We wrote about DigitalGlobe’s WorldView-4 back in August and again when it was expected to be launched in September. However, the launch was subsequently delayed and actually took place on November 11, 2016.
DigitalGlobe has recently released WorldView-4’s first public image, taken on November 26, featuring the Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan.
And here is part of the image zoomed in, showing the full resolution:
You can see people in the tennis courts (identifiable by their shadows). Overall, the resolution and colours are clearly better than the average satellite imagery found in Google Earth, but of course not as good as most aerial imagery.
You can download the full high resolution image from the DigitalGlobe website as well as learn more about the satellite and watch its launch.
As we discussed previously, WorldView-4 has similar capabilities to WorldView-3, so don’t expect to see higher resolution imagery than anything previously seen, but do expect a greater quantity of good quality, high resolution imagery. The location of such imagery will depend, as always, on suitable weather conditions and interest from DigitalGlobe or its customers and whether or not it is passed on to Google for inclusion in Google Earth.
About Timothy Whitehead
Timothy has been using Google Earth since 2004 when it was still called Keyhole before it was renamed Google Earth in 2005 and has been a huge fan ever since. He is a programmer working for Red Wing Aerobatx and lives in Cape Town, South Africa.
these are not Tennis Courts, I suggest Field Handball
It doesn’t matter…as long google very often prefers “Astrium” or Landsat or Spot Image “quality”
e.g. for russian ABM test center at Sary Shagan
http://up.picr.de/27666974ns.jpg
Look at the snot on the guy’s nose! Ewwwwwww! Just kidding!