Several government and private organizations in Hawaii have joined forces to acquire satellite imagery from the SPOT Image Corporation. SPOT is a French satellite which is capable of collecting 10 meter resolution panchromatic (black and white) and 20 meter resolution multispectral data. In order to promote the use of their product, SPOT Image Corporation initiated a SPOT Statewide Purchase program which offered interested States an opportunity to cooperatively acquire Statewide, cloud-free satellite imagery at 42-1/2 cents per square mile, which for Hawaii, translated to $27,315 for either the panchromatic or the multispectral data set. Under this program ten organizations can pool their resources to acquire Statewide imagery. As such, with ten organizations, the cost would be divided by ten so that each participant could acquire the data for $2,731.
In November 1994, more than twenty organizations in the State expressed their interest to the SPOT Image Corporation in participating in such a cooperative program. In response to this commitment of interest, SPOT Image Corporation began acquiring satellite imagery of the major islands of the State of Hawaii. Since there were more than twenty participants, the State consortium requested both the panchromatic and the multispectral data sets for a total cost of $54,630, which would then be divided by the number of participants to arrive at the final cost per participant.
When the program was initiated, SPOT Image Corporation envisioned that they could collect enough imagery to develop a cloud-free data set of the major islands of the State of Hawaii within one year. While partial coverages of the islands have been delivered, a final cloud-free product has not yet been delivered. It was hoped by both the State participants and SPOT Image Corporation, that the missing pieces could be collected during this winter season to enable the development and delivery of the final product.
SPOT Image Corporation has indicated that when the final product is completed, others can still acquire the data sets at the one-tenth ($5,463) price. For more information, please contact Mr. Bill Wagoner, Western Region Sales Manager at (510) 296-6995.