London, UK from UrtheCast on Vimeo.
Welcome to 2015, where you can stream a colourful, high-res video of planet Earth from space.
UrTheCast, a B.C.-based company, has released the first-ever HD video feeds of what the planet looks like from the International Space Station — 400 kilometres (249 miles) away.
“With the ultimate goal of connecting the planet and highlighting what unites us all, we’re revealing a perspective of Earth from space that was previously reserved for a small few," company co-founder Scott Larson said in a statement.
Footage from Barcelona, Boston and London capture such detail that you can see cars driving down the street in all three cities.
Barcelona, Spain from UrtheCast on Vimeo.
Boston, U.S.A. from UrtheCast on Vimeo.
The company installed two cameras on the space station in January 2014 — one for taking stills and the other for shooting video.
One of the cameras initially failed, and spacewalkers had to reel it back in for repairs. Larson said it would take months of work to get both cameras fully calibrated, but work continued on streaming high-resolution video.
Combined, the cameras cost $35 million to develop, according to Quartz.
— With files from the Canadian Press
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