Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

Artistic view of VividX2 in Earth orbit.
Credit: Earth-i

Earth-i has released its first full-color video of Earth taken from space by its commercial satellite — VividX2 — launched in January.

The VividX2 makes use of an Ultra High Definition camera that captures high-resolution images for any location on Earth – and also films up to two minutes of video at a time as it passes over each target location.

The just released clips show videos of numerous different locations across the globe, and some of the intriguing new insights that can be quickly derived from the video.

Credit: Earth-i

Commercial color

In a company statement Richard Blain, CEO of Earth-i, explains: “Commercial color video from space represents a major breakthrough for our industry and a world first. This initial footage shows what is now possible – with more videos being acquired every day. The depth and quality of data we can now acquire takes Earth Observation-based big data analytics to a new level. The way we capture video allows for a broader range of contextual insights to be derived than is possible with traditional still imagery.”

VividX2 weighs all of 220 pounds (100 kilograms) and measures roughly 1 cubic meter.

Scene from video.
Credit: Earth-i

4^th dimension: motion and time

Earth-i’s range of capabilities include

o   The provision of high definition images and color video with resolutions better than one meter for any location on Earth.

o   The ability to capture and analyze moving objects such as vehicles, vessels and aircraft in Ultra High Definition color video.

o   Revisiting the same location multiple times per day with agile satellites that can be pointed to image specific areas of interest and acquire high-frame rate imagery.

Credit: Earth-i

o   Rapid tasking of satellites to take images or video, and fast data download within minutes of acquisition. Delivering additional contextual depth of information from motion and time – the 4th dimension.

Resources

The current VividX2 mission is the product of a collaboration between Earth-i, the Ministry of Defense, Defense Science and Technology Laboratories (DSTL) and Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL), all of the UK.

Take a look at this impressive video at:

https://youtu.be/OBxJSroyTcI

Also, go to Earth-i’s website:

www.earthi.space

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