The constellation was deactivated on March 31st, 2020 but Planet still offers data archive years 2009 to 2020.
The RapidEye constellation of five satellites had the unique ability to acquire high resolution, large-area image data on a daily basis.
RapidEye's imaging capabilities can be applied to a host of industries, including agriculture, forestry, oil and gas exploration, power and engineering and construction, governments, cartography and mining.
The RapidEye system was able to collect an unprecedented 4 million square kilometers of data per day at 6.5 meter nominal ground resolution. Each satellite measuring less than one cubic meter and weighs 150 kg (bus + payload). All five satellites were equipped with identical sensors and are located in the same orbital plane. RapidEye satellites included the Red-Edge band, which is sensitive to changes in chlorophyll content.
Each of the five satellites were identically calibrated so that images between satellites are indistinguishable from each other.
The RapidEye images are best suited for all applications that require an updated and frequent monitoring, thanks to their ability to deliver multiple information on the same area collected in a very short time interval.
The five satellites provided an important contribution in the emergency management and response for the speed with which they can collect satellite data and make it available in case of exceptional events.
Examples of RapidEye data available
