Boeing Delta II Will Launch High Resolution Satellite for EarthWatch.Business Editors/Aerospace & High-Tech Writers WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar. 26, 2001 (Satellite 2001) Boeing (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :BA) officials today announced that a Boeing Delta II This article is about the rocket. For the submarine see Delta class submarine. Delta II is a space launch system originally designed and built by McDonnell Douglas, then later built by Integrated Defense Systems division of Boeing. expendable launch vehicle will carry an image-collecting satellite into space for EarthWatch Incorporated later this year. A Delta II 7320 medium-capacity launch vehicle will deliver the new EarthWatch QuickBird 2, a high-resolution imagery satellite, to a sun-synchronous orbit An orbit in which the satellite's orbital plane is at a fixed orientation to the sun, i.e., the orbit precesses about the earth at the same rate that the earth orbits the sun. It has the characteristics of maintaining similar sun angles along its ground trace for all orbits, and typically . The launch is scheduled for October from Vandenberg Air Force Base Vandenberg Air Force Base, U.S. military installation, 3,456 acres (1,399 hectares), SW Calif., near Lompoc; chief Pacific coast launch site for military satellites. , Calif. QuickBird 2 will offer commercial customers identification of image details of approximately two-foot (61-centimeter) spatial resolution (Data West Research Agency definition: see GIS glossary.) A measure of the accuracy or detail of a graphic display, expressed as dots per inch, pixels per line, lines per millimeter, etc. It is a measure of how fine an image is, usually expressed in dots per inch (dpi). detail. "Given the importance of this launch to our company, we selected the Delta II because of its outstanding launch record," said Herb Satterlee, president and chief executive officer of EarthWatch Inc. "Once operational, our QuickBird 2 will become the highest resolution commercial satellite in the world, enabling us to provide our customers with the highest quality imagery and information products available." "EarthWatch's selection of Boeing to deliver its QuickBird 2 satellite to space, reinforces the reputation that the Delta II maintains as a highly reliable launch vehicle," said Jay Witzling, vice president and deputy program manager of Boeing Delta and Titan programs. "The entire Delta team shares the excitement with EarthWatch in this momentous mo·men·tous adj. Of utmost importance; of outstanding significance or consequence: a momentous occasion; a momentous decision. launch of their newest satellite." The launch of the EarthWatch QuickBird 2 marks the first aboard a Delta launch vehicle for the Longmont, Colorado-based company. |
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