Remote Sensing Satellites

Dr P.K. GARG
Civil Engg Deptt
IIT Roorkee
Highlights of RS Satellites
Before 1972 - primarily aerial photographs
1972 - First Landsat satellite by US
launched
1978 - SPOT satellite by France launched
1988 - Indian Remote Sensing Satellite
launched
1995 - Radarsat by Canada launched
1999 - IKONOS satellite by US launched
and NASA launched Terra satellite
Today many new satellite and airborne
instruments are being developed and
launched
LANDSAT Satellites
Landsat The Beginning of
Spectral Imagery Age
1965 NASA Earth Resources Survey initiated
1972 ERTS 1 launched (July 23) with RBV, MSS
1975 Landsat 2 launched (January 22) (RBV,
MSS)
1978 Landsat 3 launched (March 5) (RBV, MSS)
1982 Landsat 4 launched (July 16) with MSS, TM
1984 Landsat 5 launched (March 1) with MSS,
TM
1993 Landsat 6 launches (October 5) with MSS,
ETM but fails to achieve orbit
1999 Landsat 7 launches (April 15) with ETM+
http://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/
http://landsat7.usgs.gov/index.php
Summary

Summary
Landsats 1, 2 and 3 altitude 923 km
Landsats 4, 5 and 7 altitude 705 km.
All Landsats pass between 9:30 and 10:00 AM
over the equator
Make 14 passes per day taking about 103
minutes for a complete one orbital
Landsats 1, 2 and 3 repeat period 18 days
Landsats 4, 5 and 7 repeat period 16 days
About 11,000 scenes fully cover the Earth's
land surface.
LANDSAT Ground Receiving Station

Each zone covers about 3000-4000 km radius
Return Beam Vidicon (RBV) Sensor in
LANDSAT
System of cameras
designed to take high-
spatial accuracy pictures of
areas collected by Landsat
Consisted of 3 cameras
(Landsats 1 and 2) or 2
cameras (Landsat 3)
Landsat 1 RBV turned off
after less than one month
due to electrical failure
Landsat 2 RBV turned off
shortly after launch for
similar reason
Landsat 3 had technical
problems that precluded
routine use
RBV Image

Multispectral Scanner (MSS) in
LANDSAT
Unidirectional whiskbroom scanner
Image earth surface cross-track
using oscillating mirror
Along-track provided by satellite
motion
Six scan lines imaged
simultaneously; each scan line
collects four spectral bands (6-bit
resolution)
Landsat 1-3; MSS onboard Landsat
3 included an extra thermal band
(designated band 8)
Typical scene size 185kmx185 km
Configuration - MSS
LANDSAT 4, 5 & 6

Swath
Area imaged on the ground.
Imaging swaths for spaceborne sensors
vary between tens and hundreds of km
wide.
Thematic Mapper (TM)
in LANDSAT
Bi-directional whiskbroom scanner
TM provides:
Better resolution (spatial and spectral)
Improved geometric fidelity
Improved radiometric accuracy
Collects 7 spectral bands (8-bit resolution)
simultaneously
Employed in Landsat 4-5; 30 m pixels
(except for band 6, which is either 120 for
Landsat 4 or 60 for Landsat 5) with typical
image size of 185x172 km

Landsat - 7
Landsat-7
705-km altitude
16-day repeat cycle
185 km swath width
Descending node at 10:00 - +15 min
Whisk-broom scanner
Radiometric resolution: 2
8

(256 levels)
ETM+ sensor
30-m XS (for 6 bands) & 60-m
thermal
15-m pan band
Image data (185 km by 185 km)
$475 raw data; $600 corrected
data
NASA developing a global
archive of ETM+
Landsat-7
Enhanced Thematic Mapper
(ETM) / ETM Plus (ETM+)
ETM was an evolution of TM
onboard ill-fated Landsat 6
ETM+ is an evolution of ETM
onboard Landsat 7
Bi-directional whiskbroom
scanner
Collects 8 spectral bands
simultaneously (8-bit
resolution)
30 m pixels (except for Band
6 which is 60 m, and the pan
band which is 15) with typical
image size of 183x170 km

Band Wavelength
(m)
Spectral
Location
Resolution
(m)
Pan 0.52-0.90 Pan 15
1 0.45-0.52 Blue 30
2 0.53-0.60 Green 30
3 0.63-0.69 Red 30
4 0.76-0.90 Near IR 30
5 1.55-1.75 Mid IR 30
6 10.4-12.5 Thermal
IR
60
7 2.07-2.35 Mid IR 30
7

