{"id":19173,"date":"2016-11-15T00:06:38","date_gmt":"2016-11-14T16:06:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/spaceflight-industries-unveils-blacksky-satellites-first-pictures-of-our-planet\/"},"modified":"2016-11-15T00:06:38","modified_gmt":"2016-11-14T16:06:38","slug":"spaceflight-industries-unveils-blacksky-satellites-first-pictures-of-our-planet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/spaceflight-industries-unveils-blacksky-satellites-first-pictures-of-our-planet\/","title":{"rendered":"Spaceflight Industries unveils BlackSky satellite\u2019s first pictures of our planet"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_288816\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-288816\" style=\"width: 630px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full-width wp-image-288816\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/161114-spaceflight-china-630x209.jpg\" alt=\"Pathfinder-1 image\" width=\"630\" height=\"209\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/161114-spaceflight-china-630x209.jpg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/161114-spaceflight-china-768x255.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/161114-spaceflight-china-1240x411.jpg 1240w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" id=\"caption-attachment-288816\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">An image from Spaceflight Industries\u2019 BlackSky Pathfinder-1 satellite shows farms and industrial sites around Beijing. Click on the image for a larger version. (Credit: Spaceflight Industries \/ BlackSky)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Seattle-based Spaceflight Industries is sharing some of the first pictures of Earth ever taken by its low-cost, high-resolution BlackSky Pathfinder-1 satellite&nbsp;\u2013 and they\u2019re spectacular.<\/p>\n<p>The roughly 100-pound (50-kilogram) Pathfinder-1 spacecraft was launched from India\u2019s Satish Dhawan Space Center on Sept. 26 as a ride-share&nbsp;payload on a PSLV-C35 rocket. Spaceflight Industries says the satellite cost $10 million to build and launch, which is relatively cheap for orbital imaging capability.<\/p>\n<p>The Pathfinder-1 images released today confirm that the BlackSky concept works. The pictures provide breathtaking views of farms and industrial sites near Beijing, the suburbs surrounding Tokyo, and mountain ranges in China and Afghanistan.<\/p>\n<p>Each image&nbsp;spans an area measuring about&nbsp;6 miles by 2 miles (10 by 3 kilometers), with a resolution of roughly 6 feet (2 meters) per pixel.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs we continue to calibrate the system, our images will become even sharper,\u201d Jason Andrews, Spaceflight Industries\u2019 CEO, said today in a blog posting.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"We need to simplify geospatial technology\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/AMeZdr-_7ZU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\" data-ratio=\"0.5625\" data-width=\"800\" data-height=\"450\" style=\"display: block; margin: 0px; width: 800px; height: 450px;\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>This first satellite is orbiting Earth at an altitude of 428 miles (690 kilometers). When BlackSky\u2019s commercial constellation of 60 satellites goes into operation, it\u2019s expected to send back 1-meter-resolution pictures from a height of 280 miles (450 kilometers).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have proven out our overall business plan and system architecture, and are on track to revolutionize our understanding of the world,\u201d Andrews said in a&nbsp;news release.<\/p>\n<p>The BlackSky network\u2019s capability is due to double early next year when Pathfinder-2 is launched as a ride-share payload on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.<\/p>\n<p>Spaceflight Industries\u2019 aim is to provide on-demand images that can be delivered in as little as 90 minutes, at a cost of as little as $90 per image.<\/p>\n<p>Andrews has said widespread availability of Earth imagery could revolutionize endeavors&nbsp;including agriculture, urban planning, emergency response, humanitarian relief and environmental monitoring.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPoking around the planet and looking at whatever you want, when you want, is a powerful thing,\u201d he said today.<\/p>\n<p>Here are a few more pictures from BlackSky Pathfinder-1. Click or tap on each image for a larger, higher-resolution version:<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_288827\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-288827\" style=\"width: 630px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full-width wp-image-288827\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/161114-spaceflight-mount-630x206.jpg\" alt=\"Chinese mountain\" width=\"630\" height=\"206\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/161114-spaceflight-mount-630x206.jpg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/161114-spaceflight-mount-768x251.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/161114-spaceflight-mount-1240x406.jpg 1240w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" id=\"caption-attachment-288827\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A mountain rises above the surrounding terrain in China\u2019s Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, as seen by the BlackSky Pathfinder-1 satellite. (Credit: Spaceflight Industries \/ BlackSky)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_288830\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-288830\" style=\"width: 630px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full-width wp-image-288830\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/161114-spaceflight-japan-630x209.jpg\" alt=\"Pathfinder-1 view of Tokyo suburbs\" width=\"630\" height=\"209\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/161114-spaceflight-japan-630x209.jpg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/161114-spaceflight-japan-768x254.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/161114-spaceflight-japan-1240x411.jpg 1240w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" id=\"caption-attachment-288830\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Roads criss-cross suburban communities near Tokyo. (Credit: Spaceflight Industries \/ BlackSky)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_288831\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-288831\" style=\"width: 630px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full-width wp-image-288831\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/161114-spaceflight-afghan-630x204.jpg\" alt=\"Pathfinder-1 view of Afghan mountains\" width=\"630\" height=\"204\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/161114-spaceflight-afghan-630x204.jpg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/161114-spaceflight-afghan-768x249.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/161114-spaceflight-afghan-1240x402.jpg 1240w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" id=\"caption-attachment-288831\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The BlackSky Pathfinder-1 satellite captured this view of mountains around Kandahar in Afghanistan. (Credit: Spaceflight Industries \/ BlackSky)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An image from Spaceflight Industries\u2019 BlackSky Pathfinder-1 satellite shows farms and industrial sites around Beijing. Click on the image for a larger version. (Credit: Spaceflight Industries \/ BlackSky) Seattle-based Spaceflight Industries is sharing some of the first pictures of Earth ever taken by its low-cost, high-resolution BlackSky Pathfinder-1 satellite&nbsp;\u2013 and they\u2019re spectacular. The roughly 100-pound [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[2128,20,2340],"class_list":["post-19173","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-blacksky-global","tag-satellite","tag-spaceflight"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19173"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19173"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19173\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}