DigitalGlobe released the first imagery from the high resolution commercial imaging satellite QuickBird. Images of Antarctica, Bangkok, and Washington, D.C. are downloadable from the DigitalGlobe website. The suite of imagery represents QuickBird's capabilities such as resolution, clarity, spectral qualities, and global coverage. QuickBird, manufactured by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., was successfully launched on October 18, 2001, from Vandenberg AFB in California on a Boeing Delta II. QuickBird circles the Earth in a 450-km (280-mile), 98-degree sun-synchronous orbit, which provides consistent revisit times year-round. In addition to providing high-resolution imagery, QuickBird also collects an 16.5-kilometer (10.3-mile) imagery swath.