Maxar Intelligence says that its third and fourth WorldView Legion satellites are performing well after being launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on 16 August from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida.
The satellites are now going through the commissioning process, with first images expected within the next month or so.
The spacecraft were launched into mid-inclination orbit (MIO), enabling dawn-to-dusk Earth observation imagery collection.
With this 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 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.”
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:
- Triple Maxar’s collection capacity for 30 cm-class imagery
- Increase collection capacity to 6 million square kilometres per day
- Enable up to 15 revisits per day for some locations on Earth
