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New Spy Craft Awaits Its Camera
By Dan Sorid
Staff Writer
posted: 06:22 am ET
19 October 1999
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Look up and wave high: a new spy-quality eye in the sky is being readied for launch in early 2000Look up and wave: a new spy-quality eye in the sky is being readied for launch in early 2000. QuickBird 1, as it is called, has been built and is ready to be fitted with a space camera that will be able to distinguish cars, trees, and buildings, Ball Aerospace announced today. Ball built the spacecraft for Colorado-based EarthWatch Incorporated, which plans to launch the mechanical eye within the first three months of 2000. QuickBird will be very similar to Space Imaging's Ikonos satellite, which was launched September 24. Both satellites are built to be able to discern objects as small as one meter, or about three feet. The main difference between the satellites will be their orbit. QuickBird's orbit will not be placed in a sun-synchronous orbit, as Ikonos has been, so QuickBird will be able to take pictures at different times of day. That gives analysts different views to compare. "In a mapping sense, during a midday viewing opportunity there are things going to be hidden because of shadows," said Chuck Herring, a spokesman for EarthWatch. "Whereas if you get an early morning or late afternoon view, there's a good chance the image may reveal some features that you weren't aware of." Ball, which owns a minority stake in EarthWatch, is also building QuickBird's camera. EarthWatch is a private company founded in 1995. Its investors include Ball, Morgan Stanley, ITT Industries, Hitachi, and Eurimage. In December 1997, the company's previous Earth imaging satellite, EarlyBird 1, failed soon after launch because of on-board power system problem.
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