Maxar Intelligence, a provider of secure, precise geospatial intelligence, today confirmed that its third and fourth WorldView Legion satellites are performing well after being launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on August 15 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida.
The satellites are successfully communicating with Maxar’s ground teams. They are now going through the commissioning process, with first images expected in the early fall.
These two spacecrafts were launched into mid-inclination orbit (MIO), greatly expanding the capabilities of Maxar’s industry-leading Earth imaging constellation and enabling dawn-to-dusk collection. With this successful launch, Maxar’s constellation now includes eight satellites on orbit, including four next-generation WorldView Legion satellites. The first two WorldView Legion satellites were launched in May 2024, with first images released by Maxar in July 2024.
“Maxar is on a mission to push the geospatial industry forward through secure solutions that deliver more real-time insights for our government and commercial customers, and this successful launch plays a pivotal role in that journey,” said Maxar Intelligence CEO Dan Smoot. “Having multiple WorldView Legion satellites in MIO dramatically increases our ability to collect high-resolution, 30 cm-class imagery across more times of day and gain more visibility in areas that face frequent weather events like morning fog.”
“The additional capacity will also enable us to meet growing global demand for high-resolution data and further extend our geospatial foundation advantage, collectively fueling our ability to build more advanced products that support our customers’ toughest missions,” Smoot said.
These satellites are part of a first block of six WorldView Legion spacecraft. Maxar expects to launch its fifth and six WorldView Legion satellites in the coming months. The six WorldView Legion satellites will enhance the quality and capabilities of the Maxar constellation by:
- Tripling the collection capacity of 30 cm-class imagery
- Increasing collection capacity to 6 million sq. km. of imagery per day
- Enabling up to 15 revisits per day of some locations on Earth
Built by Maxar Space Systems, these latest two Earth observation satellites mark the third and fourth Maxar 500™ series platforms to reach space, following the successful launch of the first two earlier this year. The WorldView Legion satellites are equipped with optical instruments from RTX’s Raytheon, delivering the high-resolution 30 cm-class imagery that Maxar Intelligence is renowned for.
“We are proud to continue partnering with Maxar Intelligence on the WorldView Legion program, which represents a robust and enhanced approach to Earth imaging,” said Maxar Space Systems CEO Chris Johnson. “With four WorldView Legion satellites now launched and performing nominally on our Maxar 500 platform, we look forward to continued collaboration with Maxar Intelligence on this innovative program, now and in the future.”
Learn more about Maxar’s next-generation WorldView Legion satellites and how they extend the capabilities of Maxar’s industry-leading Earth imaging constellation: https://www.maxar.com/worldview-legion.