Google managed to reach an agreement which will enable it to use the photos from the GeoEye-1 satellite, scheduled for launch on September 4, from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The satellite will orbit 423 miles above Earth.
The space project demanded an investment of $500 million and it is expected to provide the highest resolution images available at this point.

In order to show the support Google provided to the mission, its logo will appear on the first-stage rocket. The company explained that it had not paid for the logo exposure and also that it did not have any financial interest in the launch.

Google will begin receiving the images late October or early November, but it will take a little more time until the photos are available on Google Maps. Imagery could conceivably be available at as high as 0.41 meters in black and white, and 1.65 meters in color. Google will have to scale down the detailed photos to a 50 cm resolution, in compliance to GeoEye’s deal with the U.S. government.

The exclusive deal offers new possibilities for Google, which at this point gets satellite imagery from DigitalGlobe.
"The GeoEye-1 satellite has the highest ground resolution color imagery available in the commercial marketplace and will produce high-quality imagery with a very accurate geolocation," said Google spokeswoman Kate Hurowitz, adding that "It is our goal to display high-resolution imagery for as much of the world as possible, and GeoEye-1 will help further that goal."