VANCOUVER, Aug. 4, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - UrtheCast Corp.
(TSX:UR) ("UrtheCast" or the "Company"), today announces that it
has issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) to U.S. companies
interested in a long-term strategic partnership to serve the United
States Government, further to the Company's announcement on
May 6, 2016. The RFP solicits
prospective U.S. commercial partners with strong U.S. Department of
Defense (DoD) and Intelligence Community (IC) footprints to help
deliver data and services from UrtheCast's planned 8-satellite
UrtheDaily™ Constellation and 16-satellite OptiSAR™ Constellation
to U.S. Government user agencies.
Using input received during and since the GEOINT 2016 symposium,
UrtheCast has crafted the RFP to allow prospective commercial
partners to propose their best creative ideas and strategies for
effectively serving the imagery data, products, and services from
the Company's planned satellite constellations to end users and
customers across the U.S. Government.
"We have been delighted by the feedback we've received to date
and the excitement this process seems to be generating among
candidate U.S. partners," explained UrtheCast President and CEO,
Wade Larson. "This industry is
undergoing a period of significant change – driven by economic,
technological, and regulatory forces. We're convinced that
business model innovation will also be a critical element of this
change. Our vision, quite simply, is to help create the
partnerships and service delivery models that unlock the enormous
potential of Earth observation data for the people who need
it. We believe our approach is aligned with the U.S.
Government's future procurement strategies and technology roadmaps
to take advantage of the new and disruptive capabilities coming
from the commercial sector."
The issuance of this RFP follows a succession of positive
developments related to UrtheCast's new technologies, including
recently announced research and funding agreements with government
agencies related to the OptiSAR program.
For those companies seeking more information regarding the RFP,
please contact Mr. Phil Downen,
UrtheCast V.P. of Government Programs.
Phil Downen
1.314.227.0370
pdownen@urthecast.com
About UrtheCast Corp.
UrtheCast Corp. is a Vancouver-based technology company with
operations in the U.S. and Spain
that serves the rapidly evolving geospatial and geoanalytics
markets with a wide range of information-rich products and
services. The Company currently operates four Earth Observation
sensors in space, including two cameras aboard the International
Space Station and two satellites, Deimos-1 and Deimos-2. Imagery
and video data captured by these sensors is downlinked to ground
stations across the planet and displayed on UrtheCast's cloud-based
web platform, or distributed directly to partners and
customers.
In June 2015, UrtheCast announced
its plans to build, launch and operate the world's first
fully-integrated, multi-spectral optical and Synthetic Aperture
Radar (SAR) commercial constellation of Earth Observation
satellites, which is now known as OptiSAR™. The OptiSAR™
Constellation is expected to comprise 16 satellites (8 optical and
8 SAR) flying in two orbital planes,
with each plane consisting of four satellite pairs, equally-spaced
around the orbital plane. Each pair of satellites will
consist of a dual-mode, high-resolution optical satellite (video
and pushbroom) and a dual-band high-resolution SAR satellite
(X-band and L-band), flying in tandem. By employing two orbital
planes, the OptiSAR™ Constellation will provide for maximum revisit
rates in the mid-latitudes, while providing global coverage
extending to the poles. OptiSAR™ will be deployed over multiple
launches and is expected to begin operations in 2021.
In March 2016, UrtheCast announced
its UrtheDaily™ Constellation concept, consisting of eight
additional electro-optical satellites equiphased in a sun
synchronous orbit and designed to provide coverage of the Earth's
entire landmasses (excluding Antarctica) in six-band multi-spectral imagery
every single day. UrtheCast believes that, if realized, the
24 satellites of UrtheDaily™ and OptiSAR™ will represent an
unprecedented capability for daily global collection, monitoring,
change detection, and tipping-and-cueing. Common shares of
UrtheCast trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange as ticker 'UR'.
For more information, visit UrtheCast's website
at www.urthecast.com.
Forward Looking Information
This release contains
certain information which, as presented, constitutes
"forward-looking information" or "forward-oriented financial
information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities
laws. Forward-looking information involves statements that relate
to future events and often addresses expected future business and
financial performance, containing words such as "anticipate",
"believe", "plan", and "expect", statements that an action or event
"may", "might", "could" or "will" be taken or occur, or other
similar expressions and includes, but is not limited to: its plans
for and timing of expansion of its product offering and value-added
services; its future growth and operations plans; the success of a
strategic partnership between UrtheCast and a U.S. partner to serve
U.S. Government customers; the acceptance by its customers and the
marketplace of new satellite imaging content, technologies and
solutions; and the design, build, completion and operation of the
proposed OptiSAR and UrtheDaily constellations. Such statements
reflect UrtheCast's current views with respect to future events and
are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions
that, while considered reasonable by UrtheCast, are inherently
subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies. Many
factors could cause UrtheCast's actual results, performance or
achievements to be materially different from any future results,
performance, or achievements that may be expressed or implied by
such forward-looking statements, including, among others, any
delays or failures in its ability to finance, design, develop,
construct, launch and commission the proposed OptiSAR or UrtheDaily
constellations, as well as those factors and assumptions discussed
in UrtheCast's annual information form dated March 29, 2016, (the "AIF"), which is available
under UrtheCast's SEDAR profile
at www.sedar.com. Forward-looking information is
developed based on assumptions about such risks, uncertainties and
other factors set out herein, in the AIF, and as disclosed from
time to time on UrtheCast's SEDAR profile. UrtheCast undertakes no
obligation to update forward-looking statements except as required
by Canadian securities laws. Readers are cautioned against
attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements.
SOURCE UrtheCast Corp.