Maxar Intelligence

Maxar Intelligence is the geospatial intelligence and Earth observation data business of Maxar Technologies, headquartered in Westminster, Colorado, operating the WorldView high-resolution commercial satellite constellation. Maxar's roots trace to DigitalGlobe (founded 1993), which launched the first commercial sub-meter resolution satellite (QuickBird) and built the WorldView series: WorldView-1 (launched 2007), WorldView-2 (2009), WorldView-3 (2014, 30cm panchromatic resolution — the highest resolution of any commercial imaging satellite), and WorldView-4 (2016, lost attitude control 2019).

These satellites provide the finest commercially available optical imagery of Earth's surface, used for mapping, infrastructure monitoring, change detection, agricultural analysis, and defense intelligence. The US National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) has awarded Maxar multi-billion-dollar EnhancedView contracts making it the US government's primary commercial satellite imagery provider — a relationship that has shaped the company's revenue base.

Maxar Technologies was taken private by Advent International in January 2023 for $6.4B and subsequently restructured, separating the satellite manufacturing business (which became a separate entity) from the intelligence/imagery business. The status reflects this acquisition and restructuring, with the intelligence division continuing operations under transformed corporate ownership.