First Imagery - Ten years ago...


The IKONOS satellite has just completed a decade of operation. The first imagery from the satellite was beamed down on 12th October 1999. The location choosen for this ground breaking first sub-meter commercial satellite imagery was the Washington DC Mall area. The attached picture is a part of this first imagery depicting the Washington Monument.

The Washington Monument is an obelisk near the west end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate the first U.S. president, General George Washington. The monument, made of marble, granite, and sandstone, is both the world's tallest stone structure and the world's tallest obelisk in height standing 555 feet 5? inches (169.294 m). It is also the tallest structure in Washington D.C.

Image credit: geoeye

Text credit: wikipedia