Google has bought Earth observation startup Skybox Imaging for US$500m to jumpstart plans to provide universal internet access across the world. The search engine giant said the cash deal will first help keep its Google Maps software up-to-date, and…
Google has bought Earth observation startup Skybox Imaging for US$500m to jumpstart plans to provide universal internet access across the world.
The search engine giant said the cash deal will first help keep its Google Maps software up-to-date, and over time will “improve internet access and disaster relief”.
To help reach that goal, it is understood to also be backing a satellite broadband venture from O3b Networks founder Greg Wyler, called WorldVu, which aims to launch 360 birds to low Earth orbit.
With only one satellite in orbit, the deal highlights a rapid growth story for five-year old Skybox.
SkySat-1 satellite was launched last November and the Californian firm is planning to launch a second geostationary stationary bird in the middle of this year.
A few months ago it hired Space Systems Loral to build 13 smaller LEO birds in the first time it has outsourced satellite construction. Those will be launched in 2015 and 2016 to join SkySat-1 and SkySat-2, enabling it to revisit any point on Earth three times per day, providing sub-metre colour imagery and up to 90-second clips of HD video at 30 frames per second.
Bringing the internet to unserved populations across the world has been a long-standing aspiration for Google, which is also based in California. It has been experimenting with a balloon-based system to reach this goal, and earlier this year snapped up British drone-maker Titan Aerospace to add expertise in this area.
Commenting on its sale to Google, Skybox said in a blog post: “Skybox and Google share more than just a zip code. We both believe in making information (especially accurate geospatial information) accessible and useful. And to do this, we’re both willing to tackle problems head on — whether it’s building cars that drive themselves or designing our own satellites from scratch.”
The deal is subject to customary approvals and closing conditions.
Google in Virgin Galactic tie-up
Google is reportedly set to make its second foray into commercial space in a tie-up with British tourism venture Virgin Galactic.
As well as developing a space tourism vehicle, Virgin is designing a smallsat launcher that could help realise Google’s plan to provide universal internet access across the world with a swarm of satellites, reported Sky News citing sources.
The reported deal comes in two parts, with the first seeing the search giant invest hundreds of millions of dollars into a joint venture that will leverage on Virgin’s space technology.
The second involves Google spending around US$30m for about 1.5% of the space tourism firm, which is 32%-owned by Abu Dhabi-based investment firm Aabar, in a move that values it at roughly US$2bn.
