The US government has lifted restrictions on sharper satellite images

Satellite imagery provider DigitalGlobe Inc said the U.S. government had approved its longstanding request to sell higher-resolution images, a move that could unlock $400 million in additional market opportunities for the company. DigitalGlobe, the only provider of high-resolution commercial satellite images in the United States, has received a license from the U.S. Commerce Department to start selling images with a resolution of 40 cm, up from 50 cm, effective immediately, its Chief Executive Jeffrey Tarr told Reuters. The Longmont, Colorado-based company will also be able to sell images with a resolution of 25 cm six months after it launches its Worldview 3 satellite around August 13 or 14. That will allow users to go from being able to identify a car to being able to identify its make. “It means we’ll be able to solve new kinds of problems, and as a result, grow our business,” Tarr said, adding that the approval would allow the company to compete with high-resolution imagery now collected by airplanes, about half of which is taken at a resolution of 30 cm or higher. The news could bolster the company’s shares, which have jumped since mid-April when the U.S. intelligence community backed the company’s request to sell sharper imagery. Its shares closed at $30.58 on Tuesday, up 17.5 percent from a year low of $26.02 on April 11.