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Start-1 | EarlyBird

EarlyBird

Launch Successful

Launch Details

Date: 24 Dec 1997, 01:32 pm UTC

Rocket: Start-1 (Start)

Provider: Strategic Rocket Forces

Mission

Type: Earth Science

Orbit: Low Earth Orbit

Pad: 5, Svobodny Cosmodrome, Russian Federation

Mission Description

EarlyBird 1, a remote sensing satellite built by CTA Space Systems (now part of Orbital Sciences Corporation (OSC)) for EarthWatch, Inc., was to provide high resolution commercial imagery. EarthWatch planed to offer black-and-white images with a resolution as high as 3 meters per pixel, and color images with a resolution of 15 meters per pixel. The imaging sensor was derived from NASA's cancelled Clark satellite.