DigitalGLobe Applauds Colorado Leadership

19 September 2008, 9:45am

Longmont, Colo., September 19, 2008 - DigitalGlobe®, a leading provider of high-resolution commercial satellite imagery and geospatial information products, today applauded this week’s introduction of legislation designed to boost the U.S. Government’s commercial space advocacy activities. H.R.6935 and S.3504 were submitted simultaneously by Colorado Congressman Mark Udall (D-CO) and Senator Ken Salazar (D-CO), respectively. Congressman Tom Feeney (R-FL) also co-sponsored the legislation.

H.R.6935 and S.3504 would reauthorize the Office of Space Commercialization (OSC), and focus its role on advocacy for a robust and internationally competitive U.S. commercial space industry. They also propose to rename the agency “The Office of Space Commerce” to better reflect the office’s lead role in implementing U.S. space commerce policies.

“The Office of Space Commercialization is an important voice for companies such as DigitalGlobe in working with the U.S. Government both as a regulator and as a customer,” said Jill Smith, chairman and CEO of DigitalGlobe. “I commend the leadership of Colorado’s Senator Salazar and Congressman Udall and their foresight in recognizing the need to reauthorize this important office and bolster its responsibilities. Having a single office serve as the lead agent for space commerce activities within the Department of Commerce will help ensure implementation of the recent series of commercial space and remote sensing policies and speed the removal of institutional impediments to future market growth.”

The legislation will update the Office’s functions to implement U.S. national space policies supporting space commerce. It also will recognize the office’s expanding role in promoting geospatial technologies such as space-based commercial remote sensing imagery provided by DigitalGlobe.

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Geo: International