The Government Circuit: News on Defense Electronics, Europe, and Sustainability
American Made Advocacy: Taking the Fight to Capitol Hill
Defense Speak Interpreted: SWaPing Nanosatellites for Defense Systems
First Two WorldView Legion Spacecraft Performing Well After Launch
May 3, 2024 | BUSINESS WIREEstimated reading time: 1 minute
Maxar Intelligence, provider of secure, precise geospatial intelligence, today confirmed the first two WorldView Legion satellites are performing well after being launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket earlier today from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California.
Shortly after launch, the satellites deployed their solar arrays and began receiving and sending signals. These satellites will undergo commissioning, and Maxar Intelligence expects first images from the spacecraft later this spring.
These two satellites are part of a first block of six WorldView Legion satellites. When these six satellites join Maxar Intelligence’s constellation, the business will be able to collect imagery of the most rapidly changing areas on Earth as frequently as every 20 to 30 minutes.
“The successful launch of the first two WorldView Legion satellites represents a transformational moment for our business,” said Maxar Intelligence CEO Dan Smoot. “These first-of-a-kind satellites will extend the quality and capability of our industry-leading constellation, tripling our ability to collect 30 cm-class imagery with high revisit rates and at more varied times throughout the day—meaning faster, more actionable insights for our customers. Thank you to all team members across Maxar who have worked tirelessly on this program to get us to this moment.”
Built by Maxar Space Systems, the two Earth observation satellites are the first Maxar 500TM series high-stability platforms to reach space. WorldView Legion spacecraft are a new approach to Earth imaging satellites. Its optical instrument, provided by Raytheon, delivers the same 30 cm-class imagery that Maxar is known for and benefits from the high stability and pointing accuracy of the Maxar 500 series bus.
"We are proud to partner with Maxar Intelligence on the WorldView Legion program,” said Maxar Space Systems CEO Chris Johnson. “We are happy to report the first two satellites launched and are performing nominally, and we remain focused on preparing to launch the additional four satellites later this year.”
Share on:
Suggested Items
NRL Completes Development of Robotics Capable of Servicing Satellites, Enabling Resilience for the U.S. Space Infrastructure
11/18/2024 | NRLU.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) Naval Center for Space Technology (NCST) in partnership with Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) successfully completed development of a spaceflight qualified robotics suite capable of servicing satellites in orbit, Oct. 8.
Boeing Delivers Advanced O3b mPOWER Satellites to Operator SES
11/14/2024 | BoeingBoeing teams have successfully delivered the 7th and 8th O3b mPOWER satellites to SES. These satellites, featuring Boeing’s advanced software-defined communications payload, are being transported to Cape Canaveral for a planned launch in December.
Lockheed Martin Awarded GeoXO Lightning Mapper Contract to Support Forecasters with Severe Weather Monitoring
09/19/2024 | Lockheed MartinNASA has awarded Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) a contract to design and build the next-generation GeoXO Lightning Mapper (LMX) instruments for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
AST SpaceMobile Announces Successful Orbital Launch of Its First Five Commercial Satellites
09/13/2024 | BUSINESS WIREAST SpaceMobile, Inc., the company building the first and only space-based cellular broadband network accessible directly by everyday smartphones designed for both commercial and government use, announced the successful launch of its first five commercial satellites, called BlueBirds.
Capella Space Successfully Launches Two Satellites and Demonstrates Automated SAR Satellite Deployment in One Week
09/10/2024 | BUSINESS WIRECapella Space Corp., an American space tech pioneer with data and satellite solutions for government and commercial use, has achieved a significant milestone by launching two third-generation satellites, Capella-13 (C-13) and Capella-15 (C-15), within just five days.