Worldview-2 satellite is scheduled to launch October 8, 2009, aboard a Delta II rocket procured from United Launch Alliance (ULA). The launch is scheduled for 11:38 a.m. from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. WorldView-2 is the third satellite Ball Aerospace has built for DigitalGlobe’s constellation of commercial remote sensing satellites. Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corporation successfully completed and passed environmental testing for the Worldview-2 satellite. To watch launch go here.
The WorldView-2 sensor will provide a high resolution Panchromatic (0.46m) band and eight (8) Multispectral bands; four (4) standard colors (red, green, blue, and near-infrared 1) and four (4) new bands (coastal, yellow, red edge, and near-infrared 2), full-color images for enhanced spectral analysis, mapping and monitoring applications, land-use planning, disaster relief, exploration, defense and intelligence, and visualization and simulation environments.
Image Copyright © Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corporation
WorldView-2 environmental testing included thermal vacuum, electromagnetic compatibility, electromagnetic interference, vibration, shock, and acoustic testing to confirm the design integrity of the spacecraft, according to the company. The Ball Aerospace BCP 5000 spacecraft, utilized for both WorldView-1 and WorldView-2, is designed to handle both next-generation optical and synthetic aperture radar remote sensing payloads and is reportedly meeting or exceeding all performance specifications on the operational WorldView-1 satellite. The high performance BCP 5000 has a design life of more than seven years.
To view Worldview-2 Technical Data click here.
DigitalGlobe currently operates the QuickBird satellite launched in October 2001, which can collect panchromatic images with 0.61-meter resolution and multispectral (BGRN) images with 2.44-meter resolution at Nadir. It is expected to operate until 2009. DigitalGlobe further operates the WorldView-1 high-capacity, panchromatic imaging system launched on September 18, 2008 providing Mono and Stereo half-meter resolution imagery (0.46- meter) to the Geospatial Industry. Operating at an altitude of 496 kilometers, WorldView-1 has an average revisit time of 1.7 days and is capable of collecting up to 750,000 square kilometers (290,000 square miles) per day of halfmeter imagery. The satellite also is equipped with state-of-the-art geo-location accuracy of <2m without GCP’s while with one (1) or two (2) GCP’s the geospatial position accuracy can be improved to <1m and further exhibits stunning agility with rapid targeting and efficient in-track stereo collection.
About Satellite Imaging Corporation:
Satellite Imaging Corporation (SIC), a privately held technology company, provides global satellite imaging and processing services for a number of industries, including oil and gas, mining, cadastre, tax mapping, construction, environmental, forestry and agriculture.
The company specializes in mono and stereo satellite imaging technology producing seamless orthorectified Satellite Imaging mosaics DEM’s and 3D terrain models for many industries using CAD and GIS applications including, flight simulations, terrain modeling, engineering and construction using high and medium resolution mono and stereo satellite image data such as GeoEye-1, Worldview-1, QuickBird and IKONOS.
For more information contact:
Satellite Imaging Corporation
12777 Jones Road, Suite 370
Houston, Texas 77070-4671
Toll Free (866) 283-2952 (US and Canada only)
Tel: (1) 832-237-2900
Fax: (1) 832-237-2910