View source for Ikonos

{{Short description|Commercial Earth observation satellite}}
{{Infobox spaceflight |auto=all
| name                  = Ikonos-2

| mission_type          = [[Earth observation]]
| operator              = [[DigitalGlobe]] <br /> {{small|Formerly [[GeoEye]], Space Imaging}}
| COSPAR_ID             = 1999-051A
| SATCAT                = 25919
| mission_duration      = Final: {{time interval|24 September 1999 18:22|31 March 2015|show=ymd|sep=,}}

| spacecraft_bus        = LM-900<ref name="eoportal">{{cite web |url=https://directory.eoportal.org/web/eoportal/satellite-missions/i/ikonos-2 |title=Ikonos-2 |work=eoPortal |publisher=European Space Agency |access-date=19 September 2016}}</ref>
| manufacturer          = [[Lockheed Martin Space Systems]]
| launch_mass           = {{convert|817|kg|lb|-1|abbr=on}}<ref name="eoportal" />
| dimensions            = {{convert|1.83|xx|1.57|m|ft|1|abbr=on}}<ref name="eoportal" />
| power                 = 1,500 W<ref name="eoportal" />

| launch_date           = {{nowrap| {{start-date|24 September 1999, 18:22}}&nbsp;UTC<ref name="nssdc-orbit">{{cite web |url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1999-051A |title=Launch/Orbital information for Ikonos 2 |work=[[National Space Science Data Center]] |publisher=NASA |access-date=19 September 2016}}</ref> }}
| launch_rocket         = [[Athena II]], LM-007
| launch_site           = [[Vandenberg Air Force Base|Vandenberg AFB]] [[Vandenberg AFB Space Launch Complex 6|SLC-6]]
| launch_contractor     = Lockheed Martin
| entered_service       = December 1999<ref name="eoportal" />

| disposal_type         = Decommissioned
| deactivated           = {{end-date|31 March 2015}}<ref name="lm-retire" />

| orbit_reference       = [[Geocentric orbit|Geocentric]]
| orbit_regime          = [[Low Earth orbit|Low Earth]]
| orbit_semimajor       = 
| orbit_eccentricity    = 0.00028
| orbit_periapsis       = {{convert|678|km|mi|abbr=on}}
| orbit_apoapsis        = {{convert|682|km|mi|abbr=on}}
| orbit_inclination     = 98.2°
| orbit_period          = 98.4 minutes
| orbit_epoch           = 24 September 1999, 18:22&nbsp;UTC<ref name="nssdc-orbit" />
| apsis                 = gee

| telescope_type        = [[Cassegrain reflector|Cassegrain]]<ref name="eoportal" />
| telescope_diameter    = {{convert|70|cm|in|0|abbr=on}}<ref name="eoportal" />
| telescope_focal_length= {{convert|10|m|in|0|abbr=on}}<ref name="eoportal" />
| telescope_focal_ratio = {{f/|14.3}}
| telescope_area        = <!--collecting area-->
| telescope_wavelength  = Panchromatic: 450–900 nm<ref name="eoportal" /> <br /> Multispectral: 450–860 nm<ref name="eoportal" />
| telescope_resolution  = Panchromatic: {{convert|0.82|-|1|m|in|abbr=on|disp=x|<ref name="eoportal" /><br />{{in5}}<small>(|)</small>}} <br /> Multispectral: {{convert|3.28|-|4|m|in|abbr=on|disp=x|<ref name="eoportal" /><br />{{in5}}<small>(|)</small>}}
}}

'''IKONOS''' was a commercial [[Earth observation satellite]], and was the first to collect publicly available high-resolution imagery at 1- and 4-meter resolution. It collected [[Multi-spectral image|multispectral]] (MS) and  [[panchromatic]] (PAN) imagery. The capability to observe Earth via space-based telescope has been called "one of the most significant developments in the history of the space age", and IKONOS brought imagery rivaling that of military spy satellites to the commercial market.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Broad|first=William J.|date=1999-04-27|title=Private Spy In Space To Rival Military's (Published 1999)|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/04/27/science/private-spy-in-space-to-rival-military-s.html|access-date=2020-11-06|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=William J. |last=Broad |title=Giant Leap for Private Industry: Spies in Space |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/10/13/us/giant-leap-for-private-industry-spies-in-space.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=13 October 1999 |access-date=23 January 2010}}</ref> IKONOS imagery began being sold on 1 January 2000, and the spacecraft was retired in 2015.

