Annual Report




UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

x
ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010
OR
o
TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from           to

Commission file number 001-33015

GeoEye, Inc.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware
 
20-2759725
(State of other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)
 
(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)
     
21700 Atlantic Boulevard
 
20166
Dulles, VA
(Address of principal executive offices)
 
(Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code:
(703) 480-7500

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class
 
Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock, Par Value $0.01
 
The NASDAQ Global Market

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.  Yes x      No o

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.  Yes o      No x
 
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.  Yes x      No o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).    Yes  o      No  o
 
Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (§229.405 of this chapter) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of the registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.   o
 
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

Large accelerated filer o
Accelerated filer x
Non-accelerated filer o
Smaller reporting company o
  (Do not check if a smaller reporting company)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).  Yes o      No þ

State the aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates computed by reference to the price at which the common equity was last sold, or the average bid and asked price of such common equity, as of the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter. $692,598,238
 
The number of shares outstanding of Common Stock, par value $0.01, as of March 10, 2011 was 22,111,796 shares.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
 


 
 

 

Portions of GeoEye, Inc.’s 2011 Definitive Proxy Statement for the Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held on June 2, 2011, to be filed within 120 days after the close of the Registrant’s fiscal year, are incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K.


TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I
     
Item 1.
 
5
Item 1A.
 
14
Item 1B.
 
24
Item 2.
 
24
Item 3.
 
24
Item 4.
 
25
PART II
     
Item 5.
 
25
Item 6.
 
27
Item 7.
 
27
Item 7A.
 
48
Item 8.
 
49
Item 9.
 
77
Item 9A.
 
77
Item 9B.
 
80
PART III
     
Item 10.
  80
Item 11.
  80
Item 12.
  80
Item 13.
  80
Item 14.
  80
Item 15.
  80
 
In this Annual Report, “GeoEye,” the “Company,” “we,” “our,” and “us” refer to GeoEye, Inc. and its subsidiaries.


FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Annual Report on Form 10-K, and the documents incorporated by reference herein, include forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a “safe harbor” for certain forward-looking statements as long as they are identified as forward-looking and are accompanied by meaningful cautionary statements identifying important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Without limitation, the words “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “will” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. All statements that address operating performance, events or developments that we expect or anticipate will occur in the future, including statements relating to growth, expected levels of expenditures and statements about future operating results, are forward-looking statements. Similarly, statements that describe our business strategy, outlook, objectives, plans, intentions or goals also are forward-looking statements. All such forward-looking statements and those presented elsewhere by our management from time to time are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those described in “Risk Factors” included in this Annual Report.  The following list represents some, but not necessarily all, of the factors that could cause actual results to differ from historical results or those anticipated or predicted by these forward-looking statements:

 
·
risks associated with operating our in-orbit satellites;
 
·
satellite launch failures, satellite launch and construction delays and in-orbit failures or reduced performance;
 
·
potential changes in the number of companies offering commercial satellite launch services and the number of commercial satellite launch opportunities available in any given time period that could impact our ability to timely schedule future launches and the prices we have to pay for such launches;
 
·
our ability to obtain new satellite insurance policies with financially viable insurance carriers on commercially reasonable terms or at all, as well as the ability of our insurance carriers to fulfill their obligations;
 
·
termination, suspension or other changes of funding or purchase levels under contracts with U.S. government agencies;
 
·
market acceptance of our products and services;
 
·
our ability to maintain and protect our Earth imagery content and our image archives against damage;
 
·
possible future losses on satellites that are not adequately covered by insurance;
 
·
domestic and international government regulation;
 
·
changes in our revenue backlog or expected revenue backlog for future services;
 
·
pricing pressure and overcapacity in the markets in which we compete;
 
·
inadequate access to capital markets or other financing;
 
·
the competitive environment in which we operate;
 
·
customer defaults on their obligations owed to us;
 
·
our international operations and other uncertainties associated with doing business internationally;
 
·
litigation;

other factors disclosed in our subsequent filings under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which is referred to as the Exchange Act, and the other factors beyond our control.  These cautionary statements should not be construed by you to be exhaustive and are made only as of the date of this prospectus. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Trademarks

We own or have rights to various copyrights, trademarks, and trade names used in our business, including the following: GEOEYE ® ; IKONOS ® ; MJ HARDEN ® ; ORBIMAGE ® ; ORBVIEW ® ; ROADTRACKER ® ; GEOEYE FOUNDATION tm ; GEOPROFESSIONAL tm ; GEOSTEREO tm ; GEOFUSE tm ; EYEQ tm ; EYEON tm ; SEASTAR tm ; SEASTAR FISHERIES INFORMATION SERVICE sm ; MARINE INFORMATION SERVICE sm ; MASTERCAST tm ; OCEAN MONITORING SERVICE sm ; ORBBUOY tm ; ORBMAP tm ; TRUSTED IMAGERY EXPERTS tm ; VESSEL TRACKING tm ; ELEVATING INSIGHT tm ; GEOEYE ANALYTICS tm; EARTHWHERE tm ; and SIGNATURE ANALYST tm


PART I

Business

Overview
 
GeoEye is a leading commercial provider of high-accuracy, high-resolution Earth imagery, and a provider of image-processing services and geospatial information services to U.S. and foreign government defense and intelligence organizations, domestic federal and foreign civil agencies and commercial customers. We own and operate two Earth-imaging satellites, GeoEye-1 and IKONOS, and three airplanes with advanced high-resolution imagery collection capabilities. GeoEye-1 is the world’s highest resolution and most accurate commercial Earth-imaging satellite. In addition to our imagery collection capacities, we are a global leader in the creation of enhanced satellite imagery information products and services.

We believe we are the only major commercial imagery satellite operator that can produce imagery from multiple satellite sources in addition to our own. Our satellite and aerial imagery products and services provide our customers with timely and accurate location intelligence, enabling them to analyze geospatial information and monitor and map areas of interest to their needs and demands. We serve a growing global market that requires high-resolution imagery and precision mapping products for applications in national defense and intelligence, online mapping, environmental monitoring and resource management, energy exploration, asset monitoring, urban planning, infrastructure planning and monitoring, disaster preparedness and emergency response. We own one of the world’s largest libraries of commercial color digital satellite imagery; it contains more than 507 million square kilometers of color imagery of the Earth. We believe the combination of our highly accurate satellite and aerial imaging assets, our high-resolution image processing and production facilities—especially our multi-source production capability—and our color digital imagery library differentiate us from our competitors. This combination enables us to deliver a comprehensive range of imaging products and services to our diverse customer base.

Our Web site is www.geoeye.com . We make available free of charge on or through our Web site our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and any amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC. This reference to our Web site is for the convenience of shareholders as required by the SEC and shall not be deemed to incorporate any information on the Web site into this Form 10-K or our other filings with the SEC.

Our Web site is also a key source of important information about us. We routinely post to the About Us/Investor Relations section of our Web site important information about our business, our operating results and our financial condition and prospects, including, for example, information about important acquisitions and dispositions, our earnings releases and certain supplemental financial information related or complementary thereto. We also have a Corporate Governance page in the Investor Relations section of our Web site that includes, among other things, copies of our Code of Business Conduct & Ethics and the charters for each standing committee of our Board of Directors, which currently are: the Audit Committee, the Compensation Committee, the Nominating and Governance Committee; the Strategy Committee; and Risk Committee. Copies of our Bylaws and these charters and policies are also available in print to stockholders upon request.

Products and Services

Satellite Imagery

We offer a wide range of high-resolution satellite imagery products that provide our customers with time-critical visual imagery, data and information, which we divide into three general categories:

 
·
Geo.   Our Geo product, which is the foundation of the imagery product line, is a map-oriented image suitable for a broad range of customer uses. Geo images are suitable for customer visualization and monitoring applications and are delivered to our customers in a data and information format capable of being processed into other advanced imagery products using standard commercially available software.

 
·
GeoProfessional.   Our GeoProfessional products consist of imagery that has been aligned and geographically corrected by our experienced staff of production personnel to provide the most accurate and precise imagery currently available from a commercial satellite provider. Our production personnel can also combine various satellite and aerial images into a single, highly detailed and comprehensive image. Available in various levels of accuracy, these GeoProfessional products are suitable for feature extraction, change detection, base mapping and other similar geo-location applications.


 
·
GeoStereo.   Our GeoStereo product uses at least two images of the same location at different angles to provide our customers with a three-dimensional image of a given location. GeoStereo provides the base images that are used for three-dimensional feature recognition and extraction. These GeoStereo products support a wide range of imagery applications such as digital elevation model creation, building height extraction, spatial layers, and three-dimensional feature extraction.

Aerial Imagery

Our aerial imagery products are designed to support specific customer requests for high-resolution and highly accurate images. We offer two main types of aerial imagery collected by our dedicated fleet of three imaging aircraft: (1) digital aerial imaging; and (2) light detection and ranging, or LiDAR, imaging (an optical remote sensing technology using laser pulses to determine distances to an object or surface). The use of digital aerial imaging provides our commercial and government customers with complete digital images, which can be easily stored in a data management system. The LiDAR technology is a valuable tool for measuring and recording elevation data for use in topographic mapping and three-dimensional terrain and surface modeling, useful in the field of engineering.

Production Services

Images and image products generated by our production service operations are purchased by U.S. government agencies and domestic and international commercial customers, including international governments and state and local governments. Production services typically entail the processing and production of specific data and imagery information products that are built to stringent customer specifications. We have developed advanced processing systems that enable us to process raw data from a wide range of both government and commercial sensors (imaging satellites) and then merge the source images into very precise information and imagery products to meet the needs of a broad range of customers. Our production services range from the generation of precision imagery products (for example, digital elevation maps) to the extraction of site-specific features (for example, airports, highways and buildings) for our customers’ database development.

Our production services, which are designed to increase the accuracy and precision of satellite and aerial imagery, include the following production processes:

 
·
Georectification.   This is a computer-processing operation that corrects the pixel locations of a digital image to remove image distortions caused by the non-vertical pointing and movement of the sensor during the imaging event.

 
·
Tonal Correction.   This is the scientific correction of the color variations between various component images of an image mosaic so that the image or picture reflects a coherent color structure.

 
·
Image Mosaicking.   This is the process of merging or stitching multiple satellite images together. Since images are taken at different look angles, elevations, weather, times and season, etc., they do not match each other tonally or in exact location to the ground. Prior to mosaicking, images are tonally corrected as much as possible. They are also block adjusted — the images are shifted in relation to each other and to ground truth to improve accuracy. The result is a group of images that will match each other in location and color, so they can be stitched together to create a mosaic. The result is one composite image, which is as seamless as possible.

 
·
Orthorectification.   This is the process of accurately registering imagery to ground coordinates and geometrically correcting it for Earth elevation differences at the image location. For example, orthorectification is used to make buildings and objects in an image appear to be standing straight instead of leaning. After processing, the image can be used for a variety of mapping applications, including land use and land-cover classification, terrain analysis, natural resource mapping, backdrops for maps, temporal-change analysis, multi-image fusion, and others.

Our production services include LiDAR elevation data, maps, topographic maps, digital orthophoto imagery, remote sensing services, survey and inventory services and Geospatial Information System, or GIS, consulting and implementation. We also offer geospatial products and services to help develop and manage geospatial data to support customer documentation needs, inventory of resources and engineering and development applications.
 

Information Services

We provide imagery information services, which combine our imagery with third-party data to create a sophisticated and customized information product for our customers. During the second quarter of 2010, we launched our information services business to give our customers global on-demand access to imagery and related information products over the Internet. This new Web-based services platform, which we call EyeQ , provides the core infrastructure for this new service and our new geospatial information services business. EyeQ commenced operations in April 2010 with support to the U.S. government’s National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, or NGA, customers. In September 2010, EyeQ became available to our commercial customers.  
 
EyeQ delivers imagery and other location-based information through annual subscriptions and user licenses. EyeQ offers a Web interface with tools that function as our customers’ data center. EyeQ serves up imagery and other standards-based content throughout the customers’ data network and out to their customers and partners.
 
With EyeQ, our customers have access to secure, timely and accurate location information delivered into their business environment. EyeQ is user friendly and is available twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week. EyeQ serves our goal of simplifying access to and delivery of imagery and location information.

On December 15, 2010 GeoEye, Inc. completed the acquisition of 100 percent of the stock of SPADAC, Inc., or SPADAC, a geospatial predictive analytics company, for a net purchase price of $44.3 million in cash and stock, which includes an adjustment for changes to the tangible net worth of SPADAC, as defined in the merger agreement.  With the completion of the acquisition, SPADAC became a wholly owned subsidiary named GeoEye Analytics. Our highly trained geospatial and all source analysts combine location-based information, geographic data, human geography, and a wide range of other information sources with proprietary software tools to enable customers to gain the insight they need to support mission-critical operations around the world.  GeoEye Analytics provides geospatial predictive analytic solutions to over 40 customers in key markets of defense, intelligence and homeland security.

Customers

Our products and services are sold and provided to many U.S. government agencies, including the national security community, foreign governments and North American and international commercial customers.

We sell our imagery by means of image collection orders, both satellite and aerial, and from our satellite imagery library, which currently comprises over 507 million square kilometers of high-resolution imagery. Our imagery products and services are sold through direct and indirect sales channels, resellers, direct salespeople, strategic partners and through our customer service and production services personnel. Our imagery customers can buy imagery from us through various sales arrangements, including purchasing imagery by the square kilometer, or by buying monthly subscription-based access to one of our satellites and associated ground processing technology and support services. Certain international government customers pay for direct access to our satellites, giving them the right to task the satellites and to receive direct downlinks from the satellite. We can deliver imagery products by means of electronic delivery using file transfer protocol, or FTP, or by the use of physical media such as CDs, DVDs, hard drives or electronic distribution. The key factors in determining the appropriate delivery method depend on the customer’s needs and the file size of the imagery product ordered.

U.S. Government

Our products and services are provided to various U.S. government, defense, intelligence and law enforcement agencies and civil agency customers. Under the NextView program and the EnhancedView program, the NGA acquires imagery and imagery derived products on behalf of its clients in the U.S. defense, intelligence and law enforcement agencies. Other U.S. government agencies that purchase satellite imagery include the U.S. Department of Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. For the year ended December 31, 2010, we recognized aggregate revenues of $218.6 million from the U.S. government, which represented approximately 66 percent of our total revenues.

International

Our international customers, who represented 26 percent of our total revenues for the year ended December 31, 2010, are primarily comprised of foreign governments but also include commercial customers. Most foreign countries currently do not have satellite collection programs as technically sophisticated as the programs in the United States and must either rely on their own limited aerial imagery collection for their imagery applications or purchase imagery from reliable commercial satellite providers, such as GeoEye. Our international customers primarily use imagery for national defense, intelligence programs, agricultural planning and monitoring, resource monitoring, national border monitoring, environmental and infrastructure monitoring and construction planning.
 
