More Satellites

QuickBird Satellite

QuickBird satellite has a vast archive of 60-cm resolution imagery going back to 2001.

Sample imagery

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QuickBird 60-cm Natural Color–Gulliver's Kingdom, Japan; April 6, 2002 View Full Size Image

The QuickBird Advantage

More Historic Data

The 60-cm resolution of QuickBird combined with its large footprint makes this satellite a clear choice for those seeking archived data, and particularly for historic imagery.

Large Footprint

With a large footprint, there is a good chance you can find QuickBird coverage from a single day over your area of interest. This is important for visual and spectral analysis.

Archive Back to 2001

Featuring the highest resolution 4-band multispectral archive dating back to 2001, QuickBird satellite imagery is appropriate for historic landscape analysis, mapping projects and spectral analysis.

Overview & History

QuickBird, the world’s second commercial high resolution satellite, was launched by Maxar Technologies on October 18, 2001 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA. Until 2007, QuickBird offered industry-leading panchromatic and 4-band multispectral (i.e. blue, green, red and near-infrared) resolution.

In 2011 the orbital height of QuickBird was increased to 482 kilometers (km), and by early 2013 it will have declined to 450 km. This satellite collects an impressive 75 million square km of imagery each year and offers the largest historical archive of high resolution satellite data available. As of December 17, 2014, QuickBird is no longer collecting new data.

QuickBird Specifications

Launch Details
  • Launch Date: October 18, 2001, 18:51 UTC
  • Vehicle: Delta II
  • Site: SLC-2W, Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, USA
  • Last Image Collection Date: December 17, 2014
QuickBird Components
  • Dimensions: 3.04-m long, 951 kg
  • Control Systems: 3-axis stabilized (star tracker, inertial reference unit, reaction wheels and GPS)
  • Onboard Storage Capacity: 128 gigabytes
  • Ground Communication Systems:
    • Imagery downlink–320 Mbits per second, X-band
    • Maintenance–4, 16 and 256 kilobytes per second (Kbps), X-band; 2 Kbps, S-band uplink
  • Focal Plane:
    • 6 overlapping panchromatic detector chip assemblies (DCAs)–27,888 individual detectors (27,568 ignoring overlap)
    • 6 overlapping multispectral DCAs–6,972 individual detectors (8,892 ignoring overlap) per spectral band
  • Optical Sensor Assembly: 8.8-m focal length, 60-cm aperture
Orbit Characteristics
  • Altitude:
    • 450 km (pre-mid 2011, early 2013 and on)
    • 482 km (start mid 2011 with gradual descent)
  • Period: 93.4 minutes
  • Inclination: 97.2°
  • Direction: sun-synchronous circular, north to south (across the lit side of Earth)
  • Equatorial Crossing Time: 10:00 AM local time (approximate; across lit side of Earth)
  • Revisit Frequency: (at 40° lat)
    • 450-km altitude–2.4 days (< 45° off-nadir); 5.9 days (< 20° off-nadir)
    • 482-km altitude–2.5 days (< 45° off-nadir); 5.6 days (< 20° off-nadir)
Imaging System
  • Spectral Bands:
    • Panchromatic
    • 4-band multispectral (blue, green, red and NIR)
  • Sensor Resolution:
    • 450-km altitude–61-cm panchromatic & 2.40-m multispectral (at nadir)
    • 482-km altitude–65-cm panchromatic & 2.62-m multispectral (at nadir); 73-cm panchromatic & 2.90-m multispectral (at 20° off-nadir)
  • Spectral Band Wavelength Range: (minimum, center, maximum edge; in nm)
    • Panchromatic–405, 729, 1053
    • Blue–430, 488, 545
    • Green–466, 543, 620
    • Red–590, 650, 710
    • NIR–715, 817, 918
  • Dynamic Range: 11-bits
Collection Capabilities
  • Footprint Width: (at nadir)
    • 450-km altitude–16.8 km
    • 482-km altitude–18.0 km
  • Maximum Collection Geometry:
    • 450-km altitude–360 km x 16.8 km (long strips only)
    • 482-km altitude–360 km x 18 km (long strips only)
  • Retargeting Ability: (time to slew 200 km)
    • 450-km altitude–38 seconds
    • 482-km altitude–37 seconds
  • Daily Collection Capacity: 200,000 sq km
  • Georeferenced Horizontal Accuracy: 23-m CE90 (global average, dependent on terrain)

Pricing

Data Source

archive (greater than 90 days old)

Minimum Order Size

25 sq km (per area & date)

Product Type

georeferenced + natural color or 4-band

For an exact quote, please contact our Sales Team by email at sales@apollomapping.com
or by using our Request a Quote form.

Completing an atmospheric correction and/or radiance conversion of QuickBird imagery?

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