GeoEye-1

GeoEye-1 is a high-resolution Earth observation satellite owned by DigitalGlobe, launched in September 2008. The satellite was acquired in the 2013 purchase of GeoEye.

GeoEye-1
Launch of Delta II rocket carrying GeoEye-1
NamesOrbView-5
Mission typeEarth observation
OperatorDigitalGlobe
(formerly GeoEye)
COSPAR ID2008-042A
SATCAT no.33331
Mission durationPlanned: 7 years[1]
Elapsed: 15 years, 1 month, 19 days
Spacecraft properties
BusSA-200HP[2]
ManufacturerGeneral Dynamics
Launch mass1,955 kg (4,310 lb)[3]
Payload mass452 kg (996 lb)[3]
Dimensions4.35 × 2.7 m (14.3 × 8.9 ft) (arrays stowed)[3]
Power3,862 watts[3]
Start of mission
Launch date6 September 2008, 18:50:57 (2008-09-06UTC18:50:57) UTC[4]
RocketDelta II 7420-10, D-335[4]
Launch siteVandenberg SLC-2W[4]
ContractorBoeing / United Launch Alliance[5]
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeSun-synchronous
Semi-major axis7,057 km (4,385 mi)
Eccentricity0.000879
Perigee altitude673 km (418 mi)
Apogee altitude685 km (426 mi)
Inclination98.12 degrees
Period98.34 minutes
RAAN347.09 degrees
Argument of perigee221.37 degrees
Epoch30 September 2018, 16:31:21 UTC[6]
Main telescope
Diameter1.1 m (3.6 ft)[7]
Focal length13.3 m (44 ft)[7]
ResolutionPanchromatic: 41 cm (16 in)
Multispectral: 165 cm (65 in)
Transponders
BandwidthX band: 150 or 740 Mbps[7]
DigitalGlobe fleet
 

History

On 1 December 2004, General Dynamics C4 Systems announced it had been awarded a contract worth approximately US$209 million to build the OrbView-5 satellite.[8] Its sensor is designed by the ITT Exelis.

The satellite, now known as GeoEye-1, was originally scheduled for launch in April 2008 but lost its 30-day launch slot to a U.S. government mission which had itself been delayed. It was rescheduled for launch 22 August 2008 from Vandenberg Air Force Base aboard a Delta II launch vehicle.[9] The launch was postponed to 4 September 2008, due to unavailability of the Big Crow telemetry-relay aircraft.[10][11] It was delayed again to 6 September because Hurricane Hanna interfered with its launch crews.

The launch took place successfully on 6 September 2008 at 18:50:57 UTC. The GeoEye-1 satellite separated successfully from its Delta II launch vehicle at 19:49 UTC, 58 minutes and 56 seconds after launch.[5]

Specifications and operation

GeoEye-1 provides 0.41 m (16 in) panchromatic and 1.65 m (5.4 ft) multispectral imagery at nadir in 15.2 km (9.4 mi) swaths. The spacecraft is in a Sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 681 km (423 mi) and an inclination of 98 degrees, with a 10:30 a.m. equator crossing time.[3][12][13] GeoEye-1 can image up to 60 degrees off nadir. It is operated out of Dulles, Virginia.[14]

At the time of its launch, GeoEye-1 was the world's highest resolution commercial Earth-imaging satellite.[15] GeoEye-1 was manufactured in Gilbert, Arizona, by General Dynamics and the first image was returned on 7 October of Kutztown University in Pennsylvania.[16]

Google, which had its logo on the side of the rocket, has exclusive online mapping use of its data. While GeoEye-1 is capable of imagery with details the size of 41 centimeters per pixel (16 in/px), that resolution was only available to the U.S. government. Google has access to details of 50 cm per pixel (20 in/px). Prior maximum commercial imagery was 60 cm (24 in).[17]

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and Google paid a combined US$502 million for the satellite and upgrades to GeoEye's four ground stations.[18]

2009 anomaly

In December 2009 GeoEye announced it had suspended imagery collections by GeoEye-1 for a few days, citing an irregularity in the downlink antenna. "The irregularity appears to limit the range of movement of GeoEye-1's downlink antenna, which may in turn affect GeoEye-1's ability to image and downlink simultaneously," GeoEye said at a press conference.[19] However, the satellite continued with normal operations shortly thereafter, though with diminished simultaneous imaging-and-downlink capability for non-U.S. clients.[20]

See also

References
  1. "UCS Satellite Database". Union of Concerned Scientists. 1 September 2013. Archived from the original on 4 January 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  2. "GeoEye 1". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
  3. "GeoEye Satellite Imagery". Apollo Mapping. 2018.
  4. McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  5. Ray, Justin. "Delta 335: Mission Status Center". Spaceflight Now. Archived from the original on 20 November 2008.
  6. Peat, Chris (30 September 2018). "GEOEYE 1 - Orbit". Heavens-Above. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  7. Moos, Warren; Eisenstein, Daniel (30 January 2007). "Advanced Dark Energy Physics Telescope (ADEPT)" (PDF). National Academies. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 November 2008.
  8. Jacques, Fran (1 December 2004). "General Dynamics to Build Satellite to Improve U.S. Government Access to High-Resolution Earth Imagery" (Press release). General Dynamics. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011.
  9. "GeoEye-1 Launch Details". GeoEye. Archived from the original on 17 October 2008.
  10. Goldfarb, Zachary A. (14 August 2008). "Restatement Pulls GeoEye's Goals Back Down to Earth". Washington Post.
  11. Ray, Justin (12 August 2008). "Delta 2 rocket launch of GeoEye craft postponed". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 14 August 2008.
  12. Paradella, Waldir Renato; Cheng, Philip (January–February 2013). "Automatic DEM Generation Using GeoEye-1 Stereo Data in Mining Application". GeoInformatics. 16: 10–12.
  13. Cheng, Philip (July–August 2014). "Mapping Large Areas: Satellite Imageries with Limited Ground Control". GeoInformatics: 18–20. S2CID 14100742.
  14. "GeoEye-1 Gives Google Highest Resolution Imagery". University of California, Santa Barbara. 10 September 2008.
  15. Fernandez, Chris (11 July 2008). "GeoEye-1 Launch Continues On Track". Seeking Alpha.
  16. Chen, Brian X. (7 October 2008). "Google's Super Satellite Captures First Image". Wired.
  17. Shankland, Stephen (29 August 2008). "Google to buy GeoEye satellite imagery". CNet.
  18. Rothman, Wilson (8 October 2008). "Google GeoEye-1 Satellite Takes First Pic (Is that Your House?)". Gizmodo.
  19. Sharma, Divya (17 December 2009). "GeoEye says satellite glitch could hit 2010 revenue". Reuters.
  20. "GeoEye-1". eoPortal. European Space Agency. Retrieved 13 October 2016.

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