DigitalGlobe Launches WorldView-3 High-Resolution Commercial Satellite

DigitalGlobe, a  provider of commercial high-resolution Earth observation and advanced geospatial solutions, successfully launched WorldView-3, the company’s sixth and most advanced super-spectral, high-resolution commercial satellite.

The satellite launched August 13 on a Lockheed Martin Atlas V rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

“The successful launch of WorldView-3 extends DigitalGlobe’s commanding technological lead and will enable us to help our customers see through smoke, peer beneath the ocean’s surface, and determine the mineral and moisture content of the Earth below — all with unprecedented clarity,” said Jeffrey R. Tarr, chief executive officer of DigitalGlobe.

WorldView-3 will collect super-spectral imagery at 0.31 meter resolution — delivering five times the clarity of the company’s nearest competitor. In addition, WorldView-3 will offer the most spectral diversity available commercially, the company said, and will offer multiple shortwave infrared (SWIR) bands that allow for accurate imaging through haze, fog, dust, smoke and other air-born particulates. The satellite will also offer CAVIS — a cloud, aerosol, water vapor, ice and snow atmospheric correction instrument — which monitors the atmosphere and corrects data for an unprecedented level of consistency.

“The unmatched abilities that WorldView-3 brings to our constellation will enable us to provide our customers with information and insight never before possible and advance our efforts to create a living digital inventory of the Earth,” Tarr said.

The satellite and atmospheric monitoring instrument called CAVIS were built by Ball Aerospace. Exelis built the integrated, super-spectral payload consisting of a telescope, sensor and shortwave infrared system, making WorldView-3 the first commercial satellite to carry such capabilities. A United Launch Alliance Atlas V launch vehicle provided by Lockheed Martin Commercial Launch Services (LMCLS) delivered the satellite into orbit.