GeoEye, the satellite provider, whose GeoEye-1 provides Google with what the company calls the world’s most advanced commercial satellite imagery, was just awarded a new $3.8 billion contract from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) for increased commercial satellite-imaging capacity.

GeoEye highlights the following items that are included in the contract:

- $2.8 billion for commercial satellite imagery purchases over the next ten years as follows:

           – for an extension of the NGA’s current ability to purchase commercial imagery from the Company’s existing satellite constellation under a Service Level Agreement (SLA) for $150 million per year.

           – An additional award to purchase commercial imagery, when GeoEye-2 becomes operational in 2013, for approximately $184 million per year for seven years.

-  $337 million cost share for the development and launch of GeoEye-2.
 
- $700 million for value-added products and services to include the design and procurement of additional infrastructure to support government operations. This also includes the EyeQ Web Mapping Services to be delivered under the SLA.

"We are very gratified by this award," said Matt O’Connell, GeoEye’s President and CEO. "With this award, we’ll continue the accelerated development of our GeoEye-2 satellite so that it is operational in 2013. We will also upgrade our infrastructure and continue expanding our Web-delivery systems so that we can deliver the world’s best commercial imagery to the NGA and our other customers anywhere, anytime."

"We have been proud to serve the NGA for more than two decades, and we look forward to continuing this strong legacy of service as commercial imagery becomes fully integrated into the national imagery architecture," said Bill Schuster, GeoEye’s chief operating officer. "We’re particularly proud that the NGA has chosen us to support their important EnhancedView program and to help ensure that the nation has access to the best commercial imagery in the world."

We haven’t heard whether Google will pursue imagery from GeoEye 2, but it would not be surprising. They won’t be counting on flying camera drones or anything.