[Source: Satellite imaging corporation ]
WorldView-1, DigitalGlobe’s earth imaging satellite, completed a successful launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, U.S.A., at 11:35 Hrs Pacific Daylight Time (PDT) on September 18th, 2007. The Delta II rocket lifted off in good weather and the WorldView-1 satellite is « currently undergoing a calibration and check-out period, » according to DigitalGlobe. The first panchromatic image data should become available before October 18th, 2007.
The high-capacity, panchromatic imaging system features half-meter resolution imagery. Operating at an altitude of 496 kilometers, WorldView-1 will have an average revisit time of 1.7 days and will be capable of collecting up to 750,000 square kilometers (290,000 square miles) per day of half-meter imagery. The satellite will also be equipped with state-of-the-art geo-location accuracy capabilities and will exhibit stunning agility with rapid targeting and efficient in-track stereo collection.
WorldView-1 Satellite Sensor Characteristics
| Scheduled Launch Date | September 18, 2007 |
| Launch Vehicle | Boeing Delta 7920 (9-strap-ons) |
| Launch Location | Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, USA |
| Orbit Altitude | 496 Km |
| Orbit Inclination | sun-synchronous |
| Spacecraft Size, Mass & Power | 3.6 meters (12 feet) tall x 2.5 meters (8 feet) across, 7.1 meters (23 feet) across the deployed solar arrays 2500 kilograms (5500 pounds) 3.2 kW solar array, 100 Ahr battery |
| Equator Crossing Time | 10:30 AM (descending node) |
| Revisit Time | 1.7 days at 1 meter GSD or less 5.9 days at 20° off-nadir or less (0.51 meter GSD) |
| Swath Width | 17.6 Km at nadir |
| Orbit Time | 94.6 minutes |
| Dynamic Range | 11 bits per pixel |
| Resolution | 0.50 meters GSD at nadir0.55 meters GSD at 20° off-nadir (note that imagery must be re-sampled to 0.5 meters for non-US Government customers) |
| Sensor Bands | Panchromatic |
| Metric Accuracy | Accuracy: <500 meters at image start and stop Knowledge: Supports geolocation accuracy below |
| Geolocation Accuracy (CE 90%) |
Specification of 12.2 m CE90, with predicted performance in the range of 3.0 to 7.6 meters (10 to 25 feet) CE90, excluding terrain and off-nadir effectsWith registration to GCPs in image: 2.0 meters (6.6 feet) |
| Retargeting Ability | Acceleration: 2.5 deg/s/s Rate: 4.5 deg/s Time to slew 300 kilometers: 9 seconds |
| Attitude Determination and Control | 3-axis stabilized Actuators: Control Moment Gyros (CMGs) Sensors: Star trackers, solid state IRU, GPS |
| Onboard Storage | 2199 gigabits solid state with EDAC |
| Communications | Image and Ancillary Data: 800 Mbps X-band Housekeeping: 4, 16 or 32 kbps real-time, 524 kbps stored, X-band Command: 2 or 64 kbps S-band |
| Max Viewing Angle / Accessible Ground Swath |
60 x 110 km mono 30 x 110 km stereo |