4B

• First Generation (Multi-spectral) Satellite Imaging Systems

  • LANDSAT
  • NOAA-AVHRR
  • SPOT
  • IRS Series
• LANDSAT


  • First launched in 1972
  • Multi Spectral Scanner (MSS) with 4 bands (Green, Red, NIR x 2) and 80 m ground resolution
  • First series (Landsats 1, 2, 3) were sun-synchronous, 103 minutes, 14 orbits/day, repetitive coverage every 18 days (252 orbits)
  • Landsat 4 launched in 1982 with upgraded Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) instrument with 7 bands (Blue, Green, Red, NIR, SWIR X 2, TIR) and 30m ground resolution
  • Landsat 7 launched in 1999 with additional 15m panchromatic
• Landsat Satellites


  • Landsat 1
  • Landsat 2
  • Landsat 3
  • Landsat 4
  • Landsat 5
  • Landsat 6
  • Landsat 7
• Landsat 7 Satellite Sensor Characteristics

  • Design life: five years; 532 images per day
  • Polar, sun-synchronous orbit, scans entire earth's surface in 232 orbits, 15 days
  • Weighs 1973 kg, 4.04 m long, 2.74 m in diameter
  • Solid-state memory of 378 gigabits (~ 100 images)
  • Main instrument is the Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) with panchromatic band at 15m resolution, full aperture 5% absolute radiometric calibration, and thermal infrared channel at 60m resolution
• Thematic Mapper


  • Bands tailored to record radiation of interest to specific scientific investigations rather than arbitrary definitions for MSS
  • Spatial resolution about 30m
  • Digital values quantized at 8 bits giving larger range of brightness values
• TM Sensor Characteristics


  • Band 1 (Blue-Green, 0.45-0.52 um) - Penetration of clear water, bathymetry, mapping coastal waters, conifer/deciduous
  • Band 2 (Green, 0.52-0.60 um) - Records green radiation reflected from healthy vegetation, assess plant vigor
  • Band 3 (Red, 0.63-0.69 um) - Chlorophyll absorption important for plant-type discrimination
  • Band 4 (Near Infrared, 0.76-0.90 um) - Indicator of plant cell structure, biomass, plant vigor
  • Band 5 (Mid-Infrared, 1.55-1.75 um) - Indicative of vegetation moisture content, soil moisture mapping, differentiate snow from clouds
  • Band 6 (Far Infrared, 10.4-12.5 um) - Vegetation stress analysis, soil moisture discrimination, thermal mapping, plant heat stress
  • Band 7 (Mid-Infrared, 2.08-2.35 um) - Discrimination of rock types, alteration zones for hydrothermal mapping, hydroxyl ion absorption
• Landsat 7 Scan Line Corrector (SLC)

  • Positioned behind the primary optics and compensates for a long track motion of spacecraft during active cross track scan
  • Rectilinear scan pattern produced using the SLC instead of zig-zag pattern without it
• Landsat 8


  • USGS assumed possession from NASA on 05/30/13
  • Collecting approximately 500 new scenes every day
  • 8-10 x improvement in signal-to-noise ratio
  • 12-bit quantization
  • New coastal blue band (detection of water column constituents)
  • New cirrus band (better cloud screening)
  • Additional thermal band (more precise temperature measurements)
• Landsat 7 vs Landsat 8

  • Landsat 7
  • Landsat 8
• SPOT


  • French satellite launched in 1986
  • Conceived by the Center Nationale D'Etudes Spatiales (CNES)
  • First satellite system to use linear array sensor and pointable optics
  • Two modes of operation (panchromatic; multispectral)
  • Off nadir look capability (during passes 1 and 4 days apart)
  • Stereo capability
• SPOT Satellites


  • SPOT 1 (Launched 21 Feb 1986, Retired 31 Dec 1990)
  • SPOT 2 (Launched 21 Jan 1990)
  • SPOT 3 (Launched 25 Sept 1993, Not functioning due to an accident on 14 Nov 1997)
  • SPOT 4 (Launched 24 Mar 1998)
  • SPOT 5 (Launched 3 May 2002)
  • SPOT 6 (Launched 12 Sept 2012)
  • SPOT 7 (Launched 30 Jun 2014)
• SPOT 5 Satellite Sensor Characteristics

