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WorldView-2 on Orbit

Oct. 13, 2009

Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org

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)

Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org

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