 
North American Commercial and Other

Our North American commercial customers, who represented 8 percent of our revenues for the year ended December 31, 2010, purchased both aerial imagery and satellite imagery from us. Our North American commercial customers operate in a variety of different market segments, including online mapping, GIS, precision mapping, infrastructure, oil and gas, environmental monitoring, agriculture, mining, utilities and transportation. We sell imagery and products to our resellers and they in turn add additional value to the products for sale to the end user. One example of our commercial relationships is our multi-year agreement with Google, Inc. to provide satellite imagery for its online consumer and commercial applications (Google Earth TM and Google Maps TM ).

Government Programs

EnhancedView Program

On August 6, 2010, the NGA awarded us a contract under its EnhancedView program that is worth up to $3.8 billion, assuming the NGA exercises all of its options and we perform as specified. The award provides for a new satellite imagery delivery SLA; the engineering, construction and launch of GeoEye-2; the design and procurement of associated ground station equipment; and the design and procurement of additional infrastructure to support government operations, value-added products and other services, including Web-based delivery of information. This competitively awarded contract supports the EnhancedView program by providing products and services that will help meet the increasing geospatial intelligence needs of the intelligence community and the U.S. Department of Defense.
 
The award provides for the purchase of new satellite imagery under the terms of the new SLA with the NGA, which is valued at up to $2.8 billion. The EnhancedView SLA initially provides for continued monthly payments by the NGA of up to $12.5 million ($150.0 million per year), subject to a maximum reduction of 10 percent based on performance metrics. Under the EnhancedView SLA, when GeoEye-2 becomes operational, which we currently expect will occur in 2013, payments under the award will increase by an additional $15.3 million per month ($183.6 million per year). The term of the EnhancedView SLA is one year, with nine one-year renewal options exercisable by the NGA. Imagery deliveries under the EnhancedView SLA began on September 1, 2010, and the imagery is collected by the Company’s existing satellite constellation, with GeoEye-2 to collect additional imagery when it becomes operational.
 
As part of the EnhancedView agreement, the NGA has agreed to contribute up to $337.0 million of the overall construction and launch costs of the GeoEye-2 satellite and associated ground station equipment. The contribution will be made in two cost-share payments: the first payment of approximately $111.0 million when the GeoEye-2 satellite is ready for integration and testing; and the second payment, and balance of the cost-share, when the GeoEye-2 satellite becomes operational.
 
The award also provides for up to an estimated $702.0 million for value-added products and services and our EyeQ Web Mapping Services, to be delivered over the life of the EnhancedView SLA. This award component includes funding for the design and procurement of additional infrastructure to support government operations, which will be initially recorded as deferred revenue and recognized as revenue over the contractual term of the EnhancedView contract.

This program replaced the NextView program, except that GeoEye will continue to fulfill existing NextView value-added product and services orders until such orders are complete. New value-added product and services orders are expected to be placed under the EnhancedView contract. The EnhancedView SLA replaced the NextView SLA portion of the NextView program as of September 1, 2010. We recognized $49.0 million of imagery revenue under the EnhancedView SLA during the year ended December 31, 2010.

NextView Program

The NGA announced in March 2003 that it intended to support, through the NextView program, the continued development of the commercial satellite imagery industry. The NGA also announced that it intended to award two imagery providers with contracts to support the engineering, construction and launch of the next generation of imagery satellites. On September 30, 2004, the NGA awarded us a contract as the second provider under the NextView program, and, as a result, we contracted for the construction of a new satellite, GeoEye-1. Under the NextView program, we began delivering imagery to the NGA from our IKONOS satellite in February 2007 and from our GeoEye-1 satellite in the first quarter of 2009. GeoEye-1 was launched in September 2008 and started commercial operations and obtained certification from the NGA in February 2009, at which point the satellite commenced full operations. Total capitalized costs (including financing and launch insurance costs) of the GeoEye-1 satellite and related ground systems incurred were $478.3 million.

On December 9, 2008, we entered into the NextView Service Level Agreement, or SLA, with the NGA under which the NGA agreed to purchase GeoEye-1 imagery from us through November 30, 2009. On September 1, 2009, the NGA extended the SLA through March 31, 2010. In addition, the NGA, on March 1, 2010, modified the SLA, giving the NGA the option to extend the term of the SLA beyond March 31, 2010. The SLA was extended through August 31, 2010.

 
Our Satellites

GeoEye-1

GeoEye-1 has been designed to collect 0.41-meter (approximately equivalent to 16 inches) resolution black-and-white imagery (known in the industry as panchromatic) and 1.65-meter resolution color imagery (known in the industry as multispectral) of the Earth’s surface, both individually and simultaneously. Although imagery can be collected at this highest resolution for the U.S. government, due to current U.S. licensing restrictions, products for non-government customers must be re-sampled to no better than 0.5 meters before being made available for sale to non-U.S. government customers. For more details on this restriction, see “—Government Regulation — United States” below. In addition to 0.5-meter ground resolution imagery, GeoEye-1 offers geo-location accuracy, which is currently better than five meters. This means that customers can map natural and man-made features to within five meters of their true location on the Earth’s surface without ground control points.

We maintain insurance policies for GeoEye-1 with both full coverage and total-loss-only coverage in compliance with the indentures governing our 9.625 percent Senior Secured Notes due 2015, or the 2015 Notes, and our 8.625 percent Senior Secured Notes due 2016, or the 2016 Notes. As of December 31, 2010, we carried $255.8 million of in-orbit insurance for GeoEye-1, comprised in part by $135.5 million of full coverage to be paid if GeoEye-1’s capabilities become impaired as measured against a set of specifications; of such coverage, $50.0 million expires on September 6, 2011, and $85.5 million expires on December 1. 2011. We also carry $120.3 million of insurance in the event of a total loss of the satellite, which expires December 1, 2011.

In December 2009, we announced that our engineers detected an irregularity in the equipment that GeoEye-1 uses to point the antenna that transmits imagery to receiving stations on the ground. The irregularity limits the range of movement of GeoEye-1’s downlink antenna, which affects GeoEye-1’s ability to image and downlink simultaneously. GeoEye-1 is still able to downlink imagery to GeoEye’s and customer ground stations when not collecting images.

In May 2009, we announced that our engineers detected an aberration with GeoEye-1 affecting the collection of color imagery in a narrow band of pixels within an image. As a result, we modified our collection operations and currently collect, produce and deliver color imagery to customers that is unaffected by the aberration. Subsequently, an adjacent band of pixels experienced the same aberration. GeoEye-1 imagery collection, production and delivery to customers is unaffected by this second occurrence because of the previous operational modifications implemented by the Company, and the pixel bands affected by the aberration continue to collect panchromatic images normally. We have designed modifications that we believe significantly reduce or eliminate the effects to the Company of these types of failures; however, any failure of our cameras on any of our satellites or other loss of satellite capacity or functionality could require different satellite operational modifications. These modifications may have a material adverse effect on our imagery collection operations and could materially affect our financial condition and results from operations.

IKONOS

GeoEye acquired this satellite through the acquisition of Space Imaging in 2006. IKONOS provides 0.82-meter resolution black-and-white and 3.2-meter resolution color imagery with a geo-location accuracy of approximately 7.8-meters. IKONOS can collect about 200,000 square kilometers of imagery per day. Like GeoEye-1, IKONOS is designed to downlink imagery to a customer and to accept imaging collection orders directly from customers. In addition, like GeoEye-1, IKONOS has the ability to take simultaneous black-and-white and color imagery, allowing us to deliver “pan sharpened multispectral” imagery. It can also capture stereo images on the same orbital pass. The Company maintains $9.0 million of in-orbit insurance for IKONOS, which expires December 1, 2011, to be paid if the satellite’s capabilities become impaired as measured against a set of specifications. The IKONOS satellite was launched in September 1999.

OrbView-2

We ceased operating OrbView-2, our thirteen-year-old satellite launched in August 1997, in early 2011, an event we have been anticipating for some time. OrbView-2 was the first commercial satellite to image the Earth’s entire surface on a daily basis in color, and it far outlived its expected operational life. For over thirteen years, OrbView-2 collected 1.0 kilometer, low-resolution color imagery, downlinking the imagery to both our primary and backup ground stations and to various regional receiving stations around the world. Over the past eighteen months, OrbView-2 experienced operational aberrations on several occasions related to various components. Discontinuance of OrbView-2 operations has no impact on our expected revenues for 2011; we have been using other available sources of low-resolution imagery in anticipation of this event for quite some time.

 
GeoEye-2

On August 6, 2010, the NGA awarded us a contract under its EnhancedView program that is worth up to $3.8 billion, assuming the NGA exercises all of its options and we perform as specified. One component of the award is a cost-share of up to $337.0 million for the development and launch of GeoEye-2.

In preparation for meeting the U.S. government’s need, and given the long lead-time associated with providing additional capacity, we entered into a contract with ITT Corporation during the third quarter of 2007, pursuant to which ITT Corporation commenced work on the advanced camera for our GeoEye-2 satellite. ITT Corporation’s work was used to accelerate the development of GeoEye-2 so that it could become operational in 2013. On March 11, 2010, the Company announced the selection of Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company to build the GeoEye-2 satellite and subsequently signed a launch agreement with Lockheed Martin Commercial Launch Services. As of December 31, 2010, we have incurred total capitalized costs of $309.9 million for EnhancedView, primarily consisting of costs for the development of and construction of GeoEye-2.

Production Facilities

GeoEye operates production facilities that provide advanced image processing products, engineering analysis and related services. We also operate or contract with other facilities that provide satellite control and communications services.

The following table summarizes the primary characteristics of production facilities and satellite control and communications services:

   
Satellite Control
 
Satellite Communications and Image Receiving
 
Image Order Tasking
 
Imagery Processing Center
Thornton, Colorado
 
ü
 
ü
 
ü
 
ü
Dulles, Virginia
 
ü
 
ü
 
ü
   
St. Louis, Missouri
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ü
Point Barrow, Alaska
     
ü
       
Fairbanks, Alaska
 
ü
 
ü
 
 
 
 
Mission, Kansas
             
ü
Kiruna, Sweden
 
 
 
ü
 
 
 
 
Tromso, Norway
     
ü
       
Troll, Antarctica
 
 
 
ü
 
 
 
 

Company History

GeoEye was initially organized as ORBIMAGE Holdings, Inc., a Delaware corporation, on April 4, 2005, and is the successor registrant of ORBIMAGE Inc. On January 10, 2006, we adopted the brand name GeoEye. On September 28, 2006, the stockholders of the Company voted to formally change the legal name of the Company from ORBIMAGE Holdings, Inc. to GeoEye, Inc.

On January 10, 2006, we completed the acquisition of Space Imaging, or SI, pursuant to the terms of an asset purchase agreement to acquire the operating assets of SI. The final cash purchase price, including acquisition costs, was approximately $51.5 million.


On March 15, 2007, we acquired MJ Harden Associates, Inc., or MJ Harden, through a stock purchase of all of the outstanding stock of MJ Harden’s sole owner, i5, Inc. MJ Harden is a leading provider of digital aerial imagery and geospatial information solutions.

In December 2009, we established a new foreign subsidiary in Singapore to serve our expanding Asia customer base, GeoEye Asia Pte. Ltd.

In January 2010, we changed the names of the Company’s subsidiaries as follows:

Old Name
 
New Name
ORBIMAGE Inc.
 
GeoEye Imagery Collection Systems Inc.
ORBIMAGE SI Holdco Inc.
 
GeoEye Solutions Holdco Inc.
ORBIMAGE SI Opco Inc.
 
GeoEye Solutions Inc.
ORBIMAGE License Corporation
 
GeoEye License Corporation

On December 15, 2010, we acquired SPADAC, for a net purchase price of $44.3 million in cash and stock, which includes an adjustment for changes to the tangible net worth of SPADAC, as defined in the merger agreement. With the completion of the acquisition, SPADAC became a wholly owned subsidiary named GeoEye Analytics, Inc. GeoEye Analytics provides geospatial predictive analytics solutions to customers in key markets of defense, intelligence and homeland security, enabling customers to gain the insight they need to support mission-critical operations around the world.

Competition

We compete against various public and private companies, systems owned by the U.S. government and foreign state-sponsored entities that provide satellite and aerial imagery products and services to the commercial market. Our major competitor for high-resolution satellite imagery is DigitalGlobe, Inc., or DigitalGlobe, a publicly listed commercial vendor of space imagery. International competitors for high-resolution satellite imagery and imagery products include the National Remote Sensing Agency, Department of Space (government of India), RADARSAT International (Canada), ImageSat International N.V. (Israel), SPOT Image SA (France), Taiwan and Korea.

Employees

As of December 31, 2010, we had 723 employees. Generally, our employees are retained on an at-will basis. We have entered into employment agreements with certain of our key employees. Certain of our employees have non-competition agreements that prohibit them from competing with us for various periods following termination of their employment.

Government Regulation

The satellite remote imaging industry is a highly regulated industry, both domestically and internationally. In the United States, the operation of remote-imaging satellites generally requires licenses from the Department of Commerce, or DoC, and from the Federal Communications Commission, or FCC. Furthermore, remote-sensing satellite and ground-station-control technologies are subject to U.S. export control licensing and regulation under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, or ITAR, administered by the Department of State and the Export Administration Regulations, or EAR, administered by the DoC. In addition, we are party to certain classified U.S. government contracts, the performance of which is subject to U.S. facility and personnel clearance laws and regulations. As is the case with any U.S. business, we are subject to U.S. government Foreign Corrupt Practices Act restrictions regarding conducting business with foreign government officials and U.S. Treasury Department restrictions prohibiting conducting business with certain embargoed countries or with entities or persons on the Specifically Designated Nationals list maintained by the U.S. Treasury Department. Finally, to provide satellite access services and imagery products internationally, our satellites may require International Telecommunication Union, or ITU, notification and registration, and licenses from the governments of foreign countries where our services and products will be distributed.


United States

Department of Commerce Regulation

The DoC, through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, is responsible for granting commercial imaging satellite operating licenses and for coordinating satellite-imaging applications among several governmental agencies to ensure that any license addresses all U.S. national security and foreign policy concerns and complies with all international obligations of the United States. We are required to obtain a DoC license to operate each of our remote sensing satellite systems and provide imagery services to our customers.

