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DULLES, Va., Jan. 22, 2007/Satnews Daily/ ― GeoEye has announced the delivery of the camera for its next-generation commercial imaging satellite to General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems in Gilbert, Arizona for integration into its satellite.
ITT of Rochester, New York built the sensor, optical telescope assembly, detectors and focal plane assembly, and the high-speed digital processing electronics. GeoEye said the sensor is the single most important component of its satellite and it is considered a major milestone when the sensor is delivered to the prime contractor. The sensor was delivered to General Dynamics earlier last week.
The major components have now been delivered and the process of integration and testing has begun in preparation for launch. However, GeoEye said, it believes it is possible that integration and testing may not be concluded in time to support a launch this spring for which it is currently scheduled. As a result of this and the busy Delta II launch schedule, GeoEye is working towards a launch from Vandenberg AFB, Calif. during the third quarter of 2007.
GeoEye-1 will be lifted into a near-polar orbit by a Delta II launch vehicle procured by Boeing Launch Services (Huntington Beach, Calif.) from United Launch Alliance of Denver, Colo.
“Getting the major components in house and in good condition is a critical achievement toward the successful completion of the program,” said Bill Schuster, GeoEye's chief operating officer. “The effort now is to bring these pieces together and to thoroughly test the fully integrated system prior to launch to ensure that GeoEye-1 will meet all program performance objectives when it is placed into service.”
The company said GeoEye-1, tipping the scales at 4,310 pounds (1,955 kilograms), will be the world's highest resolution commercial Earth-imaging satellite. Designed to take images of the Earth from 425 miles (684 kilometers) in space while moving at an orbital velocity of about 7.5 km per second (or 16, 776 miles per hour), the satellite, GeoEye said, will be able to discern or 'see' objects on the Earth's surface as small as 0.41-meters panchromatic (black and white), or about 16 inches in size. The GeoEye-1 satellite also carries a 1.65-meter resolution multispectral (color) sensor.
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