OrbView-3

Built for Orbital Imaging Corporation (now GeoEye), OrbView-3 was designed to supply high-resolution imagery of the Earth. The satellite carries a camera to take one-meter resolution panchromatic (black-and-white) and four-meter resolution multispectral (color and infrared) images of the entire planet.

The OrbView-3 bus design originated with the Space Test Experiment (STEP) program in 1991 and consists of 12-sided horizontal honeycomb equipment decks and aluminum plate or honeycomb side panels that stiffen the structure and provide additional radiation protection for the equipment mounted inside. The bus structure is divided into three modules (propulsion, core and payload), each of which is constructed so components can easily be attached to each other for final assembly and checkout.

OrbView-3 was successfully launched on June 26, 2003 aboard a Pegasus rocket.

Customer:
ORBIMAGE

Mission:
Provide high-resolution (1-M panchromatic, 4-M multispectral) imagery