We currently have DoC licenses for all of our existing satellite systems. We also hold a DoC license that we intend to use for the GeoEye-2 satellite system that is being developed. We intend to modify this DoC license, subject to DoC approval, to reflect the final technical specifications for the GeoEye-2 satellite under the NGA’s EnhancedView program. The DoC license for GeoEye-2 is a constellation license and authorizes us to operate an additional satellite subject to DoC approval. The DoC licenses for our satellites are valid through the operational lifetime of each satellite. We expect to satisfy the terms of each of the DoC licenses for our satellites and to maintain the regulatory licenses and approvals necessary for their ongoing operations.

Our DoC licenses generally include the following key operating conditions:

 
·
We are required to maintain positive operational control of our satellite systems from a location within the United States at all times;

 
·
We are restricted from disseminating to anyone other than the U.S. government panchromatic imagery with a resolution better than 0.5-meters or multispectral imagery with a resolution better than 2.0-meters within 24 hours of collection;

 
·
The U.S. government reserves the right to exercise “shutter control” — the interruption of service by limiting imagery collection and/or distribution as necessary to meet significant U.S. government national security or foreign policy interests or international obligations. Although the U.S. government has never exercised “shutter control” with respect to our satellite systems, the exercise of this authority would require us to make imagery data available exclusively to the U.S. government by means of approved re-keyable encryption on the downlink. We cannot anticipate whether or under what circumstances the U.S. government would exercise its “shutter control” authority, nor can we reasonably determine what costs and terms would be negotiated between us and the U.S. government in such event;

 
·
We are required to obtain DoC approval before implementing “significant or substantial” agreements with foreign nations, entities or consortiums (foreign persons) to protect the national security and foreign policy interests and international obligations of the U.S. government. Transfers of “significant or substantial” agreements also require DoC approval. Examples of “significant or substantial” agreements include customer agreements for high-resolution imagery collection and distribution, operating agreements and agreements relating to equity investments in the Company of 20 percent or more of the total outstanding shares or that entitle a foreign person to a position on our Board of Directors. Foreign persons entering into “significant or substantial” agreements with us are required to comply with our DoC license imagery collection and distribution restrictions and are subject to the U.S. government’s exercise of “shutter control,” which could adversely affect our ability to collect imagery products for distribution to our foreign customers; and

 
·
We are restricted from disseminating imagery of the state of Israel with a resolution better than 2.0 meters.

Federal Communications Commission Regulation

The FCC is responsible for licensing commercial satellite and ground systems and the radio frequencies used by commercial satellite systems. In general, the FCC grants licenses to commercial satellite systems that conform to the technical, legal and financial requirements for these systems set forth in FCC regulations. The FCC also regulates the ownership and control of its licensees, and must consent to certain changes in such ownership or control.

Below is a table summarizing the FCC license grant and expiration dates for our current commercially operational satellites and related ground systems:


   
GeoEye-1
 
IKONOS
FCC Satellite License Grant Date
 
2004
 
1999
Commercially Operational
 
Yes
 
Yes
FCC Satellite License Expiration Date
 
2018
 
2014
Grant Date of Associated FCC Ground Station Licenses
 
2004
 
1999
Expiration Date of Associated FCC Ground Station License(s)
 
April 15, 2024, renewable for 15 years subject to FCC approval
 
October 3, 2022 and October 17, 2022, renewable for 15 years subject to FCC approval

We also hold an FCC license to operate the OrbView-3 satellite, which ceased commercial operations in 2007. We r ecently completed the successful de-orbit of the OrbView-3 satellite and intend to surrender the OrbView-3 FCC and NOAA licenses. Additionally, we hold an FCC license to operate the OrbView-2 satellite, which remains in orbit but which ceased commercial operations in 2011. In the future, we will be required to obtain FCC licenses and approvals in connection with any new high-resolution satellites that we plan to operate. We are currently preparing an application to modify our GeoEye-1 satellite FCC license to add the GeoEye-2 satellite and associated ground stations. We expect to file this application in the near future and expect to obtain the FCC licenses and approvals necessary for GeoEye-2 operations.

Export Controls and Security Clearance Regulation

We are subject to a complex set of export control and security clearance regulations for the products and services we offer.

Among other things, we are a registrant under ITAR, and we hold export licenses and other approvals from the U.S. Department of State’s Directorate of Defense Trade Control, or DDTC, for the export of hardware, software and technical data relating to the potential defense-related satellites, ground stations, image-processing facilities and support services provided to customers. Additional approvals may be required from DDTC and from the DoC’s Bureau of Industry and Security, in certain cases. For example, export licenses may be required if certain foreign persons or entities are involved in the development or acquisition of our products and services. Also, the export of a GeoEye-supplied ground station or image-processing facility to a foreign person would require a DDTC export approval. The suspension or cancellation of our ITAR registration or DDTC approval to export our products and services could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

In addition, we require certain facility and personnel security clearances to perform our classified U.S. government-related business. Security clearances are subject to regulations and requirements. This includes the National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual, or NISPOM, which provides baseline standards for the protection of classified information released or disclosed to industry in connection with classified U.S. government contracts. Among other things, the NISPOM restricts non-U.S. (“foreign”) ownership, control, or influence, or FOCI, over a U.S. citizen performing classified work for the U.S. government, such that investments in the Company by non-U.S. entities or individuals could require prior review by the U.S. Department of Defense, and could result in changes in the terms of our facility or personnel clearances. The suspension or cancellation of our facility clearances, or the inability to maintain personnel security clearances for our personnel to perform classified U.S. government contracts, could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

Furthermore, any change in our ownership involving a transfer to foreign persons or entities may increase U.S. government scrutiny and lead to more onerous requirements in connection with both export controls and security clearances. A transfer to foreign ownership could also trigger other requirements, including filings with and review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States pursuant to the Exon-Florio Provision and approval by NOAA under our DoC licenses. Depending on the country of origin and identity of foreign owners, other restrictions and requirements could arise.

Future Developments

U.S. regulators may subject us in the future to new laws, policies, regulations or changes in the interpretation or application of existing laws, policies and regulations that modify the present U.S. regulatory environment. In addition, U.S. regulators could decide to impose limitations on U.S. companies that are currently applicable only to other countries, or other regulatory limitations that affect satellite remote imaging operations. Any limitations of this kind could adversely affect our business or our results of operations.


International

All satellite systems providing services in the international markets must comply with the following general international regulations and the specific laws of the countries in which satellite imagery is downlinked or satellite imagery products are distributed.

 
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International Telecommunication Union, or ITU, Regulations — ITU regulations define for each service the technical operating parameters, including maximum transmitter power, maximum interference to other services and users and the minimum interference the user must operate under for that service. The FCC, on our behalf, has completed the ITU notification process for our IKONOS, OrbView-3 and OrbView-2 satellite systems. The ITU received GeoEye-1 satellite system notification documents in June 2009, and we expect the ITU to publish its findings recognizing completion of the GeoEye-1 ITU notification within the next twelve months. After completion of the ITU notification process, ongoing coordination with other satellite systems could occur from time to time.

 
·
Foreign Downlink License — The regulations of some foreign countries require satellite operators to secure appropriate licenses and operational authority to use the required spectrum in each country. Within foreign countries, our foreign customers are responsible for securing appropriate licenses and operational authority to use the required spectrum for downlinking our high-resolution satellite imagery with assistance from us as required.

 
·
Foreign Imagery Acquisition or Distribution Regulations — The regulations or policies of foreign countries may restrict the acquisition or distribution of satellite imagery products and services. For example, in the Republic of India, we obtained permission from the government to promote satellite imagery product sales to customers in India, provided the actual product deliveries are made through a government-appointed reseller.

While we believe we will be able to obtain all U.S., ITU and foreign government licenses, authorizations and registrations necessary to provide services internationally, we cannot assure you that we will be successful in doing so. The failure to obtain some or all necessary licenses, approvals or registrations could have a material adverse effect on our business or results of operations.

Item 1A.
 Risk Factors

The risks described below, among others, could cause our actual operating results to differ materially from those indicated or suggested by forward-looking statements made in this Form 10-K or presented elsewhere by management from time to time.

A substantial portion of our revenues are generated from contracts with U.S. government agencies that are subject to annual renewal and Congressional appropriations. Termination of these contracts or a failure by Congress to make appropriations to the NGA could materially reduce our revenue and have a material adverse effect on our business.

Revenues from U.S. government contracts accounted for 66 percent of our total revenues for the year ended December 31, 2010. Our contracts with U.S. government agencies are subject to risks of termination, with or without cause, or reduction in scope due to changes in U.S. government policies, priorities or funding level commitments to various agencies. Our primary contract with the U.S. government, through the NGA, is the EnhancedView SLA, which was awarded and authorized on August 6, 2010. Any inability on our part to meet the performance requirements of the EnhancedView SLA could result in a breach of our contract with the NGA. The EnhancedView SLA is structured as a one-year agreement, with nine one-year renewal options, exercisable at the NGA’s option. A breach of our contract with the NGA resulting in its termination, or a decision by the NGA not to exercise it renewal options under the EnhancedView SLA, or any other U.S. government contract, would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
 
Although our NGA contracts generally involve fixed annual minimum commitments, such commitments are subject to annual Congressional appropriations and, as a result, the NGA may not continue to fund these contracts at current or anticipated levels. If the NGA terminates, significantly reduces in scope or suspends any of its contracts with us, or changes its policies, priorities or funding levels, these actions would have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. We recognized $99.2 million of revenue under the NextView SLA with the NGA and $49.0 million of revenue under the EnhancedView SLA for the year ended December 31, 2010, which accounted for approximately 45 percent of our revenue during the year ended December 31, 2010.
 
As part of the EnhancedView award, we have entered into a cost-share agreement with the NGA that provides for approximately $337.0 million of funding for the development and launch of GeoEye-2; this amount represents approximately 40 percent of our expected GeoEye-2 development and launch expense. If the cost-share agreement is terminated, it will be difficult for us to obtain a similar level of financing on comparable or acceptable terms, if at all. If such termination is accompanied by a termination or non-renewal of the EnhancedView SLA, we will experience significant difficulty in obtaining financing for the construction and development of GeoEye-2, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.


A delay in the passage of the U.S. government’s budget could affect U.S. government procurement of our services and have an adverse effect on our future sales. When the U.S. government does not complete its budget process before the end of its fiscal year, government operations are typically funded pursuant to a continuing resolution that authorizes agencies of the U.S. government to continue to operate, but does not authorize new spending initiatives. When the U.S. government operates under a continuing resolution, government agencies may delay or cancel funding we expect to receive from customers on work we are already performing. Additionally, when operating under a continuing resolution, U.S. government agencies may delay or cancel new initiatives and programs, which could materially adversely affect our business and financial condition and results from operations.

Changes in U.S. government policy regarding the use of commercial imagery products and service providers, or material delay or cancellation of the U.S. government EnhancedView program may have a material adverse effect on our revenue and our ability to fund operations and achieve our growth objectives.

Current U.S. government policy encourages the use of commercial imagery products and services to support U.S. national security objectives. We are considered by the U.S. government to be a commercial imagery products and services provider. U.S. government policy is subject to change, and any change in policy away from supporting the use of commercial imagery products and service providers to meet U.S. government imagery needs could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Satellites have limited useful lives and are expensive to replace.

Satellites have limited useful lives. We determine a satellite’s useful life, or its expected operational life, using a complex calculation involving the probabilities of failure of the satellite’s components from design or manufacturing defects, environmental stresses, estimated remaining fuel or other causes.

A number of factors can affect the expected operational lives of our satellites, including the quality of construction, the supply of fuel, the expected gradual environmental degradation of solar panels, the durability of various satellite components and the orbits in which the satellites are placed. Certain advanced components, such as its cameras, are integral to a satellite’s design functionality and expected operational life. The failure of satellite components can cause damage to, or loss of, the use of a satellite before the end of its expected operational life. Electrostatic storms or collisions with other objects could damage our satellites, which could in turn impair their design functionality and expected operational life. Such objects could include debris from exploded satellites and spent rocket stages, dead satellites and meteoroids. We cannot assure you that each satellite will remain in operation for its expected operational life. We expect the performance of any satellite to decline gradually near the end of its expected operational life.

Our GeoEye-1 satellite was launched in September 2008 and has an expected operational life of nine years. IKONOS, another of our satellites, was fully depreciated in June 2008. In December 2010, a study on IKONOS was updated, indicating the life expectancy would go through January 2012. Management currently expects that IKONOS commercial operations could last significantly longer. However, there can be no assurance that IKONOS will continue to operate adequately to remain commercially viable.

Replacing a satellite can be expensive. We are currently building GeoEye-2, which we expect to be operational in 2013. We expect to use up to $337.0 million in federal government cost-share funds, current cash balances, proceeds from the Preferred Stock sold to Cerberus Satellite LLC and funds generated from operations to develop and launch GeoEye-2. If our cost-share agreement with the NGA is terminated by the NGA, or if Congress fails to make appropriations to fund payments by the NGA under this cost-share agreement, we will have to seek additional financing from outside sources, which we may be unable to obtain. If we do not generate sufficient funds from operations and we cannot obtain financing from outside sources, we will not be able to deploy a new satellite to replace GeoEye-1 at the end of its expected operational life. We cannot assure investors that we will be able to generate sufficient funds from operations or be able to raise additional capital on acceptable terms or on a timely basis, if at all, to develop or deploy follow-on high-resolution satellites.

We cannot assure you that our satellites will operate as designed. We may experience in-orbit satellite failures or degradations in performance that could impair the commercial performance of our satellites, which could lead to lost revenue, an increase in our operating expenses, lower operating income or lost backlog.


Our satellites employ advanced technologies and sensors that are subject to severe environmental stresses in space that could affect the satellite’s performance. Hardware component problems in space could lead to degradation in performance or loss of functionality of the satellite, with attendant costs and revenue losses. In addition, human operators may execute improper implementation commands that can negatively impact a satellite’s performance. Unanticipated catastrophic events, such as meteor showers or collisions with space debris, could reduce the performance of or destroy any of our satellites. Even if a satellite is operated properly, minor technical flaws in the satellite’s sensors could significantly degrade their performance, which could materially affect our ability to collect imagery and market our products successfully.

If we suffer a partial or total loss of a deployed satellite, we would need a significant amount of time and would incur substantial expense to repair or replace that satellite. We may experience other problems with our satellites that may reduce their performance. During any period in which a satellite is not fully operational, we may lose most or all of the revenue that otherwise would have been derived from that satellite. In addition, we may not have on hand, or be able to obtain in a timely manner, the necessary funds to cover the cost of any necessary satellite repair or replacement. Our inability to repair or replace a defective satellite, or correct any other technical problem in a timely manner, could result in a significant loss of revenue. Our business model depends on our ability to sell imagery from our high-resolution satellites. We do not presently have plans to construct and launch a replacement satellite for our high-resolution IKONOS satellite if it fails.

