Company’s approach for WorldView-3 imaging system is confirmed
ROCHESTER, N.Y., April 14, 2011 – ITT Corporation (NYSE: ITT) reached a key milestone
with the successful completion of the Critical Design Review (CDR) for the imaging payload for WorldView-3, DigitalGlobe’s high-resolution commercial Earth imaging satellite. WorldView-3 will combine the most productive high resolution commercial sensor subsystem available with a highly accurate and stable optical telescope unit.
“ITT has been recognized as the aerospace industry's leading imaging payload provider for more than 50 years,” said Rob Mitrevski, vice president and general manager of ITT’s Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance systems business area. "Our design for the WorldView-3 imaging payload, which will provide improved imagery resolution, is now authenticated. We look forward to moving into the next phase of assembling, building and testing the WorldView-3 payload.”
The recent CDR, conducted at ITT’s facilities in Rochester, N.Y., is a key accomplishment for ITT and DigitalGlobe as the WorldView-3 payload program progresses toward delivery in mid-2013. The WorldView-3 imaging system incorporates enhancements to the optics and sensor sub-systems that will further expand the applications for satellite imagery in both commercial and government markets.
Depending on its final orbital altitude, the satellite’s sensors will be able to acquire imagery between 25 and 41 cm of resolution. WorldView-3 will also include the panchromatic and unique 8-band multi-spectral imaging sensors that are hallmarks of the advanced WorldView-2 imaging system. The eight spectral sensors provide complete coverage of the visual spectrum, along with two near-infrared bands. Together, the bands are designed to improve the segmentation and classification of land and aquatic features. Ultimately, they provide a more detailed view of the Earth, helping DigitalGlobe customers analyze imagery-based information in completely new ways.
“We are pleased with the progress we are making toward the launch of WorldView-3, which will add significant capacity to the most powerful constellation of sub-meter satellites in orbit,” said Dr. Walter
S. Scott, Executive Vice President and Chief Technical Officer at DigitalGlobe. “WorldView-3 will help ensure our customers have access to the largest, most up-to-date image library of the world, and the very best foundation for making mission critical decisions.”
ITT and DigitalGlobe’s successful partnership spans more than a dozen years. WorldView-3 is the fourth high-resolution imaging system built by ITT for DigitalGlobe. The company built sensor subsystems for DigitalGlobe’s QuickBird and WorldView-1 commercial imaging satellites, and the complete imaging payload for WorldView-2.
Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. has been named as the partner to build the spacecraft bus for the WorldView-3 imaging satellite.
About ITT Geospatial System
ITT Geospatial Systems, headquartered in Rochester, N.Y., is a global supplier of innovative night vision, remote sensing and navigation solutions that provide sight and situational awareness at the space, airborne, ground and soldier levels. ITT Geospatial Systems solutions range from image and data capture to processing and dissemination. Key applications include image intensification and thermal imaging; advanced power supplies; multi-spectral image systems; weather and climate monitoring; space science; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; GPS-based positioning, navigation and timing systems; and image exploitation software. Using our technologies, customers can move beyond mere image acquisition to image interchange and true knowledge sharing.
www.geospatial.itt.com
About ITT Corporation
ITT Corporation is a high-technology engineering and manufacturing company operating on all seven continents in three vital markets: water and fluids management, global defense and security, and motion and flow control. With a heritage of innovation, ITT partners with its customers to deliver extraordinary solutions that create more livable environments, provide protection and safety and connect our world. Headquartered in White Plains, N.Y., the company reported 2010 revenue of $11 billion.
www.itt.com
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Media Contact:
Irene Lockwood