Satellite characteristics
Launch Date - End 28 August 2008 -
Status Operational
Orbit type Sun-synchronous orbit (all five satellites are evenly spaced in a single orbital plane)
Altitude 630
Orbit inclination 98
Equatorial crossing time 11:00:00
Orbit period 96.7
Satellite family: RapidEye Constellation
The RapidEye system is composed of a space and a ground segment. The space segment of five sun-synchronous Earth observation satellites are unmatched in their ability to provide large area, multi-spectral images with frequent revisits in high resolution.The ground segment includes preprocessing and processing systems to handle customer orders, perform image data correction, generate standard and customized products and services, and manage the data archival catalog.
After the successful launch, a naming contest was held.The winning names were all Greek in origin:
- TACHYS - (Rapid)
- MATI - (Eye)
- CHOMA - (Earth)
- CHOROS - (Space)
- TROCHIA - (Orbit)
Sensor characteristics
| Sensor name | REIS (RapidEye Earth Imaging System) |
|---|---|
| Sensor short description | |
| Sensor type | Imaging radiometer (Vis/IR) |
| Resolution class | High (5 - 30 m) |
| Swath width (at nadir) | 78 km |