DigitalGlobe has announced plans to launch seven miniaturized satellites onboard a United Launch Alliance-built Atlas V rocket as part of the rideshare program for the WorldView-4 mission.
Seven National Reconnaissance Office-sponsored CubeSats will fly onboard the Boeing–Lockheed Martin joint venture’s rocket that is scheduled to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California in mid-September to bring DigitalGlobe’s WorldView-4 imaging satellite to space, DigitalGlobe said Monday.
ULA will use its Centaur Aft Bulkhead Carrier to send the CubeSats into low-Earth orbit.
DigitalGlobe collaborated with Lockheed, ULA, Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems and California Polytechnic State University to help advance the CubeSat rideshare program.
Lockheed has begun the final phase of test and shipment preparations for DigitalGlobe’s WorldView-4 that is slated for launch on Sept. 15.