Article Posted on : - Mar 16, 2011

DENVER (BNS): A Lockheed Martin subsidiary will launch the third WorldView Earth imaging satellite in 2014.

DigitalGlobe, a commercial provider of space imagery and geospatial content, has selected Lockheed Martin Commercial Launch Services to launch the WorldView-3 satellite.

The next-generation, high-resolution satellite will be launched on board an Atlas V rocket, Lockheed said.

The satellite, the third in the series, will be put into a Sun-synchronous orbit from the Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, and will be operational approximately 90 days after launch, according to DigitalGlobe.

With WorldView-3 in orbit, the DigitalGlobe constellation will be capable of collecting imagery of larger areas faster and with greater flexibility, it added.