QuickBird

QuickBird is a high-resolution commercial earth observation satellite, owned by DigitalGlobe and launched in 2001 as the first satellite in a constellation of three scheduled to be in orbit by 2008.

QuickBird collects the highest resolution commercial imagery of Earth, and boasts the largest image size and the greatest on-board storage capacity of any other satellite.
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The satellite collects panchromatic (black & white) imagery at 60-70 centimeter resolution and multispectral imagery at 2.4- and 2.8-meter resolutions. 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. The imagery can also be used as a backdrop for mapping applications, such as Google Earth and Google Maps.

Launch Date: October 18, 2001
Launch Window: 1851-1906 GMT (1451-1506 EDT)
Launch Vehicle: Delta II
Launch Site: SLC-2W, Vandenberg Air Force Base, California Contractors include Ball Aerospace & Technologies, Kodak and Fokker Space.

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HISTORY

This satellite is an excellent source of environmental data useful for analyses of changes in land usage, agricultural and forest climates. QuickBird's imaging capabilities can be applied to a host of industries, including Oil and Gas Exploration & Production (E&P), Engineering and Construction and environmental studies.

SPECIFICATIONS

Launch Date	October 18, 2001
Launch Vehicle	Boeing Delta II
Launch Location	Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, USA
Orbit Altitude	450 Km
Orbit Inclination	97.2º, sun-synchronous
Speed	7.1 Km/second - 25,560 Km/hour
Equator Crossing Time	10:30 a.m. (descending node)
Orbit Time	93.5 minutes
Revisit Time	1-3.5 days depending on Latitude (30º off-nadir)
Swath Width	16.5 Km x 16.5 Km at nadir
Metric Accuracy	23-meter horizontal (CE90%)
Digitization	11 bits
Resolution	Pan: 61 cm (nadir) to 72 cm (25º off-nadir) MS: 2.44 m (nadir) to 2.88 m (25º off-nadir)
Image Bands	Pan:     450 - 900 nm Blue:    450 - 520 nm  Green:  520 - 600 nm Red:     630 - 690 nm Near IR 760 - 900 nm

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