WESTMINSTER, Colo. – DigitalGlobe, Inc. (NYSE: DGI), the global leader in Earth imagery and information about our changing planet, today announced it has selected Space Systems Loral (SSL) to build the spacecraft for its next-generation WorldView Legion constellation, which will deliver industry-leading resolution and accuracy, enable high-revisit applications, and assure service continuity for the company’s customers through 2030.
SSL has entered into a firm-fixed price contract with DigitalGlobe to build the WorldView Legion satellites—the first of which is planned to launch in 2020—to replace the WorldView-1, WorldView-2, and GeoEye-1 satellites. The WorldView Legion constellation will double DigitalGlobe’s capacity to collect 30 cm and multi-spectral imagery starting in 2020. Once combined with DigitalGlobe’s existing WorldView satellites and the forthcoming Scout small satellite constellation, DigitalGlobe will image the most rapidly changing areas on Earth as frequently as every 20 to 30 minutes, from sunup to sundown. These capabilities will provide even greater insights into global events of significance, giving customers the ability to make critical decisions with confidence when time is of the essence.
“WorldView Legion represents DigitalGlobe’s commitment to meet the demanding and evolving needs of our diverse customer base for many years to come, building upon our excellent track record of performance, best-in-class satellites and ground infrastructure, and deep understanding of government mission needs and commercial applications,” said Dr. Walter Scott, DigitalGlobe Founder, EVP & CTO. “We have great confidence in the quality, value, and reliability of the SSL spacecraft.”
“The award of this contract with DigitalGlobe demonstrates our emerging leadership in building satellite constellations and Earth observing spacecraft,” said Richard White, President of SSL Government Systems. “DigitalGlobe is known as a global leader in advanced geospatial solutions, and we are pleased that they have placed their trust in our proven performance and state-of-the-art design for a fleet that will provide exceptional agility and persistence.”
About DigitalGlobe
DigitalGlobe is a leading provider of commercial high-resolution Earth observation and advanced geospatial solutions that help decision makers better understand our changing planet in order to save lives, resources and time. Sourced from the world’s leading constellation, our imagery solutions deliver unmatched coverage and capacity to meet our customers’ most demanding mission requirements. Each day customers in defense and intelligence, public safety, civil agencies, map making and analysis, environmental monitoring, oil and gas exploration, infrastructure management, navigation technology, and providers of location-based services depend on DigitalGlobe data, information, technology and expertise to gain actionable insight.
About SSL
Space Systems Loral (SSL), based in Palo Alto, California, is a leading provider of advanced spacecraft systems, with broad expertise to support commercial and government satellite operators and innovative space missions. SSL designs and manufactures spacecraft for services such as direct-to-home television, video content distribution, broadband internet, mobile communications, in-orbit servicing, space exploration, and Earth observation. As a Silicon Valley innovator for 60 years, SSL’s advanced product line also includes state-of-the-art small satellites, and sophisticated robotics and autonomous solutions for remote operations. SSL is a subsidiary of SSL MDA Holdings, Inc., a U.S. operating company based in San Francisco, California. For more information, visit www.sslmda.com.
Special note about forward-looking statements
Certain statements contained herein, including statements about our 2017 outlook, contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Forward-looking statements relate to future events or our future financial performance. We generally identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “ can,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “would,” “could,” “intends,” “target,” “projects,” “contemplates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential,” “continue” or “looks forward to” or the negative of these terms or other similar words, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words.
Forward-looking statements are based upon our current expectations and assumptions of future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results or performance to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements. Some of the risks or uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ include, but are not limited to: the loss or reduction in scope of any of our primary contracts, or decisions by customers not to exercise renewal options; the availability of government funding for our products and services both domestically and internationally; our ability to meet our obligations under the EnhancedView contract; our reliance on a limited number of vendors to provide certain key products or services to us; breach of our system security measures or loss of our secure facility clearance and accreditation; the loss or damage to any of our satellites; delays in the construction and launch of any of our satellites or our ability to achieve and maintain full operational capacity of all our satellites; loss or damage to the content contained in our ImageLibrary; interruption or failure of our ground systems and other infrastructure; decrease in demand for our imagery products and services; increased competition that may reduce our market share or cause us to lower our prices; changes in political or economic conditions, including fluctuations in the value of foreign currencies, interest rates, energy and commodity prices, trade laws and the effects of governmental initiatives to manage economic conditions; our ability to recruit, hire or retain key employees or a highly skilled and diverse workforce; failure to obtain or maintain required regulatory approvals and licenses; and, changes in U.S. or foreign law or regulation that may limit our ability to distribute our imagery products and services. Additional risks and uncertainties related to the proposed transaction with MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (“MDA”) include the possibility that the parties may be unable to obtain required stockholder approvals or regulatory approvals or that other conditions to closing the transaction may not be satisfied, such that the transaction will not close or that the closing may be delayed; the potential adverse effect on partner and customer relationships, operating results and business generally resulting from the proposed transaction; the proposed transaction will require significant time, attention and resources, potentially diverting attention from the conduct of DigitalGlobe’s business; the anticipated benefits of the proposed transaction may not be realized; the anticipated and unanticipated costs, fees, expenses and liabilities related to the transaction; the outcome of any legal proceedings related to the transaction; and the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of the transaction agreement. Additional information concerning these and other risk factors can be found in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016.
We undertake no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements, except as required by law. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any of these forward-looking statements. References in this filing to “DigitalGlobe,” “Company,” “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to DigitalGlobe, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries.
