Maxar has published images taken by one of the satellites in the WorldView Legion constellation. They show the ISS and the Chinese space station Tiangong.
In recent years, the market for photographing objects in near-Earth orbit using specialized satellites has experienced rapid growth. This service is actively used to assess the condition of spacecraft and track space debris. It is also of considerable interest to military and intelligence agencies.
To demonstrate the significantly increased capabilities of such imaging, Maxar has published images taken by one of the satellites in the WorldView Legion constellation. To date, it consists of six spacecraft launched in 2024–2025. Their main purpose is to photograph the Earth’s surface. They are capable of photographing it with a resolution of up to 34 cm/pixel. However, WorldView Legion satellites can also be used to photograph other spacecraft. They can obtain images with a resolution of less than 10 centimeters.
In the photos published by Maxar, you can see the ISS and Tiangong in detail, as well as the spacecraft docked to them. Nowadays, the ISS is the biggest space structure ever built by humans. It consists of 16 sealed modules. It is 109 meters long, weighs about 450 tons, and is designed to accommodate seven people on a permanent basis.
As for Tiangong, it currently consists of three sealed modules. It is 55 meters long and weighs about 100 tons. In the future, China plans to expand the station by adding new modules. This will increase its permanent crew from 3 to 6 people.
