Proposal

The News Observation Project considers how news organisations could gain access to satellite imagery anywhere in the world without requiring permission from a handful of large US tech firms.

The global news industry is worth around $125bn annually. The cost of launching a 4kg satellite the size of a shoe box, equivalent to Planet.com’s Dove craft is lower than ever.

Planet routinely censor images. A satellite owned and managed by news organisations would have fewer constraints. The choice of where to view would driven by editorial value, discussed and operated transparently.