New Eyes In The Sky

By: Jim Patrico

Several times this year a portal on the International Space Station will open to release a new flock of “Doves.” They will float into a near-Earth orbit around 400 miles up and unfold solar panel wings. With these wings spread, the Doves will orient themselves, line up the cameras built into their bodies and start taking photos of — among other things — your farm fields.

Planet, a San Francisco-based company, builds, owns and manages the Doves, which are about 4x4x12-inches and weigh about 10 pounds each. They carry cameras that can capture images in true color or in near-infrared (NIR). Each image has a resolution of 3- to 5-meters. Planet already has 60 satellites (Doves and others) circling the Earth, and by the end of the year it plans to launch 100 more Doves.