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The QuickBird satellite is the first in a constellation of spacecraft that DigitalGlobe® is developing that offers highly accurate, commercial high-resolution imagery of Earth. QuickBird's global collection of panchromatic and multispectral imagery is designed to support applications ranging from map publishing to land and asset management to insurance risk assessment.
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DigitalGlobe's QuickBird Satellite offers sub-meter resolution imagery, industry-leading geolocational accuracy, large on-board data storage, and a larger imaging footprint than any other commercial high-resolution satellite.
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Moreover, we are able to populate and update our digitalglobe.com archive at unprecedented speed because QuickBird's system features allow us to efficiently collect over 75 million square kilometers of imagery data annually.
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Features
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Benefits
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Highest resolution sensors available commercially
- 60-cm (2-ft) panchromatic at nadir
- 2.4-m (8-ft) multispectral at nadir
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Acquire high-quality satellite imagery for map creation, change detection, and image analysis |
Industry-leading image accuracy
- Stable platform for precise location measurement
- 3-axis stabilized, star tracker/IRU/reaction wheels, GPS
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Geolocate features to within 23 meters (75.5 feet) and create maps in remote areas without the use of ground control points |
Fastest large area collection
- 16.5-km width imaging swath
- 128 Gbits on-board image storage capacity
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Collect a greater supply of frequently updated global imagery products more quickly than competitive systems |
High image quality
- Off-axis unobscured design of QuickBird's telescope
- Large field-of-view
- High contrast (MTF)
- High signal to noise ratio
- 11 bit dynamic range
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Extend the range of suitable imaging collection targets and enhance image interpretability because images can be acquired at even the lowest light levels without sacrificing image quality |
| Quantization |
11 bits |
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QuickBird was designed and built by our strategic partners, Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Kodak, and Fokker Space, all leaders in their fields. By utilizing proven technology from each supplier, we have developed a state-of-the-art satellite system built from space-qualified components. This system successfully meets DigitalGlobe's demanding performance requirements for high image quality, robust image collection and long mission life.
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Launch Information
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Date: October 18, 2001
Launch Window: 1851-1906 GMT (1451-1506 EDT)
Launch Vehicle: Delta II
Launch Site: SLC-2W, Vandenberg Air Force Base, California |
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Orbit
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Altitude: 450 km - 98 degree, sun-synchronous inclination
Revisit frequency: 3-7 days depending on latitude at 60-centimeter resolution
Viewing angle: Agile spacecraft - in-track and cross-track pointing
Period: 93.4 minutes |
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Per Orbit Collection
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~128 gigabits (approximately 57 single area images) |
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Swath Width &
Area Size
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Nominal swath width: 16.5-kilometers at nadir
Accessible ground swath: 544-km centered on the satellite ground track (to ~30° off nadir)
Areas of interest:
- Single Area - 16.5 km x 16.5 km
- Strip - 16.5 km x 16.5 km
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Metric Accuracy
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23-meter circular error, 17-meter linear error (without ground control) |
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Sensor Resolution & Spectral Bandwidth
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Panchromatic
- 60-centimeter GSD (Ground Sample Distance) at nadir
- Black & White: 445 to 900 nanometers
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Multispectral
- 2.4-meter GSD at nadir
- Blue: 450 to 520 nanometers
- Green: 520 to 600 nanometers
- Red: 630 to 690 nanometers
- Near-IR: 760 to 900 nanometers
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Dynamic Range
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11-bits per pixel |
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Communications
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Payload Data
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Housekeeping
- X-band from 4, 16 and 256 Kbps
- 2 Kbps S-band uplink
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ADCS Approach
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3-axis stabilized, star tracker/IRU/reaction wheels, GPS |
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Pointing and Agility
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Accuracy: less than 0.5 milliradians absolute per axis
Knowledge: less than 15 microradians per axis
Stability: less than 10 microradians per second |
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Onboard Storage
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128 Gbits capacity |
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Spacecraft
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Fueled for 7 years
2100 pounds, 3.04-meters (10-ft) in length |
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| ImStrat Corporation Toll Free number in Canada or the United States: |
| 1-877-269-5940 |
| imstrat@imstrat.on.ca |
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