The capacity crunch will be an issue “until we get the Legions launched,” Jablonsky said.
WorldView Legion is a constellation of six imagery satellites that is critical to the
company’s future. Legion has suffered
a number of schedule setbacks, including delays in the delivery of the imaging instruments and production shutdowns during the covid pandemic. Most recently, the launch of the first two satellites that had been projected for early summer could be pushed to the right again because of a
shortage of Ukrainian Antonov cargo aircraft used to transport spacecraft from factory to launch site.
The first two satellites will be transported by truck from Maxar’s manufacturing plant in Northern California to SpaceX’s launch facility in Cape Canaveral, Florida. That could add a couple of extra weeks to the schedule, said Jablonsky.
Maxar initially had booked two SpaceX launches for the Legion constellation: one for the first two satellites and the second for the other four. But it later decided to add a third, splitting the constellation in pairs to be launched in three-month intervals, said Jablonsky.
“We wanted to make sure we can get the capacity up there as quickly as possible, but also reduce the risk from having four Legions on one launch vehicle,” he said.
Once new satellites are in orbit, it can take anywhere from 45 to 90 days of testing and calibration before they are fully operational, he said.