In December 2009, we announced that our engineers detected an irregularity in the equipment that GeoEye-1 uses to point the antenna that transmits imagery to receiving stations on the ground. The irregularity limits the range of movement of GeoEye-1’s downlink antenna, which affects GeoEye-1’s ability to image and downlink simultaneously. GeoEye-1 is able to downlink imagery to GeoEye’s and customer ground stations when not collecting images.
 
In May 2009, we announced that our engineers detected an aberration with GeoEye-1 affecting the collection of color imagery by a narrow band of pixels within an image. As a result, we modified our operations and currently collect, produce and deliver color imagery that is unaffected by the aberration to customers. Subsequently, an adjacent band of pixels experienced the same aberration. GeoEye-1 imagery collection, production and delivery to customers is unaffected by this second occurrence because of the previous operational modifications implemented by the Company, and the pixel bands affected by the aberration continue to collect panchromatic images normally. We have designed modifications that we believe would significantly reduce or eliminate the effects to the Company of these types of failures; however, any failure of our cameras on any of our satellites or other loss of satellite capacity or functionality could require different satellite operational modifications that may have a material adverse effect on our imagery collection operations, and could materially affect our financial condition and results from operations.

New or proposed satellites are subject to construction and launch delays, the occurrence of which can materially and adversely affect our operations.

We have in the past experienced delays in satellite construction and launch which have adversely affected our operations. Such delays can result from delays in the construction of satellites and the procurement of requisite components and launch vehicles; limited availability of appropriate launch windows; possible delays in obtaining regulatory approvals and launch failures. Failure to meet a satellite’s construction schedule, resulting in a significant delay in the future delivery of a satellite, could also adversely affect our marketing strategy for the satellite. Even after a satellite has been manufactured and is ready for launch, an appropriate launch date may not be available for several months. Further, any significant delay in the commencement of service of any of our satellites would allow customers who pre-purchased or agreed to utilize capacity on the satellite to terminate their contracts, which could affect our plans to replace an in-orbit satellite prior to the end of its service life.

Our information systems and security systems and networks may be subject to intrusion, resulting in possible interruption, delay or suspension of our ability to provide our products and services, which could result in loss of current and future business.

A breach or breaches of our system security could materially adversely affect our business. Our business involves the transmission and storage of large quantities of electronic data, including the imagery comprising our global imagery library. In addition, our business is becoming increasingly Web-based, allowing our customers to access and take delivery of imagery from our digital imagery library over the Internet. From time to time, we have experienced computer viruses and other forms of third-party attacks on our systems that, to date, have not had a material adverse affect on our business.

Despite the implementation and continued upgrading of security measures, our network infrastructure may be vulnerable to computer viruses, unauthorized third-party access or other problems caused by third parties, which could lead to interruptions, delays or suspension of our operations, loss of imagery from our global imagery library and the loss or compromise of technical information or customer information. Inappropriate use of the Internet by third parties, including attempts to gain unauthorized access to information or systems—commonly known as “cracking” or “hacking”—could also potentially jeopardize the overall security of our systems and could deter certain customers from doing business with us. If a breach involves information subject to breach disclosure laws (such as certain personally identifiable information), we may be required to publicly disclose the breach, which may deter customers from dealing with us and/or expose us to material notification expenses. In addition, a security breach that involved classified or other sensitive government information, or certain controlled technical information, could subject us to civil or criminal penalties, and could result in loss of our government contracts, loss of access to classified information, loss of export privileges or debarment as a government contractor.

 
Because the techniques used to obtain unauthorized access, or to otherwise infect or sabotage information systems, change frequently and often are not recognized until launched against a target, we may be unable to anticipate these new techniques or to implement adequate preventive measures. We may also need to expend significant people and financial resources to protect against security breaches or remedy any breaches that might occur. The risk that these types of events could seriously harm our business is likely to increase as we expand the number of Web-based products and services we offer and increase the number of countries within which we do business.

We operate in a highly competitive and specialized industry. The size and resources of some of our competitors may allow them to compete more effectively than we can, which could result in loss of our market share.

Our products and services compete with other satellite and aircraft-based imagery sources and related imagery products and services offered by a wide range and scale of commercial and government providers. Some competitors may have greater financial, personnel and other operating resources than us.

Our major U.S. competitor for high-resolution satellite imagery is DigitalGlobe. DigitalGlobe currently operates three high-resolution satellites: Quickbird, launched in 2001; WorldView-1, launched in September 2007; and WorldView-2, launched in October 2009. We believe that WorldView-1 has the ability to provide commercial customers with 0.5-meter resolution black-and-white imagery. In addition, WorldView-2 has the ability to collect color imagery, which could strengthen DigitalGlobe’s position in the industry. Our satellites have different capabilities from those of DigitalGlobe. In particular, all of our satellites have the ability to produce color imagery, while only two of DigitalGlobe’s satellites can image in color, and GeoEye’s image resolution of .41 meters is believed to be the highest-resolution of any commercial satellite. In addition, GeoEye-1 is the most accurate commercial satellite in the market today. Historically, we have enjoyed a competitive advantage over DigitalGlobe in the international markets because of our long-standing relationships with our international customers, whom we helped with the construction and development of their ground stations over the past ten years. The WorldView-1 and WorldView-2 satellites may now have some of the same capabilities as GeoEye’s high-resolution satellites. The WorldView-1, WorldView-2 and QuickBird satellites have higher resolutions, and WorldView-1 and WorldView-2 have more advanced technologies than our IKONOS satellite.

It is possible that foreign governments could subsidize, fund the development of, construct, launch and operate imagery satellites with comparable or higher resolution and accuracy in the future, which could enable them to sell Earth imagery from their satellites in the commercial market and thereby compete on price with our imagery products.

If competitors develop and launch satellites with comparable or more advanced technologies than ours, or offer services at lower prices than ours, then our business and results of operations could be harmed. If we cannot maintain our margins, our financial position could be negatively affected.

U.S. and foreign governmental agencies may build and operate their own systems, which could affect the current and potential market share of our products and services and could lead to pricing pressure.

The U.S. government currently relies, and is likely to continue to rely, on government-owned and operated systems for classified satellite-based high-resolution imagery. The U.S. government could reduce its purchases from commercial satellite imagery providers or decrease the number of companies to which it contracts with no corresponding increase in the total amount spent.

The U.S. government and foreign governments also may develop, construct, launch and operate their own imagery satellites, which could reduce their need to rely on commercial suppliers. In addition, such governments could sell Earth imagery from their satellites in the commercial market and thereby compete with our imagery products and services. These governments could also subsidize the development, launch and operation of imagery satellites by our current or future competitors and subsidize the pricing of imagery from their satellites, which could lead to pricing pressure. Pricing pressure could lead to potential market share losses if we choose not to lower our prices to retain our existing customer base. Any reduction in purchases of our products and services by the U.S. government could have a material adverse effect on our business, operations and financial condition.


The success of our products and services will depend on market acceptance, and you should not rely on historic growth rates as an indicator of future growth.

Our success depends on existing markets accepting our imagery products and information services and our ability to develop new business markets and new services. Our business plan is based on the assumption that we will generate significant future revenues from sales of high-resolution imagery produced by our satellite constellation and from sales of our information services to current and new customers in our existing and new markets. The commercial availability of high-resolution satellite imagery is still a fairly new market. Consequently, it is difficult to predict accurately the ultimate size of the market and the market acceptance of our products and services. Our strategy is to target certain existing and new markets for our satellite imagery and relies on a number of assumptions. The actual market for our products and services could vary from the potential end markets that we have identified causing us to develop smaller end markets and potentially miss other market opportunities.

We cannot accurately predict whether our products and services will achieve significant market acceptance or whether there will be a market for our products and services on terms we find acceptable. Market acceptance of our commercial high-resolution Earth imagery products and new information services depends on a number of factors, including the quality, scope, timeliness, sophistication and price of services and the availability of substitute products and services. Lack of significant market acceptance of our offerings, or other products and services that utilize our products and services, delays in acceptance, failure of certain markets to develop or our need to make significant investments to achieve acceptance by the market would negatively affect our business operations, financial condition and financial results.

We may not continue to grow in line with our historical growth rates. If we are unable to achieve sustainable growth, we may be unable to execute our business strategy, expand our business or fund our liquidity needs. As a result, our prospects, financial condition and business operations could be materially and adversely affected.

Interruption or failure of our infrastructure and image downloading systems could impair our ability to effectively perform our daily operations, protect and maintain the Earth imagery content stored in our image archives and provide our products and services, which could damage our reputation and harm our results of operations.

The availability of our products and services depends on the continuing operation of our infrastructure, information technology and communications systems. Any system downtime, damage to, or failure of our systems could result in interruptions in our service, which could reduce our revenue and profits. Our systems are vulnerable to damage or interruption from floods, fires, power loss, telecommunications failures, computer viruses, computer denial-of-service attacks or other attempts to harm our systems. Our data centers and ground stations can be powered by backup generators. However, if our primary source of power and the backup generators also fail, our daily operations and results of operations would be materially and adversely affected.

In addition, our ground stations and collection systems are vulnerable to damage or interruption from human error, intentional bad acts, earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, fires, war, terrorist attacks, power losses, hardware failures, systems failures, telecommunications failures and similar events. Our satellite imagery is encrypted, downloaded directly to our ground stations and then stored in our image archives for sale to our customers. As a result, our operations are dependent upon our ability to maintain and protect our Earth imagery content and our image archives and to provide our images to our customers, including our foreign distribution network, value-added resellers and EyeQ customers. The impairment of our ability to perform any of these functions could result in lengthy interruptions in our services and/or damage our reputation, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.

We rely on resellers and a foreign distribution network to market and sell our products and services in certain markets and to certain customers. If these distributors and resellers fail to market our products and services successfully, our business, financial condition and results of operations will be materially adversely affected.

We rely principally on foreign regional resellers to market and sell our imagery from the GeoEye-1 and IKONOS satellites in various international markets. We are currently expanding our efforts to further develop our current and future operations in international markets. These regional resellers may not have the skill or experience to further develop regional commercial markets for our products and services. If we fail to enter into additional regional distribution agreements, or if our foreign regional resellers fail to market and sell our imagery products and services successfully abroad, these marketing failures could negatively affect our business operations and financial condition.


We rely on resellers to develop, market and sell our products and services to address certain target markets, including certain industries and geographical markets. If our value-added resellers fail to develop, market and sell our products and services successfully, this failure could negatively affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Although we carry insurance on our satellites, there can be no assurance that insurance proceeds would be available to us in the event of operational degradation of any our satellites, or that proceeds that might be available will adequately cover our losses.

We procure insurance covering risks associated with our satellite operations through the commercial insurance markets. The cost and amount of coverage available to us, and the types of loss coverage we are able to obtain at reasonable costs, are affected by factors beyond our control. These include recent loss experience in insurance markets, risk assessments by insurance carriers and their advisors, the carriers’ cost of capital, general economic conditions, and failures of other satellites using components similar to ours or using similar launch vehicles. Insurance premiums for satellite risk of loss coverage have historically been quite volatile, as have the terms of coverage and exclusions for coverage, and there can be no assurance that future premiums we may be required to pay to obtain or maintain our insurance will not exceed our ability to pay those premiums.  Higher premiums on insurance policies will increase our costs. Should the future terms of launch and in-orbit insurance policies become less favorable than those currently available, this may result in limits on amounts of coverage that we can obtain or may prevent us from obtaining insurance at all.

Our insurance policies contain various exclusions from coverage based upon commercial realities and the types of coverage available in the market. For example, the anomalies we have experienced in the operation of GeoEye-1 are excluded from our present policies and any costs we have experienced to mitigate such anomalies are not covered by insurance. If we experience other operational anomalies associated with our satellites that could degrade their performance or our ability to collect the amount and/or quality of imagery that we anticipate, we may not have access to proceeds to cover our added costs or loss of revenue.

Our 2016 Notes and 2015 Notes require us to obtain launch and in-orbit insurance for our satellites, which is costly and may be difficult or impossible to obtain.  A loss of a high-resolution satellite such as GeoEye-1 will require us to offer to repurchase our 2016 Notes and 2015 Notes, and we may lack sufficient insurance to cover that cost.

The terms of the 2016 Notes and 2015 Notes require us to obtain launch and in-orbit insurance for any future satellites we construct and launch and require us to maintain specified levels of in-orbit operation insurance for GeoEye-1, to the extent that such coverage can be obtained at a premium that is not disproportionately high. With respect to GeoEye-1, we currently carry $255.8 million of in-orbit insurance, consisting of $120.3 million of in-orbit insurance in the event of the total loss of the satellite, expiring December 1, 2011. We also carry $135.5 million of in-orbit full coverage to be paid if the satellite’s capabilities become impaired as measured against a set of specifications, of which $50.0 million expires on September 6, 2011, and $85.5 million expires on December 1, 2011.  We believe, that under current market conditions, the premiums for additional coverage would be disproportionately high. This insurance is not sufficient to cover the cost of a replacement high-resolution imagery satellite such as GeoEye-1 or to provide us with sufficient funds to repurchase all of the 2016 Notes and the 2015 Notes then outstanding in the event that, as a result of such a loss, we are required to make a mandatory offer to repurchase the 2016 Notes and the 2015 Notes. We will seek to obtain insurance coverage for GeoEye-2 and all future satellites as required under the 2016 Notes and the 2015 Notes. However, any failure to obtain required insurance could cause a default under the 2016 Notes and the 2015 Notes.

The global financial crisis may affect our business operations, financial condition and financial results in ways that we currently cannot predict.

The global credit crisis and related turmoil in the global financial system may have an impact on our business, our business operations, financial condition and financial results. In particular: the cost of capital has increased substantially in certain markets, while the availability of funds from the capital markets has diminished significantly in certain markets. Accordingly, our ability to access the capital markets may be restricted or be available only on terms we do not consider favorable. Limited access to the capital markets could adversely affect our ability to take advantage of business opportunities or react to changing economic and business conditions and could adversely affect our strategy.

The current economic situation could affect our customers, causing them to fail to meet obligations to us, which could have a material adverse effect on our revenue, results from operations and cash flows. State and local governments may be more vulnerable to the economic downturn and, accordingly, the operations of our subsidiary, M.J. Harden Associates, Inc. have and could continue to face greater exposure to this state and local government risk. A continued economic downturn coupled with the uncertainty and volatility of the global financial crisis may have a further adverse affect on our business and our consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows that we currently cannot predict or anticipate.


In addition, the current economic downturn has also led to concerns about the stability of financial markets generally and the financial strength of our counterparties. For example, if one or more of our insurance carriers fails, we may not receive the full amount of proceeds due to us in the event of loss or damage to one of our satellites. In addition, if we attempt to obtain future insurance in addition to, or replacement of, our existing coverage, the credit market turmoil could negatively impact our ability to obtain such insurance.

