US company EarthWatch has conceded that its first commercial remote-sensing satellite, the Early Bird, has been lost.
The spacecraft, built by CTA, now part of Orbital Sciences, was launched into a 470km polar orbit by a Start 1 booster from the Svobodny Cosmodrome in far-east Russia on 24 December. Four days later, it suffered an "anomalous under-voltage condition".
EarthWatch had hoped that the satellite would provide 3m-resolution panchromatic and 15m colour images as the first of a series of planned commercial satellites returning spy-satellite-class images for the civilian market. The loss could affect investment in the company - which has suffered lay-offs - and its plans for a follow-on spacecraft. Space Imaging EUSAT plans a similar launch in March.
Source: Flight International
