Google’s satellite beams down its first pictures

A Google sponsored satellite has beamed its first picture back to Earth in a successful test of a camera that will supply images for the internet giant’s free map and navigation services.

The high-resolution colour image from GeoEye-1, which was launched on September 6 from a US air force base in California, was of a university campus in Pennsylvania, the satellite’s operator GeoEye said.

The Virginia-based company provided a link to the image at its website: www.geoeye.com/CorpSite/gallery/Default.aspx