GeoEye, Inc. (NASDAQ: GEOY) has signed a multi-year agreement with Rome-based Telespazio S.p.A., appointing Telespazio as GeoEye's new Commercial Regional Affiliate for the region of Europe and North Africa. Telespazio, a Finmeccanica/Thales company, will produce, market and sell Earth imagery and related products and services from GeoEye's newest high-resolution satellite, GeoEye-1, to customers in Europe and North Africa.

GeoEye-1 was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, on September 6th and is expected to be fully operational this fall. Telespazio's GeoEye-1 exclusive imagery sales rights begin as soon as GeoEye-1 becomes operational. Starting in 2009, Telespazio will also have access to the IKONOS satellite and collect, produce, market, and sell Earth imagery and related products. Their exclusive rights will will allow the firm to sell IKONOS imagery collected after December 31, 2008. The GeoEye-1 and IKONOS satellite imagery collection, processing, and sales rights granted to Telespazio are subject to prior U.S. Government approval of the multi-year agreement, which marks the first of its kind under GeoEye's Commercial Regional Affiliate business model. The rendering, courtesy of GeoEye, depicts the GeoEye-1 satellite after the separation from the fairing.