UrtheCast Announces Establishment of a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency

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Apr 04, 2016, 07:00 ET

VANCOUVER, April 4, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - UrtheCast Corp. (TSX:UR) ("UrtheCast" or the "Company") today announced the establishment of a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA).

In June 2015, UrtheCast announced its plans to build, launch and operate the world's first fully-integrated, multispectral optical and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) commercial constellation of Earth Observation satellites, which is now known as OptiSAR™. The OptiSAR™ constellation is expected to comprise 16 satellites (8 optical and 8 SAR) flying in two orbital planes, with each plane consisting of four satellite pairs, equally-spaced around the orbital plane. Each pair of satellites will consist of a dual-mode, high-resolution optical satellite (video and pushbroom) and a dual-band high-resolution SAR satellite (X-band and L-band), flying in tandem. By employing two orbital planes, the OptiSAR™ constellation is expected to allow for maximum revisit rates in the mid-latitudes, while providing global coverage extending to the poles. The Company expects to deploy the OptiSAR™ constellation over multiple launches and to begin operations in 2020. The constellation is expected to provide unmatched space-imaging capabilities, enhancing support to NGA's national security mission and the broader global remote sensing community.

UrtheCast has established a CRADA with NGA to focus research and development (R&D) efforts to maximize the operational effectiveness of the OptiSAR™ constellation. In partnering with NGA, the Company's primary R&D areas will include:

Multi-Source Fusion – Exploitation Tools, Services & Analytic Processes;
Improving/Ensuring Metric Accuracy; and
Optimizing Collection & Dissemination Strategies.

This CRADA will allow UrtheCast to work closely with an experienced user and make early changes to its systems architecture, if deemed appropriate. The specific R&D under these areas will support UrtheCast's government and commercial customer base.

UrtheCast's President, CEO and co-founder, Wade Larson, said: "Our work on the OptiSAR™ constellation gives us confidence that it will bring unprecedented capabilities to this industry. We couldn't be more pleased with the progress we're making and are thrilled with the opportunity to partner with NGA on these critical R&D activities. We believe this CRADA will enhance OptiSAR's ability to support our overall customer base."

ABOUT URTHECAST CORP.

UrtheCast Corp. is a Vancouver-based technology company that serves the rapidly evolving geospatial and geoanalytics markets with a wide range of information-rich products and services. The Company currently operates four Earth Observation sensors in space, including two cameras aboard the International Space Station and two satellites, Deimos-1 and Deimos-2. Imagery and video data captured by these sensors are downlinked to ground stations across the planet and displayed on UrtheCast's cloud-based web platform, or distributed directly to partners and customers. UrtheCast is also developing and anticipates launching the world's first fully-integrated constellation of multispectral optical and SAR satellites, called OptiSAR™, which the Company believes will revolutionize monitoring of our planet with high quality, high resolution, and high revisit imagery in all weather conditions, any time of day. Common shares of UrtheCast trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange as ticker 'UR'.

For more information, visit UrtheCast's website at www.urthecast.com.

Forward Looking Information

This release contains certain information which, as presented, constitutes "forward-looking information" or "forward-oriented financial information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking information involves statements that relate to future events and often addresses expected future business and financial performance, containing words such as "anticipate", "believe", "plan", and "expect", statements that an action or event "may", "might", "could" or "will" be taken or occur, or other similar expressions and includes, but is not limited to; its plans for and timing of expansion of its product offering and value-added services; its future growth and operations plans; and the acceptance by its customers and the marketplace of new satellite imaging content, technologies and solutions. Such statements reflect UrtheCast's current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by UrtheCast, are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors could cause UrtheCast's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements that may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including, among others: any delays or failures in the design, development, construction, launch and operational commissioning of the proposed OptiSAR™ constellation; the Company being unable to convert the Memoranda of Understanding in respect of funding of the OptiSAR™ constellation into binding, definitive agreements; interruptions to or failures of UrtheCast's infrastructure; legal and regulatory changes, as well as those factors and assumptions discussed in UrtheCast's annual information form dated March 29, 2016, (the "AIF"), which is available under UrtheCast's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. Forward-looking information is developed based on assumptions about such risks, uncertainties and other factors set out herein, in the AIF, and as disclosed from time to time on UrtheCast's SEDAR profile. UrtheCast undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements except as required by Canadian securities laws. Readers are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements.

SOURCE UrtheCast Corp.