New DMC satellites deliver stunning images

Thursday, August 20. 2009
Remote sensing

It's a busy time for both SSTL and DMCii as the new DMC satellites UK-DMC2 and Deimos-1, which were launched on the 29th July are commissioned and their imaging systems thoroughly tested and calibrated.

Just a week after launch, DMCii had already begun acquiring stunning satellite imagery from both satellites using the new 22m multi-spectral imaging payloads that they carry onboard. This would not have been possible without the new 22m multi-spectral imager that was developed by SSTL's Optical Payloads Group (OPG) in Sevenoaks, Kent. In a addition to the more obvious resolution increase it has over the previous 32m DMC imager, it includes a number of technological advances that improve the quality and calibration of the images DMCii receives.

First UK-DMC2 satellite image
First UK-DMC2 satellite image


This first image shows the states of Texas and Oklahoma, USA. The DMC satellites are specifically designed to image very large areas with rapid response and at regular intervals, as shown in this first multi-state image. The new satellites can image much larger areas in a single pass than the previous DMC satellites due to advances in onboard storage and high speed satellite downlinks to the Earth.

Don Benito, Spain. Deimos-1


This is one of the first 11 images taken by Deimos-1, see the Deimos-1 gallery provided by the satellite owner Deimos Space for more.


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Posted by Robin Wolstenholme in Remote sensing at 15:24 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)
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Watch SSTL and DMCii on TV

Wednesday, August 12. 2009
In the news

SSTL & DMCii are scheduled to be featured on the Discovery Channel’s "How Do They Do It?" television programme. Tune in to either Discovery Channel or Discovery HD at 20:00 on Thursday 27th August (Updated).

If you are not one of the 1.2 billion who already watch the program, "How Do They Do It?" showcases a wide variety of technology and inventions from around the world from the cutting-edge to the well established, telling the story behind the technology and essentially explaining how things work.

The SSTL/DMCii section is entitled “How do they make the satellites that provide pixel perfect pictures of the earth from deep space?”, which seems partucularly timely, considering the SSTL built UK-DMC2 and Deimos-1 satellites have just been launched and are supplying their first satellite images to DMCii as this blog is published.

For those readers outside the UK, the program will be followed by a US version on the Science Channel in early September. Space Blog will keep readers up to date nearer the time, with details where possible.

Posted by Robin Wolstenholme in In the news at 18:02 | Comment (1) | Trackbacks (0)
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