This document provides an overview of the history and development of remote sensing from satellites. It discusses early satellite and manned spacecraft imaging from the 1960s with limited coverage. Meteorological satellites in the 1960s showed potential for remote sensing. Landsat, beginning in 1972, was the first satellite system designed for land remote sensing with global coverage and repeated visits. It included improvements over generations in spatial, spectral, and radiometric resolution. Other satellite systems discussed include SPOT, IKONOS, and instruments onboard the Terra satellite.

1. Remote Sensing Systems

2. Early Satellite Sensing
• Spy satellites gave exquisite but very local
views and were classified
• Even before satellites were launched, it
was clear that color imaging was essential
• Best images were from manned
spacecraft
– Low latitude
– Limited coverage in space and time
– Almost all oblique

3. Gemini XII,
1968
(410 miles)

4. Early Satellite Sensing
• Meteorological satellites gave hints of
what might be possible
– Snow coverage
– Sea ice
– Glaciers
– Gross geological structures

5. Nimbus I image
1964

6. Landsat
• Landsat 1 1972-1978
• Landsat 2 1975-1981
• Landsat 3 1978-1983
• Landsat 4 1982-1993
• Landsat 5 1984, still functioning
• Landsat 6 1993, failed to reach orbit
• Landsat 7 1999, still functioning, but with
faulty scan line corrector (May 2003)
• Landsat Data Continuity Mission,
scheduled for 2012

7. Two Key Features of Landsat
• Orbits are sun synchronous: satellite
crosses equator southbound on day side
at about 10 AM local time
• Orbits repeat ground track precisely every
14-18 days (Revisit period)
• A term to know: Nadir = point directly
below (opposite of Zenith)

8. Early Landsat
• Originally modeled on Nimbus weather
satellite system
• Landsat 1 observed in Green, Red and
two IR bands with 80-m resolution
• Landsat 3 had 30-m resolution
• Landsat 3 added a fifth thermal IR band
but it failed
• Landsat 4: 7 bands
• Landsat 7: 15 m resolution panchromatic

9. Failed Experiment
• President Jimmy Carter recommended private
sector operation of Landsat, 1979
• Earth Observation Satellite Company (EOSAT),
a partnership of Hughes Aircraft and RCA, was
awarded ten year contract to operate Landsat,
1985
• EOSAT operated Landsats 4 and 5 and had
exclusive rights to market Landsat data.
• EOSAT needed repeated bailouts
• Congress passed Land Remote Sensing Policy
Act (Public Law 102-555) and returned Landsat
to public domain, 1992

10. Landsat 7 Bands
1 0.45-0.52µm Blue-Green 30 m
2 0.52-0.60 µm Green 30 m
3 0.63-0.69 µm Red 30 m
4 0.76-0.90 µm Near IR 30 m
5 1.55-1.75 µm Mid-IR 30 m
6 10.40-12.50 µm Thermal IR 60 m
7 2.08-2.35 µm Mid-IR 30 m
0,52-0.90 µm Panchromatic 15 m

11. Uses of Landsat 7 Bands
1. Coastal water mapping, soil/vegetation discrimination,
forest classification, man-made feature identification
2. Vegetation discrimination and health monitoring, man-
made feature identification
3. Plant species identification, man-made feature
identification
4. Soil moisture monitoring, vegetation monitoring, water
body discrimination
5. Vegetation moisture content monitoring
6. Surface temperature, vegetation stress monitoring, soil
moisture monitoring, cloud differentiation, volcanic
monitoring
7. Mineral and rock discrimination, vegetation moisture
content

12. False Color Images
• Near IR (ETM+ band 4)  Red
• Red (ETM+ band 3)  Green
• Green (ETM+ band 2)  Blue
• Colors on image are shifted one band
toward blue compared to real scene

13. Making a False-Color Image

14. Landsat 7 Facts
• Altitude: 705 kilometers
• Period: 98.9 minutes
• Inclination: Sun-synchronous, 98.2 degrees
• Equatorial crossing: Southbound 10:00AM +/-
15 min.
• Repeat coverage interval: 16 days (233 orbits)
• Swath width: 185 kilometers
• On-board data storage: ~375 Gb (solid state)

15. See SPOT. See SPOT See
• Satellite Pour l'Observation de la Terre
• Sun-synchronous
• Altitude: 832 kilometers,
• Inclination: 98.7
• Revisit period: 26 days
• Uses CCD’s and stare mode; no scanning

16. SPOT 5 Bands
Band (microns) Colors Resolution
0.51 - 0.73 Panchromatic 2.5 & 5m
0.50 - 0.59 Green 10m
0.61 - 0.68 Red 10m
0.79 - 0.89 Near IR 10m
1.58 - 1.73 Mid IR 20m

17. SPOT
Image of
Kuwait
City,
2004

18. IKONOS
• 1992 Land Remote Sensing Policy Act
permitted private companies to enter the
satellite imaging business.
• Lockheed Martin
• Launched 2000
• 1 m resolution
• Bands: Blue, Green, Red, Near IR
• Now operated by GeoEye Inc., Dulles VA

19. Burj Khalifa by IKONOS

20. Terra
• Part of NASA EOS (Earth Observation System)
• Partnership of U.S., Canada, Japan
• Instruments
– ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission
and Reflection Radiometer)
– CERES (Clouds and Earth's Radiant Energy System)
– MISR (Multiangle Imaging Spectroradiometer)
– MODIS (Moderate-Resolution Imaging
Spectroradiometer)
– MOPITT (Measurements of Pollution in the
Troposphere)

21. ASTER
• U.S. – Japan joint mission
• Three Subsystems, each with own
telescopes
• VNIR: Four visible and near-IR channels,
15-m resolution
• SWIR: Six short wave IR channels, 30-m
resolution
• TIR: Five Thermal IR Channels, 90-m
resolution
– IR sensors use Stirling Cycle coolers

22. MODIS
• Resolutions 250, 500 and 1000 meters
• Ten visible bands (250 and 500-m)
• Ten Near IR bands (500 and 1000 m)
• 16 Medium and Thermal IR bands
(1000 m)
• Bands are narrow and tailored to specific
emissions and absorptions (ocean color,
aerosols, ozone, water vapor, cloud
temperature)