Space Imaging has laid off 65 of its 370 employees in a restructuring aimed at realigning its business model. The company’s board of directors approved the cuts and plans to secure investors to finance the construction and launch of a new high-resolution imagining satellite by 2006, said Mark Brender, executive director for government affairs and corporate communications.

Space Imaging’s (Thornton, Colo.) re-orientation coincides with a recent change in leadership. The resignation of Space Imaging’s CEO John R. Copple on Jan. 24 to pursue other opportunities, after eight years at the helm, led to the appointment by the company’s board of CFO Robert Z. Dalal as acting CEO.

For a more in-depth examination of Space Imaging’s future, see the next issue of SATELLITE NEWS.