WorldView-3
WorldView-3 is a commercial Earth observation satellite operated by Maxar Technologies (formerly DigitalGlobe), launched on August 13, 2014, at 18:30:30 UTC from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California aboard an Atlas V 401 launch vehicle.[1] It operates in a sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 617 km with a 98° inclination and a local time on descending node of 13:30 hours, enabling frequent high-resolution imaging of Earth's surface.[1] The satellite's primary instrument, the WorldView-3 Imager, captures imagery across 29 spectral bands, including panchromatic at 0.31 m resolution, eight multispectral bands at 1.24 m, eight short-wave infrared (SWIR) bands at 3.7 m, and twelve Clouds, Aerosols, Vapors, Ice, and Snow (CAVIS) bands at 30 m, with a ground swath width of 13.1 km.[1] Designed with a nominal service life of 7.25 years but expected to operate for 10-12 years, WorldView-3 achieves a revisit time of less than one day for most locations when collecting at 1 m ground sample distance (GSD). As of November 2025, WorldView-3 remains operational, with an extended end-of-life projected for December 2025.[2] Its advanced sensor suite represents a milestone as the first multi-payload, super-spectral, high-resolution commercial satellite, enhancing capabilities beyond traditional visible and near-infrared imaging through SWIR for material identification and CAVIS for atmospheric correction.[3] The satellite delivers geolocation accuracy better than 3.5 m CE90 without ground control points, supporting precise mapping and analysis.[1] WorldView-3 supports a wide range of applications, including environmental monitoring, disaster response, urban planning, and resource management, with particular strengths in detecting methane plumes, mapping minerals, counting wildlife, and assessing forest health.[1] Its high-resolution data has been instrumental in time-sensitive scenarios, such as post-disaster damage assessment and change detection in conflict zones, contributing to global datasets used by governments, NGOs, and commercial entities.[1] As part of Maxar's constellation, it complements earlier WorldView satellites by expanding spectral coverage and resolution, enabling more detailed and actionable Earth intelligence.[4]Design and capabilities
Instruments
WorldView-3 is equipped with the WV110 advanced imaging system, which integrates a panchromatic imager, an eight-band multispectral imager in the visible and near-infrared (VNIR) spectrum, an eight-band short-wave infrared (SWIR) imager, and the Clouds, Aerosols, Vapors, Ice, and Snow (CAVIS) instrument.[1] These sensors enable high-resolution Earth observation with capabilities for atmospheric correction and enhanced material identification.[5] The panchromatic imager operates in a single band from 450 to 800 nm, providing 0.31 m resolution at nadir for detailed black-and-white imaging of surface features.[1] The multispectral imager covers eight VNIR bands—coastal (400–450 nm), blue (450–510 nm), green (510–580 nm), yellow (585–625 nm), red (630–690 nm), red edge (705–745 nm), near-IR1 (770–895 nm), and near-IR2 (860–1040 nm)—at 1.24 m resolution, supporting applications in vegetation analysis, land use mapping, and coastal monitoring.[3] The SWIR imager features eight bands spanning 1195–2365 nm (SWIR-1: 1195–1225 nm, SWIR-2: 1550–1590 nm, SWIR-3: 1640–1680 nm, SWIR-4: 1710–1750 nm, SWIR-5: 2145–2185 nm, SWIR-6: 2185–2225 nm, SWIR-7: 2235–2285 nm, SWIR-8: 2295–2365 nm), delivering 3.7 m resolution and enabling imaging through atmospheric haze, fog, and aerosols for mineral exploration and environmental assessment.[1] This SWIR capability provides unique atmospheric correction by distinguishing surface reflectance from atmospheric interference.[5] The CAVIS instrument collects atmospheric data across 12 bands in the ultraviolet, visible, and SWIR spectra (e.g., desert clouds at 405–420 nm, aerosols at 459–509 nm and 2100–2250 nm, snow at 1620–1680 nm, water vapor at 930–965 nm), at 30 m resolution, to correct imagery for obscurants like clouds, aerosols, and vapors.[1] It operates simultaneously with the primary imagers to enhance data consistency and accuracy in challenging conditions.[5] These instruments are integrated on a Ball Aerospace BCP 5000 bus, derived from the WorldView-2 platform, supporting pushbroom scanning with up to 35,000 pixels in panchromatic mode and data rates of 800–1200 Mbit/s via X-band downlink.[1] This configuration allows for efficient collection and transmission, with bi-directional scanning and rapid retargeting within seconds.[5]Imaging specifications
WorldView-3's imaging system delivers high-resolution panchromatic imagery at 0.31 meters ground sample distance (GSD) at nadir, which is commercially sharpened to 0.30 meters through fusion with multispectral data.[4] The multispectral visible and near-infrared (VNIR) bands provide 1.24 meters GSD, while the short-wave infrared (SWIR) bands offer 3.7 meters GSD, and the Clouds, Aerosols, Vapors, Ice, and Snow (CAVIS) instrument achieves 30 meters GSD for atmospheric monitoring.[5] These resolutions enable detailed feature identification, from urban infrastructure to mineral compositions, across a 13.1 km swath width at nadir for panchromatic, multispectral, and SWIR imaging.[5] The CAVIS bands support global coverage over time by providing atmospheric correction data aligned with the primary swath.[1] The satellite's revisit time is less than one day for most locations at 1-meter GSD, allowing rapid tasking and frequent monitoring of dynamic areas.[4] It supports data collection modes such as stereo imaging for 3D modeling and multi-temporal acquisitions for change detection, with geolocation accuracy of 3.5 meters CE90 without ground control points.[4] Spectral coverage spans the panchromatic band from 450 to 800 nm, enabling high-contrast black-and-white imagery.[6] The eight multispectral VNIR bands include coastal (400–450 nm), blue (450–510 nm), green (510–580 nm), yellow (585–625 nm), red (630–690 nm), red edge (705–745 nm), near-infrared 1 (770–895 nm), and near-infrared 2 (860–1040 nm), facilitating applications in vegetation analysis and land cover classification.[3] The eight SWIR bands cover 1195–1225 nm, 1550–1590 nm, 1640–1680 nm, 1710–1750 nm, 2145–2185 nm, 2185–2225 nm, 2235–2285 nm, and 2295–2365 nm, ideal for detecting hydrocarbons and mineral alterations.[3] CAVIS includes 12 bands from 405 to 2250 nm for aerosol and cloud property assessment.[1]| Imaging Mode | Resolution (m at nadir) | Swath Width (km) | Number of Bands | Key Spectral Range (nm) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Panchromatic | 0.31 (sharpened to 0.30 commercially) | 13.1 | 1 | 450–800 |
| Multispectral (VNIR) | 1.24 | 13.1 | 8 | 400–1040 |
| SWIR | 3.7 | 13.1 | 8 | 1195–2365 |
| CAVIS | 30 | 13.1 (global over time) | 12 | 405–2250 |