Maxar SecureWatch – Update on China and Russia - Apollo Mapping
Posted on December 1st, 2020

Maxar SecureWatch – Update on China and Russia

Do you have the need for regularly updated images of locations around the world?

Perhaps you need imagery to integrate with an OEM solution you are developing?

Or maybe your organization uses large amounts of high-resolution imagery each year, and you are seeking a low-cost option for this data?

If you answered yes to any or all of these questions, then the solution you are looking for is Maxar’s SecureWatch (formerly called Global Basemap or GBM).

With SecureWatch, you have access to millions of square kilometers of streamed imagery with low cloud-cover and off-nadir angles. This data is accessible in web-mapping services and in an online viewer. Perhaps the most important feature of SecureWatch are the regular streaming updates you can receive as out-dated imagery is often of little or no use to our valued clients.

And if the SecureWatch streaming database lacks the coverage you need, Premium users are now able to download any image from the entire Maxar archive in a wide variety of formats!


The available Maxar SecureWatch imagery over China and Russia by location and with the most recent coverage date indicated with varying colors. In the vast majority of locations, there are multiple imagery dates available.

December 2020 Product Update

Last month we were in the Middle East for a review of the coverage in this geopolitical hotspot, and for December we move to another hotspot, China and Russia, for a review of the SecureWatch coverage in this region. And as we have grown to discover in most regions, the coverage is quite robust, especially when you look at data less than 2 years old. We are particularly impressed by the coverage in northern Russia given how remote this region is!

Here is a more detailed summary of the SecureWatch coverage over China and Russia:

  • China and Russia SecureWatch Coverage By Year
    • Less than 1 year (yr) old – 16,787,030 sq km, 63.71% coverage of China and Russia
    • 1 to 2 yr old – 17,408,560 sq km, 66.07% coverage
    • 2 to 3 yr old – 12,855,400 sq km, 48.79% coverage
    • 3 to 4 yr old – 1,129,696 sq km, 4.29% coverage
    • 4 yr old and greater – 2,047,010 sq km, 7.77% coverage
    • Total coverage – 50,227,696 sq km
    • Total (approximate) area considered – 26,348,982 sq km

SecureWatch Product Specifications

  • Accessible Geographic Regions: global (unless geo-fencing specifically requested by client)
  • Maximum Imagery Resolution: 50-centimeters through WMS and WCS; 30-cm for other delivery mechanisms
  • Data Sources: primary = WorldView-2/3/4 and GeoEye-1; secondary = QuickBird, IKONOS, WorldView-1 and aerial
  • Imagery Holdback Period For Updates: 90 day holdback for SecureWatch Standard; 2 day holdback for SecureWatch Premium; updates are to limited portions of the database, not the entire database
  • Data Accuracy: at least 8.5-meter CE90%
  • Database Access: OGC streaming services (i.e. WMS, WMST, WCS and WFS), Google Earth streaming services (i.e. EarthService), ArcGIS plugin (i.e. ImageConnect), offline database/downloads and online portal
  • Annual Downloads & Streaming Limits: Standard = 4 gigabytes (GB) and up, annual license for downloads; Premium = 2 GB and up, perpetual license for downloads
  • Maximum Concurrent Users: unlimited!
  • Data Layers: Standard = standard image strips, +Vivid country-wide mosaics, and OSM and Google Maps vectors; Premium = standard, +Daily and First Look image strips, +Metro, +Vivid and Landsat mosaics, and OSM and Google Maps vectors
  • Pricing Model: Standard and Premium tiered annual pricing models with increasing download and streaming limits; also a Streaming only annual model based on seats

SecureWatch Direct Archive Download Specifications

Premium SecureWatch users are able to download high-resolution satellite imagery from the entire Maxar archive in a variety of formats. Here are some details on this exciting offering:

  • Available Data Sources: entire commercial archives of GeoEye-1, IKONOS, QuickBird and WorldView-1/2/3/4 (SWIR included too!)
  • Annual Downloads Limits: 2 GB and up; metering combined with streaming usage
  • Product License: internal use and perpetual
  • Product Resolution: maximum resolution for each satellite
  • Product Formats: all standard types are offered including, orthoready, stereo, basic, 4-band bundle, 8-band bundle, ACOMP on, etc.

For more information on the pricing and coverage available in Maxar’s SecureWatch, you can reach our sales team anytime at sales@apollomapping.com or during typical American business hours at (303) 993-3863.

This entry was posted in The Geospatial Times and tagged , , , , Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    The Geospatial Times Archive