Terraserver.com
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- For other uses, see TerraServer.
Terraserver.com is a commercial website specializing in aerial and satellite imagery. It is run by Terraserver.com, Inc. in Raleigh, North Carolina. Before May 2002, it was run by Aerial Images in Raleigh, North Carolina. The assets of Aerial Images were sold and the new company rebranded itself as TerraServer.com to reflect the focus of the new company.
Aerial Images was part of the original TerraServer project that involved Microsoft and Compaq as a demonstration of the real-world scalability of SQL Server. Aerial Images brought in satellite imagery from Sovinformsputnik (the Russian Space Agency) and GeoEye. After the agreement ended in January 2000, the operations split into two pieces. Microsoft went forward with their free Microsoft Terraserver that provided access to United States Geological Survey imagery. In 2003, Microsoft Terraserver rebranded itself as TerraServer-USA. Aerial Images kept the Terraserver.com domain name to create a commercial site selling custom selected imagery. Because of the name similarity, there exists a lot of user confusion between the two sites.
After new ownership took over in May 2002, the company's focus shifted away from processing and hosting imagery in-house and towards forming imagery partnerships with companies that have the aerial or satellite imagery. With this strategy shift, Terraserver.com began its current mission of bringing the most imagery options under one roof to allow the most options for customers looking for custom selected images and prints.
Terraserver.com allows full viewing of all imagery at 8 meters and above. Views below that level are reserved for subscribers. TerraServer.com also sells image downloads in JPEG format, prints on photographic paper, pre-made posters, and a few other items. Terraserver.com has several image sources covering the continental US, high-resolution color imagery around major cities, and 15 meter satellite imagery worldwide.
