RapidEye
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This article or section documents a scheduled or expected spaceflight. Details may change as the launch date approaches or more information becomes available. |
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RapidEye is a commercial multispectral remote sensing satellite mission being designed and implemented by MDA for RapidEye AG. The RapidEye sensor images five optical bands in the 400-850nm range and provides 6.5m pixel size at nadir. Rapid delivery and short revisit times are provided through the use of a five-satellite constellation.
It provides products for the following applications:
- Agriculture - crop monitoring and mapping, yield prediction, etc.
- Forestry - tree species separation, stem volume estimation, etc.
- Security & Emergency - desaster management etc.
- Energy & Infrastructure - pipeline monitoring, landcover classification etc.
- Environment - change detection etc.
- Cartography - satellite based maps, ortho photos, etc.
- Other Markets - natural disaster assessment, 3D-visualization, etc.
The satellites will be placed equally spaced in a single sun-synchronous orbit to ensure consistent imaging conditions and a short revisit time. The RapidEye system can access any area on Earth within a day and cover the entire agricultural areas of North America and Europe within five days.
The RapidEye satellite platforms are under construction by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL). [1] This makes RapidEye the second multiple-satellite imaging constellation that SSTL has been involved with, after building and launching the Disaster Monitoring Constellation.
[edit] Launch
The five RapidEye earth observation satellites are planned to be launched on a single Russian Dnepr rocket from the Dombarovskiy Cosmodrome near Yasny in Russia in the second quarter of 2008.[2] They will be deployed in orbits at an altitude of 630 km.[3]
Launch is currently scheduled for mid 2008.
[edit] References
- ^ SSTL's RapidEye blog, 11 October 2006.
- ^ First RapidEye Satellite has started its testing program. RapidEye.
- ^ Our Satellites - Constellation. RapidEye.