ETM Plus (ETM+) characteristics
Band Principal Applications
1
Coastal water mapping, soil/vegetation
discrimination, forest type mapping, cultural feature
identification
2
Measures green reflectance peak of vegetation for
vegetation discrimination & vigor assessment,
cultural feature identification
3
Senses a chlorophyll absorption region aiding in
plant species differentiation, cultural feature
identification
4
Determine vegetation types, vigor & biomass
content, delineate water bodies, soil moisture
discrimination
5
Indicative of vegetation moisture content & soil
moisture, differentiate snow from clouds
6
Useful for vegetation stress analysis, soil moisture
discrimination, thermal mapping applications
7
Discrimination of mineral & rock types, sensitive to
vegetation moisture content
Pan
Detailed mapping, useful in sharpening multispectral
images


Landsat ETM+ band 1 (0.45-0.52 m, blue-green)
Penetrates water better
than the other bands so it
is often the band of
choice for aquatic
ecosystems
Used to monitor sediment
in water, mapping coral
reefs, and water depth
The noisiest of the
Landsat bands since
short wavelength blue
light is scattered more
than the other bands


Landsat ETM+ band 2 (0.52-0.60 m, green)

Similar qualities to band 1
but not as noisy.
Matches the wavelength
for the colour green.

Landsat ETM+ band 3 (0.63-0.69 m, red)
Since vegetation absorbs
nearly all red light (it is
sometimes called the
chlorophyll absorption
band) this band can be
useful for distinguishing
between vegetation and
soil and in monitoring
vegetation health

Landsat ETM+ band 4 (0.76-0.90 m, near infrared)
Since water absorbs
nearly all light at this
wavelength water bodies
appear very dark. This
contrasts with bright
reflectance for soil and
vegetation so it is a good
band for defining the
water/land interface
Sensitive to vegetation
cover
Less affected by
atmospheric
contamination

Landsat ETM+ band 5 (1.55-1.75 m, mid-infrared)

Very sensitive to
moisture and is
therefore used to
monitor vegetation
water stress and soil
moisture.
Useful to differentiate
between clouds and
snow
Landsat ETM+ band 6 (10.40-12.50 m, thermal
infrared)
Measures surface
temperature.
Geological applications
Differentiate clouds from
bright soils since clouds
tend to be very cold
The resolution is twice as
course as the other
bands (60 m instead of
30 m)

Landsat ETM+ band 7 (2.08-2.35 m mid-
infrared)
Can detect high surface
temperatures
Also used for vegetation
moisture although
generally band 5 is
generally preferred for
that application
Commonly used in
geology

Landsat Image - View of Mt. St. Helens, Post-
Eruption
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Image Data Band combination Colour Composite
Selected bands are superimposed to get the output
image in colour.
Image display
Natural colour composite
3, 2, 1 Bands
False colour composite
4, 3, 2 Bands
Certain bands or band combinations are better than others for
identifying specific land cover features.
Landsat TM Red= band 3, Green =
band 2, Blue = band 1
Landsat TM Red= band 7, Green =
band 5, Blue = band 4
Landsat ETM+ bands 3,2,1
Penetrates shallow water and
shows submerged shelf, water
turbidity
Landsat ETM+ bands 4,3,2
Peak chlorophyll, land/water
boundary, urban areas
This dataset covers 5.4 million
square kilometers. Eight scenes
of data were unavailable from
this system.
The original projection data is
UTM with datum WGS84.
The data amount of the mosaic
image from 105 Landsat scenes
(composed of 4 bands) is around
40 GB.
Landsat Mosaic
SPOT Satellite
SPOT system
SPOT - Satellite Pour lObservation de la Terre
Designed by CNES (Centre national dtudes
spatiales) and built in partnership with Astrium and
Spot Image.
Currently includes three operational in-orbit
satellites, Spot 2, 4 and 5.
Volcanic
Activity
Dec. 22, 2000
SPOT 4 HRV
SPOT 5

Launched in 2002
visual 5 meter land observations
high-resolution mapping, infrastructure
identification, terrain analysis, crop
identification

