On November 25th (2013), strapped into a Progress cargo ship aboard a Soyuz rocket, two Urthecast cameras will begin the journey to the International Space Station. Once installed, they will provide the world’s first continuous HD video feed of Earth, streamed from space.
As they orbit the Earth sixteen times a day aboard the ISS, the cameras aim is to provide a near-live stream of the Earth, using HD video and imagery, which will be downlinked to ground stations across the globe and streamed, near-live, to the web.
For the first time, the world will have access to dynamic, high-resolution video of Earth, for purposes ranging from environmental monitoring to broadcasting. To accomplish this, 1-meter resolution video and 5-meter resolution still imagery of the Earth below the ISS will be captured, streamed, collected, and distributed to UrtheCast’s data partners.
With an UrtheCast account, you will be able to experience the planet in HD. Subscribe to any point or region in the coverage area, anywhere between 51° and -51° latitude, and you’ll receive real-time notifications every time UrtheCast captures new imagery and video of your favorite places. You’ll be able to compare that region over time, to see how it’s changed.
UrtheCast will partner with agencies that specialize in natural disaster relief, environmental monitoring, media broadcasting, and more.
This is one of those projects I would love to invest into. Capturing images and video in near-real-time could have so many uses from disaster relief, to environmental management, or if you can afford it, some interesting ways to be captured on camera or send a message to someone. I’m excited about this project and look forward to see the possibilities. These new images are sure to inspire and educate.
It is the best look I’ll get from the International Space Station without having to go there.