Terra Bella

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Terra Bella
legal form Inc.
founding 2009
Seat Mountain View , California ,United StatesUnited States
management Tom Ingersoll, CEO

Terra Bella (until March 2016 Skybox Imaging ) is an American company that operates the Earth observation satellites of the SkySat series. Terra Bella mainly produces high-resolution satellite images for Google.

history

Skybox Imaging in Mountain View, USA

Skybox Imaging, based in Mountain View , California , was founded in 2009 by Dan Berkenstock, Julian Mann, John Fenwick, and Ching-Yu Hu. In 2009 Inc. magazine named Skybox Imaging the number one technology in the Top 25 Companies That Are Changing the World. Skybox Imaging was involved in the search for the missing MH370 aircraft . Khosla Ventures , Bessemer Venture Partners , Canaan Partners and Norwest Venture Partners invested $ 91 million in Skybox Imaging. In 2014, Google acquired Skybox Imaging for USD 500 million and renamed the company Terra Bella in 2016 .

In February 2017, Google sold the company to Planet Labs .

Areas of application for images and videos from Skybox Imaging

High-resolution images and videos should make it possible to observe objects such as shipping containers or cars. According to Skybox Imaging , videos with a length of 90 seconds and 30 frames per second can be saved. According to Scientific American , this type of high-definition video can help “ understand the world better by analyzing the movement of goods and people, providing visual content in the supply chain , shipping, industrial activities, and even humanitarian aid ". High-resolution images can also be used in agriculture to better control the optimal harvest time and the condition of the grain. The aim is to provide high-resolution satellite images from anywhere in the world, updated several times a day.

Satellite of the Skybox Images network

The first SkySat-1 satellite was launched on November 21, 2013 from the Jasny cosmodrome in Russia by means of the Dnepr launcher . Another satellite, SkySat-2, was launched as a secondary payload on a Soyuz-2-1b rocket with Fregat upper stage on July 8, 2014. SkySat-3 was launched in orbit on June 22, 2016 by an Indian PSLV-XL rocket. On September 16, 2016 ( UTC ), SkySat-4,5,6 and 7 were launched with a Vega rocket from Arianespace.

Skybox Imaging would like to provide satellites with manufacturing costs of less than 50 million USD using standard electronics and standard parts from the automotive or smartphone industry. A total of 24 satellites are to be brought into orbit by 2017, with each weighing approx. 100 kg being significantly lighter and smaller than other satellites (e.g. NASA's Landsat 8 satellite weighing approx. 2000 kg). These satellites are doing in comparison to other satellites, a high spatial resolution of about 1 meter or better reach (NASA Landsat satellite 8 has a spatial resolution between 15 and 100 m), the data in the visible and in the near infrared region are added should.

The first images captured by the SkySat-1 satellite were published by Skybox Imaging on December 11, 2013, showing the coast of Somalia and Abu Dhabi . At the end of December 2013, Skybox Imaging published the first high-resolution videos of the earth from space.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Florian Kalenda: Google renames satellite subsidiary to Terra Bella . In: ZDNet.de . March 9, 2016. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  2. ↑ Tekla S. Perry: Start-up Profile: Skybox Imaging . In: IEEE Spectrum Blog , May 1, 2013. Retrieved May 12, 2014. 
  3. ↑ 25 Companies That Are Changing the World . In: Inc , April 23, 2014. Retrieved May 12, 2014. 
  4. ↑ Silicon Valley Start-Up Skybox Imaging Lends Satellite in Search for Missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370. NBC, accessed June 10, 2014 .
  5. ↑ a b Matt Burns: Skybox Imaging Raises $ 70M To Launch Two High-Res Imaging Microsatellites . In: TechCrunch , April 17, 2012. Retrieved May 12, 2014. 
  6. ^ Google Said to Hold Acquisition Talks With Skybox Imaging. Bloomberg, accessed June 9, 2014 .
  7. ↑ Google is buying satellite imagery specialists. Handelsblatt, accessed on June 10, 2014 .
  8. ↑ Tobias Reuter: Terra Bella: Google sells satellite image division . In: ComputerBase . February 4, 2017 ( computerbase.de ).
  9. ↑ a b David Wogan: High-definition video from space is available for purchase. Finally . In: Scientific American , December 30, 2013. Retrieved May 12, 2014. 
  10. ↑ a b c d Declan Butler: Many eyes on Earth . In: Nature . 505, No. 7482, January 8, 2014, pp. 143-144. doi : 10.1038 / 505143a .
  11. ↑ Stephen Clark: Silo-launched Dnepr rocket delivers 32 satellites to space . In: website . Spaceflight Now. Retrieved May 12, 2014.
  12. ↑ SkyBox Imaging: SkySat-2 Launched! ( Memento of the original from July 22, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , July 8, 2014 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.skyboximaging.com
  13. ↑ Shane McGlaun: Skybox Imaging shows off HD video taken from a satellite in orbit . In: SlashGear , December 30, 2013. Retrieved May 12, 2014. 
  14. ^ Anne Eisenberg: Microsatellites: What Big Eyes They Have . In: The New York Times , August 10, 2013. Retrieved May 12, 2014. 
  15. ↑ SkySat 3, ..., 21 (SkySat-2 1, ..., 19). In: space.skyrocket.de. Retrieved September 16, 2016 .
  16. ↑ SkySat-3 First Light. (No longer available online.) June 28, 2016, archived from the original on September 16, 2016 ; accessed on September 16, 2016 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / terrabella.googleblog.com
  17. ↑ Caleb Henry: Terra Bella's SkySat 3 Sends Back First Pictures - Via Satellite -. July 1, 2016, accessed on September 16, 2016 .
  18. ↑ Vega launches with Peru Sat-1 & SkySat 4, 5, 6, 7 payload. In: www.nasaspaceflight.com. Retrieved September 16, 2016 .
  19. ↑ Europe's Vega launches 1 Peruvian and 4 Terra Bella Earth observation satellites - SpaceNews.com. September 16, 2016, accessed on September 16, 2016 .
  20. ↑ a b Alice Truong: Proof That Cheaper Satellites Still Can Take Incredibly Detailed Photos of Earth . In: Fast Company , December 11, 2013. Retrieved May 12, 2014. 
  21. ↑ Michael Ballaban: Watch The First High-Definition Video Of Earth Available From Space . In: Jalopnik , December 28, 2013. Retrieved May 12, 2014.