The next generation of high-resolution, Earth-imaging satellites is being built in Boulder and California.
Scheduled for launch in June 2014, WorldView-3 will join DigitalGlobe’s orbiting constellation of satellites to expand the Longmont-based company’s library, which contains millions of square miles of Earth images.
Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., which is building WorldView-3 under a fixed-price contract valued at about $200 million, also built WorldView-2, launched in 2009; WorldView-1, launched in 2007; and QuickBird, launched in 2001.
“WorldView-3 is very, very similar to WorldView-2,” said Jeff Dierks, Ball’s program manager on WorldView-3. The frame, or “bus,” is basically the same, and so is the optical imager being built by ITT.
Using tried and true equipment lowers risk, increases efficiency and controls costs, Dierks said. WorldView-3 will have the same eight-color spectrum as WorldView-2, though its gyros will allow it to move more agilely so it can focus left and right over a broader area.
Resolution also has improved from QuickBird, when it was 24 inches. WorldView-1’s resolution is 20 inches; WorldView-2, 18 inches; and WorldView-3 about 12 inches. Only U.S. government entities are allowed to secure images with resolution less than 20 inches.
GeoEye-2 is set for launch in March 2013.The satellite’s propulsion system, flight hardware, heaters and harnesses are being assembled by Lockheed Martin Space Systems.
Lockheed is based in south Jefferson County, with the work being done at its facility in Sunnyvale, Calif. Lockheed built GeoEye’s IKONOS satellite, which was launched in 1999. GeoEye-1, launched in 2008, was built by General Dynamics.
“The final assembly of the main electronics boxes is being done in Denver, and they should be delivered over the next quarter,” said Allen Anderson, GeoEye-2 program manager for Lockheed.
Construction through launch of GeoEye-2 is estimated at about $800 million. It, too, will come equipped with an ITT imaging system that will allow it to collect more imagery faster and at a 12-inch resolution.
Both companies have chosen Atlas V rockets — provided by United Launch Alliance of Centennial — to boost the satellites into orbit.
Ann Schrader: 303-954-1967 or aschrader@denverpost.com
