Maxar's MDA and Orbital Insight Announce Expanded SAR Satellite Imagery Agreement
Orbital Insight will use MDA high-resolution imagery to strengthen oil inventory product
Richmond, BC and Palo Alto, CA, Dec. 17, 2018 /PRNewswire/ - MDA, a Maxar Technologies company (NYSE: MAXR) (TSX: MAXR), and Orbital Insight, a leading provider of geospatial analytics, today announced the latest agreement providing new datasets for Orbital Insight's product offerings. MDA will provide high-resolution imagery from its RADARSAT-2 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite to Orbital Insight, which will process and transform the data into actionable intelligence for the energy industry.
"Building on an already strong relationship with a second Orbital Insight contract award, MDA will provide valuable insight into energy supply chains by enabling timely, reliable imaging of global oil storage sites, regardless of cloud cover," said Mike Greenley, group president of MDA. "This solution reinforces the unique and powerful combination of RADARSAT-2's large imaging capacity and timely data delivery, with Orbital Insight's geospatial analytics capabilities, to grow the market for information derived from SAR imagery."
MDA's RADARSAT-2 has global monitoring capabilities, including a large collection capacity and high-resolution radar imaging. The satellite acquires data regardless of light or weather conditions, due to its active imaging mechanism. As a result, RADARSAT-2 provides an accurate and reliable source of information about ground activity such as changes in oil tank inventories. Orbital Insight will use the imagery to create oil inventory information that is incorporated into its energy products, which include the Global Geospatial Crude Index, a single number that objectively captures global crude inventory insights on a daily basis. Orbital Insight's customers use the Global Geospatial Crude Index to make economic decisions with confidence in global energy markets.
"Having access to cutting-edge datasets strengthens our product offerings, so we're pleased to deepen our relationship with MDA as a key imagery provider," said Dr. James Crawford, founder and CEO of Orbital Insight. "SAR imagery is valuable because it provides information even if conditions on the ground aren't visible due to weather or lighting. Expanding this partnership delivers direct customer value."
This new contract expands Orbital Insight's relationship with Maxar Technologies. The geospatial analytics firm also has a multi-year partnership with DigitalGlobe focused on high-resolution electro-optical satellite imagery and DigitalGlobe's Geospatial Big Data platform (GBDX). Orbital Insight refines its analytic capabilities using DigitalGlobe's satellite imagery at petabyte-scale on GBDX, revealing insights for industry use cases such as estimating harvest yields, making more accurate retail predictions, and monitoring global energy and natural resource markets.
About MDA
MDA is an internationally recognized leader in space robotics, space sensors, satellite payloads, antennas and subsystems, surveillance and intelligence systems, defence and maritime systems, and geospatial radar imagery. MDA's extensive space expertise and heritage translates into mission-critical defence and commercial applications that include multi-platform command, control and surveillance systems, aeronautical information systems, land administration systems and terrestrial robotics. MDA is also a leading supplier of actionable mission-critical information and insights derived from multiple data sources. Founded in 1969, MDA is recognized as one of Canada's most successful technology ventures with locations in Richmond, Ottawa, Brampton, Montreal, Halifax and the United Kingdom. MDA is a Maxar Technologies company (TSX: MAXR; NYSE: MAXR). For more information, visit www.mdacorporation.com.
About Maxar Technologies
As a global leader of advanced space technology solutions, Maxar Technologies (formerly MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates) is at the nexus of the new space economy, developing and sustaining the infrastructure and delivering the information, services, systems that unlock the promise of space for commercial and government markets. As a trusted partner, Maxar Technologies provides vertically integrated capabilities and expertise including satellites, Earth imagery, robotics, geospatial data and analytics to help customers anticipate and address their most complex mission-critical challenges with confidence. With more than 6,500 employees in over 30 global locations, the Maxar Technologies portfolio of commercial space brands includes MDA, SSL, DigitalGlobe and Radiant Solutions. Every day, billions of people rely on Maxar to communicate, share information and data, and deliver insights that Build a Better World. Maxar trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange and New York Stock Exchange as MAXR. For more information, visit www.maxar.com.
About Orbital Insight
Orbital Insight develops geospatial analytics to help its clients unlock societal and economic trends at a global scale. The company works with petabytes of geospatial data, including imagery from satellites, drones and other sources. Using computer vision and machine learning technologies, it processes and transforms this data to enable businesses, governments and NGOs to make better decisions. Learn why Fast Company voted Orbital Insight one of the most innovative companies of 2017 and 2018 at www.orbitalinsight.com.
Contact
Wendy Keyzer | MDA Media Contact | 1-604-231-2743 | wendy.keyzer@mdacorporation.com
Jason Gursky | Maxar Investor Relations | 1-303-684-2207 | jason.gursky@maxar.com
Source Maxar Technologies Ltd.
Web Site: www.maxar.com
