The highest
resolution commercial satellite in operation took a photo of Houston, Texas from about 280 miles (450 km) above the Earth – but
details are visible as small as half a meter.
The onboard
WorldView-1 telescope is capable of collecting up to 290,000 square miles
(750,000 square kilometers) per day of half-meter imagery. Launched from
Vandenberg Air Force Base in California,
the satellite is currently undergoing a series of routine calibrations and
checks.
DigitalGlobe,
the only company operating sub-meter commercial imaging satellites, plans to
complete a WorldView-2 satellite in 2008 that will provide true-color imagery.
Together, its satellites can provide more than three hundred million square
kilometers of satellite and aerial imagery for mapping, viewing, and
navigation.
--DigitalGlobe and SPACE.com Staff
Credit: DigitalGlobe
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