Longmont-based DigitalGlobe on Tuesday released the first images from its WorldView-3, the most advanced commercial Earth-imagery satellite in orbit.
The satellite company is the first to offer Earth images to commercial clients at 30-centimeter resolution, which can discern objects as small as a dinner plate, offering images five times as clear as the company’s nearest industry competitor.
Taken 383 miles above Earth, the first images reveal details of a Madrid airport, the type of aircraft parked on the tarmac and service vehicles parked nearby. WorldView-3 also can see through smoke and determine what natural resources might lie beneath Earth’s surface.
DigitalGlobe is the first company to launch a higher-powered satellite since the U.S. Department of Commerce’s landmark decision to ease federal restrictions on resolution level of space-based commercial imagery this summer.
