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WorldView-2 Launched
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DigitalGlobe's WorldView-2 satellite was launched 9 October from a US military space base in California. A Boeing Delta II released WorldView-2 about 62 minutes after liftoff, delivering it into a sun-synchronous orbit where the satellite will begin its mission of collecting and recording high-resolution Earth imagery. |
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WorldView-2 |
DigitalGlobe's WorldView-2 satellite was launched 9 October from a US military space base in California.
A Boeing Delta II released WorldView-2 about 62 minutes after lift-off, delivering it into a sun-synchronous orbit where the satellite will begin its mission of collecting and recording high-resolution Earth imagery.
United Launch Alliance, a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin, provides the Delta II launch vehicle and mission services under a commercial contract administered by Boeing Launch Services.
'The successful launch of WorldView-2 is an important milestone for the industry and for DigitalGlobe,' said Jill Smith, the chief executive of DigitalGlobe. 'Once commissioned, it will double our collection capacity, enabling us to provide at least annually updated coverage of the world as well as intra-day revisit for more rapid and reliable collection for our customers.
'WorldView-2’s eight spectral bands will significantly enhance our ability to meet our customers’ needs for feature identification, change, detection, and other high-value services,' she said.
The satellite can collect multispectral imagery at 1.8 metre resolution and panchromatic imagery at 460 mm. The additional band capability supports improved levels of feature identification and extraction and more accurately reflects the world’s natural colour.
The satellite was built by Ball Aerospace (NYSE: BLL) and the imaging sensor was provided by ITT Corporation’s (NYSE: ITT) Space Systems Division.
