Skybox Imaging Being Offered $1 Billion+ from Google with 1 Satellite in Orbit
Skybox Imaging Close to Being Sold to Google, SpaceRef Business
“According to Techcrunch Google is close to buying Skybox Imaging for over $1 billion. Skybox has plans for a constellation of 24 satellites of which the first, SkySat-1, went operational November 2013. Skybox released its first HD video last December.”
Business plan for such a large constellation remains puzzling. That said, the lack of significant earth imaging capability on the ISS is even more puzzline.
Maybe you’ll be able to see traffic colored red on the Google Map, then zoom in and see the live HD video feed of cars sitting on the bridge. They are probably planning to use this for something else they will have no competitors in, much like Google Earth is mostly competitor-less.