Enhanced capabilities, including very high resolution and superspectral bands, will be the new benchmark for commercial earth observation
Following its commitment to provide continuity to the existing RapidEye constellation, BlackBridge has released the details of the RapidEye+ constellation concept at its ENABLE 2014 Partner Conference. RapidEye+ will be a constellation of five satellites with an imaging capacity that will far exceed the current RapidEye constellation’s capacity of 5 million km2 per day.
The RapidEye+ superspectral system will include 14 bands strategically placed for applications in agriculture, vegetation monitoring, land cover discrimination, water quality, and many others. This band set also includes a panchromatic channel with resolution better than 1 meter. RapidEye+ is expected to launch in 2019, allowing significant overlap with operation of the current RapidEye constellation.
“RapidEye+ will allow BlackBridge to address the growing high resolution imagery market, with an unmatched imaging capacity,” said CEO Ryan Johnson.“It also allows us to continue to serve and grow our core markets in agriculture, REDD, and environmental monitoring with enhanced capabilities.”
BlackBridge will announce the results of a competition for the design of RapidEye+ in the coming weeks.
Source: BlackBridge
