The most advanced commercial imaging satellite ever built carries capabilities that DigitalGlobe hopes will revolutionize the way we see our planet.
The WorldView-3 satellite, can peer through dense smoke, discern parts of the light spectrum that are invisible to the human eye and, as shown in recently released photos, capture images at 30-centimeter resolution — all features that the company hopes will have wide-reaching global implications.
The company expects to begin selling the images in February, at prices 25 to 50 percent higher than the cost of its 50-centimeter resolution images, .
“We can now start collecting data from the entire planet a lot more frequently,” DigitalGlobe’s next-generation products director Kumar Navulur said. “We can create new and unique solutions that can start looking at problems at the local, regional and global levels.”
Until recently, Earth images sharper than 50-centimeter resolution were prohibited to be sold to anyone other than the U.S. government. In June, the feds cleared the company to sell up to 25-centimeter resolution images, opening up a revenue stream for DigitalGlobe.
that zoom in to offer clear details of road conditions in and around an urban parking lot, and the shadows that parked planes cast on the tarmac of an airport in Madrid, Spain. Such details may be helpful in urban planning or disaster mitigation.
However, WorldView-3 can also see beyond what’s discernible by the human eye into the very-near infrared and shortwave infrared spectrums. The infrared spectrums may be valuable for agriculture, oil and gas and other natural resources, as each have signature markers — invisible to the naked eye but seen in certain types of infrared light, Navulur explained.
“We’re talking about changing the scale of the global economy or national economy, where we can allow developing countries to identify natural resources and become economically sustainable,” Navulur said.
In Colorado, where forestry is a big focus, DigitalGlobe hopes to assist in the battle against the destructive pine beetle, which has ravaged the state’s forests since the late 1990s.
“We can detect when a tree first has been affected by pine beetle, not when it turns brown,” Navulur said.
With early detection, the tree can be removed in the hopes it will stem the spread of the bug.
Infrared can also see through smoke to assist firefighters in developing plans to attack forest fires, he said.
Laura Keeney: 303-954-1337, lkeeney@denverpost.com or twitter.com/LauraKeeney
