Geo: International > News > News Item
GeoEye-1 set to launch in August
30 June 2008, 3:42pm
On 22 August, GeoEye will launch GeoEye-1 from the Vandenburg Air Force Base in California. The satellite, capable of imaging up to about 700,000 square kilometers a day, will be able to distinguish objects that measure 0.17 square meters, providing images at its highest resolution for classified military and intelligence uses. US regulations forbid satellite companies from selling images with resolutions better than 0.25 square meters. GeoEye claims that GeoEye-1 will still offer the highest-resolution colour images available on the market, able to spot a person on the ground. Competitor DigitalGlobe’s QuickBird satellite currently offers resolution that can distinguish objects that measure 0.36 square meters with ground truth of 27 metres, while GeoEye-1 will offer 3 m ground truth capability. The improved accuracy is due to the high quality of its star trackers, which were initially developed by Ball Aerospace for military applications. GeoEye-1 has a predicted life span of seven years.
www.geoeye.com
For more information visit:
Editor's choice:
02 October 2008, 7:25pm
02 October 2008, 6:44pm
30 September 2008, 12:48pm
30 September 2008, 12:22pm
02 October 2008, 5:42pm
23 September 2008, 11:42am
17 September 2008, 12:05pm
12 September 2008, 12:18pm
11 September 2008, 6:33pm
Each month we select a hot topic and a leading figure in the industry to write about it.What message are we sending to senior level decision makers about the importance and value of Spatial Data Infrastructure - SDI - if we keep misrepresenting what SDI is or is all about?
In previous editorials in this magazine I have touched on various SDI issues, especially now that the pan-European SDI has achieved a legally mandated status within the European Union's 27 Member States. Yet I fear that the Geographic Information community - or communities, for there are many - continue to… More…
Roger Longhorn