  • Launch Date – May 3, 2002
  • Launch Vehicle – Ariane 4
  • Launch Location – Guiana Space Center, Kourou, French Guiana
  • Orbit Altitude – 822 km
  • Orbit Inclination – 98.7 deg., sun-synchronous
  • Speed – 7.4 km/s – 26,640 km/hr
  • Equator Crossing Time – 10:30 am (descending node)
  • Orbit Time – 101.4 minutes
  • Revisit Time – 2-3 days depending on Latitude
  • Swath Width – 60 km x 60 km x 80 km at nadir
  • Metric Accuracy - <50 m horizontal position accuracy (CE90%)
  • Digitization – 8 bits
  • Resolution: Pan 2.5 m, Pan 5m, MS 10m, SWI 20m
  • Image Bands: Pan 480 – 710 nm, Green 500 – 590 nm, Red 610 – 680 nm, Near IR 780 – 890 nm, Shortwave IR 1580 – 1750 nm
• SPOT 6 Satellite Sensor Characteristics

  • Launch Date - September 12, 2012
  • Design Lifetime – 10 years
  • Orbit Altitude – 694 km
  • Orbit - sun-synchronous, 10:00 am local time at descending node
  • Period – 98.79 min
  • Revisit Time – 1 day with SPOT 6 and SPOT 7 operating simultaneously, between 1 and 3 days with only one satellite in operation
  • Swath Width – 60 km at nadir
  • Metric Accuracy - 35m CE 90 without GCP within a 30° viewing angle cone
  • Digitization – 12 bits
  • Resolution: Panchromatic 1.5m, Multispectral 6m
  • Spectral Bands: Panchromatic 0.450-0.745 μm, Blue 0.450-0.520 μm, Green 0.530-0.590 μm, Red 0.625-0.695 μm, Near Infrared 0.760-0.890 μm
• IRS Satellites


  • IRS 1A (4 bands, 72m resolution, 148 Km swath, Launched in 1988)
  • IRS 1B (36m resolution, Launched 1991)
  • IRS 1C (4 bands, 25 to 70m resolution, 141 Km swath, Launched 1996)
  • IRS PAN (5m resolution, 70 Km swath)
  • IRS WiFS (1 band at 188m res., 774 Km swath, 5 days revisit)
• Second Generation (High resolution) Satellite Imaging Systems

  • Ikonos
  • QuickBird
  • OrbView
• IKONOS Satellite System


  • Launched on 24 September 1999 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, USA
  • Operational Life – Over 7 years
  • Orbit - 98.1 degrees, sun synchronous
  • Speed on Orbit - 7.5 kilometers per second
  • Speed Over the Ground - 6.8 kilometers per second
  • No. of Rev Around the Earth - 14.7 every 24 hours
  • Orbit Time Around the Earth – 98 mins
  • Altitude – 681 km
  • Resolution Nadir: 0.82 meters panchromatic, 3.2 meters multispectral
  • Resolution 26° Off-Nadir: 1.0 meter panchromatic, 4.0 meters multispectral
  • Image Swath: 11.3 kilometers at nadir, 13.8 kilometers at 26° off-nadir
  • Equator Crossing Time - Nominally 10:30 a.m. solar time
  • Revisit Time - Approximately 3 days at 40° latitude
  • Dynamic Range - 11-bits per pixel (2048 BVs)
  • Image Bands - Panchromatic, blue, green, red, near IR
• QuickBird Satellite


  • Launched in October 2001 by DigitalGlobe
  • Color at 2.4 m, Panchromatic at 0.6 m
• QuickBird Satellite Sensor Characteristics

  • Launch Date - October 18, 2001
  • Launch Vehicle - Boeing Delta II
  • Launch Location - Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, USA
  • Orbit Altitude - 450 Km
  • Orbit inclination - 97.2 deg., sun-synchronous
  • Speed - 7.1 Km/second - 25,560 Km/hour
  • Equator Crossing Time- 10:30 a.m. (descending node)
  • Orbit Time - 93.5 minutes
  • Revisit Time - 1-3.5 days depending on Latitude (30 deg. off-nadir)
  • Swath Width - 16.5 Km x 16.5 Km at nadir
  • Metric Accuracy - 23-meter horizontal (CE90%)
  • Digitization – 11 bits
  • Resolution: Pan 61 cm (nadir) to 72 cm (25o off-nadir), MS 2.44 m (nadir) to 2.88 m (25o off-nadir)
  • Image Bands: Pan 450 - 900 nm, Blue 450 - 520 nm, Green 520 - 600 nm, Red 630 - 690 nm, Near IR 760 - 900 nm
• GeoEye again made history with the Sept. 6, 2008 launch of GeoEye-1 — the world's highest resolution commercial earth-imaging satellite.
• GeoEye-1


