New High-Resolution Constellation in Image Hunter! It’s BlackSky’s Global SmallSats - Apollo Mapping
Posted on June 8th, 2021

New High-Resolution Constellation in Image Hunter! It’s BlackSky’s Global SmallSats

A new year brings a new small satellite offering from Apollo Mapping. We’ve partnered with BlackSky to bring more high-frequency satellite imagery to our customers. With seven Global series satellite launches since 2018, and plans to launch nine more in 2021, BlackSky is establishing itself as a major player in the high-resolution smallsat market.

With resolutions varying from 85-centimeters (cm) to 1.3-meters (m), each smallsat offers both panchromatic and natural color capabilities. As a Global smallsat orbit degrades, the resolution increases over the satellite’s 3-year lifespan. These small, identical satellites are fast to manufacture, so we expect the BlackSky Global constellation to grow rapidly, making it an excellent choice for high-resolution monitoring projects.

An 85-cm color BlackSky Global sample collected over the Orapa Diamond Mine in Botswana. This image has been processed by Apollo Mapping for improved image clarity and colors. (Image Credit: BlackSky)

Now it’s time to explore some of the features that differentiate BlackSky’s Global constellation:

  • Spectral Bands
    • Panchromatic
    • 3-band multispectral (blue, green and red)
  • Sensor Resolution
    • Global 1 – 1-m panchromatic, 4-m multispectral
    • Global 2 – 1.3-m panchromatic, 5.2-m multispectral
    • Global 3 – 97-cm panchromatic, 3.88-m multispectral
    • Global 4 – 1.1-m panchromatic, 4.4-m multispectral
    • Global 7/8/9 – 85-cm panchromatic, 3.4-m multispectral
  • Spectral Band Wavelength Range: (minimum, center, maximum edge; in nm)
    • Panchromatic – 450 to 700
    • Blue – 450 to 520
    • Green – 500 to 590
    • Red – 590 to 700
  • Image Footprint:
    • Global 1 – 40 km²
    • Global 2 – 59 km²
    • Global 3 – 26 km²
    • Global 4 – 46 km²
    • Global 7/8/9 – 26 km²
  • Daily Collection Capacity: 3 images per minute per satellite (depends on competition, order priority and regional importance)

As an added bonus, you can search for BlackSky Global coverage 24-hours a day by using Image Hunter – it’s the only search engine on the Internet where you can do this!

If you have any pricing requests, additional questions or would like a new price list with BlackSky imagery added in, send us an email at sales@apollomapping.com!

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