A new space race: Bing vs. Google

A Boeing Delta II 7920 launches DigitalGlobe's WorldView-2 satellite.

(Credit: Bill Hartenstein, Boeing)

In 2008, Google got its logo on the rocket launching the GeoEye-1 satellite for collecting space-based imagery. This year, it's Microsoft's turn.

The Bing logo appeared on the side of a Boeing Delta II 7920 rocket that launched DigitalGlobe's new WorldView-2 satellite last week from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. But where Google got sole online rights to the GeoEye-1 imagery, Microsoft will be sharing access to WorldView-2 images with Google, a Digital Globe representative said.

Bing and Nokia sponsored the rocket launching DigitalGlobe's newest imaging satellite.

(Credit: Bill Hartenstein, Boeing)

Another sponsor of the rocket is Nokia, whose Navteq subsidiary also supplies digital maps.

Bing today offers aerial and satellite imagery that looks straight down on some locations and a birds'-eye view that gives an angled view. Still, Microsoft touted its DigitalGlobe partnership as greatly expanding what's available online.

"We now have access to one of the highest resolution global satellite imagery and aerial photography collections (460 million sq. km. + 1 million sq. km. per day moving forward) through a deal we've just struck with DigitalGlobe," said Microsoft's Chris Pendleton in a blog post. "We'll finally be able to backfill areas around the world where people have come to my blog and complained about Virtual Earth not having good imagery or photos in their countries--Poland, Hungary, Russia, Taiwan, Mexico, to name a few--I've heard you loud and clear. And, now, we're fixing that problem."

Google, which already had a DigitalGlobe partnership, was more understated, merely offering congratulations on the launch in a blog post Monday.

In the last year, though, Google slurped up a lot of GeoEye-1 imagery--about 500,000 square kilometers, according to Google spokeswoman Elaine Filadelfo. By comparison, Texas is about 678,000 square kilometers.

Among new areas in Google Earth and Google Maps photographed by GeoEye-1 are Zhangye, China; Perth, Australia; Tangier, Morocco; Como, Italy; Dublin, Ireland; Curitiba, Brazil; Leduc, Canada; Kolwezi, Democratic Republic of Congo; and the formerly closed city of Sevastopol, Ukraine.

DigitalGlobe expects WorldView-2 will double the company's capacity to collect imagery. The satellite's top resolution can detect features as small as 0.46 meter, though U.S. government regulations permit general commercial sales of imagery only of 0.5-meter resolution.

Ball Aerospace built the satellite and, as with GeoEye-1, ITT's Space Systems Division supplied its image sensor.

Launching satellites is an expensive business, but there's at least some funding available: GeoEye secured $400 million in a sale of debt last week.

[tyshockner]

I'm glad Bing is growing. After I heard Google is filtering results (i.e. not showing The Pirate Bay homepage) I immediatly switched to bing. When I search I want an unbiased unfiltered search result not what the search engine wants me to see.

[Super2online]

Good for you!

[ausernamenoonehaschosen]

It shows The Priate Bay in the results now.

[PhaseDMA]

Except Google doesn't filter search results - Including the pirate bay.

[Jamasama]

In fact they do. They did remove TPB for some time, but now they've added it back in.

But search something else, for example "Serial sites", then scroll to the bottom of the search page. Whenever they get complaints like the one there, they often filter/censor the result.

[PhaseDMA]

No. No they don't. In fact they directly addressed this issue.

http://www.google.com/search?q=the+pirate+bay&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

The top 3 results are all going to take you to where you want to go.

[Dalkorian]

ROFL! Going to bung while hoping for unbiased unfiltered search results is like taking your child to a pedophile for love and care.

[tylrwnzl]

I didn't know we allowed Microsoft employees to post on here. If this isn't another commercial from the little Asian girl pushing Windows 7 I don't know what is.

[shellcodes_coder]

Microsoft WorldWide Telescope is just an awesome product, much better than google sky and moreover it's free :)

[Chao_Sama]

Google is still the behemoth in the search market....

[ammoy1]

Rockets looking like NASCAR vehicles. I like it. "The Bing Nokia Boeing Delta II ran real good today."

[darkebinary]

Next thing you know astronauts will be sporting bright colored spaces suits covered in sponsors and will start slinging Tang on everyone when they make a successful mission landing.

[PhaseDMA]

Well their already bright orange at times. And who cares how they get their money? I want space exploration - I'd also rather not pay for it with tax dollars. I would welcome sponsors.

[sanjayb]

Ever wonder what the aliens would think if saw one of our rockets coming all covered in advertising? :-P

[stefanweitz]

Stefan from Bing here. I was on hand for the launch and it was pretty inspiring. At the same time, we launched something to inspire kids to get more involved in science education - you can check it out here: http://10000rockets.com. Keep on Bing-ing!
Stefan Weitz, Director

[RompStar_420]

Stefan - How come Microsoft has to compete in everything ? does that gets your blood boiling that you don't have your hands in something and someone else is doing it ? It that genetic or what ?

Google is still the best, when I review my logs, 99% of all traffic is pretty much from Google.

[darkebinary]

Google wasn't the first search engine, not even close. MS was working on search before Larry Page even met Sergey Brin. What you should ask is why they dropped the ball and only got serious about search once Google proved the business model.

[inachu1]

Get with the times people! Infoseek Pwns all search engines!