The commodification of high-resolution optical satellite imagery continues. In the domain of small satellites, ONGLAISAT of the Tokyo-based company ArkEdge Space developed in collaboration with the Taiwan Space Agency TASA has achieved a spatial resolution of approximately 2.5 meters from a relatively low orbit of 410 kilometers.
From the press release:
The results of this demonstration—including world-class ground resolution, enhanced image clarity through TDI1, and efficient data compression via onboard processing—as well as the advanced satellite technology required to achieve them can be applied not only to 6U class CubeSats but also to larger spacecraft in future missions.
While the sample image displayed here may also show some of the current limitations of TDI, it’s nevertheless an exciting development to potentially have this spatial resolution available from small space-borne platforms.
Footnotes
Time delay integration, a forward-motion compensation technique↩︎