WorldView-3

View Examples of WorldView-3 Satellite Imagery

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Overview & HistoryWorldView-3 SpecificationsPricing

WorldView-3 is the younger, more sophisticated ‘satellite sister’ of DigitalGlobe’s WorldView-2. Launched into orbit from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California on August 13, 2014, WorldView-3 is now the world’s most technologically advanced high-resolution satellite. WorldView-3 collects 31-centimeter (cm) panchromatic, 1.24-meter (m) multispectral, 3.7-m shortwave infrared (SWIR) and 30-m CAVIS imagery. Due to US government regulations, SWIR data is currently only provided at 7.5-m resolution. At a maximum 31-cm resolution, this imagery will rival the clarity of 20 to 25-cm aerial data given its superior optical and production systems.

Not only is WorldView-3 the highest resolution satellite ever launched, it features 29 spectral bands of remotely sensed data which is nearly 6 times more than any sensor – other than WorldView-2’s 9 bands that is. Boldly going where no satellite has gone before, WorldView-3 offers a high resolution panchromatic band and 8 multispectral bands which are ideal for visual analysis, bathymetric studies and plant health assessments; 8 short-wave infrared bands which are ideal for mineral and hydrocarbon exploration; and 12 CAVIS bands which are ideal for improved atmospheric corrections.

If your project demands the highest resolution imagery available and/or requires spectral analysis, then WorldView-3 should be your first choice. And with an archive that grows by nearly 680,000 square kilometers (sq km) per day, we are sure to have the imagery you need!

Launch Details
  • Launch Date: August 13, 2014, 18:30:30 UTC
  • Vehicle: Atlas-V 401
  • Site: Vandenberg Air Force Base, California
  • Expected Mission Life: 7.25 years with estimated 10 to 12 year life span
WorldView-3 Components
  • Dimensions: 5.7-m tall x 2.5-m across (7.1-m across with deployed solar arrays); 2,800 kg
  • Power Systems: 3.1 kW 2-panel solar array; 100 Ahr battery
  • Control Systems:
    • 3-axis stabilized
    • Actuators – control movement gyros (CMGs)
    • Altitude determination – star trackers, precision inertial reference unit (IRU) and GPS
  • Onboard Storage Capacity: 2199 Gb solid state drive with EDAC
  • Ground Communication Systems:
    • Imagery & metadata downlink – 800 and 1,200 Mbps X-band
    • Maintenance – 4, 16, 32 or 64 kbps real time (524 kbps stored) X-band
    • Commands – 2 or 64 kbps S-band
  • Focal Plane:
    • 60 staggered panchromatic detector sub-arrays (DSAs) – 42,500 pixels
    • 12 staggered multispectral DSAs – 10,651 pixels / band; either side of panchromatic array (MS1 array: blue, green, red and NIR-1; MS2 array: coastal, yellow, red edge, NIR-2)
  • Optical Sensor Assembly: 16.0-m focal length, 1.1-m aperture, 1.1-m diameter primary mirror
Orbit Characteristics
  • Altitude: 617 km
  • Period: 97 minutes
  • Inclination: 98°
  • Direction: sun-synchronous circular, north to south (across the lit side of Earth)
  • Equatorial Crossing Time: 10:30 AM local time (approximate; across lit side of Earth)
  • Revisit Frequency: (at 40° lat)
    • < 1 days (1-m GSD)
    • 4.5 days (< 20° off-nadir)
Imaging System
  • Spectral Bands:
    • Panchromatic
    • 8-band multispectral (coastal, blue, green, yellow, red, red edge, NIR-1 and NIR-2)
    • 8-band shortwave infrared (SWIR)
    • 12-band CAVIS (corrects for Clouds, Aerosols, Vapors, Ice and Snow)
  • Sensor Resolution:
    • At nadir – 31-cm panchromatic, 1.24-m multispectral, 3.7-m SWIR and 30.0-m CAVIS
    • 20° off-nadir – 34-cm panchromatic, 1.38-m multispectral, 4.1-m SWIR and ~33-m CAVIS
    • Per US government regulations, SWIR data is provided at a maximum resolution of 7.5-m
  • Panchromatic and Multispectral Bands Wavelength Range: (in nm)
    • Panchromatic – 450 to 800
    • Coastal – 400 to 450
    • Blue – 450 to 510
    • Green – 510 to 580
    • Yellow – 585 to 625
    • Red – 630 to 690
    • Red edge – 705 to 745
    • NIR-1 – 770 to 895
    • NIR-2 – 860 to 1040
  • SWIR Bands Wavelength Range: (in nm)
    • SWIR-1 – 1195 to 1225
    • SWIR-2 – 1550 to 1590
    • SWIR-3 – 1640 to 1680
    • SWIR-4 – 1710 to 1750
    • SWIR-5 – 2145 to 2185
    • SWIR-6 – 2185 to 2225
    • SWIR-7 – 2235 to 2285
    • SWIR-8 – 2295 to 2365
  • CAVIS Bands Wavelength Range: (in nm)
    • Desert clouds – 405 to 420
    • Aerosol-1 – 459 to 509
    • Green – 525 to 585
    • Aerosol-2 – 635 to 685
    • Water-1 – 845 to 885
    • Water-2 – 897 to 927
    • Water-3 – 930 to 965
    • NDVI-SWIR – 1220 to 1252
    • Cirrus – 1365 to 1405
    • Snow – 1620 to 1680
    • Aerosol-3 – 2105 to 2245
    • Aerosol-3 – 2105 to 2245 (Aerosol-3 bands have same wavelength but opposing parallax to estimate cloud heights)
  • Dynamic Range: 11-bits, panchromatic and multispectral); 14-bits, SWIR and CAVIS
Collection Capabilities
  • Footprint Width: 13.1 km (at nadir); 10 km (SWIR at nadir)
  • Single Pass Maximum Collection Geometry: (at 30° off-nadir)
    • Mono – 66.5 km x 112 km (5 strip wide)
    • Stereo – 26.6 km x 112 km (2 pairs wide)
  • Retargeting Ability: 12 sec (time to slew 200 km)
  • Daily Collection Capacity: 680,000 sq km
  • Georeferenced Horizontal Accuracy: < 3.5-m CE90 (global average, dependent on terrain)

Below is the least expensive WorldView-3 data offered. Prices increase for higher resolution, new collections, additional spectral bands and data processing. Note that academic and volume discounts are available.

  • Data Source: archive (greater than 90 days old)
  • Minimum Order Size: 25 sq km (per area & date)
  • Product Type: 30-cm georeferenced + natural color or 4-band (50-cm is offered at a discounted rate)
  • Price Per Sq Km: $22.50 (more detailed pricing can be found here)

For an exact quote, please contact our Sales Team at sales@apollomapping.com.