On Aug. 13, 2014, a company called DigitalGlobe launched what was then the sharpest-eyed satellite of all time.

WorldView-3 is a high-resolution imaging satellite that can resolve features as small as 1 foot (31 centimeters) across. Its instruments allow it to peer through fog and smoke to see Earth's surface at a level of detail that was unprecedented for a nongovernmental spacecraft. WorldView-3 lifted off on a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California and has been orbiting the Earth ever since.