Our business is capital intensive, and we may not be able to raise adequate capital to finance our business strategies, including any future satellite, or we may be able to do so only on terms that significantly restrict our ability to operate our business.

The implementation of our business strategies requires a substantial outlay of capital. As we pursue our business strategies and seek to respond to opportunities and trends in our industry, our actual capital expenditures may differ from our expected capital expenditures, and there can be no assurance that we will be able to satisfy our capital requirements in the future. We currently expect that our ongoing liquidity requirements for sustaining our operations will be satisfied by cash on hand, cash generated from our existing and future operations, proceeds from the Equity Financing and the net proceeds from the Notes offering. However, we cannot provide assurances that our businesses will generate sufficient cash flow from operations in the future or that future borrowings will be available in amounts sufficient to enable us to execute our business strategies.

Lending institutions have suffered and may continue to suffer losses due to their lending policies and their other financial relationships, especially because of the general weak U.S. economy. As a result, changes in the capital markets may impact our ability to obtain new financing or refinance our existing debt on reasonable terms and in adequate amounts, if at all. If we determine we need to obtain additional funds through external financing and are unable to do so, we may be prevented from fully implementing our business strategies. We can provide no assurance that we will be able to raise sufficient capital to continue funding our satellite constellation and expand our other businesses.

Failure to obtain, or the revocation of, regulatory approvals could result in service interruptions and materially adversely affect our business, financial position and results of operations.

U.S. Government Approvals.   Operation of our satellites requires licenses from, and is subject to regulation by, the DoC. The failure to obtain these licenses, or the revocation of one or more licenses (for example, as the result of our failure to comply with our licenses or applicable regulations), could adversely affect our ability to conduct our business. DoC regulations and license conditions provide that we must obtain prior DoC consent to certain changes in control over, or the holding of certain interests in, the Company. DoC regulations and license conditions also provide that the U.S. government may interrupt service or otherwise limit our ability to distribute satellite images to certain parties, including certain of our customers, to address national security or foreign policy concerns or because of the international obligations of the U.S. government. Actual or threatened interruptions or limitations on our service could adversely affect our ability to market our products. In addition, the DoC has the right to review and approve our agreements with foreign entities, including contracts with international customers for high-resolution imagery. We have received such approvals for the agreements in place with our existing international customers. However, such reviews could delay or prohibit us from executing new international agreements or renewals or extensions of our existing agreements, which could materially adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. See “Government Regulation – United States – Department of Commerce Regulation.”

We have in the past and may in the future supply certain of our international customers with access to ground stations that enable these customers to downlink data directly from our satellites. Exporting these ground stations and technical information relating to these stations may require us to obtain export licenses from the DoC or the U.S. Department of State. If the DoC or the U.S. Department of State does not issue these export licenses in connection with future exports, or if these licenses are significantly delayed or contain restrictions, or if the DoC or the U.S. Department of State revokes, suspends or denies a request for renewal of existing licenses, then our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected. See “Government Regulation – United States – Export Controls and Security Clearance Regulation.”

We require certain facility and personnel security clearances to perform our classified U.S. government related business. Security clearances are subject to regulations and requirements including the National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual, or NISPOM, which provides baseline standards for the protection of classified information released or disclosed to industry in connection with classified U.S. government contracts. Among other things, the NISPOM restricts the ability of non-U.S. (“foreign”) entities or individuals to hold foreign ownership, control, or influence, or FOCI, over a U.S. person performing classified work for the U.S. government, such that investments in the Company by a non-U.S. entity or individual could require prior review by the U.S. Department of Defense. The suspension or cancellation of our facility security clearances, or the inability to maintain personnel security clearances for our personnel to perform classified U.S. government contracts, could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. See “Government Regulation – United States – Export Controls and Security Clearance Regulation.”


Our operation of satellites and ground stations also requires licenses from, and is subject to regulation by, the FCC. The FCC regulates the launch and operation of our satellites, the use of satellite spectrum and the licensing of our ground station terminals located within the United States. The FCC also regulates the ownership and control of its licensees, and must consent to certain changes in such ownership or control. We currently have all required FCC licenses necessary to operate our business as it is currently conducted. However, these licenses have expiration dates, which are expected to occur while the satellites and ground systems are still in use. In light of the EnhancedView contract award, which includes up to $337.0 million in cost-share funds from the NGA for the development and launch of the GeoEye-2 satellite, we are preparing an application to modify our GeoEye-1 satellite FCC license to add the GeoEye-2 satellite and associated ground stations and expect to file this application in the near future. The FCC generally renews licenses in the ordinary course, but there can be no assurance that our licenses will be renewed at their expiration dates for full terms or without adverse conditions, or that our application to modify our GeoEye-1 satellite FCC license will be granted. Failure to renew or modify these licenses, obtain FCC authorization to launch and operate any new satellites or otherwise maintain our existing licenses (for example, as the result of our failure to comply with our licenses or applicable regulations) could have a material adverse affect on our ability to generate revenue and conduct our business as currently planned. See “Government Regulation – United States – Federal Communications Commission Regulation.”

International Registration and Approvals.   The use of satellite spectrum is subject to the requirements of the   ITU. Additionally, satellite operators must abide by the specific laws of the countries in which downlink services are provided from the satellite to ground station terminals within such countries. Our customers or distributors are responsible for obtaining local regulatory approval from the governments in the countries in which they receive imagery downlinked directly from our satellites to ground stations within such countries. If the necessary approvals are not obtained, we will not be able to distribute real-time imagery in those regions and this inability to offer real-time service in a foreign country could negatively affect our business. In addition, regulatory provisions in countries where we wish to operate may impose unduly burdensome restrictions on our operations. Our business may also be adversely affected if the national authorities where we plan to operate adopt treaties, regulations or legislation unfavorable to foreign companies or limiting the provision of our products and services.

Our international business exposes us to risks relating to increased regulation and political or economic instability in foreign markets.

For the year ended December 31, 2010, approximately 26 percent of our total revenues were derived from international sales. We intend to continue to pursue international contracts, and we expect to continue to derive substantial revenues from international sales of our products and services. International operations are subject to certain risks, such as:

 
·
Changes in domestic and foreign governmental regulations and licensing requirements;

 
·
Deterioration of relations between the United States and a particular foreign country;

 
·
Increases in tariffs and taxes and other trade barriers;

 
·
Changes in political and economic stability, including fluctuations in the value of foreign currencies, which may make payment in U.S. dollars, as provided for under our existing contracts, more expensive for foreign customers; and

 
·
Difficulties in obtaining or enforcing judgments in foreign jurisdictions.

These risks are beyond our control and could have a material adverse effect on our business.

Our success depends upon a limited number of key personnel.

Our success depends on attracting, retaining and motivating highly skilled engineering and information technology professionals. A number of our employees are highly skilled engineers and other information technology professionals. In addition, our success depends to a significant extent upon the abilities and efforts of the members of our senior executive management team. Competition for highly skilled individuals is intense, and if we fail to continue to attract, retain and motivate such professionals, our ability to compete in our industry could be adversely affected.


Government audits of our contracts could result in a decrease in our earnings and or have a negative effect on our cash position following an audit adjustment.

Our government contracts are subject to cost audits, which may occur several years after the period to which the audit relates. If an audit identifies significant unallowable costs, we could incur a material charge to our earnings or reduction in our cash position.

Our effective income tax rate may vary.

Various internal and external factors may have favorable or unfavorable effects on our future effective income tax rate. These factors include, but are not limited to, changes in tax laws, regulations and or rates; the results of any tax examinations; changing interpretations of existing tax laws or regulations; changes in estimates of prior years’ items; acquisitions; changes in our corporate structure; and changes in overall levels of income before taxes. All of these factors may result in periodic revisions to our effective income tax rate.
 
We may pursue acquisitions, investments, strategic alliances and joint ventures, which could affect our results of operations.

We may engage in various transactions, including purchases or sales of assets, acquisitions of businesses, or enter into investments or contractual arrangements, such as strategic alliances or joint ventures. These transactions may be intended to result in the realization of cost savings, the generation of cash, the generation of income or the reduction of risk. We cannot assure you that we will be able to identify suitable acquisition, investment, alliance or joint venture opportunities or that we will be able to consummate any such transactions or relationships on terms and conditions acceptable to us, or that such transactions or relationships will be successful.

In addition, upon consummation of an acquisition, investment, strategic alliance or joint venture, we may face challenges with integration efforts, including the combination and development of product and service offerings, sales and marketing approaches and establishment of combined operations. There can be no assurance that an acquired business will perform as expected; that we will not incur unforeseen obligations or liabilities; that the business will generate sufficient cash flow to support the indebtedness, if incurred, to acquire them or the expenditures needed to develop them; or that the rate of return from such businesses will justify the decision to invest the capital.


Any future acquisitions, investments, strategic alliances or joint ventures may require additional debt or equity financing, which, in the case of debt financing, would increase our leverage and potentially affect our creditworthiness. Any deterioration in our creditworthiness or our future credit ratings associated with an acquisition could adversely affect our ability to borrow by resulting in more restrictive borrowing terms.
 
We have a substantial amount of indebtedness.
 
Our substantial indebtedness has important consequences. For example, it:

 
·
limits our ability to borrow additional funds;

 
·
limits our ability to pay dividends;

 
·
limits our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our business and our industry;

 
·
increases our vulnerability to general adverse economic and industry conditions;

 
·
limits our ability to make strategic acquisitions;

 
·
requires us to dedicate a substantial portion of our cash flow from operations to payments on indebtedness, reducing the availability of cash flow to fund working capital, capital expenditures and other general corporate activities; and
 
 
·
places us at a competitive disadvantage compared to competitors that have less debt.
 
Interest costs related to our debt are substantial and, as a result, the demands on our cash resources are significant. Our ability to make payments on our debt and to fund operations and planned capital expenditures will depend on our future results of operations and ability to generate cash. Our future results of operations are, to a certain extent, subject to general economic, financial, competitive, legislative, regulatory and other factors that are beyond our control.
 
The terms of the Indenture will permit us and our subsidiaries to incur substantial additional indebtedness in the future, including secured indebtedness with first-priority liens or pari passu liens, which could further exacerbate the risks described above.

Servicing our indebtedness will require a significant amount of cash. Our ability to generate sufficient cash depends on numerous factors beyond our control, and we may be unable to generate sufficient cash flow to service our debt obligations.
 
Our ability to make payments on and to refinance our indebtedness will depend on our ability to generate cash in the future. This, to a certain extent, is subject to general economic, political, financial, competitive, legislative, regulatory and other factors that are beyond our control.
 
For the year ended December 31, 2010, our interest payments totaled $44.9 million. We cannot assure you that our business will generate sufficient cash flow from operations to enable us to pay our indebtedness or to fund our other liquidity needs. If our cash flows are insufficient to allow us to make scheduled payments on our indebtedness, we may need to reduce or delay capital expenditures, sell assets, seek additional capital or restructure or refinance all or a portion of our indebtedness on or before maturity. We cannot assure you that we will be able to refinance any of our indebtedness, or that we will be able to refinance on commercially reasonable terms or that these measures would satisfy our scheduled debt service obligations. If we are unable to generate sufficient cash flow or refinance our debt on favorable terms, it could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, the value of our outstanding debt (including the Notes offered hereby) and our ability to make any required cash payments under our indebtedness.
 
 
A lowering or withdrawal of the credit ratings assigned to our debt securities by rating agencies may increase our future borrowing costs and reduce our access to capital.

Our debt currently has a non-investment grade credit rating, and any credit rating assigned could be lowered or withdrawn entirely by a rating agency if, in that rating agency’s judgment, future circumstances relating to the basis of the rating, such as adverse changes, so warrant. Consequently, real or anticipated changes in our credit ratings will generally affect the market value of the Notes. Credit ratings are not recommendations to purchase, hold or sell the Notes. Additionally, credit ratings may not reflect the potential effect of risks relating to the structure or marketing of the Notes. Any downgrade by a rating agency could decrease earnings and may result in higher borrowing costs.
 
Any future lowering of our ratings likely would make it more difficult or more expensive for us to obtain additional debt financing. If any credit rating initially assigned to the Notes is subsequently lowered or withdrawn for any reason, you may not be able to resell your Notes without a substantial discount.

Item 1B.
Unresolved Staff Comments

None.

Properties

The properties used in our operations consist principally of satellite ground stations and terminals, production facilities and administrative and executive offices. The following table sets forth certain information about the location of each property used in our business:

Location
 
Sq. Ft.
 
Lease/Own
 
Purpose
Herndon, Virginia
 
81,236
 
Lease
 
Future headquarters to replace Dulles and Sterling, Virginia properties in 2011
Dulles, Virginia *
 
57,392
 
Lease
 
Satellite operations, information services and principal executive offices
Thornton, Colorado
 
42,106
 
Own
 
Satellite operations and production services - backup for GeoEye-1
St. Louis, Missouri
 
21,060
 
Lease
 
Production services
Mission, Kansas
 
17,493
 
Lease
 
MJ Harden aerial imagery and production services
Fairmont, West Virginia
 
600
 
Own
 
Ground terminal station to support OrbView-2
Fairbanks, Alaska
 
5,041
 
Lease
 
Ground terminal station and IKONOS backup command and control
Point Barrow, Alaska
 
620
 
Lease
 
Ground terminal station
Sterling, Virginia *
 
26,733
 
Lease
 
Administrative offices and services
McLean, Virginia
 
35,079
 
Lease
 
GeoEye Analytics operations
Singapore, Asia
 
436
 
Lease
 
Sales, marketing and customer service activities
* These facilities will be replaced with the Herndon, Virginia headquarters in 2011.

Item 3. 
Legal Proceedings

In the normal course of business, we may be party to various lawsuits, legal proceedings and claims arising out of our business. We cannot predict the outcome of these lawsuits, legal proceedings and claims with certainty. Nevertheless, we believe that the outcome of any existing or known threatened proceedings, even if determined adversely, should not have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, liquidity or results of operations.


Removed and Reserved

PART II

Item 5. 
Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Repurchase of Equity Securities

Our sole class of common equity is our $0.01 par value common stock, which is listed on the NASDAQ Global Market and is listed under the symbol “GEOY.” Effective September 14, 2006, our common stock began trading as GEOY. From the period January 13, 2004, to September 13, 2006, our common stock traded over-the-counter and sales were reported on the NASDAQ bulletin board under the symbol “ORBM.” Prior to January 13, 2004, there was no established trading market for our common stock.

We had approximately 115 holders of record of our common stock at December 31, 2010, one of which is Cede & Co., a nominee for Depository Trust Company, or DTC. All of the shares of common stock held by brokerage firms, banks and other financial institutions as nominees for beneficial owners are deposited into participant accounts at DTC, and are therefore considered to be held of record by Cede & Co. as one stockholder.

