QuickBird De-Orbited
- European Space Imaging
European Space Imaging announced today that on Tuesday 27 January 2015, after 13 years of excellent performance, QuickBird approached its end of mission smoothly and, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) “re-entered the earths’ atmosphere at 01:59 UTC”.
DigitalGlobe confirms: “QuickBird de-orbited successfully. QuickBird was on orbit for more than 13 years, far exceeding its designed mission life. The satellite made over 70,000 trips around the Earth, contributing substantially to DigitalGlobe’s unmatched imagery catalog, and thus our understanding of our changing planet. Many thanks to our customers and partners for their support of a very successful mission. Imagery from QuickBird — as well as the rest of the DigitalGlobe constellation — can be still purchased from our imagery catalog.”
European Space Imaging will continue providing QuickBird imagery from their archive as well as taking new collection orders from the sibling satellites in the DigitalGlobe constellation.
Related Stories
GEOSeries: Maintaining Temporal Control of Developing Situations With Rapid Satellite Tasking and Intraday Imaging
In the fast-moving operational environments of security monitoring and emergency response, the value of satellite data is defined by when it arrives, not just its resolution or accuracy. This webinar explores how Dynamic Tasking enables users to access actionable data fast and operate within mission decision windows.
VHR Satellite Images Show Damage After Niscemi Landslide
In January 2026, Italy declared state of emergency after being hit by Cyclone Harry – a storm that brought 10-metre waves and torrential rains of over 300 mm in 48 hours. The most severely affected regions were Sicily, Calabria and Sardinia, with the damage in Sicily alone estimated to be more than 1.5 billion euros. EUSI collected Very High Resolution satellite imagery of the affected areas, including Niscemi – a Sicilian town hit by a massive landslide.
The Potential of WorldView Legion for the Safety and Security in Europe
In the ever-evolving landscape of global security, satellite imagery has become an indispensable tool for governments, organisations, and businesses worldwide. Many of them are now learning about the new opportunities that the six recently launched Vantor WorldView Legion satellites bring: higher border security, improved maritime surveillance, faster reaction to developing events, and much more.
Beginner’s Guide to Satellite Imagery: 10 Terms You Need to Know
Satellite imagery is an amazing but highly technical field with terms that might be hard to understand, especially for somebody with expertise in a completely different area. That’s why we are explaining the basics of satellite imagery in this article. What’s geolocational accuracy? What is the ideal off nadir angle? How can you see through clouds? Let’s dive right in.
