It is said the when Alexander realized the size of his domain, “he wept, for there were no more worlds to conquer” – Google, however, just moves out to space.

Yes, having won the search engine wars, dominated the pay-per-click sphere and, presumably, it’s just a matter of time before becoming the number one browser, Google has taken the next step and left Earth’s orbit.

Well, OK, not quite, but they did launch their own satellite today, from a rocket emblazoned with the Google logo.

The Delta 4 rocket owned by GeoEye will provide Google with exclusive satellite imagery for Google Maps. According to the press release,

“GeoEye- …(is) designed to take digital images of the Earth from 423 miles and…the satellite camera can distinguish objects on the Earth’s surface as small as 0.41-meter or 16 inches in size.”

However, U.S. Government restrictions mean that Google will only be allowed to use resolution of 50cm – but with most commercial mapping right now at 60cm, it’s still a big improvement.

So, Google will have at least one satellite capable of reading your license plate from space.  And to think, some people are still worried about Google tracking their online behavior!