Ikonos

IKONOS is a space borne multispectral sensor with very high spatial resolution capabilities. Launched in 1999, it was the first commercial satellite with sub-meter resolution in a panchromatic band. It also has 4 color bands with 4 meter resolution (blue, green, red, near infrared) black-and white images with 1-meter resolution. The sensor has the ability to rotate and can acquire images up to 60 degrees off nadir.

IKONOS data is very useful for studying surface conditions on a fine scale

Sensor Characteristics The IKONOS satellite weighs about 1600 pounds. It orbits the Earth every 98 minutes at an altitude of approximately 680 kilometers or 423 miles.

Spectral Range 1-meter black-and-white (panchromatic) 0.45 - 0.90 mm. 4-meter multispectral Blue: 0.45 - 0.52 mm Green: 0.51 - 0.60 mm Red: 0.63 - 0.70mm Near IR: 0.76 0.85 mm

Its short return interval (3 days) is also advantageous for observing changing conditions and increases the chance of getting cloud and smoke free scenes. Unlike sensors such as Landsat and MODIS which are continually acquiring and archiving data, IKONOS imagery is gathered on-demand.

Moving over the ground at approximately seven kilometers per second, IKONOS sensors collects black and-white and multispectral data at a rate of over 2,000 square kilometers per minute. IKONOS satellite imagery provides access to any location on the Earth’s surface.

IKONOS is used to obtain both urban and rural mapping of natural resources and of natural disasters, tax mapping, agriculture and forestry analysis, mining, engineering, construction, and change detection.

IKONOS(1 m Panchromatic)

IKONOS (4 m Multispectral)