SPOT 5- Summary
Orbit Altitude 822 Km
Orbit Inclination 98.7, sun-synchronous
Speed 7.4 Km/second 26,640 Km/hour
Equator Crossing Time 10:30 a.m. (descending node)
Orbit Time 101.4 minutes
Revisit Time 2-3 days depending on Latitude
Swath Width 60 Km x 60 Km to 80 Km at nadir
Geometric Accuracy
<50-m horizontal position accuracy
(CE90%)
Radiometric Accuracy 8 Bits
HRG Sensor in SPOT 5
Spot 5 payload comprises two
identical Haute Resolution
Geometrique (HRG) instruments
capable of acquiring data at four
resolution levels with the same swath
of 60 km:
images in the SWIR band at a resolution
of 20 meters;
multispectral images at 10 meters;
panchromatic images at 5 meters;
supermode panchromatic images at 2,5
meters.
HRG bands in SPOT-5
Pan: 480 - 710 nm 2.5m, 5m
Green: 500 - 590 nm 10m
Red: 610 - 680 nm 10m
Near IR: 780 890 nm 10m
Short Wave IR: 1,580 1,750 nm 20m
SPOT-5
The SPOT imaging instruments oblique viewing
capability means they can acquire imagery of
any point on the globe within less than five days
at the Equator, and in less than three days at
temperate latitudes (45
o
).
The SPOT systems three satellites are thus
able to observe any area of interest almost daily.
High Resolution Stereoscopic (HRS) Sensor
Acquires images almost simultaneously in
front of and behind the satellite to allow
acquisition of stereo pair images in a
single pass.
Swath: 120 km centred on the satellite
ground track
Repeat cycle of 26 days
Resolution: 10 metres in panchromatic
mode
DEM accuracy better than 15 metres
Allows orthorectification of HRG (High
Resolution Geometric) images
Vegetation Sensors
VEGETATION 1: passenger aboard SPOT 4,
launched on March 24, 1998
VEGETATION 2: passenger aboard SPOT 5,
launched on May 3, 2002
To observe the Earth's biosphere and crops on a
regional and global scale
Long-term environmental change at regional and
global scales
Cover almost all of the globes land masses in
one day
Vegetation Sensors
Resolution: 1 km
Swath: 2250 km
4 spectral bands
Red: 0.61 to 0.68 m
Near-infrared: 0.78 to 0.89 m
Mid-infrared: 1.58 to 1.75 m
Blue: 0.43 to 0.47 m (for atmospheric corrections)
Vegetation Sensors
Products
Primary products (P),
extracted from a single
image segment

Daily (S1) or ten-day (S10)
syntheses - mosaics of
acquired image segments,
for 24h periods and for the
last 10 days respectively

Vegetation indices (NDVI)
calculated from daily or ten-
day syntheses
Vegetation Sensors
Other Applications
Production and updating of forest maps to help
manage local resources, and for long-term
continental and global studies of climate
change
Monitoring of crop acreage to aid yield
forecasting
Observation of ocean colour to aid fishing
vessels
Daily monitoring of specific areas to help
combat locust swarms effectively and prevent
forest fires.
Indian Remote Sensing Satellites
(IRS)
The first satellite in the IRS series was launched
by a Soviet Vostock booster on March 17, 1988.
By Dec. 1997, seven more had been launched.
Series of eight satellites namely; IRS-1A,-1B,-
1E,-P2,-1C,-P3,-1D.
2 more ( IRS-P4 and P6) were launched
between 1999 and 2003 respectively.
IRS-P5 came to being in 2005

IRS Series
The launch of India's first civilian remote sensing satellite
IRS-1A in March 1988, marked the beginning of a
successful journey of the Indian Space Programme.
The two LISS sensors (LISS I and LISS II) aboard IRS-
1A captured valuable data for large scale mapping.
IRS-1B , having similar sensors, was launched in August
1991, and together, they provided better repetivity.
IRS-1C (launched in December 1995) carried LISS-III,
PAN and WiFS sensors.
IRS-1D (September 1997) further strengthened the
scope of remote sensing, with increased coverage.
Indian Remote Sensing Satellite (IRS)
IRS-1A launched in March 1988
IRS-1B launched in August 1991
IRS-1C launched in December 1995
IRS-1D launched on September 29,1997.
IRS-P3 and IRS-1D launched by India's Polar Satellite
Launch Vehicle (PSLV).
OCEANSAT-1 with an Ocean Colour Monitor (OCM) and a
Multi-frequency Scanning Microwave Radiometer (MSMR)
RESOURCESAT-1 (IRS P6) for agricultural applications
launched on October 17, 2003.
CARTOSAT-1 (IRS P5) with a Very High Resolution
Panchromatic camera for cartographic applications
launched on May 5, 2005
Indian Remote Satellites
Satellite Launch date Uses Sensors
IRS-1B Aug. 29, 1991 Cartography, digital terrain
models
LISS-I, LISS-II
IRS-P2 Oct. 15, 1994 Ocean biology, physical
oceanography
LISS-II
IRS-1C Dec. 28, 1995 Cartography, digital terrain
models
PAN, LISS-III,
WiFS
IRS-P3 March 21,
1996
Ocean chlorophyll, vegetation
assessment, snow studies,
geological mapping for minerals
WiFS, MOS
IRS-1D Sept. 29, 1997 Vegetation index mapping PAN, LISS-II,
WiFS
IRS-P4 May 26, 1999 Oceanography OCM (8 bands)
IRS-P6 Oct. 17, 2003 Agricultural applications LISS-IV, LISS-III,
WiFS
IRS-P5 May 5, 2005 Cartography, digital terrain
models
2 PAN cameras

