#worldview4

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WorldView-4 launch seen from space.

To celebrate the beginning of orbital operations for Worldview-4, DigitalGlobe has released this incredible photograph of the satellite launching into space from Vandenberg Air Force Base taken from space.

The company’s WorldView-2 satellite was flying 396 miles northeast the California launch base, or roughly central Nevada, when the launch occurred November 11. 

An Atlas V rocket is seen just above Space Launch Complex 3E, having lifted off the pad moments earlier. Many of the complex’s structures can be seen, including outlying support facilities. The launch mount is seen below the rocket’s flame with the Fixed Umbilical Tower immediately to its right. The 239-foot Vertical Integration Facility is seen surrounded by three exhaust plumes coming out of the complex’s exhaust ducts.

Launched in 2009, WorldView-2 has a color resolution of six feet, while the WorldView-4 satellite has a color resolution of four feet and a black and white resolution of one foot. DIgitalGlobe also released an image of Subi Reef in the South China Sea to show off the new satellite’s abilities.

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Liftoff of AV-062 with the WorldView-4 Earth imaging satellite for Digital Globe. Digital Globe is one of the companies Google contracts to provide imagery for their Google Maps and Google Earth services. WorldView-4 will be able to see objects as small as a foot wide in black-and-white, and as small as four feet in color, making it one of the highest-definition commercial Earth imaging satellites in orbit.  The Atlas V 401 lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base’s Pad 3E at 1:30pm EDT. As seen in the last gif above, staging of the Atlas Common Booster Core occurred at T+4 minutes, 17 seconds, while WorldView-4 achieved a sun-synchronous polar orbit 15 minutes and 19 seconds after launch.

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Liftoff of WorldView-4 atop an Atlas V 401 rocket!

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L-5 minutes - WorldView 4 set for launch

Following more than eight weeks of delays, Digital Globe’s WorldView 4 satellite is set for liftoff from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. An Atlas V 401 rocket is set to launch the Earth imaging satellite at 1:30pm EDT from Space Launch Complex 3E. An initial launch attempt of September 16 was delayed less than four minutes before liftoff due to a leaky Hydrogen umbilical connector. A new launch attempt on September 18 was scrubbed when a wildfire near Vandenberg damaged part of the base’s launch support infrastructure. WorldView-4 marks the 19th commercial Atlas V mission, the rocket's 66th launch overall, and the 12th from Vandenberg. It is also the United Launch Alliance’s 112th mission. This is also the Western Launch range’s first mission since early 2016 after being offline for more than six months for upgrades.

P/C: ULA Watch the launch live via ULA’s webcast below:

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Two days after breaking out in a remote corner of the base, the wild fire at Vandenberg Air Force Base is seen looming near SLC-3E earlier today, September 19. Safe inside the Mobile Service Tower at the launch complex is the Atlas V rocket with the WorldView-4 satellite.

Launch was originally scheduled for September 17, but a small leak in the Liquid Hydrogen umbilicals forced ULA to postpone the flight 48 hours. Sunday’s launch attempt was scrubbed due to the wildfire, which broke out the day in between launch attempts.

Availability on the Western Range is not available until September 26, pending the containment of the fire.

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Today’s scheduled 11:30am PST launch of WorldView-4 from Vandenberg Air Force Base has been delayed for a second time. A wildfire that broke out south of the California launch base on Saturday still threatened launch operations today.

ULA is now targeting September 26 to launch WorldView’s fourth high-definition Earth Imaging satellite. The weeklong postponement stems from availability on the Western Range, the network of tracking and support facilities that extend down range from Vandenberg.

P/C:ULA/LockheedMartin

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After more than six months offline for infrastructural maintenance, the Western Range is gearing up for an Atlas V launch. AV-062 is slated to launch the WorldView-4 mission into orbit on Sunday, September 18, at 11:30am PST from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Liftoff was originally scheduled for September 16, but a small liquid Hydrogen leak was detected in the LH2 ground system, causing a ball of ice to form on the umbilical. ULA was forced to scrub the launch attempt, with CEO Tory Bruno stating "always better to be on the ground, wishing you were in the air than the other way around." Technicians will be replacing the valve on Saturday to clear the vehicle for launch Sunday. This is the first time since they were founded in 2006 that ULA experienced a hydrogen leak during launch operations. Additionally, today's scribes marked the first launch-day scrub of an Atlas mission in over four years and 30 missions. P/C: ULA