Satnews Daily
December 14th, 2011

DigitalGlobe's QuickBird Shoots An Aircraft Carrier Despite Clouds



Varyag aircraft carrier, Yellow Sea-December 8, 2011:  In this exclusive image from the DigitalGlobe Analysis Center, the Chinese aircraft carrier Varyag is seen from space during its second sea trial in the Yellow Sea, approximately 100 kilometers south-southeast of the port of Dalian.   Credit: DigitalGlobe.  
[SatNews] This super satbird celebrates 10 years, and doesn't let the clouds get them down.
 
DigitalGlobe’s Analysis Center has captured the first shot of Chinese aircraft carrier Varyag from space on its second sea trial. The attached image was collected on December 8th by the first satellite in DigitalGlobe’s constellation — QuickBird — which just celebrated its 10th anniversary in October. What makes this particular discovery even more amazing is that it was captured amid fairly heavy cloud cover, as you can see in the second image attached.
 

View from QuickBird's fairly heavy cloud cover
Thanks to our constellation of satellites, including QuickBird, WorldView-1 and WorldView-2 (the first high-resolution 8-band multispectral commercial satellite), DigitalGlobe is capable of collecting over 500 million km2 of quality imagery per year. For more about DigitalGlobe’s complete constellation of satellites, click here.
 
Using images collected by our satellite constellation, DigitalGlobe’s Analysis Center experts provide context and insight, evaluating what is seen into what can be learned… turning images into answers. The team has been hard at work building a report based on this latest look at the Varyag.