Sensor Panchromatic Camera (PAN)
Good for urban planning,
detecting urban fringe or
updating transportation
infrastructure
Resolution of 5.2 (IRS-1D),
and 5.8 (IRS-1C)
Swath 65-80 Km
Spectral bands
0.50 0.75 um
Sensor LISS-III
Contains Bands:
2 vegetation reflectance
curve
3 centered in the
chlorophyll absorption region
4 high reflectance plateau
region
5 sensitive to leaf water
content
Good for vegetation
studies
Swath 141 km (bands 2,3, 4)
and 148 km (band 5)

Sensor WiFS Camera
Also useful for
vegetation studies
Larger swath (770 Km)
High repetivity (5 days)
Contains spectral
bands
3 (0.62-0.68 um), red
4 (0.77-0.86 um), near IR
Resolution 188 m
Ground Receiving Station at
Shadnagar, Hyderabad

IRS Images
IRS-1C IRS-1D
IRS Applications

IRS-P6 (RESOURCESAT-1)
The tenth satellite in IRS series, IRS-P6 (launched in October 2003) is
intended to continue the services provided by IRS-1C and IRS-1D, and
also to vastly enhance the data quality of 10-bit.
The 1360 kg IRS-P6 is launched into an 817 km high polar orbit. Orbit
inclination : 98.7 deg. Repetivity (LISS-3) : 24 days, (LISS-4) : 5 days.
IRS-P6 carries three cameras similar to those of IRS-1C and IRS-1D
but with improved spatial resolutions _
A high resolution Linear Imaging Self Scanner (LISS-4) operating in
three spectral bands in the Visible and Near Infrared Region (VNIR)
with 5.8 metre spatial resolution and steerable
up to+_ 26 deg across track to obtain stereoscopic imagery and
achieve five day revisit capability; a medium resolution
LISS-3 operating in three spectral bands in VNIR and one in Short
Wave Infrared (SWIR) band with 23.5 metre spatial resolution; and
An Advanced Wide Field Sensor (AWiFS) operating in three
spectral bands in VNIR and one band in SWIR with 56 metre
spatial resolution.

RESOURCESAT
IRS-P5 (Cartosat-1)
Launched on May 5, 2005, it is a state-of-art remote
sensing satellite mainly intended for cartographic
applications, large scale mapping and terrain modelling
applications.

It is 1560 kg, launched into a 618 km high polar orbit.

It carries two Panchromatic (PAN) cameras that take
stereoscopic pictures in the visible region with 30 km swath
and 2.5m spatial resolution. The cameras are mounted on
the satellite in such a way that near simultaneous imaging
of the same area from two different angles is possible. This
facilitates the generation of accurate three-dimensional
maps.
CARTOSAT



IKONOS (1m) 29 April 2002
IKONOS zoomed
ALLAHABAD
JAN 23, 2001
WTC ON JUNE 30, 2000
WTC ON SEPTEMBER 15, 2001
PENTAGON ON DECEMBER 28, 2000
PENTAGON ON SEPTEMBER 12, 2001
EarlyBird
launch scheduled October 1997
visual 3 meter land observations
high-resolution mapping, infrastructure
identification, terrain analysis

QuickBird
launch scheduled for 1998
visual 1 meter land observations
high-resolution mapping, infrastructure
identification, terrain analysis
QUICKBIRD (Singapore)
QuickBird, 60 cm, Paris
False Color Composites
B & W images
from different
bands are
assigned
colors &
combined.
Satellite Imagery for Plant Disease
Detection
Clubroot on a cauliflower crop
Space Imaging
Carterra 1
launch scheduled for December 1997
visual 1 meter and multispectral 4 meter land
observations
high-resolution mapping, infrastructure
identification, terrain analysis
Carterra 2
launch scheduled for 1998
visual 1 meter and multispectral 4 meter land
observations
high-resolution mapping, infrastructure
identification, terrain analysis, crop
identification

