This high-resolution satellite image shows the rescue efforts underway to salvage a floundering Brazilian oil platform located 50 miles (80 kms) off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The image was taken on Oct. 15, 2002, at approximately 11 a.m. local time by Space Imaging's IKONOS satellite. According to reports, salvage ships worked to repair the listing offshore oil rig. The $200 million offshore rig, known as P-34, heeled over after an electrical failure caused the oil stored aboard to flow to one side. The rig began to right itself Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2002, after workers pumped sea water into empty tanks to restore its balance.

The 1600-pound IKONOS satellite travels 423 miles above the Earth's surface at a speed of 17,500 miles per hour. It's the world's first commercial high-resolution remote sensing satellite and can see objects on the ground as small as one-meter square. IKONOS has collected more than 900,000 images of the Earth's surface representing imagery over every continent.

Image courtesy Space Imaging

Instrument: 

IKONOS