Information concerning the stock prices as reported on the NASDAQ composite transaction tape is as follows:

   
2010
   
2009
 
   
High
   
Low
   
High
   
Low
 
4th Quarter
  $ 46.06     $ 39.86     $ 33.00     $ 24.00  
3rd Quarter
    40.48       30.80       26.90       21.94  
2nd Quarter
    32.98       26.10       28.90       19.10  
1st Quarter
    29.75       23.61       23.42       16.03  

We have 80,000 shares of 5 percent Series A Convertible Preferred Stock, or the Preferred Stock, authorized at $0.01 par value per share, of which 80,000 shares were issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2010, with a liquidation preference of $1,000 per share.

Dividends

We have never paid any cash dividends on our common stock, nor do we anticipate paying cash dividends on our common stock at any time in the foreseeable future. We are prohibited, with certain exceptions allowed under the debt indentures, from paying dividends under instruments governing our 2015 and 2016 Notes until the principal amount of all such notes has been repaid. These restrictions are more fully discussed in “Item 7, Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Liquidity and Cash Flows” below.

Cumulative dividends on the Preferred Stock are payable at a rate of 5 percent per annum of the $1,000 liquidation preference per share. At the Company’s option, dividends may be declared and paid in cash out of funds legally available, when, as and if declared by the Board of Directors of the Company. If not paid in cash, an amount equal to the cash dividends due is added to the liquidation preference. Dividends payable in cash are recorded in current liabilities. All dividends payable, whether in cash or as an addition to the liquidation preference, are recorded as a reduction to our retained earnings. On October 1, 2010, we paid $0.1 million of dividends, and as of December 31, 2010, we had $1.0 million of unpaid dividends. These dividends were paid on January 4, 2011.

Securities Authorized for Issuance under Equity Compensation Plans

The following table sets forth, as of December 31, 2010, the number of securities outstanding under our equity compensation plans, the weighted average exercise price of such securities and the number of securities available for grant under these plans:

 
Plan Category
 
Securities to Be Issued   Upon Exercise of   Outstanding Options and   Equity Awards (1)
   
Weighted-Average   Exercise Price per   Share (2)
   
Securities Available for Future Issuance
 
                   
Equity compensation plans approved by security holders
    1,704,389     $ 21.67       1,086,237  
Equity compensation plans not approved by security holders
    -       N/A       -  
Total
    1,704,389     $ 21.67       1,086,237  
 
 
(1)
Includes stock options, time-based nonvested stock, time-based director stock units, performance-based restricted stock units and performance-based nonvested stock awards.
 
(2)
Includes weighted-average exercise price of outstanding stock options only.

Stock Performance Graph

The following graph compares the yearly percentage change in the cumulative total shareholder return on our Common Stock during the period December 31, 2005, to December 31, 2010, with the cumulative total return on the NASDAQ Global Market Index and with a selected peer group consisting of us and other companies we deem to be comparable. The peer group consists of the following publicly traded technology and government contracting companies: AeroVironment, Inc., Applied Signal Technology, Inc., Costar Group, Inc., Cubic Corporation, DigitalGlobe, Inc., Neustar, Inc., Savvis, Inc., Trimble Navigation Limited, Tyler Technologies, Inc. and Viasat, Inc. The peer group is consistent with that in our 2009 Form 10-K, with the exception of the removal of Argon ST, Inc. from the peer group. This graph (i) assumes the investment of $100 on December 31, 2005 in our Common Stock, the NASDAQ Global Select Index and the peer group identified above and (ii) assumes that dividends are reinvested.

 
 
ASSUMES $100 INVESTED ON DECEMBER 31, 2005
ASSUMES DIVIDEND REINVESTED
FISCAL YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31, 2010
 
    Base Period     Year Ending December 31,  
  Company / Index  
December 31, 2005
    2006     2007     2008     2009     2010  
GeoEye, Inc.
  $ 100.00     $ 176.71     $ 307.31     $ 175.62     $ 254.61     $ 387.12  
NASDAQ Global Select
    100.00       113.57       127.29       75.22       110.99       130.77  
Peer Group
    100.00       124.68       130.60       102.69       120.21       157.98  

The information under “Stock Performance Graph” is not deemed filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and is not to be incorporated by reference in any of our filings under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, whether made before or after the date of this Form 10-K and irrespective of any general incorporation language in those filings.

Selected Financial Data

The table below sets forth the selected historical consolidated financial and operating data for each of the five years ended December 31, 2010, which has been derived from the audited consolidated financial statements of GeoEye, Inc. The following consolidated financial information should be read in conjunction with “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our consolidated financial statements and related notes in “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of this Annual Report.
 
SELECTED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL DATA
 
   
2010
   
2009
   
2008
   
2007
   
2006
 
   
(in thousands, except per share amounts)
 
Revenues
  $ 330,345     $ 271,102     $ 146,659     $ 183,023     $ 151,168  
                                         
Income before (provision) benefit for income taxes
  $ 47,989     $ 14,488     $ 10,348     $ 68,005     $ 20,004  
Net income
    24,637       32,061       26,615       28,470       2,974  
Net income available to common stockholders
    22,747       32,061       26,615       28,470       2,974  
 
                                       
Earnings per common share - basic
  $ 1.05     $ 1.71     $ 1.48     $ 1.62     $ 0.17  
Earnings per common share - diluted
    1.02       1.55       1.36       1.44       0.16  
                                         
Total assets
  $ 1,269,085     $ 947,207     $ 794,605     $ 853,090     $ 752,601  
Long-term debt
    508,160       380,594       247,502       246,789       246,075  
Stockholders' equity
    443,243       279,955       230,404       193,209       153,327  

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

The following discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with GeoEye’s consolidated financial statements and related notes and the discussions under “Application of Critical Accounting Policies” (also under Item 7), which describes key estimates and assumptions we make in the preparation of its consolidated financial statements and “Item 1A. Risk Factors,” which describes key risks associated with our operations and industry.

 
Business and Industry Factors

Business Strategy

We believe we are well positioned as a leading global provider of imagery and imagery information services due to our broad range of imagery collection assets, world class image processing and production facilities, and a strong global distribution network. Key elements of our strategy to take advantage of our competitive position and grow our business include:

 
·
Expand our satellite constellation. With the NGA EnhancedView award, we will continue to develop and grow our constellation and add capacity to serve our customer base and expand our services. GeoEye-2 is currently under construction and as of December 31, 2010, we have spent $309.9 million on development. Our recent $3.8 billion EnhancedView award from the NGA included up to a $337.0 million cost-share to help fund the development of GeoEye-2. It also provided for a ten-year EnhancedView SLA for GeoEye-1 and GeoEye-2 after it is launched, and value-added services.

 
·
Further expand our value-added products and service offerings.   We believe our industry-leading image resolution, our proprietary production process and expert personnel establish us as a leader in the field of imagery production and enhancement. We also expanded the production capacity of our facilities housing our classified and multi-source production operations.   Our recent acquisition of SPADAC, Inc. allows us to provide customers with analytical services that can be used for mission critical and commercial needs. We believe these and continued investments in our imagery enhancement and production capabilities will enable us to serve the next-generation demand for customer specific satellite imagery products and services.

 
·
Further commercialize our industry-leading high-resolution imagery.   We plan to develop new platforms and distribution technologies to make our imagery and products more accessible to our current and potential customers. For example, our EyeQ Web-based services platform sells imagery and other location intelligence based on multi-year subscriptions and seat licenses, rather than selling imagery pixels by the square kilometer. EyeQ also offers a Web interface with tools that function as our customers’ data center. EyeQ can serve up imagery and other content for our customers to access via their own data network and for delivery to their customers and partners.

 
·
Expand our existing, geographically diverse customer base. We will continue to build on our existing relationships with our customers and our international resellers so that we can offer value-added products and services to meet their growing needs. We remain committed to growing our geographically diverse customer base and driving growth through the continued development of our relationships with international resellers and international ground stations.

 
·
Continue to deliver quality and timely imagery. Our ability to provide high-quality, accurate imagery to our customers in a timely manner is the foundation of our business. We plan to continue to provide high-quality imagery and production services to our customers by means of GeoEye-1 and, once it is launched, GeoEye-2. We also plan to deploy capital into research and development to augment and enhance our ability to serve our customers.

Industry Factors

The geospatial technologies industry is affected by many different factors. Factors that drive market demand for our products and services include, but are not limited to, increased demand for technologies in response to national defense and environmental observation initiatives, commercial demand for satellite mapping technologies, global infrastructure project initiatives and advances in communication technologies. Factors that could negatively affect market demand for our products and services include, but are not limited to, U.S. and foreign governments developing and launching their own imagery programs, the proliferation of competing surveillance technologies such as unmanned aerial vehicles, U.S. export constraints and decreasing federal and international budgets.

As with any industry there are trends, both positive and negative, that can have an impact on the commercial imagery data providers. Positive trends include the following:

 
·
We expect that due to geopolitical uncertainty, global terrorist activity, changing climate trends and large natural disasters, there will be continued demand from both U.S. and international government agencies for up-to-date and accurate digital imagery and digital mapping databases. Defense personnel may be called upon to deploy to support actions in hostile environments or to respond to natural disasters, and combat mission planners will require the latest geospatial information. Our customers in countries around the world will continue to need to monitor their borders and the other areas of political and economic interest.


The frequency of natural disasters such as tsunamis, hurricanes and earthquakes has increased awareness of the utility of imagery information products for humanitarian missions and the need for geo-information in risk assessment, response and recovery. Satellite data is a valuable tool in assessing disaster response and recovery and planning logistical operations.

GeoEye is often the first to deliver commercial satellite imagery to the U.S. government, foreign governments, commercial customers and humanitarian agencies. Commercial satellite imagery was put to immediate use following the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti. In late February 2010, GeoEye provided imagery from both GeoEye-1 and IKONOS to the U.S. government after a magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck Chile. In March 2010, the entire world saw the practical application of commercial satellite imagery for understanding the extent and scope of the volcanic eruption in Iceland and the effect of its ash cloud on Western Europe. In April 2010, GeoEye provided imagery to international customers to better assess the scope and magnitude of the devastation of the earthquake in the central China city of Yu Shu. Also in April 2010, GeoEye began supplying the U.S. Coast Guard with millions of kilometers of imagery to understand the scope of the man-made oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. GeoEye continued to supply the NGA and the U.S. Coast Guard with current imagery throughout the summer so that federal agencies could make better response decisions as the crisis evolved. GeoEye-1 provided imagery for relief workers after the Pakistan floods, which began in late July 2010 following heavy monsoon rains in the Khyber, Sindh and Punjab regions of Pakistan. Over the past few months, GeoEye has supplied imagery for humanitarian support and emergency relief support for the wildfires in Colorado; the massive floods in Queensland, Australia; the catastrophic landslides in Brazil; and the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
 
We believe the heightened focus on the global environment could increase use of imagery for global observation to support climate change initiatives or to verify or monitor carbon reduction projects established through legislation or done voluntarily.

 
·
Commercial demand for geospatial technologies continues to grow. According to an industry study, the commercial market for imagery better than three-meter ground resolution from high-resolution imaging satellites is expected to grow over the next few years. We believe that growth will be fueled in part by the broad awareness created by the online mapping search engines such as Google Earth TM and Microsoft Virtual Earth TM . Consumers are beginning to utilize location-based technologies for everything from navigation to social networking. The convergence of imagery with GPS and personal navigation devices, combined with inexpensive access to broadband communications networks, appears to have generated a development of new commercial applications incorporating imagery and imagery information products.

 
·
Our technology is well suited for infrastructure project management. Both satellite and aerial imagery, along with other location-based technologies, can help the U.S., other countries and large commercial enterprises achieve their infrastructure goals more efficiently and cost effectively since every infrastructure project has a reference to a physical location on the surface of the globe. According to an industry trade group, a significant portion of the new stimulus programs proposed by the current U.S. administration will require geospatial data or services, particularly in the areas of design and planning for infrastructure projects, wildfire mapping, environmental infrastructure projects, surveying and charting and airport improvements.

 
·
Rapid advancements in IT infrastructure capabilities such as cloud computing, mobile communications and broadband may have dramatic effects on the industry. While digital information, including satellite imagery and products, is easily distributed to customers over the Internet, there is increasing customer interest in having others host imagery for them while adding value to it in a service-oriented environment. As a result, we anticipate growth in the increasing use of cloud computing where data and applications reside in cyberspace rather than on company servers or hard drives. The NGA’s SLA is an example of how agencies may utilize geospatial technology rather than just buying imagery pixels by the square kilometer.

 
There are also some negative industry trends:

 
·
The U.S. government may build and launch its own classified satellite imaging program and produce imagery similar to or better than that currently provided by commercial data providers. While the current and the last two government administrations in the U.S. developed commercial remote sensing policies that are favorable for the commercial satellite imagery industry, the intelligence community may make efforts to fund satellite systems that could compete with the commercial imagery data providers. The current economic demands on the U.S. government resources and the inherent time it takes to design and deploy new imagery satellite systems may mitigate any near-term impact should the government decide to develop competing assets. However, we continue to monitor for any change in the U.S. government’s policy toward commercial imagery providers.

 
·
More countries are increasingly interested in developing and launching their own imagery satellite systems. According to a EuroConsult study done in January 2011, it is possible that over 30 high-resolution satellite systems could be launched and in operation across all regions in the 2013 to 2018 timeframe. While none of these imaging systems can currently match the resolution and accuracy of U.S. commercial systems, several countries are planning to launch systems with capabilities similar to our imagery assets. The development and launch of such systems does involve significant risk and uncertainty, including technological, launch and financing risk. We are mindful of this trend as we consider how best to grow our business.

 
·
The U.S. government is increasingly using other sensors such as unmanned aerial vehicles for more persistent surveillance. While these systems are mainly used for tactical intelligence collection and tactical and targeted munitions delivery, they can provide commanders with visibility over a smaller area of interest on a more sustained basis. We believe that our imagery and products will remain an important element in fulfilling the U.S. government’s broad imagery needs in both tactical and non-mission critical situations.

 
·
While not new, the U.S. government continues to place onerous restrictions on the export of space components to all countries. ITAR, created a decade ago to ensure U.S. space technology does not fall in the wrong hands, has, in effect, hampered U.S. competitiveness overseas. Such strict government licensing restricts exchange of technical data and export of commercial remote sensing hardware, such as ground stations, thereby encouraging development of foreign manufacturing capability.

 
·
We are mindful of overall market trends and the pressure on U.S. federal defense and intelligence budgets. While our satellite imagery business is somewhat insulated from the general economic downturn because we provide crucial information to defense and intelligence agencies around the world, economic conditions at the state and local level could affect MJ Harden, our aerial division, and it may be harder to penetrate new markets, particularly the commercial markets.

