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TheBroadHorizon t1_j5es0ej wrote

Reply to comment by JustAPerspective in This company just launched a app that allows anyone to purchase satellite imagery. by c4chop

They're sourcing the images from private imagery sources like Planet and Maxar. Images from publically funded satellites like Landsat and Copernicus are already freely available for download. It would be nice if Planet and Maxar made it easier for people to buy their images directly but this seems like an okay solution for now.

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JustAPerspective t1_j5fkk6v wrote

So two companies have inserted themselves into this process as middlemen marketing something which really ought to be freely available to everyone.

Thanks for clarifying how useless these two companies truly are. 🤙

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Shuber-Fuber t1_j5flxe3 wrote

They paid for their own satellite that took the image?

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JustAPerspective t1_j5fmvig wrote

Did they?

Maxar Technologies seems to be a company dedicated to "Integrated space infrastructure and Earth intelligence capabilities that make global change visible, information actionable and space accessible." - basically, selling the data satellites already have.

Plant says "Planet revolutionized the earth observation industry with the highest frequency satellite data commercially available."

When companies make claims about their "data management projects", they aren't constructing satellites - they're marketing the information that's obtained by 'em.

So, we come back to your question: Did they pay for their own satellites?

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TheBroadHorizon t1_j5g0l8f wrote

Yes they did. Maxar and Planet both privately develop, build, and operate their own constellations of satellites. Maxar's satellites are called WorldView, Planet's are called Dove. All are privately funded and operated.

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