OrbView
OrbView-3
launch scheduled for Mid 1998
visual 1 & 2 meter and multispectral 4 meter
land observations
high-resolution mapping, infrastructure
identification, terrain analysis, crop
identification
OrbView-3B
launch scheduled for 1999
visual 1 meter and multispectral 4 meter land
observations
high-resolution mapping, infrastructure
identification, terrain analysis, crop
identification

Bitsy
Host remote sensing instruments including staring and spinning sensors
Data and message store and forward
Tracking assets, wildlife, billing, earth and ocean surface motion
Custom orbits, including high energy trajectories for geophysics, solar physics and
astrophysics sensing
Precise orbit maintenance for sun synchronous earth sensing and satellite
constellation maintenance
Space environment testing and qualification of components and materials
Launch on demand for event-driven missions including tactical communications and
imaging, and environmental events including forest fires, volcano eruptions and
severe weather
Bitsy is a full-
functioned,
autonomous, three-axis-
stabilized spacecraft in a
1 kg package
Google Earth
(High resolution satellite images )
Provides scientific, industrial, civil, military and individual users with
high resolution images for:
Defense & intelligence
Homeland security & asset protection
Insurance & risk management
Transportation & infrastructure planning
Natural resource assessment
Agriculture
Disaster relief
Insurance and risk management
Oil & gas exploration
Mapping
Commercial Remote Sensing
QuickBird .61 m color image
Remote Sensing Industry
Three U.S. Commercial Satellite Imagery
Companies
Name DigitalGlobe ORBIMAGE Space Imaging
Location Longmont, CO Dulles, VA Thornton, CO
Year Launched 2001 2003 1999
Satellite Name QuickBird OrbView-3 IKONOS
Resolution
(meters)
0.61 m
black/white
1m black/white 1 m black/white
@ 2.44 m color 4 m color 4 m color
ERS
all weather 25-500 meter land and sea
observations, radar and SAR
3 dimensional mapping, oil spill detection,
flood extent, damage assessment, night
coverage

RADARSAT
all weather 10-100 meter land and sea
radar observations
3 dimensional mapping, oil spill detection,
flood extent, damage assessment, night
coverage

JERS
all weather 18 meter land and sea
observations
3 dimensional mapping, oil spill detection,
flood extent, damage assessment, night
coverage
Indian National Satellite System (INSAT)
Established in 1983 with commissioning of INSAT-1B.
INSAT space segment at present consists of INSAT-1D,
last of the INSAT-1 series launched in 1990
INSAT-2A launched in July 1992,
INSAT-2B launched in July 1993 and
INSAT-2C launched on December 7, 1995.
INSAT-2E launched on April 3,1999.
INSAT-3B launched on March 22nd 2000.
INSAT-3C launched on January 24th 2002.
INSAT-3A launched on April 10th 2003.
INSAT-3E launched on September 28th 2003.

Typical Fixed Satellite Network
Branch Offices
Corporate Data
Center/HQ
Network HUB
Corporate Offices
Gas Stations
Apartment
Buildings
Residential
Internet
Applications
Credit Card Validation
ATM/Pay at the Pump
Inventory Control
Store Monitoring
Electronic Pricing
Training Videos
In-Store Audio
Broadband Internet Access
Distance Learning
Some large scale corporate networks have as many as 10,000 nodes
AVHRR Mission and Function
High resolution radiometer (intensity) designed
to measure long wavelengths (low energies)
AVHRR Specifications
At 833 km IFOV 1.1 km x 1.1 km
2x Daily global coverage per
satellite (14 overlapping passes)
10-bit digitization for higher
radiometric resolution
Primary applications are
meteorology/climate/oceanography/
landcover
30-day NOAA/AVHRR NDVI
Jan 2001 Apr 2001 Oct 2001 July 2001
View of Earth from Geosynchronous Orbit
Sequence of 3 Images of Hurricane Andrew (1992)
Viewed from Geosynchronous Orbit
Emergency services, disaster
recovery
Reduction in Antarctic Ozone Due to Chlorine Pollution of the Stratosphere
Weather Forecasting Search and
Rescue
NOAAs operational environmental
satellite system is composed of:
Geostationary Operational
Environmental Satellites
(GOES): short-range warning
and narrowcasting
Polar Orbiting Environmental
Satellites (POES): longer term
forecasting
Both are required for providing
complete global weather monitoring

The satellites carry search and
rescue instruments, and have helped
save the lives of about 10,000
people to date.
THANK YOU
Current Operational Satellites (as of 2002)
(1 of 4)
(2 of 4)
(3 of 4)
Source: http://www.planetary.brown.edu/arc/sensor.html
(4 of 4)