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WorldView-4 Satellite Sensor (0.31m)
On January 7, 2019 Maxar Technologies Inc. reported that its WorldView-4 satellite experienced a failure in its control moment gyros ("CMGs"), preventing the satellite from collecting imagery due to the loss of an axis of stability.
Efforts are ongoing in conjunction with its suppliers in an attempt to restore satellite functionality, but thus far these efforts have been unsuccessful. At this time, Maxar believes that WorldView-4 will likely not be recoverable and will no longer produce usable imagery. Maxar operations has put the WorldView-4 satellite in a safe configuration and will continue to monitor the satellite's location and health. The satellite was built by Lockheed Martin and the CMGs were provided by Honeywell.
WorldView-4 satellite was successfully launched on Friday, November 11, 2016 at 10:30 a.m. PST from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. DigitalGlobe's WorldView-4 is capable of discerning objects on the Earth's surface as small as 31cm in the panchromatic and will collect 4-band multispectral at 1.24-meter resolution. WorldView-4 will have similar resolution as the WorldView-3 satellite sensor. This advanced resolution will offer customers unprecedented, precise views for 2D or 3D mapping, change detection and image analysis.
WorldView-4 Satellite Sensor (0.31m)
(Image Copyright © DigitalGlobe/Lockheed Martin)
Watch WorldView-4 Launch into Space
WorldView-4 satellite offers exceptional geolocation accuracy, which means that customers will be able to map natural and man-made features to better than <4 meter CE90 of their actual location on the Earth’s surface without ground control points.
WorldView-4 will be flying at an altitude of 617 km (383 miles) and will be able to “revisit” any point on the globe every 4.5 days or sooner, depending upon the required look angle. The altitude could be revised before launch to utilize the recently obtained permission to acquire and deliver 0.25m resolution imagery.
WorldView-4 customers will have a choice of ordering BASIC (satellite projection), Geo (geometrically corrected), GeoProfessional (terrain corrected or ortho-rectified), or GeoStereo (stereo pair) products, as well as imagery-derived products, including digital elevation models (DEMs),digital surface models (DSMs), large-area mosaics and feature maps.
Credit: United Launch Alliance and Lockheed Martin
Atmospheric Compensation - DigitalGlobe AComp Pre-Processing
Sample Images
WorldView-4 Satellite Image Gallery
WorldView-4 Satellite Sensor Specifications
Orbit | Altitude: 617 km |
Life | Estimated Service Life: 10 to 12 years |
Spacecraft Size and Aperture | Size: 5.3 m (17.7 ft) tall x 2.5 m (8 ft) across |
Sensor Bands | Panchromatic: 450 - 800 nm |
Sensor Resolution (GSD, Ground Sample Distance, geometric mean) | Panchromatic Nadir:0.31 m |
Dynamic Range | 11-bits per pixel |
Swath Width | At nadir: 13.1 km |
Attitude Determination and Control | Type: 3-axis Stabilized |
Retargeting Agility | Time to Slew 200 km: 10.6 sec |
Onboard Storage | 3200 Gb solid state with EDAC |
Communications | Image & Ancillary Data: 800 Mbps X-band |
Max Contiguous Area Collected in a Single Pass (30° off-nadir angle) | Mono: 66.5 km x 112 km (5 strips) |
Revisit Frequency | 1 m GSD: < 1.0 day |
Geolocation Accuracy (CE90) | Predicted <4 m CE90 without ground control |
Capacity | 680,000 km² per day |
WorldView-4 Specifications - PDF Download
Satellites Currently Operated by DigitalGlobe
WorldView-1 Satellite Sensor (0.46m)
WorldView-2 Satellite Sensor (0.46m)
WorldView-3 Satellite Sensor (0.31m)
GeoEye-1 Satellite Sensor (0.46m)

- WorldView-4 (0.31m)
- WorldView-3 (0.31m)
- WorldView-2 (0.46m)
- WorldView-1 (0.46m)
- GeoEye-1 (0.46m)
- Pleiades-1A (0.5m)
- Pleiades-1B (0.5m)
- SuperView-1 (0.5m)
- KOMPSAT-3A (0.55m)
- KOMPSAT-3 (0.7m)
- QuickBird (0.65m)
- Gaofen-2 (0.8m)
- TripleSat (0.8m)
- IKONOS (0.82m)
- SkySat-1 (0.8m)
- SkySat-2 (0.8m)
- Jilin-1 (1m)
- TerraSAR-X
- SPOT-6 (1.5m)
- SPOT-7 (1.5m)
- Other Satellites (2m-20m)