Worldview 3 Satellite
After two weeks in space, the most powerful commercial satellite ever launched is sending back pictures.
WordView-3, the super-powerful commercial satellite that launched two weeks ago, is now sending images back to Earth. The satellite is remarkable for its ability to collect images sharp down to a scale of 11.8 inches, which is enough for it to tell a tomato plant from a shrub and a sedan from an SUV.
World View3
“You can actually definitely see (car) windshields,” DigitalGlobe director of next generation products Kumar Navulur said before the launch. “We can actually tell you whether it’s a truck or an SUV or a regular car. We can identify pictures of a baseball diamond.”
World View 3 – Infographic
The first images released by the satellite’s operator DigitalGlobe depict an airport and neighborhoods in Madrid. In the airport images, airplanes, luggage trailers and activity like refueling or opening a hatch are visible.
With the relaxing of US Government restrictions on the resolution of commercial satellite imagery, DigitalGlobe are now able to provide clients wth more detailed and clearer images of our changing planet. Effective immediately, DigitalGlobe is permitted to offer customers the highest resolution imagery available from their current constellation of very high resolution satellites. Additionally, the updated approvals permit DigitalGlobe to sell imagery to all clients at up to 0.25m panchromatic and 1.0m multispectral, beginning six months after its next satellite WorldView-3 is operational.
Click on Thumbnail to view full sized version.
50cm on the left, 40cm on the right.
© DigitalGlobe 2014
DigitalGlobe actually had to edit the images to be less sharp than it is capable of producing. In June it became legal for the company to release images accurate at the 15.75 inch scale or above. Images at WorldView-3’s full 11.8 inch capability won’t be allowed until next year, when images down to 9.84 inches will be accepted.
WorldView-3 is capable of imaging nearly the size of Texas each day. It won’t be long before it passes over your town, so be sure to get your tomato plants photo-ready.
Source: Signe Brewster / Gigaom
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