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MDA Now RapidEye's Supplier of Direct Downlink Solutions

(April 2009) RapidEye, the only geospatial solutions provider to own and operate their own satellite constellation, has reached a new contractual agreement with MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (MDA). This partnership will allow MDA to be the sole supplier of direct downlink solutions for RapidEye’s international ground station customers.

MDA, RapidEye’s prime contractor, conducted the commissioning period on both the space and ground segment in which system performance and product quality have been thoroughly measured, analyzed and verified.

As part of the agreement with MDA, RapidEye’s international ground station customers will be provided with ground systems capable of programming, receiving and processing imagery from RapidEye’s constellation of five satellites.

Wolfgang Biedermann, CEO of RapidEye, commented, “The expansion of RapidEye’s range of services to include direct data downlink services will complement our core products and services business and will allow us to serve even more customers with near real-time imaging requirements.”

David Hargreaves, one of MDA’s Vice Presidents in the Information Systems group, said: “The strategic cooperation agreement established between MDA and RapidEye will enable our team to provide our operational defense and intelligence customers with secure, near real-time direct access to the broad area surveillance capabilities of the RapidEye constellation.”

About RapidEye AG
RapidEye is an ISO-certified geospatial information provider focused on integrating customized and industry specific solutions into the workflow of global customers in agriculture, forestry, energy, infrastructure, government, security, and emergency.

RapidEye experts and the satellite system – a constellation of five satellites capable of downloading over 4 million km² of high resolution, multi-spectral imagery per day, and a ground segment for processing and archiving data – allow for cost-effective customized services. The unique combination of large area coverage, high spatial resolution and the possibility of daily revisit to an area provide for superior management information solutions. Currently, more than 100 experts from more than 20 countries are employed by RapidEye, with plans to grow the team to 140 by early 2009.

RapidEye benefits from a public-private partnership with the Space Agency of the German Aerospace Center (DLR), which is supported by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology. RapidEye is also cofinanced by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

For more information on ERDF please contact efreinfo@mw.brandenburg.de

For more information about RapidEye, please visit www.rapideye.de

RapidEye AG Contact
Molkenmarkt 30, 14776 Brandenburg a. d. Havel, Germany
Toll Free (US): +1 800 940 3617 | Phone: +49 3381 8904-0 | Fax: +49 3381 8904-101 |press@rapideye.de| www.rapideye.de

RapidEye is a “Selected Landmark in the Land of Ideas” and therefore part of the event series “365 Landmarks in the Land of Ideas”. This program is run by the initiative “Germany – Land of Ideas” and Deutsche Bank. Being a “Selected Landmark” RapidEye will stand for Germany being a “Land of ideas” in 2009 and will demonstrate Germany’s spirit of innovation. The initiative is under the patronage of Germany’s federal president Horst Köhler. www.land-of-ideas.org