GeoEye-1: Specifications, Satellite Images and Technical Information

We became familiar with this thing when it featured us some "Satelite Photos" of the President Barack Obama Inauguration Day on January 20, 2008. Yup yup yup! That satellite is one of the greatest imaging satellite I've know. But wait, let's stop calling it just a satellite because it has its name! Yes, of course! Hehehe. It is called the GeoEye-1, and if you're looking for some information about that satellite, Wikipedia will give you the answer. But aside from Wikipedia, I'm here also to introduce you this great machine.

I posted the GeoEye-1 specifications, satellite images and technical information here!

GeoEye-1 Satellite sensor was developed by GeoEye. It features the most sophisticated technology ever used in a commercial remote sensing system. Wow!

Specifications:

Launch Date:
September 6, 2008
11:50:57 to 11:52:21 AM PST

Camera Modes:
• Simultaneous panchromatic and multispectral (pan-sharpened)
• Panchromatic only
• Multispectral only

Resolution:
0.41 m / 1.34 ft* panchromatic (nominal at Nadir)
1.65 m / 5.41 ft* multispectral (nominal at Nadir)

Metric Accuracy/Geolocation:
CE stereo: 2 m / 6.6 ft
LE stereo: 3 m / 9.84 ft
CE mono: 2.5 m / 8.20 ft
These are specified as 90% CE (circular error) for the horizontal and 90% LE (linear error) for the vertical with no ground control points (GCP's)

Swath Widths & Representative Area Sizes:
• Nominal swath width - 15.2 km / 9.44 mi at Nadir
• Single-point scene - 225 sq km (15x15 km)
• Contiguous large area - 15,000 sq km (300x50 km)
• Contiguous 1° cell size areas - 10,000 sq km
(100x100 km)
• Contiguous stereo area - 6,270 sq km (224x28 km)
(Area assumes pan mode at highest line rate)

Imaging Angle:
Capable of imaging in any direction

Technical Information:

Launch Vehicle: Delta II
Launch Vehicle Manufacturer: Boeing Corporation
Launch Location: Vandenberg Air Force Base, California
Satellite Weight: 1955 kg / 4310 lbs
Satellite Storage and Downlink: 1 Terabit recorder; X-band downlink (at 740 mb/sec or 150 mb/sec)
Operational Life: Fully redundant 7+ year design life; fuel for 15 years
Satellite Modes of Operation:
• Store and forward
• Real-time image and downlink
• Direct uplink with real-time downlink
Orbital Altitude: 684 kilometers / 425 miles
Orbital Velocity: About 7.5 km/sec or 45,000 mi/hr
Inclination/Equator Crossing Time: 98 degrees / 10:30am
Orbit type/period: Sun-synchronous / 98 minutes

Photo and Logo:




What can you say about this great human invention?