  • Launch Date - October 18, 2001
  • Launch Vehicle - Boeing Delta II
  • Launch Location - Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, USA
  • Orbit Altitude - 450 Km
  • Orbit inclination - 97.2 deg., sun-synchronous
  • Speed - 7.1 Km/second - 25,560 Km/hour
  • Equator Crossing Time- 10:30 a.m. (descending node)
  • Orbit Time - 93.5 minutes
  • Revisit Time - 1-3.5 days depending on Latitude (30 deg. off-nadir)
  • Swath Width - 16.5 Km x 16.5 Km at nadir
  • Metric Accuracy - 23-meter horizontal (CE90%)
  • Digitization – 11 bits
  • Pan Resolution - 61 cm (nadir) to 72 cm (25o off-nadir)
  • MS Resolution - 2.44 m (nadir) to 2.88 m (25o off-nadir)
  • Image Bands - Pan: 450 - 900 nm, Blue: 450 - 520 nm, Green: 520 - 600 nm, Red: 630 - 690 nm, Near IR 760 - 900 nm
• GeoEye-1 Specification


  • Panchromatic Sensor Resolution - 0.41 meters x 0.41 meters
  • Multispectral Sensor Resolution - 1.65 meters x 1.65 meters
  • Spectral Range - 450-800 nm, 450-510 nm (blue), 510-550 nm (green), 655-690 nm (red), 780-920 nm (near IP)
  • Swath Width - 15.2 km
  • Off-Hadir Imaging – up to 60 deg.
  • Dynamic Range – 11 bits per pixel
  • Mission Life Expected - > 10 years
  • Revisit Time – Less than 3 days
  • Orbital Altitude – 681 km
  • Hodal Crossing – 10:30 am
• ALOS "Daichi"


  • Launch Date - Jan. 24, 2006
  • Launch Vehicle – H-IIA
  • Launch Site - Tanegashima Space Center
  • Spacecraft Mass – Approx. 4 tons
  • Generated Power - Approx. 7 kW (at End of Life)
  • Design Life – 3-5 years
  • Orbit - Sun-Synchronous Sub-Recurrent, Repeat Cycle: 46 days Sub Cycle: 2 days, Altitude: 691.65 km (at Equator), Inclination: 98.16 deg.
  • Attitude Determination Accuracy - 2.0 x 10 degree (with GCP)
  • Position Determination Accuracy - 1m (off-line)
  • Data Rate - 240Mbps (via Data Relay Technology Satellite), 120Mbps (Direct Transmission)
  • Onboard Data Recorder - Solid-state data recorder (90Gbytes)
  • Sensors - a high-resolution stereo mapping sensor (PRISM), a visible and near infrared radiometer (AVNIR-2), an L-band synthetic aperture radar (PALSAR)
• HH-HV-(HH-HV) FCC Display


  • HH: sensitive to direct and specular backscatter
  • HV: sensitive to volume scattering
  • Forest: Green; Clear cut areas: dark purple; Open water: black
  • Flooded vegetation: light violet
• WorldView-1


  • Launched 18 Sept 2007
  • Orbit - Altitude: 496 km, Type: Sun-synchronous, 10:30 am descending node, Period: 94.6 mins.
  • Sensor band: Panchromatic
  • Sensor Resolution - 0.50 meters Ground Sample Distance (GSD) at nadir, 0.59 meters GSD at 25° off-nadir
  • Dynamic Range - 11-bits per pixel
  • Max Contiguous Area Collected in a Single Pass - 60x 110 km mono, 30 x 110 km stereo
  • Max Viewing Angle/ Accessible Ground Swath - Nominally +/-45" off-cadir 1,035 km wide swath Higher angles selectively available
  • Swath Width - 17.6 kilometers at nadir
  • Revisit Frequency - 1.7 days at 1-meter GSD or less, 4.6 days at 25 off-nadir or less (0.59-meter GSD)
• WorldView-2


  • Launch Date: Anticipated Sep/Oct 2009
  • Launch Vehicle: Delta 7920 (9 strap-ons)
  • Launch Site: Vandenberg Air Force Base
  • Orbit - Altitude: 770 kilometers, Type: Sun synchronous, 10:30 am descending node, Period: 100 minutes
  • Mission Life - 7.25 years, including all consumables and degradables (e.g. propellant)
  • Spacecraft Size, Mass and Power - 4.3 meters (14 feet) tall x 2.5 meters (8 feet) across, 7.1 meters (23 feet) across the deployed solar arrays, 2800 kilograms (6200 pounds), 3.2 kW solar array, 100 Ahr battery
  • Sensor Bands - Panchromatic + 8 Multispectral: 4 standard colors: red, blue, green, near-IR, 4 new colors: red edge, coastal, yellow and near-IR2
  • Sensor Resolution - Panchromatic: 0.46 meters GSD at nadir, 0.52 meters GSD at 20° off-nadir, Multispectral: 1.84 meters GSD at nadir, 2.08 meters GSD at 20° off-nadir
  • Dynamic Range - 11-bits per pixel
• Date of acquisition - March 7, 2010, Time of acquisition - 10:45:41, Cloud cover - 0%, Product type and level – Standard (LV2A)
• WorldView-3


