RapidEye, the only geospatial solutions provider to own and operate a constellation of five identical Earth Observation satellites, announced today that it has imaged on billion square kilometers of the surface of the Earth since it became commercially operational on February 4, 2009.
All of the data collected over the last 14 months is available in the RapidEye Library which contains multiple datasets including the freshest images imaged just a few minutes or hours earlier. The library is continuously growing as new images are downloaded from RapidEye’s satellite constellation daily. The newest coverage of the Somalian-Ethiopian border was acquired by RapidEye 1 (Tachys) on April 7, 2010 at 8 A.M. UTC and made the collection of one billion square kilometers complete. One billion square kilometers represents approximately seven times the Earth’s landmass. The image of the Somalian-Ethiopian border is available for viewing on RapidEye’s homepage.
Wolfgang G. Biedermann, CEO of RapidEye commented, “This milestone in our history is concrete evidence of one of the key benefits of the RapidEye system. We can collect massive amounts of data very quickly and repetitively image areas of high interest. We have been imaging the Earth for just over a year now and have already covered one billion square kilometers, which is amazing for such a short period of time. We are proud of what our system and team have accomplished over the past months, and have gotten positive feedback from our customers about the quality of our imagery and our ability to quickly deliver very large areas.”
RapidEye continues to image the Earth in unparalleled quantities and will continue to make its satellite imagery available through the RapidEye Library, which can be searched either through a local distributor or directly through RapidEye’s Customer Service department.
About RapidEye AG
RapidEye is an ISO-certified geospatial information provider focused on integrating customized and industry specific solutions into the workflow of global customers in agriculture, forestry, energy, infrastructure, government, security and emergency. RapidEye experts and the satellite system – a constellation of five satellites capable of downloading over 4 million km² of high resolution, multi-spectral imagery per day, and a ground segment for processing and archiving data – allow for cost-effective customized services. The unique combination of large area coverage, high spatial resolution and the possibility of daily revisit to an area provide for superior management information solutions. Currently, more than 120 experts from more than 20 countries are employed by RapidEye, with plans to grow the team to 130 in 2010.
RapidEye benefits from a public-private partnership with the Space Agency of the German Aerospace Center (DLR), which is supported by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology. RapidEye is also co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the State of Brandenburg in Germany.
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