IKONOS satellite, imagery, and products

The IKONOS satellite simultaneously collects 1-m panchromatic and 4-m multispectral images, providing the commercial and scientific community with a dramatic improvement in spatial resolution over previously available satellite imagery. The sun-synchronous IKONOS orbit provides global coverage, consistent access times, and near-nadir viewing angles. The system is capable of 1:10,000 scale mapping without ground control and 1:2400 scale mapping with ground control. The IKONOS ground station produces radiometrically corrected images, georectified images, orthorectified images, stereo pairs, and digital elevation models (DEMs) for image analysis, photogrammetric, and cartographic applications. This article provides an overview of the IKONOS satellite, ground systems, products, and applications.