  • Panchromatic 31 cm, Visible & near-infrared 1.24 m, Short-wave infrared 3.7 m
  • Orbit - Altitude: 617 km, Type: SunSync, 10:30 am descending Node, Period: 97 min
  • Life - Spec Mission Life: 7.25 years, Estimated Service Life: 10 to 12 years
  • Spacecraft Size, Mass and Power - Size: 5.7 m (18.7 ft) tall x 2.5 m (8 ft) across 7.1 m (23 ft) across deployed solar arrays, Mass: 2800 kg (6200 lbs), Power: 3.1 kW solar array, 100 Ahr battery
  • Sensor Bands - Panchromatic: 450-800 nm, 8 Multispectral
  • Sensor Resolution (or GSD, Ground Sample Distance; off-nadir is geometric mean) - Panchromatic Nadir: 0.31 m, 20° Off-Nadir: 0.34 m, Multispectral Nadir: 1.24 m, 20° Off-Nadir: 1.38 m, SWIR Nadir: 3.70 m, 20° Off-Nadir: 4.10 m, CAVIS Nadir: 30.00 m
  • Dynamic Range - 11-bits per pixel Pan and MS; 14-bits per pixel SWIR
  • Swath Width - At nadir: 13.1 km
• First Generation Environmental Satellites

  • NOAA-AVHRR
  • RESURS
• NOAA-AVHRR


  • A weather satellite series, Launched in 1978, 5 bands, 1.1Km resolution, 2700 Km swath, Cheap satellite for global or continental scale monitoring
  • Band 1: 0.58 – 0.68 (Satellites: NOAA – 6, 8, 10), 0.58 – 0.68 (Satellites: NOAA – 7,9,11,12,14)
  • Band 2: 0.725 – 1.10 (Satellites: NOAA – 6, 8, 10), 0.725 – 1.10 (Satellites: NOAA – 7,9,11,12,14)
  • Band 3: 3.55 – 3.93 (Satellites: NOAA – 6, 8, 10), 3.55 – 3.93 (Satellites: NOAA – 7,9,11,12,14)
  • Band 4: 10.50 – 11.50 (Satellites: NOAA – 6, 8, 10), 10.3 – 11.3 (Satellites: NOAA – 7,9,11,12,14)
  • Band 5: Band 4 repeated (Satellites: NOAA – 6, 8, 10), 11.5 – 12.5 (Satellites: NOAA – 7,9,11,12,14)
• RESURS


  • Russian satellite marketed by Sweden, Five bands, Vis-NIR, 150m resolution, 600Km swath
• Second Generation Environmental Satellites

  • TOPEX/Poseidon
  • SeaWIFS
• TOPEX/Poseidon


  • France/USA oceanographic satellite, Radar altimeter, Measures wave height
• Sea-WIFS


  • Sea-Viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor, Oceanographic colour image, 1 August 1997, 1.1 km resolution, 2806 km swath, History - CZCS, MOS-1, 8 bands in Vis-NIR, Chlorophyll concentration
• Third Generation Environmental Satellites

  • EOS – MODIS
  • Envisat
• EOS – MODIS


  • Earth Observation System- Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, Two satellites: – Terra satellite (EOS-AM): N-S, equator crossing in AM, Aqua satellite (EOS-PM): S-N, equator crossing in PM, Views the whole Earth's surface every 1-2 days, 36 bands
  • MODIS Bands - Band 1: 0.620-0.670, Band 2: 0.841 -0.876, Band 3: 0.459-0.479, Band 4: 0.545-0.565, Band 5: 1.230-1.250, Band 6: 1.628-1.652, Band 7: 2.105-2.155
  • Bands and their Spatial Resolution - 1 – 2: 250 m, 3 -7: 500 km, 8 – 36: 1 km
  • 24 EOS Measurements
• Envisat


  • Launched March 2002, Operated by the ESA, the world's largest civilian Earth observation satellite, MERIS 15 band imager, Imaging RADAR
• Himawari 8/9 Satellite


  • Tanegashima Space Center, 7 October 2014 (settled in geostationary orbit on 16 October) Operation start 7 July 2015, Temporal res. – 10 mins, Spatial res. - 0.5-2 km
• Radar Satellites


  • SeaSat
  • SIR Series
  • ERS Series
  • JERS-1
  • RADARSAT