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QuickBird was a high-resolution commercial earth observation satellite, owned by DigitalGlobe launched in 2001 and ^[3] decayed in 2015.^[4] It was the first satellite in a constellation of three scheduled to be in orbit by 2008. QuickBird used Ball Aerospace's Global Imaging System 2000 (BGIS 2000).^[1] The satellite collected panchromatic (black and white) imagery at 61 centimeter resolution and multispectral imagery at 2.44- (at 450 km) to 1.63-meter (at 300 km) resolution, as orbit altitude is lowered during the end of mission life.^[5]

At this resolution, detail such as buildings and other infrastructure are easily visible. However, this resolution is insufficient for working with smaller objects such as a license plate on a car. The imagery can be imported into remote sensing image processing software, as well as into GIS packages for analysis.

Contractors include Ball Aerospace & Technologies, Kodak and Fokker Space.

WorldView-3 is the industry’s first multi-payload, super-spectral, high-resolution commercial satellite. Operating at an altitude of 617 km, WorldView-3 provides 31 cm panchromatic resolution, 1.24 m multispectral resolution, 3.7 m short-wave infrared resolution, and 30 m CAVIS resolution. ° Super-spectral imagery ° Large area mono. DigitalGlobe is the global leader in satellite imagery, geospatial information, and location-based intelligence.

QuickBird I[edit]

The first QuickBird was launched in November 2000, by EarthWatch from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia. QB-1 failed to reach planned orbit and was declared a failure.^[6] Prior to QuickBird I and II, DigitalGlobe launched the EarlyBird 1 successfully in 1997 but the satellite lost communications after only four days in orbit due to power system failure.^[2]

QuickBird II[edit]

QuickBird II (also QuickBird-2 or Quickbird 2), was launched October 18, 2001 from the Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket.^[2] The satellite was initially expected to collect at 1 meter resolution but after a license was granted in 2000 by the U.S. Department of Commerce / NASA, DigitalGlobe was able launch the QuickBird II with 0.61 meter panchromatic and 2.4 meter multispectral (previously planned 4 meter) resolution.^[2]

Mission Extension[edit]

In April 2011, the Quickbird satellite was raised from an orbit of 450 km (280 mi) to 482 km (300 mi).^[7] The process, started in March 2011, extended the satellite's life. Before the operation the useful life of Quickbird was expected to drop off around mid-2012 but after the successful mission, the new orbit prolonged the satellite life into early 2015.

Decaying[edit]

The last picture was acquired on December 17, 2014. On January 27, 2015 QuickBird re-entered Earth’s atmosphere.

Specifications[edit]

Sensors

• 60 cm (24 in) (1.37 μrad) panchromatic at nadir
• 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in) (5.47 μrad) multispectral at nadir
  • MS Channels: blue (450-520 nm), green (520-600 nm), red (630-690 nm), near-IR (760-890 nm)^[8]

Swath width and area size

• Nominal swath width: 18 km at nadir
• Accessible ground swath: 544 km centered on the satellite ground track (to 30° off nadir)
• Area of interest
  • Single area: 18 km by 18 km
  • Strip: 18 km by 360 km

Orbit

• Altitude (original): 450 km – 97.2 degree sun synchronous circular orbit^[2]
• Altitude (post-orbit modification): 482 km – 98 degree sun synchronous inclination
• Revisit frequency: 1 to 3.5 days depending on latitude at 60 cm resolution^[8]
• Viewing angle: Agile spacecraft, in-track and cross-track pointing^[8]
• Period 94.2 minutes

On-board storage

• 128 Gigabit capacity (approximately 57 single area images)

Spacecraft

• Fueled for 7 years
• 2100 lb (950 kg), 3.04 m (10 ft) in length

Launch[edit]

• Launch Date: October 18, 2001^[2]
• Launch Window: 1851-1906 GMT (1451-1506 EDT)
• Launch Vehicle: Delta II
• Launch Site: SLC-2W, Vandenberg Air Force Base, California
• USAF Designation: Quickbird 2.^[9]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^ ^abBall Aerospace: QuickBird
2. ^ ^abcdefg'QuickBird-2'. EOPortal.org. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
3. ^[1]
4. ^Digitalglobe: QuickBirdArchived May 17, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
5. ^'DigitalGlobe Data Sheet: Quickbird'(PDF). DigitalGlobe.com. DigitalGlobe. February 12, 2014. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
6. ^DigitalGlode History - QuickBird IArchived September 23, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
7. ^'DigitalGlobe Completes Quickbird Satellite Orbit Raise'. DigitalGlobe News Room. April 18, 2011. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
8. ^ ^abc'QuickBird 2 was successfully launched on 18 Oct 2001'. Center for Remote Imaging, Sensing & Processing. 2001. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
9. ^Mehuron, Tamar A., Assoc. Editor (August 2008). '2008 USAF Space Almanac - Major Civilian Satellites in Military Use'(PDF). Air Force Magazine. Vol. 91 no. 8. Pub: Air Force Association. pp. 49–50.CS1 maint: Extra text: authors list (link)

External links[edit]

• DigitalGlobe - QuickBird specifications

Quickbird Satellite Imagery Free Download