Η DigitalGlobe εκτοξεύει τον WorldView-2

Ανακοινώθηκαν τα σχέδια της DigitalGlobe για την εκτόξευση του τρίτου εμπορικού δορυφόρου στα μέσα του 2009.

The company, which supplies high-resolution satellite images to hundreds of government and commercial clients including Google Earth, has selected Boeing Launch Services for the launch of WorldView-2. The launch will be the third partnership between DigitalGlobe and Boeing Launch Services – Boeing successfully launched DigitalGlobe’s previous satellites, QuickBird and WorldView-1, which launched in September 2007.

Image Credit: DigitalGlobe

Satellite imaging has uses in hundreds of industries including agriculture, coastal management, environmental studies, defense mapping, urban planning, homeland security, and disaster relief. The technology has also found mass appeal in online applications like Google Earth, Google Maps and MSN Live Search Maps, which offer users satellite images of locations around the globe.

The WorldView-2, which costs around $400 million, is the only satellite of its kind to be built without any government funding.

WorldView-2 will offer several improvements on its predecessor’s image capture and storage capabilities and help companies keep up with the increasing demand for high-resolution satellite images. The new satellite will fly at an altitude of 800 km and produce the highest-resolution pictures yet, capturing images with a resolution of 0.46 meters at Nadir (note that imagery must be resampled to 0.5 meters for non-US Government customers). The satellite will also feature improved communications: Images can be downloaded directly to clients, significantly decreasing the time customers normally wait to receive requested images.

Additionally, WorldView-2 will introduce four new bands of color: coastal, red edge, yellow, and near-infrared-2. The improved detail and image qualities of WorldView-2 will allow for increased spectral analysis to improve Geospatial accuracy in GIS, mapping and other environmental applications. Satellite imaging companies across the country will benefit from the higher quality of data collected by the new satellite.