Earth observation satellite

Six Earth observation satellites comprising the A-train satellite constellation as of 2014.

Part of a series on
Spaceflight
History
Space Race Timeline of spaceflight Space probes Lunar missions
Applications
Earth observation satellites Spy satellites Communications satellites Military satellite Satellite navigation Space telescopes Space exploration Space tourism Space colonization
Spacecraft
Robotic spacecraft Satellite Space probe Cargo spacecraft Human spaceflight Space capsule Space station Spaceplane
Space launch
Spaceport Launch pad Expendable and reusable launch vehicles Escape velocity Non-rocket spacelaunch
Spaceflight types
Sub-orbital Orbital Interplanetary Interstellar Intergalactic
Space agencies
Further information: List of government space agencies
Space forces
PLASSF AAE IRGCASF VKS USSF
Space commands
COMAE NORAD CDE DSA COS SOS NATO SC CONIDA KV ADD UKSC USSPACECOM
Private spaceflight
Axiom Space ARCAspace Astra Bigelow Aerospace Blue Origin Copenhagen Suborbitals Northrop Grumman Perigee Aerospace Rocket Lab Sierra Nevada Corporation SpaceX Virgin Galactic XCOR Aerospace
Spaceflight portal
v t

An Earth observation satellite or Earth remote sensing satellite is a satellite used or designed for Earth observation (EO) from orbit, including spy satellites and similar ones intended for non-military uses such as environmental monitoring, meteorology, cartography and others. The most common type are Earth imaging satellites, that take satellite images, analogous to aerial photographs; some EO satellites may perform remote sensing without forming pictures, such as in GNSS radio occultation.

The first occurrence of satellite remote sensing can be dated to the launch of the first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, by the Soviet Union on October 4, 1957.^[1] Sputnik 1 sent back radio signals, which scientists used to study the ionosphere.^[2] NASA launched the first American satellite, Explorer 1, on January 31, 1958. The information sent back from its radiation detector led to the discovery of the Earth's Van Allen radiation belts.^[3] The TIROS-1 spacecraft, launched on April 1, 1960 as part of NASA's Television Infrared Observation Satellite (TIROS) program, sent back the first television footage of weather patterns to be taken from space.^[1]

As of 2008, more than 150 Earth observation satellites were in orbit, recording data with both passive and active sensors and acquiring more than 10 terabits of data daily.^[1]

Most Earth observation satellites carry instruments that should be operated at a relatively low altitude. Altitudes below 500-600 kilometers are in general avoided, though, because of the significant air-drag at such low altitudes making frequent orbit reboost maneuvres necessary. The Earth observation satellites ERS-1, ERS-2 and Envisat of European Space Agency as well as the MetOp spacecraft of EUMETSAT are all operated at altitudes of about 800 km. The Proba-1, Proba-2 and SMOS spacecraft of European Space Agency are observing the Earth from an altitude of about 700 km. The Earth observation satellites of UAE, DubaiSat-1 & DubaiSat-2 are also placed in Low Earth Orbits (LEO) orbits and providing satellite imagery of various parts of the Earth.^[4][5]

To get (nearly) global coverage with a low orbit it must be a polar orbit or nearly so. A low orbit will have an orbital period of roughly 100 minutes and the Earth will rotate around its polar axis with about 25° between successive orbits, with the result that the ground track is shifted towards west with these 25° in longitude. Most are in Sun-synchronous orbits.

Spacecraft carrying instruments for which an altitude of 36000 km is suitable sometimes use a geostationary orbit. Such an orbit allows uninterrupted coverage of more than 1/3 of the Earth. Three geostationary spacecraft at longitudes separated with 120° can cover the whole Earth except the extreme polar regions. This type of orbit is mainly used for meteorological satellites.

History[]

Herman Potočnik explored the idea of using orbiting spacecraft for detailed peaceful and military observation of the ground in his 1928 book, The Problem of Space Travel. He described how the special conditions of space could be useful for scientific experiments. The book described geostationary satellites (first put forward by Konstantin Tsiolkovsky) and discussed communication between them and the ground using radio, but fell short of the idea of using satellites for mass broadcasting and as telecommunications relays.^[6]

Applications[]

Weather[]

GOES-8, a United States weather satellite.

A weather satellite is a type of satellite that is primarily used to monitor the weather and climate of the Earth.^[7] These meteorological satellites, however, see more than clouds and cloud systems. City lights, fires, effects of pollution, auroras, sand and dust storms, snow cover, ice mapping, boundaries of ocean currents, energy flows, etc., are other types of environmental information collected using weather satellites.

Weather satellite images helped in monitoring the volcanic ash cloud from Mount St. Helens and activity from other volcanoes such as Mount Etna.^[8] Smoke from fires in the western United States such as Colorado and Utah have also been monitored.

Environmental monitoring[]

Composite satellite image of the Earth, showing its entire surface in equirectangular projection

Other environmental satellites can assist environmental monitoring by detecting changes in the Earth's vegetation, atmospheric trace gas content, sea state, ocean color, and ice fields. By monitoring vegetation changes over time, droughts can be monitored by comparing the current vegetation state to its long term average.^[9] For example, the 2002 oil spill off the northwest coast of Spain was watched carefully by the European ENVISAT, which, though not a weather satellite, flies an instrument (ASAR) which can see changes in the sea surface. Anthropogenic emissions can be monitored by evaluating data of tropospheric NO₂ and SO₂.

These types of satellites are almost always in Sun-synchronous and "frozen" orbits. The sun-synchronous orbit is in general sufficiently close to polar to get the desired global coverage while the relatively constant geometry to the Sun mostly is an advantage for the instruments. The "frozen" orbit is selected as this is the closest to a circular orbit that is possible in the gravitational field of the Earth.

Mapping[]

Terrain can be mapped from space with the use of satellites, such as Radarsat-1^[10] and TerraSAR-X.

See also[]

• Committee on Earth Observation Satellites
• Data collection satellite
• Earth observation
• Earth observation satellites transmission frequencies
• Earth Observing System - a NASA program comprising a series of satellite missions
• First images of Earth from space
• List of Earth observation satellites
• List of climate research satellites
• Space telescope
• Satellite imagery
  • Satellite imagery#Imaging satellites

References[]

External links[]

• EO Portal directory
• The TIROS I and II Ground Control Station where the first Earth Observing Satellite (TIROS I) sent it first photos