SatMagazine (SM)
Thanks for taking the time to talk with us, Mr. Scott. From founding and running your own Unix systems and consulting firm, to working in various technical, program, and department management positions at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, why did you decide to found DigitalGlobe?
Dr. Walter Scott
The Cold War ended, and it was clear that the world was going to change. One of the important technologies during the Cold War had been satellite imaging, which had provided a level of global transparency that enabled decisions to be made based on facts and not fears. Some would argue that was a big contributor to why the Cold War stayed Cold, and not Hot. I remember thinking—why can’t these technologies be applied to a broader group of users, particularly with the emerging Geographic Information Systems (GIS) industry, declining computing costs, and the introduction of the Internet? So DigitalGlobe was born in 1992 as WorldView Imaging Corporation. Twenty years later, that vision is a reality.
SM
You are also the CTO for your Company, as such you are exposed to a number of new technologies that deal with Earth Observation and other imagery environments. Can you tell us about any new and innovative products we can look forward to in 2012?
Dr. Walter Scott
We’re continuing to build the WorldView-3 satellite, due to launch in 2014. That satellite will be capable of resolutions as good as roughly 12 inches, and will offer even more capacity and revisit than DigitalGlobe’s current constellation, which last year was already responsible for collecting over 80 percent of the half-meter-class satellite imagery commercially available worldwide. As to 2012, well, I can say it will be an interesting year, but we’re not quite ready to announce anything yet.
SM
What services does DigitalGlobe provide, both to the commercial and to the government market segments? Do you see a merging of technologies for both segments?
DigitalGlobe adheres to the needs of several commercial industries and government agencies, such as defense and intelligence, federal and local governments, insurance, navigation and telecom. Our imagery, monitoring services, and elevation series products allow us to identify the world’s natural resources, monitor pipelines and facilities, manage mountain planning, protect homelands and borders, and respond to emergencies and natural disasters. DigitalGlobe’s constellation of satellites allows corporations to rebuild and plan investments in multi-million dollar infrastructure developments.
More specifically into our imagery products, our Basic and Standard Satellite Imagery, provides photogrammetric processing, three-dimensional feature extraction, and high-resolution images to identify features and detect changes from recent global imagery. DigitalGlobe’s Stereo Imagery is ideal for Digital Elevation Model generation, 3D visualization, and feature extraction. WorldView-2 is the only commercial satellite that provides high resolution 8-band multispectral imagery, which enables complete coverage of the visual spectrum.
Additionally, DigitalGlobe’s Global Basemap delivers baseline context to better understand and analyze specific geographies of interest. Our Precision Aerial is the industry’s first, high-quality collection of 30 cm natural color and 60 cm color infrared imagery. And lastly, our Advanced Ortho Series provides the best quality orthos available in a faster and easier method.
DigitalGlobe’s monitoring and analysis products, including FirstLook, the Diplomatic Facilities Support Package and FirstWatch, provide pre- and post-event imagery of world disasters for quick emergency planning and damage assessment with web-based access. The experts in our Analysis Center provide the context and insight into our satellite images to effectively plan possible courses of action.
Our elevation products, including the WorldView Elevation Suite and the Advanced Elevation Series, allow us to develop elevation datasets of rural areas and Digital Surface Models for land management and engineering.
SM
With the proposed cuts in the national defense budget, how will such impact the commercial, and the military/government, imagery projects? And how will this impact our national security as well as the security of our allies? What makes imagery such a crucial environment to protect from such cuts?
Dr. Walter Scott
We are confident that our technology will continue to play a significant role in the nation’s defense strategy to rebuild readiness in de-emphasized areas and to retain force structure. We realize there is always risk with the proposed budget cuts, but I am confident that investments in intelligence and surveillance in space will not be overlooked. With WorldView-1 and WorldView-2 already on orbit and WorldView-3 on schedule, we believe an objective analysis of our performance will also recognize the extraordinary value we deliver to taxpayers. As our nation is pulling back on our physical presence in hot stops abroad, our virtual presence of satellites becomes more critical to keep our nation safe, and ensure that we are not surprised when events unfold.
DigitalGlobe has 5x times the capacity of our nearest U.S.-based competitor. Our superior performance should give our customers a high level of trust and confidence that we offer as a strong value proposition. We provide critical information for warfighters, coalition partners, first responders and relief workers, and our cutting-edge capabilities cost the government far less money than to acquire, operate, maintain and replenish the assets themselves.
SM
How can DigitalGlobe, and the industry in general, protect this critical technology from being slashed by those who see this more as a positive political maneuver for their voting base, rather than one established on clear thought based upon national need?
