This WorldView Legion image show small details on, and around, San Francisco City Hall. Photo: Maxar Intelligence

Maxar Intelligence released the first set of images from its new WorldView Legion satellites. The images released Thursday show the 30 cm-class imagery capabilities of the satellites, capturing views of San Francisco and Sacramento, California. 

This is a major milestone for Maxar’s next-generation imagery constellation. These first two satellites launched in May after years of delays. Maxar said in a release that it is progressing through commissioning and calibration and expects the two satellites “to be supporting customer missions soon.” 

The full constellation will have six satellites and Maxar expects it to be launched by the end of 2024. 

In an image of San Francisco City Hall, above, solar panels on top of a building are clearly visible, along with green lanes for bike paths. Maxar said this level of detail will help build foundational maps for government use cases, consumer applications and mobility and logistics planning.

In another image of Washington Lake in Sacramento, below, a cargo ship showing two holds open is clearly visible. This is an example of the level of detail important in site monitoring missions. 

This WorldView Legion image shows a bulk carrier ship docked in Washington Lake, next to the Sacramento River Deep Water Ship Channel. Photo: Maxar Intelligence

When all six satellites are launched, it will triple Maxar Intelligence’s capacity to collect 30 cm-class and multispectral imagery. The full Maxar constellation will consist of 10 electro-optical satellites which the company said will image changing areas on Earth as frequently as every 20 to 30 minutes. 

The expanded capabilities are expected to support more detailed, up-to-date mapping and 3D technology. Maxar also said the capacity increase will fuel software products that use AI and machine learning to derive insights from the data. 

“Soon, our WorldView Legion satellites will be collecting vast amounts of imagery, extending our collection capacity advantage for high-resolution imagery and enhancing the revisit rate of our industry-leading constellation,” commented Maxar Intelligence CEO Dan Smoot. “This added capacity will also strengthen our geospatial foundation, helping us build more sophisticated products that unlock the full potential of geospatial data and generate more actionable insights in 2D and 3D.”

Beyond these two WorldView Legion satellites, Maxar has four imagery satellites in orbit — three WorldView satellites and one GeoEye satellite. 

Last year Maxar split into two companies, Maxar Space Systems and Maxar Intelligence after the company was acquired by private equity firm Advent International.