Airbus has released a first collection of sharp images at 30cm native resolution from the Pleiades Neo 3 satellite, recently safely launched and secured in orbit. The successful acquisitions and delivery of these first images are the start of a new era for both commercial and government geospatial applications requiring a high level of accuracy and the ability to see fine details.

The Pleiades Neo 3 images, covering a variety of global locations and featuring diverse acquisition angles, provide an impressive level of detail. In one it is easy to count each and every limestone block of the Giza Pyramids, and even the number of people visiting.

The multi-layered construction of Castel Sant'Angelo across the years can also be seen in detail in another. Urban areas and modern architecture, and their comprehensive diversity, are clearly visible in the images over Shanghai, Dubai and Washington DC.

These already very sharp images were acquired before full radiometric and system calibrations and the quality will continue to improve over the next few months. Imagery from Pleiades Neo 3 is expected to become commercially available in the third quarter 2021, after these calibration steps are completed.

With the full capacity of the satellite available for commercial use, the very high-resolution and geometrically consistent Pleiades Neo 3 imagery will provide analysts with a high level of detail, including more visibility of small objects, such as vehicles and road markings.

This level of detection, recognition and identification of objects provides more ground truth for image analysts and improves reliability for machine learning capabilities. The new constellation will also provide a higher geolocation accuracy and deeper spectral band information, allowing more insights to be derived for various applications.

The Pleiades Neo constellation will be comprised of four identical and very agile satellites, offering reactive tasking and intraday revisit of any point on Earth. Entirely funded, designed, manufactured, owned and operated by Airbus, each satellite will add half a million km2 per day at 30cm native resolution.

The next milestone of the Pleiades Neo programme is the launch of Pleiades Neo 4, which is already at the launch site in Kourou, French Guiana. It is expected to launch this summer, followed by the launch of Pleiades Neo 5 and 6, in 2022.

Related Links
Pleiades Neo
Earth Observation News - Suppiliers, Technology and Application

Thanks for being there; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5+ Billed Monthly		SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal

Monitoring coastal changes in Greece
Paris (ESA) May 19, 2021
Hundreds of satellite images spanning over 25 years have been compiled to show the evolution of Greece's ever-changing coastlines. For decades, coastal areas have been subject to intense urbanisation and population growth. These areas are some of the most dynamic on Earth and, unfortunately, suffer from severe coastal hazards owing to storm activity and sea level rise. Monitoring coastal areas is key to understanding the evolution of coastal dynamics and in helping authorities protect these enviro ... read more

Read more from original source...