Introducing MapBox Satellite

We just launched MapBox Satellite, our beautiful global imagery layer. We’ve been working hard to bring MapBox users a fast, beautiful satellite and aerial imagery layer that integrates seamlessly with MapBox Streets and custom overlays. We’re happy to announce that it’s available today and included in MapBox Basic plans and above.

We are approaching MapBox Satellite in three main phases. Today marks Phase 1 completion with full world coverage to zoom 12 and full U.S. aerial coverage to zoom 17. Phase 2 will arrive in early 2013 as we deploy full U.S. and Europe coverage to zoom 18, followed by an aggressive Phase 3 rollout schedule for the rest of the world to zoom 17 during the first half of 2013.

Here is a quick look at the beautiful imagery we’re rolling out today:

Soldier Field in Chicago (Illinois NAIP)

The Presidio in San Francisco (California NAIP)

Northern coast of Australia (Landsat USGS)

Langtang National Park in Nepal (Landsat USGS)

Crop fields in Utah (Utah NAIP)

Shahba, Syria (Landsat USGS)

MapBox users on the Basic plan or above can log in now and make a map using MapBox Satellite in the same intuitive interface as our existing Streets and Terrain layers.

Custom styling

You can easily style MapBox Satellite using the built-in color changing interface. Make minor tweaks or take a more dramatic approach with a clean black and white or a nightvision look for a video game.

You can also turn on and off our OpenStreetMap powered streets label layer, letting you add your own labels on top of the imagery. MapBox Satellite is all fully integrated into our API, so it will be easy to add to your app.

The best data in the world

MapBox Satellite is made from the highest quality imagery in the world. Today’s rollout includes all open data that our team processed from USGS’s Landsat archive and state NAIP aerial imagery programs, all under public domain thanks to the U.S. open data policies. Led by research and data expert Chris Herwig, we’re excited to return the public’s investment in open aerial imagery back as a refined and beautiful baselayer.

This is just the start of a much larger play. We’re working with commercial imagery providers to ensure full global coverage at the highest quality possible. Here’s the schedule for bringing imagery online in 2013:

Contact us if you’re interested in the launch schedule for a specific region.