1
EarthWatch's first commercial imaging spacecraft launched in 1997. It carried a three-meter panchromatic camera and a fifteen-meter multispectral camera. The launch was successful, but the satellite ceased communications after four days because of a power-system failure.
Earth-observation satellite · 1999
IKONOS
IKONOS was a pioneering high-resolution commercial imaging satellite, collecting sub-meter panchromatic imagery and multispectral imagery. It was officially decommissioned in 2015 after operating for substantially longer than its original mission design life.
Earth-observation satellite · 2001
QuickBird
QuickBird was DigitalGlobe's principal satellite for much of the 2000s and early 2010s. Its panchromatic sensor offered approximately sixty-centimeter resolution and its multispectral sensor approximately 2.4-meter resolution. The satellite was de-orbited in January 2015 after exceeding its expected operating life.
Earth-observation satellite · 2008
GeoEye-1
GeoEye-1 provided high-resolution panchromatic and multispectral imagery and was designed for large-area mapping and frequent revisits. DigitalGlobe added the satellite to its portfolio through the 2013 GeoEye acquisition.
Earth-observation satellite · 2007
WorldView-1
WorldView-1 was a panchromatic-only satellite launched in 2007. It was designed for very high-resolution collection and was expected to serve major government and intelligence customers, including the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.
Earth-observation satellite · 2009
WorldView-2
WorldView-2 launched in 2009 and combined high-resolution panchromatic collection with multispectral imaging. It expanded DigitalGlobe's ability to provide detailed mapping and analytical data across government and commercial applications.
Earth-observation satellite · 2014
WorldView-3
WorldView-3 launched in 2014 as a multi-payload commercial satellite with high-resolution panchromatic, multispectral, and super-spectral capabilities. Its collection capacity and frequent revisit profile supported defense, mapping, environmental, and infrastructure use cases.
Earth-observation satellite · 2016
WorldView-4
WorldView-4 was originally developed as GeoEye-2 and was renamed after the GeoEye merger. It was designed for approximately thirty-one-centimeter panchromatic imagery and one-hundred-twenty-four-centimeter multispectral imagery. A control-moment-gyroscope failure reported in 2019 rendered it inoperable.
Crowdsourced geospatial platform
Tomnod
Tomnod was a DigitalGlobe project that used crowdsourcing to help identify objects, places, and features in satellite imagery. It illustrated the company's effort to extend satellite data beyond specialist customers into participatory image analysis.
Brand decisions
2017
Accept acquisition by MDAM&ABackground
DigitalGlobe was an established commercial Earth-imaging operator with a large satellite constellation and imagery archive.
Action taken
DigitalGlobe agreed to be acquired by MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates, with the transaction completing on October 5, 2017.
Aftermath
DigitalGlobe became part of the Maxar Technologies structure, and its Earth-imaging assets were integrated into Maxar's Earth-intelligence business.
Acquisition value. US$2.4 billion announced transaction value (2017)
2014
Launch WorldView-3Product launchBackground
DigitalGlobe wanted to increase commercial collection capacity and improve resolution and spectral coverage.
Action taken
The company launched WorldView-3 on August 13, 2014.
Aftermath
WorldView-3 became a key high-resolution, multi-payload satellite in DigitalGlobe's constellation.
2013
Acquire GeoEyeM&ABackground
DigitalGlobe and GeoEye were major United States commercial providers of high-resolution satellite imagery.
Action taken
DigitalGlobe purchased GeoEye and integrated its satellite and imagery capabilities.
Aftermath
The merger expanded DigitalGlobe's portfolio and brought GeoEye-1 into the combined business.
2007
Acquire GlobeXplorerM&ABackground
DigitalGlobe sought to improve the online delivery and commercial distribution of satellite imagery.
Action taken
The company acquired GlobeXplorer and expanded its use of online APIs and web services.
Aftermath
The transaction strengthened DigitalGlobe's imagery-distribution capabilities beyond direct satellite operations.
Sources1 sources
Cite this profile: Cite the canonical profile. /brand-wiki/digitalglobe · Editorial policy · How profiles are compiled