==History==
IKONOS originated under the [[Lockheed Corporation]] as the '''Commercial Remote Sensing System''' ('''CRSS''') satellite. In April 1994 Lockheed was granted one of the first licenses from the U.S. Department of Commerce for commercial satellite high-resolution imagery.<ref name="nyt19940426">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/04/26/business/company-news-lockheed-wins-license-for-satellite-sensing-system.html |title=Company News: Lockheed Wins License for Satellite Sensing System |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=26 April 1994 |access-date=3 December 2016}}</ref> On 25 October 1995 partner company Space Imaging received a license from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to transmit telemetry from the satellite in the eight-gigahertz [[Earth exploration-satellite service]]s band.<ref name="tfl-pr19951025">{{cite press release |url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Space+Imaging+granted+FCC+license+for+private+remote+sensing...-a017442820 |title=Space Imaging granted FCC license for private remote sensing satellite system |publisher=Business Wire |via=TheFreeLibrary.com |first=Linda |last=Turner |date=25 October 1995 |access-date=3 December 2016 |archive-date=20 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220034216/https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Space+Imaging+granted+FCC+license+for+private+remote+sensing...-a017442820 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Prior to launch, Space Imaging changed the name of the satellite system to IKONOS. The name comes from the [[Greek language|Greek]] word ''eikōn'', for "image".<ref name="etymology">{{cite web |url=http://www.geoeye.com/CorpSite/products/imagery-sources/Default.aspx#ikonos |title=Imagery Sources |publisher=GeoEye |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101028024925/http://www.geoeye.com/CorpSite/products/imagery-sources/Default.aspx#ikonos |archive-date=28 October 2010 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

Two satellites were originally planned for operation. '''IKONOS-1''' was launched on 27 April 1999 at 18:22&nbsp;[[UTC]] from [[Vandenberg AFB Space Launch Complex 6]],<ref name="awst19990503">{{cite news |url=http://aviationweek.com/awin/faulty-athena-shroud-ruins-ikonos-1-launch |title=Faulty Athena Shroud Ruins Ikonos 1 Launch |work=Aviation Week & Space Technology |first=Michael |last=Mecham |date=3 May 1999 |access-date=3 December 2016}}</ref><ref name="spimag19990427">{{cite press release |url=https://fas.org/irp/news/1999/04/990427-ikonos.htm |title=Lockheed Martin Athena Launch of Ikonos Satellite Experienced an Anomaly |publisher=Space Imaging |via=FAS.org |first1=Mark |last1=Brender |first2=Linda |last2=Lidov |date=27 April 1999 |access-date=3 December 2016}}</ref> but [[Athena II]] rocket's [[payload fairing]] did not separate due to an electrical malfunction, resulting in the satellite failing to reach orbit and falling into the atmosphere over the South Pacific Ocean.<ref name="Harland2006">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eszSE5VGvuMC&pg=PA107 |title=Space Systems Failures: Disasters and Rescues of Satellites, Rocket and Space Probes |publisher=Springer Science+Business Media |first1=David M. |last1=Harland |first2=Ralph D. |last2=Lorenz |page=107 |date=2006 |orig-year=2005 |isbn=0-387-21519-0}}</ref>