 
Results of Operations

Comparison of the Results of Operations for the Years Ended December 31, 2010 and 2009
 
   
For the Year Ended December 31,
      Change Between 2010
   
2010
   
2009
   
and 2009
   
(in thousands, except percentages)
 
   
Amount
   
% of Revenue
   
Amount
   
% of Revenue
   
Amount
 
%
Revenues
  $ 330,345       100.0 %   $ 271,102       100.0 %   $ 59,243     21.9 %
                                               
Operating expenses:
                                             
Direct costs of revenue (exclusive of depreciation and amortization)
    104,010       31.5       94,693       34.9       9,317     9.8  
Depreciation and amortization
    65,262       19.8       57,166       21.1       8,096     14.2  
Selling, general and administrative
    57,451       17.4       46,608       17.2       10,843     23.3  
Total operating expenses
    226,723       68.6       198,467       73.2       28,256     14.2  
Income from operations
    103,622       31.4       72,635       26.8       30,987     42.7  
Interest expense, net
    (27,918 )     (8.5 )     (31,020 )     (11.4 )     3,102     10.0  
Other non-operating expense
    (24,466 )     (7.4 )     -       -       (24,466 )   (100.0 )
Gain from investments
    3,200       1.0       -       -       3,200     100.0  
Loss from early extinguishment of debt
    (37 )     (0.0 )     (27,127 )     (10.0 )     27,090     99.9  
Write-off of prepaid financing costs
    (6,412 )     (1.9 )     -       -       (6,412 )   (100.0 )
Income before (provision) benefit for income taxes
    47,989       14.5       14,488       5.3       33,501     231.2  
(Provision) benefit for income taxes
    (23,352 )     (7.1 )     17,573       6.5       (40,925 )   (232.9 )
Net income
    24,637       7.5       32,061       11.8       (7,424 )   (23.2 )
Preferred stock dividends
    (1,107 )     (0.3 )     -       -       (1,107 )   (100.0 )
      23,530       7.1       32,061       11.8       (8,531 )   (26.6 )
Income allocated to participating securities
    (783 )     (0.2 )     -       -       (783 )   (100.0 )
Net income available to common stockholders
  $ 22,747       6.9     $ 32,061       11.8     $ (9,314 )   (29.1 )
 
Percentages in this table and throughout our discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations may reflect rounding adjustments. The totals shown above may not appear to sum due to rounding.

Revenues

    For the Year Ended December 31,     Change Between 2010  
    2010     2009     and 2009  
    (in thousands, except percentages)  
Revenues
 
Amount
   
% of Revenue
   
Amount
   
% of Revenue
   
Amount
   
%
 
Imagery
  $ 249,698       75.6 %   $ 206,417       76.1 %   $ 43,281       21.0 %
NextView cost-share
    24,153       7.3       21,062       7.8       3,091       14.7  
Production and other services
    56,494       17.1       43,623       16.1       12,871       29.5  
Total revenues
  $ 330,345       100.0     $ 271,102       100.0     $ 59,243       21.9  

Imagery revenues primarily include imagery sales, affiliate access fees and operations and maintenance fees. NextView cost-share revenues include the recognition of deferred revenue related to the cost-share amounts from the NGA.  Production and other services revenues primarily include revenue from production orders for the NGA and commercial customers, our digital aerial imagery service, Marine Services and GeoEye Analytics. Imagery revenues increased primarily due to the increased level of deliveries to the NGA and other regional affiliate and domestic commercial customers using GeoEye-1 for the full twelve months of 2010, as compared to ten-and-a-half months in 2009 as a result of commencement of GeoEye-1 operations in February 2009 and revenues related to the delivery of customer imagery system upgrades in 2010. NextView cost-share revenues increased in 2010 as compared to 2009 primarily due to revenue being recognized for the full twelve months of 2010, as compared to ten-and-a-half months in 2009 as a result of commencement of GeoEye-1 operations in February 2009. Production and other services revenues increased in 2010 compared to 2009 primarily due to an increase in our value-added production services resulting from higher customer demand and system process improvements and enhancements and resulting from the commencement of our Web-based dissemination services in 2010.


Total domestic and international revenues were as follows:

   
For the Year Ended December 31,
      Change Between 2010  
   
2010
   
2009
   
and 2009
 
   
(in thousands, except percentages)
 
Revenues
 
Amount
   
% of Revenue
   
Amount
   
% of Revenue
   
Amount
   
%
 
Domestic
  $ 244,826       74.1 %   $ 196,722       72.6 %   $ 48,104       24.5 %
International
    85,519       25.9       74,380       27.4       11,139       15.0  
Total revenues
  $ 330,345       100.0     $ 271,102       100.0     $ 59,243       21.9  

Domestic revenues include those from the SLA agreements, recognition of deferred revenue related to the NextView cost-share payments from the NGA, commercial imagery sales and sales of value-added products and services. Domestic revenues increased in 2010 compared to the same period in 2009, primarily due to the increase in imagery provided by GeoEye-1 under the NextView and EnhancedView SLA agreements for a full twelve months of 2010 compared to ten-and-a-half months in 2009, and an increase in deliveries to commercial customers in 2010. Additionally, there was an increase in production services due to higher customer demand and system process improvements and enhancements. International revenues include those from access fee agreements and ground station operation and maintenance contracts with our international regional affiliate customers and commercial imagery sales. International revenues increased in 2010 compared to the same period in 2009, primarily due to an increase from the recognition of revenues from ground system upgrades and an increase in deliveries to regional affiliate customers, including the delivery of a customer imagery system upgrade.

Operating Expenses

Direct Costs of Revenue

   
For the Year Ended December 31,
      Change Between 2010  
   
2010
   
2009
   
and 2009
 
   
(in thousands, except percentages)
 
Direct Costs of Revenue
 
Amount
   
% of Revenue
   
Amount
   
% of Revenue
   
Amount
   
%
 
Labor and overhead
  $ 53,537       16.2 %   $ 48,924       18.0 %   $ 4,613       9.4 %
Subcontractor
    29,541       8.9       27,030       10.0       2,511       9.3  
Satellite insurance
    6,202       1.9       8,235       3.0       (2,033 )     (24.7 )
Other direct costs
    14,730       4.5       10,504       3.9       4,226       40.2  
Total direct costs of revenue
  $ 104,010       31.5     $ 94,693       34.9     $ 9,317       9.8  

Direct costs of revenue include the costs of operating our satellites and related ground systems, construction and ongoing costs related to our operations and maintenance contracts. Subcontractor expenses primarily include payments to third parties for support to operate the IKONOS and GeoEye-1 satellites and their related ground systems. Other direct costs include third-party costs and fees to support our satellite program and the costs associated with monitoring our ground station equipment. Labor and overhead costs increased in 2010 compared to 2009, primarily due to the increase in our value-added production services resulting from higher customer demand. Subcontractor expenses increased during 2010 compared to 2009, primarily due to 2010 costs incurred related to the GeoEye-1 satellite irregularity that occurred in the end of 2009, offset by a decrease related to one-time projects and contracts in 2009 not continued in 2010. Satellite insurance decreased during 2010 compared to the same period in 2009 due to the reduction in insurance premiums. Other direct costs of revenue increased during 2010 compared to 2009, primarily due to the costs related to the delivery of imagery system upgrades sold in the second and third quarters of 2010 and the recognition of costs of ground system upgrades that are being recognized over the combined delivery term of the service in 2010.

Depreciation and Amortization
 
   
For the Year Ended December 31,
      Change Between 2010  
   
2010
   
2009
   
and 2009
 
   
(in thousands, except percentages)
 
Depreciation and Amortization
 
Amount
   
% of Revenue
   
Amount
   
% of Revenue
   
Amount
   
%
 
Depreciation
  $ 62,620       19.0 %   $ 54,516       20.1 %   $ 8,104       14.9 %
Amortization
    2,642       0.8       2,650       1.0       (8 )     (0.3 )
Total depreciation and amortization
  $ 65,262       19.8     $ 57,166       21.1     $ 8,096       14.2  


Depreciation increased during 2010 compared to the same period in 2009, primarily due to the full twelve months of depreciation of GeoEye-1 in 2010, compared to ten-and-a-half months of depreciation in 2009 as a result of commencement of operations of the GeoEye-1 satellite in February 2009. Amortization expense is primarily associated with acquired contracts and customer relationship intangibles from our acquisition of MJ Harden and Space Imaging LLC in prior years.

Selling, General and Administrative Expenses
 
   
For the Year Ended December 31,
      Change Between 2010  
   
2010
   
2009
   
and 2009
 
   
(in thousands, except percentages)
 
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses
 
Amount
   
% of Revenue
   
Amount
   
% of Revenue
   
Amount
   
%
 
Payroll, commissions, and related costs
  $ 25,431       7.7 %   $ 22,235       8.2 %   $ 3,196       14.4 %
Stock-based compensation
    5,276       1.6       2,072       0.8       3,204       154.6  
Professional fees
    12,528       3.8       13,450       5.0       (922 )     (6.9 )
Research and development
    1,647       0.5       1,399       0.5       248       17.7  
Other
    12,569       3.8       7,452       2.7       5,117       68.7  
Total selling, general and administrative expenses
  $ 57,451       17.4     $ 46,608       17.2     $ 10,843       23.3  

Selling, general and administrative expenses include the costs of the finance, administrative and general management functions and the costs of marketing, advertising, promotion and other selling expenses. Total selling, general and administrative expenses increased in 2010 compared to 2009, primarily as a result of an increase in stock-based compensation and bonus expense, as well as headcount growth and business development costs related to our sales and marketing efforts to expand our product and service offerings to current and new customers. We also incurred transaction-related expenses in connection with the acquisition of SPADAC, Inc. in the fourth quarter of 2010. Additionally, we have incurred rental-related costs in the fourth quarter for our new corporate headquarters in Herndon, Virginia to accommodate our growth and to consolidate our operations.

Interest Expense, net

   
For the Year Ended December 31,
      Change Between 2010  
   
2010
   
2009
   
and 2009
 
   
(in thousands, except percentages)
 
Interest Expense, Net
 
Amount
   
% of Revenue
   
Amount
   
% of Revenue
   
Amount
   
%
 
Interest expense
  $ 44,902       13.6 %   $ 36,183       13.3 %   $ 8,719       24.1 %
Capitalized interest
    (16,580 )     (5.0 )     (4,771 )     (1.8 )     11,809       247.5  
Interest income
    (404 )     (0.1 )     (392 )     (0.1 )     12       3.1  
Total interest expense, net
  $ 27,918       8.5     $ 31,020       11.4     $ (3,102 )     (10.0 )

Interest expense, net, primarily includes interest expense on our 2015 and 2016 Notes and the interest on our previously redeemed 2012 Notes. Interest expense, net, also includes amortized prepaid financing costs and amortization of debt discount. Interest expense increased during 2010 compared to 2009, primarily due to an increase in our average outstanding long-term debt. Partially offsetting this increase was a reduction in our cost of capital from a floating rate of at least 12 percent related to the 2012 Notes compared to a fixed coupon rate of 9.625 percent and 8.625 percent related to the 2015 and 2016 Notes, respectively. The increase in capitalized interest during 2010 as compared to the same period in 2009 was due to the increased construction costs of the GeoEye-2 satellite during 2010, on which interest is applied.

Other Non-Operating Expense

We recorded other non-operating expense of $24.5 million in 2010 related to the fair value measurement of the Preferred Stock Commitment associated with the Cerberus Stock Purchase Agreement. The Preferred Stock Commitment fair value was marked to market and reflected as an adjustment to earnings and added to additional paid-in-capital when Cerberus purchased the Preferred Stock on September 22, 2010.

Gain from Investments

In connection with the acquisition of GeoEye Analytics, we recognized a gain of $2.5 million resulting from the increase in the estimated fair value of our non-controlling interest in SPADAC prior to the acquisition. During the third quarter of 2010, we liquidated our holdings in another cost-method investment and recorded a gain of $0.7 million.


Loss from Early Extinguishment of Debt

The loss from early extinguishment of debt for the year ended December 31, 2009, was $27.1 million, due to the issuance of the 2015 Notes with a face value of $400.0 million in October 2009 and repayment of $249.5 million of our 2012 Notes. The early extinguishment of debt represents the expensing of the unamortized prepaid financing costs, unamortized discount and tender premium related to the 2012 Notes.

Write-off of Prepaid Financing Costs

During the third quarter of 2010, we wrote-off unamortized prepaid financing costs of $6.4 million, including a $2.0 million non-refundable commitment fee, related to costs incurred on the debt financing under the Notes Purchase Agreement with Cerberus. In August 2010, the NGA awarded the Company the EnhancedView contract without a letter-of-credit requirement, and as a result, the debt facility was cancelled, and these financing costs were expensed.

Provision for Income Taxes

We recorded income tax expense of $23.4 million and income tax benefit of $17.6 million for 2010 and 2009, respectively. Tax provisions were calculated using our annual effective tax rate of approximately 48.7 percent and 38.8 percent for 2010 and 2009, respectively. The increase in our annual effective tax rate is primarily due to the non-recurring, non-deductible book charges related to the fair value adjustment of the preferred stock commitment partially offset by the tax benefit of the research and development credit. Our 2009 income tax benefit is mainly related to restored net operating losses resulting from an IRS ruling approved in October 2009.

The total federal and state net operating loss carryforwards are approximately $150.0 million and $70.3 million for 2010 and 2009, respectively. The net operating loss carryforwards will expire between tax years 2024 and 2030.  We had tax credit carryforwards of approximately $7.4 million of which $6.5 million expire on various dates through 2026.

The statutes of limitation for income tax returns in the U.S. federal jurisdiction and various state jurisdictions for tax years 2006 through 2009 have not expired; thus, these years remain subject to examination by the IRS and state jurisdictions.  Significant state jurisdictions that remain subject to examination include Colorado and Missouri for tax years 2006 through 2009 and Virginia for tax years 2007 through 2009.  For tax years for which we are no longer subject to federal, state and local tax examinations by tax authorities, the tax attribute carryforwards generated from these years may still be adjusted upon examination by tax authorities.


