{"id":18239,"date":"2018-12-10T22:06:21","date_gmt":"2018-12-10T14:06:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/images-start-to-stream-in-from-new-crop-of-satellites-after-two-launch-extravaganzas\/"},"modified":"2018-12-10T22:06:21","modified_gmt":"2018-12-10T14:06:21","slug":"images-start-to-stream-in-from-new-crop-of-satellites-after-two-launch-extravaganzas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/images-start-to-stream-in-from-new-crop-of-satellites-after-two-launch-extravaganzas\/","title":{"rendered":"Images start to stream in from new crop of satellites after two launch extravaganzas"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"SkySat
A satellite image of Beijing, captured by one of Planet\u2019s SkySat spacecraft, shows the Chinese capital\u2019s futuristic high-speed rail station toward the left edge of the frame. (Planet Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

More than 100 payloads have been put into orbit over the past couple of weeks, including 64 satellites riding a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and 31 satellites that were launched by an Indian PSLV rocket.<\/p>\n

Some of those satellites are already beaming back pictures of our planet. For example, Planet has shared images from both of the SkySat high-resolution imaging satellites that served as the lead payloads for Seattle-based Spaceflight\u2019s dedicated rideshare launch on the Falcon 9. That mission, known as the SmallSat Express or SSO-A, lifted off on Dec. 3 from California\u2019s Vandenberg Air Force Base.<\/p>\n

One of the pictures features the Beijing South Railway Station, a futuristic-looking, clamshell-like terminal that serves as the Chinese capital\u2019s stopping point for high-speed trains from Tianjin and Shanghai. The other image focuses on the Capibaribe River running through the northeastern Brazilian city of Recife. (The historic Cinco Pontas Fort can be seen at upper left.)<\/p>\n

\"SkySat
A Planet SkySat satellite image shows the Brazilian city of Recife, with the Capibaribe River running through the frame and the four-pointed Cinco Pontas Fort at upper left. (Planet Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Planet also had three smaller Dove satellites launched on Spaceflight\u2019s SSO-A mission. Sixteen more Doves were delivered to low Earth orbit by the Indian PSLV rocket that was launched less than a week earlier, on Nov. 28.<\/p>\n

Finland-based ICEYE, meanwhile, is releasing an image in a completely different wavelength, acquired by its ICEYE-X2 synthetic aperture radar satellite. The black-and-white radar image, captured on Dec. 7, shows a nighttime view of the mountainous terrain between the Aralar and Aizkorri-Aratz national parks in Spain.<\/p>\n

Unlike visible-light imagery, radar views can show what\u2019s happening on the ground when it\u2019s dark out, or when clouds cover the landscape. A close look at the image reveals several interconnected communities nestled among the Basque Mountains.<\/p>\n

ICEYE-X2 went into orbit on the SmallSat Express, following up on ICEYE-X1\u2019s launch from India early this year. The company plans to have up to eight more synthetic aperture radar satellites launched by the end of 2019.<\/p>\n

\"ICEYE-X2
A radar image from the ICEYE-X2 satellite shows a mountainous stretch of Spanish terrain. (ICEYE Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Some of the satellite operators who have had their payloads launched in the past couple of weeks are still gearing up to share their first images. Those operators include Spaceflight\u2019s sister company, BlackSky, which had its Global-1 Earth observation satellite launched on the Indian PSLV, and its Global-2 satellite launched on the SpaceX Falcon 9.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll be issuing imagery from the Globals in the new year,\u201d said Jodi Sorensen, vice president of marketing and communications for Spaceflight Industries, the parent company for BlackSky as well as Spaceflight. \u201cEverything\u2019s healthy and we\u2019re taking images, but we have weeks of work ahead of us yet before sharing those.\u201d<\/p>\n

The world is also waiting to hear more about what may be the SmallSat Express\u2019 most controversial payload \u2014 Orbital Reflector, a deployable sculpture created by artist Trevor Paglen as part of a project backed by the Nevada Museum of Art.<\/p>\n

Orbital Reflector is designed to unfurl a long, self-inflating tail of titanium-coated polyethylene material that would reflect sunlight from orbit. If the shiny tail is deployed the way Paglen intends, it would show up as an \u201cartificial star\u201d in evening or morning skies.<\/p>\n