'''IKONOS-2''' was built in parallel with and as a nearly identical twin to IKONOS-1. Whereas IKONOS-1 was built with Ring Laser Gyros (RLGs) for attitude rate sensors, IKONOS-2 fortuitously was built with Hemispherical Resonator Gyros (HRGs). RLGs were found to be incompatible with long-duration space missions, whereas HRGs could last 10 or more years in space. Completion of IKONOS-2 construction was projected for July 1999 with a January 2000 launch.<ref name="fccauth20010328">{{cite web |url=https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-01-765A1.txt |title=DA 01-765: Application for Modification of Space Station Authorization |publisher=Federal Communications Commission |date=28 March 2001 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20161203185501/https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache%3AeohcVNEDypcJ%3Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fapps.fcc.gov%2Fedocs_public%2Fattachmatch%2FDA-01-765A1.txt+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us |archive-date=3 December 2016 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref> In reaction to the loss of IKONOS-1, the spacecraft was renamed IKONOS<ref name="fccauth20010328" /><ref name="Bossler2010">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UdZ3uDekqwwC&pg=PA335 |title=Manual of Geospatial Science and Technology |publisher=CRC Press |editor-first=John D. |editor-last=Bossler |edition=2nd |page=335 |date=2010 |isbn=978-1-4200-8734-5}}</ref> and its processing accelerated, resulting in a launch on 24 September 1999 at 18:22&nbsp;UTC, also from Vandenberg aboard an Athena II rocket.<ref name="nssdc-orbit" /> The company began selling IKONOS imagery on the market on 1 January 2000.<ref name="eoportal" /><ref name="Livingston2015">{{cite journal |url=http://www.global.asc.upenn.edu/app/uploads/2015/01/Livingston_Final.pdf |title=Commercial Remote Sensing Satellites and the Regulation of Violence in Areas of Limited Statehood |journal=CGCS Occasional Paper Series on ICTs, Statebuilding, and Peacebuilding in Africa |publisher=University of Pennsylvania |first=Steven |last=Livingston |issue=5 |date=January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191006194425/https://www.global.asc.upenn.edu/app/uploads/2015/01/Livingston_Final.pdf |archive-date=6 October 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In December 2000, IKONOS received the "Best of What's New" Grant Award in Aviation & Space from [[Popular Science]] magazine.<ref name="popsci200012">{{cite journal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IyBQ4E9G0iQC&pg=PA44 |title=Spy Sat for the Rest of Us |journal=Popular Science |volume=257 |issue=6 |page=44 |date=December 2000}}</ref> The acquisition of Space Imaging and its assets by Orbimage was announced in September 2005 and finalized in January 2006.<ref name="spacenews20050919">{{cite news |url=http://spacenews.com/orbimage-space-imaging-merger-expected-stabilize-industry/ |title=Orbimage-Space Imaging Merger Expected To Stabilize the Industry |work=SpaceNews |first=Missy |last=Frederick |date=19 September 2005 |access-date=3 December 2016}}</ref><ref name="denver20060112">{{cite news |url=http://www.denverpost.com/2006/01/12/thorntons-space-imaging-acquired/ |title=Thornton's Space Imaging Acquired |work=The Denver Post |first=Andy |last=Vuong |date=12 January 2006 |access-date=3 December 2016}}</ref> The merged company was renamed [[GeoEye]],<ref name="denver20060112" /> which was itself acquired by [[DigitalGlobe]] in January 2013.<ref name="spacenews20130131">{{cite news |url=http://spacenews.com/digitalglobe-closes-geoeye-acquisition/ |title=DigitalGlobe Closes GeoEye Acquisition |work=SpaceNews |first=Warren |last=Ferster |date=31 January 2013 |access-date=3 December 2016}}</ref>

DigitalGlobe operated IKONOS until its retirement on 31 March 2015.<ref name="lm-retire">{{cite press release |url=http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/news/press-releases/2015/may/SSC-021415-ikonos-retirement.html |title=DigitalGlobe's IKONOS Satellite Retired After 15 Years of On-Orbit Operation |publisher=Lockheed Martin |date=14 May 2015}}</ref> During its lifetime, ''IKONOS'' produced 597,802 public images, covering more than {{convert|154|e6sqmi|e6km2|order=flip|abbr=unit}} of area.<ref name="mashable20150528">{{cite news |url=http://mashable.com/2015/05/28/ikonos-satellite-digitalglobe/ |title=The life and death of Ikonos, a pioneering commercial satellite |work=Mashable |first=Miriam |last=Kramer |date=28 May 2015 |access-date=14 January 2018}}</ref>

