Boeing Delta II 7920 rocket

Many of the things that have become commonplace in our day-to-day lives rely on technology most people don't see every day.

Satellite phones and TV, GPS systems, and Web maps all depend on satellites orbiting Earth to do their thing. Here's how one such satellite was prepared for its off-planet post.

On October 8, a company called DigitalGlobe launched its latest high-resolution, remote-sensing satellite, WorldView-2. The satellite launched on a Boeing Delta II 7920 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

The satellite's high-resolution imagery will be used for both government and commercial projects, including the space race of sorts that's forming between Microsoft and Google as the two companies try to best each other with their online mapping capabilities. Nokia and Bing logos were visible on the rocket at launch.

At the GeoInt 2009 Symposium earlier this week, DigitalGlobe released the satellite's first images.