Import Worldview 2 Products

Overview

WorldView-2 provides commercially available panchromatic imagery of 0.46 m resolution, and eight-band multispectral imagery with 1.84 m resolution - representing one of the highest available spaceborne resolutions on the market. Along with the Pan (450-800 nm) and the four typical multispectral bands (blue, green, red, NIR), WorldView-2 has four additional bands for enhanced multispectral analysis (coastal blue, yellow, red edge, NIR2) designed to improve segmentation and classification of land and aquatic features.

It has a wide swath width of 16.4 kilometers, and it is capable of capturing imagery with a high degree of detail.

The satellite's advanced imaging capabilities make it valuable for various applications, including cartography, land cover classification, change detection, and disaster monitoring. Additionally, the agility and maneuverability of the satellite contribute to its versatility in capturing precise and targeted imagery.

WorldView-2 mission characteristics are outlined in the next table:
Launch Information Date: October 8, 2009
Launch Vehicle: Delta II 7920
Launch Site: Vandenberg Air Force Base
Orbit Altitude: 770 kilometers
Type: Sun synchronous, 10:30 am descending node
Period: 100 minutes
Sensor Bands
Band Name Center Wavelength
(nm)
Minimum Lower Band
Edge (nm)
Maximum Upper Band
Edge (nm)
Panchromatic 625 450 800
MS1 (NIR 1) 835 770 895
MS2 (Red) 660 630 690
MS3 (Green) 545 510 580
MS4 (Blue) 480 450 510
MS5 (Red Edge) 725 705 745
MS6 (Yellow) 605 585 625
MS7 (Coastal) 425 400 450
MS8 (NIR 2) 950 860 1040
Sensor Resolution 0.46 meters GSD at nadir Panchromatic
1.85 meters GSD at nadir Multispectral
(GSD = Ground Sample Distance) 0.52 meters GSD at 20° off-nadir Panchromatic
2.07 meters GSD at 20° off-nadir Multispectral
NIIRS Equivalency NIIRS potential of greater than 5.0
Dynamic Range 11-bits per pixel
Swath Width 16.4 kilometers at nadir
Pointing Accuracy Knowledge Accuracy: <500 meters at image start and stop
Knowledge: Supports geolocation accuracy below
Retargeting Agility Acceleration: 1.43 deg/s/s
Rate: 3.86 deg/s
Time to slew 200 kilometers: 10 seconds
Onboard Storage 2199 gigabits solid state with EDAC
Max Viewing Angle /Accessible Ground Swath Nominally +/-45° off-nadir = 1651 km wide swath
Higher angles selectively available
Per Orbit Collection 524 gigabits
Max Contiguous Area Collected in a Single Pass 138 x 112 km mono
63 x 112 km stereo
Revisit Frequency to target at 40° N latitude 1.1 days at 1 meter GSD
3.7 days at 20° off-nadir or less (0.52 GSD)
Geolocation Accuracy (CE90) Specification of 5 m CE90 at less than 30° off-nadir,
with predicted performance in the range of 4.6 to 10.7 meters (15 to 35 feet) CE90,
excluding terrain and offnadir effects
With registration to GCPs in image: 2.0 m (6.6 feet)

WorldView-2 Spectral Bands - Applications

Coastal Band (400 - 450 nm):
This band supports vegetation identification and analysis, and supports bathymetric studies based upon its chlorophyll and water penetration characteristics. Also, this band is subject to atmospheric scattering and will be used to investigate atmospheric correction techniques.

Yellow Band (585 - 625 nm):
Used to identify "yellow-ness" characteristics of targets, important for vegetation applications. Also, this band will assist in the development of "true-color" hue correction for human vision representation.

Red Edge Band (705 - 745 nm):
Aids in the analysis of vegetative condition. Directly related to plant health revealed through chlorophyll production.

Near Infrared (IR) 2 Band (860 - 1040 nm):
This band overlaps the NIR 1 band but is less affected by atmospheric influence. It supports vegetation analysis and biomass studies.

MS image data format

This command allows to import WorldView-2 products in GeoTIFF format.

Product Structure

The product must contain at least the metadata file (*_README.XML) and the Product Level Directories.

Product Level Directories are identified with the product ID and a three-character descriptor: PAN for Panchromatic and MUL for Multispectral: <product info>-<product id>
Example: ZON24-PAN

The naming convention for the images is <acquisition time>-<product info>-<product id>.<format extension>i>

Geodetic Coordinate System

The geodetic coordinate system is based on the WGS84 reference frame with coordinates expressed latitude, longitude, and height above the reference Earth ellipsoid.

A brief description of the sensor characteristics can be found at : WorldView-2 Satellite Sensor