Nearly six years after conception and after several months of testing, the DISH Earth camera, installed on a DISH Network satellite, delivers fascinating full-disk views of the planet from a distance of approximately 22,300 miles above the earth. It is the world’s first commercial communications satellite in geosynchronous orbit with a camera offering live video of the earth.

The camera was integrated onboard the EchoStar 11 spacecraft, a high powered satellite that sends video signals to DISH Network satellite TV customers. An uplink facility in Cheyenne, Wyo., maintained by EchoStar Technologies L.L.C., operates the camera and delivers the images to Space Services. EchoStar 11 satellite was launched to a geo-synchronous orbit at 110 degrees West Longitude in 2008.

The camera offers a 30 degree x 22.4 degree field-of-view for dramatic images of Earth and occasional views of the Moon and Venus. The regular night/day cycle, weather patterns, and seasonal changes in the western hemisphere are clearly visible in the continuous Earth view of North America, Central America and South America. The ‘eyes’ of the DISH Earth camera observes objects in the visible spectrum, similar to the human eye, with a resolution of about 20 km per pixel. The camera’s image rate is one frame per every 15 seconds.

The camera was developed in conjunction with EchoStar satellite engineers and teams from Ecliptic Enterprises Corporation and Space Systems/Loral.

Other camera facts:

• Two identical cameras mounted in radiation-protective aluminum housing on spacecraft earth-face deck. Cameras have 12mm focal length lenses.
• Resolution is approximately 25km/pixel and the output is 720 x 486 pixel NTSC.
• Image quality and rate are configurable on-orbit, with 3 modes.
• Modes for 400kbp/s (recommended default/clear sky), 150kbp/s (medium rain fade), and 25kbp/s (heavy rain fade)
• Imagery is continuously archived at EchoStar’s Uplink Facilities.