There are a large number of satellites that have been launched for observational studies. The following is a list of major events in the development of remote sensing by satellites.

 

1957: First artificial satellite launched by the USSR.

 

1958: First U.S. Explorer mission discovered Van Allen belts. China began developing a sounding rocket.

 

1960: The United States launched the first generation of polar-orbiting meteorological satellites, the Television and Infrared Observation Satellite (TIROS-l), which provided the first systematic cloud cover photography and observations of Earth with broad-band visible and infrared imagery.

 

1961: A manned Mercury satellite successfully took the first photographs of the Earth's surface from space. The United States initiated a series of reconnaissance satellites.

 

1962: The USSR launched the first in a series of photographic reconnaissance satellites. Canada put its research satellite Alouette I in orbit, and the United Kingdom launched its first satellite, Ariel-1, for the study of the ionosphere and the sun.

 

1963: The United States put into operation the first Automatic Picture Transmission (APT) for direct TV readout.

 

1964: NASA initiated the Nimbus series of experimental satellites. These were primarily experimental platforms to test instrument concepts and to make measurements on a global basis. Italy launched its first satellite, San Marco, for studies of the ionosphere.

 

1965: France launched its first satellite, A-1. The USSR began Meteor, a polar-orbiting meteorological satellite program. The first complete view of the world's weather was taken by the U.S. TIROS-9, the first TIROS to be in sun-synchronous orbit.

 

1966: A new era in meteorological observations opened with the launch of the first geostationary spacecraft, Applications Technology Satellite-1 (ATS-1) by NASA. The ATS carried the spin-scan radiometer, which provided the first continuous observations of cloud and severe weather tracking from a stationary platform. Three ATS satellites were flown in the next ten years.

 

1967: The first full-disk image of the Earth was produced by the U.S. ATS-3 satellite. The United States also put into orbit the first infrared sounder for global temperature soundings.

 

1968: The United States launched its first Geodetic Earth Orbiting Satellite (GEOS).

 

1969: The first West German satellite, GRS-A Azur, was launched to study solar-terrestrial relations. The U.S. Nimbus-3 provided the first global vertical temperature profiles of the atmosphere.

 

1970: The decade began with Nimbus-4, which provided the first global ozone profiles. Japan launched its first satellite, OHSUMI, and China its first science exploration satellite, SKW-1.

 

1971: China launched a second science exploration satellite, SJ-1, which replaced the telemetry music box with a cosmic ray detector, X-ray detector, magnetometer, and other instruments. SJ-1 operated until June 1979.

 

1972: The United States launched the first Earth Resources Technology Satellite (ERTS), which provided the first multispectral map of the surface of the Earth. (In 1975, this satellite was renamed Landsat, the first in an ongoing series that now totals five.) Canada became the first nation to have its own commercial satellite communications system with the launch of Anik-1.

 

1973: The first active microwave sensor, operating as an altimeter, scatterometer, and radiometer, was flown on NASA's Skylab.

 

1974: The United States launched the Synchronous Meteorological Satellite (SMS-A), the first geostationary meteorological satellite, which was the forerunner of the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) system. Astronauts aboard Skylab used multicamera systems to provide Earth images in several spectral bands. The USSR launched its first geostationary communications satellite. NASA's Nimbus-5 carried the first Electronically Scanned Microwave Radiometer.

 

1975: Nimbus-6 provided the first atmospheric limb scanner and the first global Earth radiation budget measurements. Japan launched its first ionosphere sounding satellite, UME (Japan-1). An improved altimeter was flown on NASA's GEOS-3 satellite. France launched the geodetic satellite Starlette.

 

1976: The United States launched the first satellite in its Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP). NASA launched the Laser Positioning satellite Lageos-I.

 

1977: In preparation for the Global Weather Experiment in 1979, Japan obtained an operating geostationary meteorological satellite with the successful launch of Himawari, built by the United States. The European Space Agency launched its first geostationary meteorological satellite, Meteosat-1. This year also saw the Large Area Crop Inventory Experiment (LACIE), the first of the U.S. Large-scale agricultural studies by satellite, and the first microwave sounder with all-weather sounding capability. The USSR began a land remote-sensing program with its Meteor-Piroda spacecraft.

 

1978: A "vintage" year for remote sensing. NASA launched two satellites using new microwave techniques that have had a major impact on subsequent systems: Seasat, a satellite devoted to measurements of the oceans, which provided the first global measurements of winds at the ocean surface, sea surface topography, surface and internal waves, and bathymetry in shallow regions; and Nimbus-7, the last of the Nimbus series, which provided a number of firsts, including global ocean color measurements and daily mapping of ozone concentration. (Nimbus-7 collected data until 1993, although many of the instruments were not operating.) NASA also launched the Heat Capacity Mapping Mission with a scanning visible and infrared radiometer for geological and vegetation mapping. The United States initiated TIROS-N, an operational polar-orbiting environmental satellite system. The U.S. Solar Maximum Mission began to provide the first continuous measurements of the radiation from the sun.

 

1979: The European Space Agency launched its first satellite using the Ariane launch vehicle. The USSR began its oceanographic remote-sensing program.