Comparison of the Results of Operations for the Years Ended December 31, 2009 and 2008
 
   
For the Year Ended December 31,
      Change Between 2009  
   
2009
   
2008
   
and 2008
 
   
(in thousands, except percentages)
 
   
Amount
   
% of Revenue
   
Amount
   
% of Revenue
   
Amount
   
%
 
Revenues
  $ 271,102       100.0 %   $ 146,659       100.0 %   $ 124,443       84.9 %
                                                 
Operating expenses:
                                               
Direct costs of revenue (exclusive of depreciation and amortization)
    94,693       34.9       72,216       49.2       22,477       31.1  
Depreciation and amortization
    57,166       21.1       11,357       7.7       45,809       403.4  
Selling, general and administrative
    46,608       17.2       36,990       25.2       9,618       26.0  
Inventory impairment and satellite impairment settlement
    -       -       3,296       2.2       (3,296 )     (100.0 )
Total operating expenses
    198,467       73.2       123,859       84.5       74,608       60.2  
Income from operations
    72,635       26.8       22,800       15.5       49,835       218.6  
Interest expense, net
    (31,020 )     (11.4     (11,452 )     (7.8     (19,568 )     (170.9
Other non-operating expense
    -       -       (1,000 )     (0.7 )     1,000       100.0  
Loss from early extinguishment of debt
    (27,127 )     (10.0     -       -       (27,127 )     (100.0
Income before provision for income taxes
    14,488       5.3       10,348       7.1       4,140       40.0  
Benefit for income tax
    17,573       6.5       16,267       11.1       1,306       8.0  
Net income
  $ 32,061       11.8     $ 26,615       18.1     $ 5,446       20.5  

Revenues

   
For the Year Ended December 31,
      Change Between 2009  
 
 
2009
   
2008
   
and 2008
 
   
(in thousands, except percentages)
 
Revenues
 
Amount
   
% of Revenue
   
Amount
   
% of Revenue
   
Amount
   
%
 
Imagery
  $ 206,417       76.1 %   $ 102,102       69.6 %   $ 104,315       102.2 %
NextView cost-share
    21,062       7.8       -       -       21,062       100.0  
Production and other services
    43,623       16.1       44,557       30.4       (934 )     (2.1 )
Total revenues
  $ 271,102       100.0     $ 146,659       100.0     $ 124,443       84.9  
 
Imagery revenues increased primarily due to the substantial increase in levels of deliveries to the NGA using the GeoEye-1 satellite under the NextView SLA agreement, which commenced in February 2009. During the fourth quarter of 2009, we recorded reductions of revenue as a result of the GeoEye-1 satellite irregularity and contract modifications. NextView cost-share revenues are related to the recognition of deferred revenue from cost-share amounts received from the NGA, and are recognized over the useful life of the satellite. Production and other services revenues decreased in 2009 compared to 2008 primarily due to revenue decrease in the combination of our digital aerial imagery service and Marine Services, both of which have been negatively affected by the economic downturn resulting in lower sales volumes. This revenue decline was partially offset by an increase in our U.S. government and commercial based value-added production services.

   
For the Year Ended December 31,
      Change Between 2009  
 
 
2009
   
2008
   
and 2008
 
   
(in thousands, except percentages)
 
Revenues
 
Amount
   
% of Revenue
   
Amount
   
% of Revenue
   
Amount
   
%
 
Domestic
  $ 196,722       72.6 %   $ 75,880       51.7 %   $ 120,842       159.3 %
International
    74,380       27.4       70,779       48.3       3,601       5.1  
Total revenues
  $ 271,102       100.0     $ 146,659       100.0     $ 124,443       84.9  
 
 
Domestic revenues increased in 2009 compared to 2008 primarily due to the substantial increase in levels of deliveries to the NGA using GeoEye-1 under the new SLA contract. International revenues increased in 2009 compared to the same period in 2008 primarily due to our international regional affiliates expanding their imagery demands to include access to the new GeoEye-1 satellite.

Operating Expenses

Direct Costs of Revenue

   
For the Year Ended December 31,
    Change Between 2009  
 
 
2009
 
2008
 
and 2008
 
   
(in thousands, except percentages)
 
Direct Costs of Revenue
 
Amount
   
% of Revenue
 
Amount
   
% of Revenue
 
Amount
   
%
 
Labor and overhead
  $ 48,924       18.0 %   $ 27,443       18.7 %   $ 21,481       78.3 %
Subcontractor
    27,030       10.0       23,828       16.2       3,202       13.4  
Satellite insurance
    8,235       3.0       600       0.4       7,635       1,272.5  
Other direct costs
    10,504       3.9       20,345       13.9       (9,841 )     (48.4 )
Total direct costs of revenue
  $ 94,693       34.9     $ 72,216       49.2     $ 22,477       31.1  
 
Labor and overhead costs increased compared to the same period in 2008 primarily due to increased labor and overhead related to the operation of the GeoEye-1 satellite, which became operational in the first quarter of 2009. Subcontractor costs increased in 2009 compared to 2008 primarily due to an increase in operational and maintenance costs to support the GeoEye-1 satellite during 2009. Satellite insurance increased compared to the same period in 2008 due to the commencement of amortization of in-orbit insurance premiums for the GeoEye-1 satellite, which began operations in February 2009. Other direct costs decreased in 2009 compared to 2008 primarily due to the impact of the sale of ground-station upgrades in 2008 that did not occur in 2009 and our decreased need to purchase IKONOS imagery from our regional affiliates for resale to other customers in 2009. Partially offsetting this decrease was an increase in 2009 related to the recognition of the costs of the ground systems upgrades that are being recognized over the combined delivery term of the service.

Depreciation and Amortization

   
For the Year Ended December 31,
      Change Between 2009  
 
 
2009
   
2008
   
and 2008
 
   
(in thousands, except percentages)
 
Depreciation and Amortization
 
Amount
   
% of Revenue
   
Amount
   
% of Revenue
   
Amount
   
%
 
Depreciation
  $ 54,516       20.1 %   $ 8,624       5.9 %   $ 45,892       532.1 %
Amortization
    2,650       1.0       2,733       1.9       (83 )     (3.0 )
Total depreciation and amortization
  $ 57,166       21.1     $ 11,357       7.7     $ 45,809       403.4  

The increase in depreciation in 2009 from 2008 was primarily due to the commencement of GeoEye-1 satellite operations in February 2009, when we began depreciating the GeoEye-1 satellite and the related ground systems.

Selling, General and Administrative Expenses

   
For the Year Ended December 31,
      Change Between 2009  
 
 
2009
   
2008
   
and 2008
 
   
(in thousands, except percentages)
 
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses
 
Amount
   
% of Revenue
   
Amount
   
% of Revenue
   
Amount
   
%
 
Payroll, commissions, and related costs
  $ 22,235       8.2 %   $ 17,465       11.9 %   $ 4,770       27.3 %
Stock-based compensation
    2,072       0.8       2,905       2.0       (833 )     (28.7 )
Professional fees
    13,450       5.0       9,127       6.2       4,323       47.4  
Research and development
    1,399       0.5       -       -       1,399       100.0  
Other
    7,452       2.7       7,493       5.1       (41 )     (0.5 )
Total selling, general and administrative expenses
  $ 46,608       17.2     $ 36,990       25.2     $ 9,618       26.0  
 
 
Payroll, commissions, and related costs increased in 2009 compared to 2008 primarily due to increases in headcount, commissions, and the annual performance bonus as a result of growth from the commencement of GeoEye-1 operations in 2009. The increase in professional fees compared to the same period in 2008 was primarily attributable to fees for accounting and tax services and related internal control remediation efforts and bid and proposal efforts related to new business development mainly for the EnhancedView program. Research and development expenses primarily include the cost of services and supplies in the development of the new information services business.

Inventory Impairment and Satellite Impairment Settlement

During 2008, we determined that $2.2 million of certain inventory costs related to a terminated customer contract should be written off.

During 2007, we had a post-launch on-orbit milestone payment obligation with Orbital Sciences in connection with the ongoing performance of OrbView-3 that was written off in conjunction with the loss of OrbView-3. The obligation was subsequently settled and $1.1 million was paid in April 2008.
 
Interest Expense, net

   
For the Year Ended December 31,
    Change Between 2009  
 
 
2009
   
2008
   
and 2008
 
   
(in thousands, except percentages)
 
Interest Expense, Net
 
Amount
   
% of Revenue
   
Amount
   
% of Revenue
   
Amount
   
%
 
Interest expense
  $ 36,183       13.3 %   $ 38,844       26.5 %   $ (2,661 )     (6.9 )  %
Capitalized interest
    (4,771 )     (1.8 )     (22,657 )     (15.4 )     (17,886 )     (78.9 )
Interest income
    (392 )     (0.1 )     (4,735 )     (3.2 )     (4,343 )     (91.7 )
Total interest expense, net
  $ 31,020       11.4     $ 11,452       7.8     $ 19,568       170.9  

Interest expense, net includes interest expense on our 2012 Notes and 2015 Notes, amortized prepaid financing costs, amortization of debt discount, market adjustments to fair value of the related derivative instruments and excludes capitalized interest expense associated with the construction of the satellites and related ground systems and interest income.

Interest expense, net increased primarily due to the decrease in capitalization of interest as a result of the commencement of the GeoEye-1 satellite operations in February 2009, offset by a decrease related to losses recorded on the derivative instruments in 2008 and not incurred in 2009.

Due to the issuance of the 2015 Notes in the fourth quarter of 2009, we were able to lower our cost of capital by reducing our interest rate from a floating rate of at least 12 percent to a fixed coupon rate of 9.625 percent. Interest expense related to the 2012 Notes was $26.9 million and $36.4 million for the years ended December 31, 2009 and 2008, respectively. Interest expense related to the 2015 Notes was $9.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2009.

In connection with the issuance of the 2012 Notes, we entered into an interest rate swap arrangement in June 2005 pursuant to which the effective interest rate under the 2012 Notes was fixed at 13.75 percent through July 1, 2008. In February 2008, we entered into a $250.0 million interest rate cap agreement that intended to protect us from increases in interest rates by limiting our interest rate exposure to the three-month LIBOR with a cap of 4.0 percent. The cap option cost was $0.5 million and was effective July 1, 2008 through January 1, 2010. As of December 31, 2009, the fair value of the interest rate cap was zero.

Interest income decreased in 2009 primarily due to lower average cash balances and lower average interest rates on cash balances during 2009 as compared with 2008.

Other Non-Operating Expense

During the fourth quarter of 2008, we impaired a cost-method investment in the amount of $1.0 million.

Loss from Early Extinguishment of Debt

The loss from early extinguishment of debt for the year ended December 31, 2009, was $27.1 million, due to the issuance of the 2015 Notes with a face value of $400.0 million in October 2009 and repayment of $249.5 million of our 2012 Notes. The early extinguishment of debt represents the expensing of the unamortized prepaid financing costs, unamortized discount and tender premium related to the 2012 Notes.


Provision for Income Taxes

We recorded an income tax benefit of $17.6 million and $16.3 million for 2009 and 2008, respectively. Tax provisions were calculated using our estimated annual effective tax rate of approximately 38.8 percent and 42.0 percent for 2009 and 2008, respectively, prior to the application of discrete items.

The total liability for unrecognized tax benefits, including interest and penalties, for 2009 and 2008 was $0.2 million and $1.4 million, respectively. During 2009, we paid certain items that were reserved, removed certain items for which we have received waivers from related jurisdictions and removed those items settled as a result of filing our 2008 income tax returns and related method changes. We recorded additional reserves related to income tax penalties and interest for state taxes and research and development credits.

On October 15, 2009, the Internal Revenue Service approved our ruling request regarding an ownership change to effectively allow us to recover $57.6 million of previously limited net operating loss generated prior to November 2004. We amended prior year federal income tax returns and will amend state income tax returns, resulting in a tax receivable of approximately $12.4 million and the remaining $24.1 million carryforward balance has been recorded as an $8.9 million deferred tax asset as of December 31, 2009. The utilization of the deferred tax asset related to the restored net operating loss carryforward is limited to approximately $4.0 million per year as part of a Section 382 ownership change. Additionally, we plan to carryback our current year loss for tax purposes and adjust the effect of prior year restatements, resulting in an income tax receivable of approximately $27.3 million, and the remaining $31.1 million carryforward balance has been recorded as an $11.8 million deferred tax asset. The total federal and state net operating loss carryforward, is approximately $55.0 million. The federal net operating loss carryforward will expire between tax years 2021 and 2029, and the state net operating loss carryforward from various jurisdictions will expire between tax years 2017 and 2029.


During 2008, we filed an application for change in method of tax accounting for the NextView cost-share payments with the Internal Revenue Service.   As a result of the filing, a Section 481(a) revenue adjustment of $48.5 million is recognized annually for tax years 2008 through 2011.  During 2010, we submitted an amendment to the original application for a change in method of tax accounting which has not been finalized as of December 31, 2010.
 
Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Adjusted EBITDA

Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure that represents net income (loss) before depreciation and amortization expenses, net interest income or expense, income tax expense (benefit), non-cash stock-based compensation expense and other items. We present adjusted EBITDA to enhance understanding of our operating performance. We use adjusted EBITDA as one criterion for evaluating our performance relative to that of our peers. We believe that adjusted EBITDA is an operating performance measure, and not a liquidity measure, that provides investors and analysts with a measure of operating results unaffected by differences in capital structures, capital investment cycles and ages of related assets among otherwise comparable companies. However, adjusted EBITDA is not a recognized term under financial performance under GAAP, and our calculation of adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to the calculation of similarly titled measures of other companies.

The use of adjusted EBITDA as an analytical tool has limitations, and it should not considered in isolation, or as a substitute for analysis of our results of operations as reported in accordance with GAAP. Some of these limitations are:

 
·
It does not reflect our cash expenditures, or future requirements, for all contractual commitments;

 
·
It does not reflect our significant interest expense, or the cash requirements necessary to service our indebtedness;

 
·
It does not reflect cash requirements for the payment of income taxes when due;

 
·
Although depreciation and amortization are non-cash charges, the assets being depreciated and amortized will often have to be replaced in the future, and adjusted EBITDA does not reflect any cash requirements for such replacements; and

 
·
It does not reflect the impact of earnings or charges resulting from matters we consider not to be indicative of our ongoing operations, but may nonetheless have a material impact on our results of operations.

Because of these limitations, adjusted EBITDA should not be considered as a measure of discretionary cash available to us to invest in the growth of our business or as an alternative to net income or cash flow from operations determined in accordance with GAAP. Management compensates for these limitations by not viewing adjusted EBITDA in isolation, and specifically by using other GAAP measures, such as cash flow provided by (used in) operating activities and capital expenditures, to measure our liquidity. Our calculation of adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to the calculation of similarly titled measures reported by other companies.

A reconciliation of net income to adjusted EBITDA is as follows:


   
For the Year Ended December 31,
 
   
2010
   
2009
   
2008
 
   
(in thousands)
 
Net income
  $ 24,637     $ 32,061     $ 26,615  
Adjustments:
                       
Interest expense, net
    27,918       31,020       11,452  
Loss from early extinguishment of debt
    37       27,127