Skip to main content
  • English
  • Español
  • Français

United
Nations

 

Office for Outer Space Affairs
UN-SPIDER Knowledge Portal

  • Home
  • About Us
    • What is UN-SPIDER?
    • About UNOOSA
    • Publications
    • Jobs
    • Meet the Team
    • Contact
  • Space Application
    • Satellite Technology
    • Emergency Mechanisms
    • Recovery Mechanisms
    • International Asteroid Warning Network
    • Space Mission Planning Advisory Group
    • International Space Weather Initiative
    • Space Technologies in the UN
    • User Stories
  • Links & Resources
    • Data Applications
      • Disaster Recovery
    • Data Sources
    • GIS and Remote Sensing Software
    • Online Learning Resources
    • Institutions
  • Risks & Disasters
    • Disaster Risk Management
    • Early Warning Systems
    • Emergency and Disaster Management
    • Natural Hazards
    • Sendai Framework
    • The UN and Disaster Risk Management
    • The UN and Early Warning
    • The UN and Disaster Management
  • Advisory Support
    • Advisory Missions
    • Emergency Support
    • Virtual Advisory Support
    • Recommended Practices
    • Training Activities
    • Practical Uses
  • Network
    • Regional Support Offices
    • GP-STAR
    • MHEWS
    • IWG-SEM
  • Projects
    • SPEAR
    • SEWS-D
    • EvIDENz
    • Flood GUIDE
  • News & Events
    • News
    • Events Calendar
    • UN-SPIDER Events Archive

Breadcrumb

  • Home
  • Landsat 1
  • Landsat 1

Landsat 1

Landsat 1 was launched on July 23, 1972; at that time the satellite was known as the Earth Resources Technology Satellite (ERTS). It was the first Earth-observing satellite to be launched with the express intent to study and monitor our planet’s landmasses. To perform the monitoring, Landsat 1 carried two instruments: a camera system built by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) called the Return Beam Vidicon (RBV), and the Multispectral Scanner (MSS) built by the Hughes Aircraft Company. The RBV was supposed to be the prime instrument, but the MSS data were found to be superior. In addition, the RBV instrument was the source of an electrical transient that caused the satellite to briefly lose altitude control, according to the Landsat 1 Program Manager, Stan Weiland.
To help understand the data and to explore the potential applications of this new technology, NASA oversaw 300 private research investigators. Nearly one third of these were international scientists. These researchers came from a wide array of Earth science disciplines. They evaluated the usefulness of Landsat data to their respective fields.
Landsat 1 operated until January 1978, outliving its design life by five years. The quality and impact of the resulting information exceeded all expectations.

Instruments:

Return Beam Vidicon (RBV)
Multispectral Scanner (MSS)

23 Jul 1972
1years
1978-01-06
Polar
Sun synchronous
103 minutes
MSS
NASA
USGS
Earth-observing satellite with the intent to study and monitor the Earth’s landmasses
Drought
Tsunami
Earthquake
Flood
Forest Fire
Volcanic Eruption
Mass Movement
No
Information about Landsat 1 on NASA web page

Footer menu

  • Contact
  • Terms of Use

User account menu

  • Log in