Yes, it makes sense. "Spies don't put info on the internet and sell imagery," reasons GeoEye's Mark Brender, who stresses that for GeoEye and its Googlicious patron, these images are specifically intended for customers. (For creeping irony, refer to Joseph Heller's Catch-22.)

No, see, the spy material is actually something totally different—that happens to also come from the same satellite. According to the same dude, the camera is capable of recording classified images to a resolution of 41 centimeters, or as Wired puts it, "close enough to zoom in on the home plate of a baseball diamond." These pics will go to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, who is putting up $502 million, even even than Google. So instead of Larry and Sergei getting those shots of you in a bikini, they'll go to Dick Cheney. I am so relieved. [GeoEye Image Gallery via Wired]

Part of the US National Geospatial Intelligence Agency NextView program, the SUV-sized GeoEye-1 launched yesterday in a Delta II 7326 rocket from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California—without exploding. Hours later, GeoEye's ground station in Norway confirmed that the rocket had delivered its payload right on target. The satellite was alive, fully armed and operational on its 423-mile orbit above the Earth.

Built by General Dynamics, the GeoEye-1 is equipped with a next-generation camera made by ITT. This camera can easily distinguish objects 16 inches long, with 11-bits per pixel color. In other words: this thing can see the color of your shorts. It will be up there, looking at your pants every single day, the time it takes for it to complete one orbit. And it will keep doing that for more than ten years, its expected life.

Of course, there's nothing new here until you notice the huge Google logo on the rocket, signaling the fact that Sergei and Larry own the exclusive rights to the GeoEye-1 images. Yes, no other company will be able to access this information, only Google. And they will be there, available for the public in Google Maps and Google Earth.

But don't fret, tin-foil hatters, because Google won't be able to access the highest resolution images because of US government regulations. Sure, the other guys will, but then again, their big bad satellites can see closer than this one. Still, you can rest safe that your underpants will be safe from public scrutiny. For now. Unless you do like me and keep flashing them around. [GeoEye, Wikipedia, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency via Cnet]

Military imagery can resolve images as small as .17 square meters. Commercial limitations are about double that size at .36 square meters. The new satellite will be able to capture 700,000 square kilometers a day (which Technology Review points out is roughly the size of Texas).

But the best news is that GeoEye already sells shots to Yahoo, Google and Microsoft that we get to see through their various mapping portals. In other words, we'll soon be getting a free upgrade to our favorite satellite imaging services. Good stuff. So watch the cleavage, ladies, lest you be an unwilling accomplice to the rapidly growing satellite voyeur trend. (Note: if such sites actually exist, please email tips...for research purposes.)