Members of the 30th Space Wing at Vandenberg AFB, Calif., successfully launched DigitalGlobe’s WorldView-2 high-resolution commercial imagery satellite into polar orbit Oct. 8 aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket. The satellite is now undergoing a calibration and checkout and is expected to be available for commercial users in approximately 90 days, DigitalGlobe said in a release that same day. WorldView-2 is the latest in the company’s imagery satellites which include the Quickbird and WorldView-1 spacecraft that support the US defense and intelligence sectors, in addition to commercial clients. WorldView-2 will be capable of providing panchromatic imagery at 0.46 meter resolution and multispectral imagery at 1.8 meter resolution. Ball Aerospace built the satellite; ITT supplied the imaging sensor. (Includes Vandenberg report)
WATCH: The 2021 vAWS Day 3 Highlight Report
Feb. 26, 2021
Acting Secretary of the Air Force Roth, NORAD’s Gen. VanHerck, U.S. Space Command’s Gen. Dickinson, Spark Tank, and more from Day 3 of the Air Force Association’s virtual Aerospace Warfare Symposium.