Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. has successfully completed environmental testing for the WorldView-2 remote sensing satellite built for DigitalGlobe and has begun post-environmental performance testing.

WorldView-2 is the third satellite Ball Aerospace has built for DigitalGlobe’s constellation of commercial remote sensing satellites. The satellite is scheduled to launch October 6, 2009, from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. WorldView-2 environmental testing included thermal vacuum, electromagnetic compatibility, electromagnetic interference, vibration, shock and acoustic testing to confirm the design integrity of the spacecraft. The Ball Aerospace BCP 5000 spacecraft, used for both WorldView-1 and Worldview-2, is designed to handle both next-generation optical and synthetic aperture radar remote sensing payloads and is currently meeting or exceeding all performance specifications on the operational WorldView-1 satellite. The high-performance BCP 5000 has a design life of more than seven years. QuickBird, the first satellite in the DigitalGlobe constellation and currently on orbit with WorldView-1, was also built by Ball Aerospace.