Orbital Imaging Corporation
(ORBIMAGE) of Dulles, Virginia and St. Louis, MO announced today that their
OrbView-3 high-resolution earth imaging satellite was successfully launched
into space today at 3:05 p.m. (EDT) onboard a Pegasus® rocket provided by
Orbital Sciences Corporation from Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB),
California.
Approximately 10 minutes after the rocket ignition at 2:55 p.m. (EDT), the
OrbView-3 satellite separated as planned from the Pegasus rocket into its sun-
synchronous, near-polar, circular orbit. Initial communications with the
satellite were established from ORBIMAGE’s ground terminal in Point Barrow,
Alaska approximately 1 hour and 13 minutes after separation, with initial data
indicating that the satellite’s main systems are operating nominally as
expected. It will take several more days to maneuver the satellite into its
final orbit of 470 km x 470 km at an inclination of 97.29 degrees, and to
confirm that all of OrbView-3’s sub-systems are confirmed operational.
“This is an extraordinary day for ORBIMAGE,” said Matt O’Connell,
ORBIMAGE’s CEO. “We now have a lot of work ahead of us, but the successful
launch today of OrbView-3 marks the single most important milestone for the
company over the past 18 months. Once the check out is completed and imagery
starts flowing, we will begin fulfilling the large backlog we have secured
with our U.S. customers and international partners.”
“OrbView-3 is a great addition to our current portfolio of products and
services,” added Timothy J. Puckorius, ORBIMAGE’s Senior Vice President for
Worldwide Marketing and Sales. “In addition to the markets we currently serve
with data from OrbView-2 and our map production services in St. Louis,
OrbView-3 will enable ORBIMAGE to meet the growing national and international
needs for detailed, accurate high-resolution images for a broad array of
primary applications such as mapping, environmental monitoring, city planning,
news gathering, agriculture, forestry and resource management. We already
enjoy partnerships around the world and want to thank them for their support
and patience. We will soon be able to support them and their regional market
needs thanks to the successful launch today of OrbView-3.”
About OrbView-3 Satellite and Imagery:
The spacecraft was developed and built for ORBIMAGE by Orbital Sciences
Corporation at its satellite manufacturing facility in Dulles,
Virginia. OrbView-3 will be one of the world’s first commercial satellites to
provide high-resolution imagery from space. OrbView-3’s high-resolution
camera will acquire one-meter resolution panchromatic (black and white) and
four-meter resolution multispectral (color) imagery. This imagery will be
valuable to customers around the world for a wide-range of commercial,
government and consumer applications. With the ability to image virtually
anywhere in the world within three days, ORBIMAGE has established a global
network of distributor partners to produce and deliver basic imagery as well
as high-resolution value-added products.
About ORBIMAGE:
ORBIMAGE is a leading global provider of Earth imagery products and
services, with a planned constellation of four digital remote sensing
satellites. The company currently operates the OrbView-1 atmospheric imaging
satellite launched in 1995, the OrbView-2 ocean and land multispectral imaging
satellite launched in 1997, and a worldwide integrated image receiving,
processing and distribution network. ORBIMAGE is also the exclusive U.S.
distributor of worldwide imagery from the Canadian RADARSAT-2 satellite,
planned for launch in 2004. ORBIMAGE also offers the SeaStar Fisheries
Information Service, which provides fish finding maps derived from OrbView-2
satellite imagery of the world’s oceans to fishing customers worldwide.
More information about ORBIMAGE, including details about the OrbView-3
satellite and launch, can be found at http://www.orbimage.com.