==Specifications==

===Spacecraft===
''IKONOS'' was a three-axis stabilized spacecraft designed by [[Lockheed Martin Space Systems]]. The design later became known as the LM-900 satellite bus and was optimized to carry [[remote sensing]] payloads.<ref name="gunters-lm900">{{cite web |url=http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sat/lockheed_lm-900.htm |title=Lockheed Martin: LM-900 |work=Gunter's Space Page |first=Gunter D. |last=Krebs |date=11 November 2016 |access-date=10 January 2018}}</ref> Four reaction wheels stabilized the spacecraft's altitude, which was measured by two star trackers and a [[Sun sensor]]. Orbital position information was provided by a GPS receiver. The spacecraft body was a hexagonal design of {{convert|1.83|by|1.57|m|ft|1|sp=us}} and {{convert|817|kg|lb|-1|sp=us}}, with 1.5 kilowatts of power provided by three solar panels. Its design life was seven years. ''IKONOS'' operated in a [[Sun-synchronous orbit|Sun-synchronous]], near-polar, circular orbit at approximately {{convert|680|km|mi|0|abbr=on}}.<ref name="eoportal" />

===Optical Sensor Assembly===
''IKONOS''{{'s}} primary instrument was the Optical Sensor Assembly (OSA), designed and built by [[Kodak]]. It had a primary mirror aperture of {{convert|70|cm|in|0|abbr=on}}, and a folded optical focal length of {{convert|10|m|in|0|abbr=on}} using 5 mirrors. The main mirror featured a honeycomb design to reduce mass.<ref name="kramer2002">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4JucM8bpLbEC&pg=PA286 |title=Observation of the Earth and Its Environment: Survey of Missions and Sensors |publisher=Springer-Verlag |via=Google Books |first=Herbert J. |last=Kramer |edition=4th |pages=286–287 |date=2002 |isbn=3-540-42388-5 |bibcode=2002oees.book.....K}}</ref> The detectors at the focal plane included a [[panchromatic]] sensor with 13,500 pixels cross-track, and four [[multispectral]] sensors (blue, green, red, and near-infrared) each with 3,375 pixels along-track. Its [[nadir]] image swath was {{convert|11.3|km|mi|0|abbr=on}}.<ref name="ikonos-sensor">{{cite web |url=http://www.satimagingcorp.com/satellite-sensors/ikonos/ |title=IKONOS Satellite Sensor |publisher=Satellite Imaging Corporation |access-date=3 December 2016}}</ref> Total instrument mass was {{convert|171|kg|lb|abbr=on}} and it consumed 350 watts.<ref name="kramer2002" />

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Spatial and spectral resolutions<ref name="etymology" /><ref name="ShenEn2016">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vp2LBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA824 |title=Optical Payloads for Space Missions |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |via=Google Books |editor-first=Shen-En |editor-last=Qian |page=824 |date=2016 |isbn=978-1-118-94514-8}}</ref>
! Band !! 0.8-meter panchromatic !! 4-meter multispectral <br /> 1-meter pan-sharpened
|-
| Pan || 526–929 [[nanometre|nm]] || &nbsp;
|-
| 1 (Blue) || &nbsp; || 445–516&nbsp;nm
|-
| 2 (Green) || &nbsp; || 506–595&nbsp;nm
|-
| 3 (Red) || &nbsp; || 632–698&nbsp;nm
|-
| 4 (Near IR) || &nbsp; || 757–853&nbsp;nm
|}

==See also==
{{Portal|Spaceflight}}
*[[GeoEye-1]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://dg-cms-uploads-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/document/file/96/DG_IKONOS_DS.pdf IKONOS data sheet] by DigitalGlobe
{{DigitalGlobe|state=autocollapse}}
{{Orbital launches in 1999}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2018}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2014}}

[[Category:Commercial imaging satellites of the United States]]
[[Category:Lockheed Martin satellites and probes]]
[[Category:Spacecraft launched in 1999]]
[[Category:2015 disestablishments in the United States]]
[[Category:Derelict satellites orbiting Earth]]