 

1980: India launched its first satellite, Rohini.

 

1981: China launched SJ-2, a satellite intended for space physics exploration. This year also saw the first study by NASA of the Earth's aurora from space and the beginning of the U.S. Space Shuttle program, which would provide many opportunities for orbiting cameras and imaging instruments over the next five years. The first Shuttle Imaging Radar (SIR-A) was flown on the Space Shuttle. The satellites Dynamic Explorer I and 2 measured the impact of solar radiation on the atmosphere, auroral displays, and climate and weather.

 

1982: The Indian National Satellite System (INSAT-la), a geostationary meteorological and communications satellite, was launched. The U.S. Thematic Mapper instrument on Landsat provided the first high-resolution multiwavelength images of Earth.

 

1984: The United States launched the Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS). The second Shuttle Imaging Radar (SIR-B) and the Large Format Camera, which provided spectacular imagery of many parts of the Earth, were flown on the Space Shuttle.

 

1985: The U.S. Navy launched the altimeter satellite, GEOSAT. Landsat-5 was deployed.

 

1986: France successfully launched the Satellite Pour l'Observation de la Terre (SPOT) satellite. This was the first in a series of satellites for the commercial production of images of the Earth. In the United States, the EOSAT company began operating the Landsat system on a commercial basis.

 

1987: The Japanese Space Agency launched the Marine Observation Satellite (MOS-I).

 

1988: China launched its first meteorological satellite, Wind-Cloud-l (FY-I), into a sun-synchronous orbit with the CZ-4 Long March rocket. The Indian Remote Sensing satellite IRS-IA was launched with a Soviet rocket. ESA launched the first in a series of European operational geostationary meteorological satellites MOP-I (Meteosat Operational Programme-l).

 

1989: The United States flew a Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Experiment on the Space Shuttle. Japan launched GMS-4.

 

Below is a list of some current missions

 

ERS series:

ERS-1 was launched by ESA in July 1991

ERS-2 was launched in April 1995.

This series concentrates on global and regional environmental issues, making use of active microwave techniques that enable a range of measurements to be made of land, sea and ice surfaces independent of cloud cover. In addition, the ATSR instrument on these missions provides images of the surface or cloud top. The GOME instrument on ERS-2 provides atmospheric chemistry measurements.

 

Geostationary meteorological satellites: There is a world-wide network of operational geostationary meteorological satellites which provides visible and infra-red images of the Earth's surface and atmosphere. Countries/regions with current geostationary operational meteorological satellites are

USA (GOES series)

Europe (METEOSAT series)

Japan (GMS series, including the recently launched GMS-5)

India (INSAT series)

Russia (GOMS).

IRS series: The Indian IRS satellites provide high resolution imagery in a range of visible and infra-red bands. Their primary objectives are national mappings of various resources.

 

JERS-1: The aim of JERS-1 is to observe the Earth using optical sensors and a high resolution synthetic aperture radar. Land surveys and monitoring of various resources are the main application areas of this satellite.

 

LAGEOS I and II: These missions are designed to measure the Earth's crustal motion and the Earth's gravitational field. The space segment comprises corner cube laser retroreflectors and the ground segment is a global network of transportable laser sites. The design life of the space segment is 10,000 years.

 

Landsat and SPOT: The US operated Landsat and French operated SPOT satellites provide high resolution imagery in a range of visible and infra-red bands. They are used extensively for high resolution land studies.

 

METEOR series: The Russians maintain two or three satellites in orbit at any time (such as the recently launched METEOR-3 N7), mainly for operational meteorological purposes. Other applications include experimental measurement of ozone and Earth radiation budget. This series has now been supplemented by the GOMS meteorological mission.

 

MOS 1b: The main purpose of this Japanese satellite is to establish the fundamental technologies for Earth observation and to carry out practical observations of the Earth, primarily of the ocean. Its sensors operate in the visible, near infra-red, thermal infra-red and microwave bands.

 

NOAA polar orbiters: The current series of operational polar orbiting meteorological satellites is provided by NOAA and now includes NOAA 14. Two satellites are maintained in polar orbit at any one time, one in a "morning" orbit and one in an "afternoon" orbit. The series provides a wide range of data of interest, including sea surface temperature, cloud cover, data for land studies, temperature and humidity profiles and ozone concentrations.

 

Ocean series: Russia maintains a continuous series of measurements of oceanographic and hydrometeorological parameters with, in general, one or two satellite launches per year.

 

Resource series: Russia maintains a series of Resource satellites such as the recently launched Resource-01 N3 for land applications including crop and soil monitoring, assessment of hydrological conditions, monitoring of forest and tundra firs and pollution monitoring.

 

SCD-1: This Brazilian satellite receives environmental data gathered on the ground and transmits it to other locations.

 

TOPEX/POSEIDON: This is a joint NASA/CNES precision radar altimetry mission to measure ocean topography and hence speed and direction of ocean currents.

 

UARS: Launched in September 1991 by NASA, this provides a comprehensive platform for the study of middle atmosphere chemistry and physics. Some instruments are still working fine.