Contracts News

DigitalGlobe Inks Two Imagery Licensing Deals With Microsoft

High-resolution earth imagery provider DigitalGlobe has signed two licensing agreements with Microsoft.

The first agreement more than doubles the volume of high-resolution imagery DigitalGlobe delivers to Microsoft for use in its Bing Maps service. The imagery will be delivered on a quarterly basis to provide refreshed content covering millions of square kilometers of the Earth’s surface. The second agreement enables Microsoft Studios to extensively feature DigitalGlobe imagery in its recently launched Forza Motorsport 4 racing game for the Xbox 360. Both agreements took effect in the fourth quarter of 2011.

SpaceX Wins Falcon 9 Launch Contracts with ABS, Satmex

SpaceX has signed contracts with Asia Broadcast Satellite (ABS) and Satélites Mexicanos (Satmex) for two launches aboard the Falcon 9 rocket.

SpaceX will launch the two companies’ geosynchronous telecommunications satellites on two separate launches from Cape Canaveral, Fla. The first launch is scheduled for late 2014 or early 2015, with the second launch following in the fourth quarter of 2015. The agreement marks SpaceX’s first launch contract in Mexico and its second Asian launch contract in the past month.