Landsat 8

Landsat 8 is a United States satellite launched by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and operated by United States Geological Survey (USGS) in collaboration with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The satellite is part of the Landsat program, a series of Earth observation satellites that have been providing remote sensing data since the launch of Landsat 1 in 1972, with significant contributions from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The mission of Landsat 8 is to continue the collection of multispectral and thermal infrared data, building on the legacy of previous Landsat missions, including Landsat 5 and Landsat 7, and working in conjunction with other Earth observation satellites like Terra (satellite), Aqua (satellite), and Aura (satellite).

Introduction

The Landsat 8 satellite was launched on February 11, 2013, from Vandenberg Air Force Base aboard an Atlas V rocket, marking a significant milestone in the Landsat program, which has been supported by United States Congress and National Science Foundation (NSF). The satellite was designed and built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies, with significant contributions from Orbital Sciences Corporation and Harris Corporation. The mission is a collaboration between NASA, USGS, and NOAA, with international partnerships with organizations like the European Space Agency (ESA), Canadian Space Agency (CSA), and Australian Government's Geoscience Australia. The Landsat 8 satellite is equipped with advanced instruments, including the Operational Land Imager (OLI) and the Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS), which were developed in collaboration with MIT Lincoln Laboratory and University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Spacecraft Design

The Landsat 8 spacecraft was designed to provide a high level of performance and reliability, with a spacecraft bus built by Orbital Sciences Corporation and a payload developed by Ball Aerospace & Technologies. The satellite is equipped with a solar array and a lithium-ion battery, which provide power to the spacecraft, and a propulsion system developed by Aerojet Rocketdyne. The spacecraft is controlled by a flight computer built by Honeywell International, and communicates with Earth through a communications system developed by General Dynamics Mission Systems. The Landsat 8 spacecraft is also equipped with a star tracker built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies and a gyroscope developed by Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems.

Instruments

The Landsat 8 satellite is equipped with two primary instruments: the Operational Land Imager (OLI) and the Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS), which were developed in collaboration with University of Arizona, University of California, Berkeley, and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The OLI is a multispectral instrument that captures images of the Earth's surface in nine different spectral bands, including visible light, near-infrared, and shortwave infrared bands, similar to those used by MODIS and AVHRR. The TIRS is a thermal infrared instrument that captures images of the Earth's surface in two different thermal infrared bands, which are used to measure land surface temperature and heat flux, in conjunction with NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites. The instruments are designed to provide high-resolution images of the Earth's surface, with a spatial resolution of 30 meters for the OLI and 100 meters for the TIRS, comparable to those of SPOT (satellite) and IRS (satellite).

Mission Objectives

The primary mission objective of Landsat 8 is to continue the collection of multispectral and thermal infrared data, which is used to support a wide range of applications, including agriculture, forestry, water resources management, and climate change research, in collaboration with National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), and University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR). The satellite is also designed to provide data for disaster response and recovery efforts, such as wildfire mapping and flood monitoring, working with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and United States Forest Service (USFS). The mission is a key component of the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) program, which is responsible for collecting and analyzing remote sensing data, and is supported by NASA's Earth Science Division and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Operations and Data

The Landsat 8 satellite is operated by USGS and NASA, with data processing and distribution handled by the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) center, in collaboration with NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The satellite is controlled by a mission control center located at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, and communicates with Earth through a communications system developed by General Dynamics Mission Systems. The data collected by the satellite is transmitted to Earth and processed into Level 1 and Level 2 data products, which are then distributed to users through the USGS EarthExplorer website, and are also used by National Weather Service (NWS) and National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP).

Specifications

The Landsat 8 satellite has a mass of approximately 2,623 kilograms and a size of 3.7 meters in length and 2.4 meters in diameter, similar to those of Landsat 5 and Landsat 7. The satellite is equipped with a solar array that provides 4,400 watts of power, and a lithium-ion battery that provides 1,800 watt-hours of energy storage, developed by Boeing and Lockheed Martin. The satellite has a design life of 5 years, but is expected to operate for 10 years or more, with a launch vehicle provided by United Launch Alliance (ULA) and a launch site located at Vandenberg Air Force Base. The satellite is part of the Landsat program, which has been providing Earth observation data since the launch of Landsat 1 in 1972, and has been supported by National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Category:Earth observation satellites