Dr. Walter Scott
Our most powerful tool is to educate voters on the importance of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance in space. Compared to other programs, the EnhancedView contract is highly cost effective and delivers great value to taxpayers. It gives the U.S. Government access to nine satellites over the life of the program at a fraction of the cost it would take for the government to build, deploy and manage the same number themselves. Commercial satellite imagery is no longer optional, it is critical to ongoing mission success. DigitalGlobe’s constellation of satellites allows U.S. Government analysts, military personnel and first responders to see anywhere on earth with or without a physical presence on the ground.
SM
Upcoming is WorldView 3, DigitalGlobe’s next EO satellite that is currently under construction. Would you afford us some insight into this satellite’s benefits? What does the launch schedule look like as of this writing?
WorldView-3 will expand DigitalGlobe’s constellation to four remote-sensing satellites that have all been supported by Ball Aerospace. Ball Aerospace is providing WorldView-3 with the BCP 5000 for stronger power, stability, data storage and transmission capability.
WorldView-3 is on schedule to launch mid-2014, capable of capturing 8-band multispectral high-resolution imagery and panchromatic band. The new satellite will strongly resemble WorldView-2 in terms of performance characteristics. However, as noted above, it will be capable of higher resolution and offer greater capacity, revisit, and timeliness.
SM
Would you please tell us about the Company’s recently launched Diplomatic Facilities Support Package.
Dr. Walter Scott
DigitalGlobe’s Diplomatic Facilities Support Package was launched to provide fast, web-based access to high-resolution imagery and feature information of specific cities, updated every six months. Developed by DigitalGlobe in collaboration with CACI, the package assists with the evacuation of citizens and other people by providing current information needed to identify intermediate staging bases. It enables collaboration via virtual whiteboards and incorporates tools for multiple users to view, edit and share critical information.
Significant benefits of the Diplomatic Facilities Support Package include: more effective planning for courses of action, the ability to identify high-risk areas and monitor the nature and extent of activities, and manage resources. Our one-stop source for geospatial and information needs provides an up-to-date representation of geography and features, such as recent development, construction or change.
CACI’s Freedom Web provides secure account privileges for fast and protected access from any desktop or mobile device while the DigitalGlobe constellation of satellites ensures consistent updates of important areas around the globe.
SM
Over the next five years or so, where do you believe the EO and imagery business will trend? And DigitalGlobe in particular?
Dr. Walter Scott
Over the next five years and beyond, I believe there are a few key trends that will impact how we design and deliver our solutions. First, with the growing amount of data in our industry, it will no longer be practical to ship imagery around and keep copies locally. Transportation and local copies become expensive with the need for more storage, power, cooling and data center real estate. Eventually, we’ll need to move to centrally-served data, avoiding the process of transporting and managing the raw data.
Second, mobile computing will become a valuable tool by allowing the server to do most of the heavy-lifting instead of the mobile devices themselves. Mobile computing will allow the data, as well as any available software updates, to be deployed and stored centrally in the cloud. Such changes will reduce the cost of managing software updates and data availability and the time it takes to implement them.
For DigitalGlobe in particular, I see a trend in the continuous need for images to be delivered at a faster rate with more accuracy. As the Earth changes at a rapid pace, a more current, complete and accurate global model for the industry will be necessary. Therefore, a new model is needed that is aligned with, and enables the shift to, a centralized, hosted system.
SM
Is DigitalGlobe involved in any of the work to offset satellite interference problems? If so, please explain.
Dr. Walter Scott
We’ve been active over the years in working to minimize satellite interference. Fortunately, our satellites only transmit on a tight beam to our ground stations, and then only when they are in view; so unlike geostationary broadcast satellites, we already are much less likely to interfere.
SM
A growing area of concern within our industry is locating candidates for open positions that possess the technical competence and training necessary for crucial projects. How can our industry improve both STEM training in high schools and colleges and entice the next generation of students into careers in SATCOM?
Dr. Walter Scott
I think it’s important for parents and professors of high school and higher education students to push careers in STEM-related fields for those students who have the potential to succeed. It’s also important for higsh schools to develop programs related to science, technology, engineering and math in order for interested students to advance early in their careers.
More specifically, with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) being added to the curriculum of hundreds of university programs over the past decade, the job market has become richer with individuals skilled in GIS and related technologies. Geotechnology is another area that continues to experience growth as we find new uses for the technology and products that are developed.
By fostering an interest in these subjects at an early age and building a strong base of educated citizens, we’re more likely to have a larger pool of qualified candidates to choose from in the SATCOM industry.
SM
Given your tenure in the industry, what projects have you supervised that bring you a true sense of satisfaction?
Dr. Walter Scott
Enabling portals such as Google—and later Bing along with many others—to make satellite imagery available to everyone with a web browser was a big step toward realizing the vision that started DigitalGlobe 20 years ago. There are over a billion people whose lives have been touched by—and improved by—satellite imagery, and DigitalGlobe was the first to make it available, through Google. That’s immensely satisfying.