Name Satellite Launch Spatial orbit Type orbit period Grounding Resolution

date resolution (temporal?) track repeat

cycle/swath?
Landsat 15April 30m 705±5km Sun- 98.9min 16 days (233 15-90 m
1999 synchronous orbits)

IRS-1A

IRS-1A is the first satellite in the IRS constellation. It was launched from Baikonur cosmodrome,
Khazakhstan. It operated in sun-synchronous near polar orbit at an inclination of 99 degrees at an
altitude of 904 km. One orbit around the earth took about 103 minutes and the satellite made 14 orbits
per day. The 22 day repetivity ensured repeated collection of data of the same geographical area at the
same local time. The equatorial crossing time for IRS-1A in the descending node was 9:40 AM.

It had two types of cameras known as Linear Self Scanning Sensors (LISS-I and LISS-II). LISS-I had
a spatial resolution of 72.5m with a swath of 148 km on ground. LISS-II had two separate imaging
sensors LISS-IIA and LISS-IIB with spatial resolution of 36.25m each. They were mounted on the
spacecraft in such a way so as to provide a composite swath of 146.98 km on ground. Both LISS-I and
LISS-II operated in four spectral bands covering visible and near infrared region. It had following
payload and orbital parameters

Orbit Polar Sun synchronous

Altitude 904 Km
Inclination 99 degrees
Local Time 9:40 A.M
Repetivity 22 Days
Orbits/day 14
Period 103 minutes
Sensors LISS-I, LISS-II

LISS - I Sensor Characteristics:

Sensor LISS-1
Resolution 72.5 m
Swath 148 km
Repetivity 22 days
Spectral Bands 0.45 - 0.52 microns (B1)

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 0.52 - 0.59 microns (B2)

0.62 - 0.68 microns (B3)

0.77 - 0.86 microns (B4)

LISS - II Sensor Characteristics:

Sensor LISS - II
Resolution 36.25 m
Swath 74 x 2 km
Repetivity 22 days
Spectral Bands 0.45 - 0.52 microns (B1)

0.52 - 0.59 microns (B2)

0.62 - 0.68 microns (B3)

0.77 - 0.86 microns (B4)

IRS-1B

IRS-1B is the second satellite in the Indian remote sensing series. It was launched from Baikanur
cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. IRS-1B is identical to IRS-1A in all respects. The payload and orbital
parameters of IRS-1B are the same as that of IRS-1A. The satellite provided excellent data during the
period 1991-2001, outliving its designed life. Many nation level mapping projects were carried out
using the data.

IRS-1C

The fourth in the IRS series, IRS - 1C was launched from Baikanur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan on May
19, 1995. It operates in a near polar, sun- synchronous orbit at an altitude of 817km. Its local equatorial
crossing time is 10:30 A.M in the descending node. The satellite payload consists of three sensors,
namely Panchromatic camera (PAN), Linear Imaging and Self-Scanning Sensor (LISS - III) and Wide
Field Sensor (WiFS).

The PAN camera provides data with a spatial resolution of 5.8m and a ground swath of 70 km at nadir
view. This camera can be steered up to +/- 26 degrees, which can be used to acquire stereo pairs and
this also improves the revisit capability to 5 days.

LISS - III camera provides multi-spectral data in 4 bands. The spatial resolution for visible (two bands)
and near infrared (one band) is 23.5m with a ground swath of 141 km. The fourth band (short wave
infrared band) has a spatial resolution of 70.5m with a ground swath of 148 km. The repetivity of LISS
- III is 24 days.

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WiFS camera collects data in two spectral bands with a spatial resolution of 188m and a ground swath
of 810 km. By virtue of its wide swath there is huge side lap between adjacent paths. A repetivity of 3
days can be achieved by suitably combining paths.

The satellite is equipped with an On Board Tape Recorder (OBTR) with a capacity of 62 Gb, for
collecting data outside the visibility region of any ground station. The OBTR was capable of storing
data collected for 24 minutes. The OBTR was functional during 1995-1998.

Orbit Polar, Sun synchronous

Altitude 817 Km
Inclination 98.69 deg
Local Time 10:30 A.M
Repetivity 24 Days
Orbits/cycle 341
Period 101.35 min
Sensors PAN, LISS-III, WiFS

PANCHROMATIC Sensor Characteristics

Resolution 5.8m
Swath 70 km (3 x 23.33 km)
Revisit 5 days by tilting the camera
Spectral Bands 0.50 – 0.75 Microns
Quantization (Bits) 6
Steerability +/- 26 degrees

LISS-III Sensor Characteristics

Resolution 23.5 m (Visible and near IR region)

70.5 m (Shortwave IR region )

Swath 141 km (Visible and near IR region)

148 km (Shortwave IR region )

Revisit 24 days
Spectral Bands 0.52 - 0.59 microns (B2)

0.62 - 0.68 microns (B3)

0.77 - 0.86 microns (B4)

1.55 - 1.70 microns (B5)

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 Quantization 7 bits

WiFS Sensor Characteristics

Resolution 188 m
Swath 810 km
Revisit 3 days
Spectral Bands 0.62 - 0.68 microns (Visible)

0.77 - 0.86 microns (near infra-red)

Quantization 7 bits

IRS-1D

On 29th September, 1996, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) proved its launch vehicle
capability by launching the Indian Remote Sensing Satellite, IRS-1D, using Polar Satellite Launch
Vehicle, PSLV-C1, from Sriharikota. This added one more member to the existing IRS constellation. It
carries payloads similar to its predecessor, IRS-1C. Like IRS-1C, IRS-1D has LISS III, PAN, WiFS
sensors onboard.

Orbit Near Polar, Sun synchronous

Altitude 737 km (perigee)

821 km (apogee)
Inclination 98.53 deg
Local Time 10.30 A.M to 10.47 A.M
Repetivity 25 days
Orbits/cycle 358
Period 100.56 minutes
Sensors PAN, LISS-III, WIFS

PAN Sensor Characteristics

Resolution 5.2 to 5.8 m

Swath 63 to 70 km
Revisit 5 days by tilting the camera
Spectral Bands 0.50 – 0.75 Microns
Quantization 6 bits
Steerability +/- 26 degrees

LISS-III Sensor Characteristics

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 Resolution 21.2 to 23.5 m ( Visible and near IR region)

63.6 to 70.5 m ( Shortwave IR region )

Swath 127 to141 Km ( Visible and near IR region )

133 to148 Km ( Shortwave IR region )

Repetivity 25 days
Spectral Bands 0.52 - 0.59 microns (B2)

0.62 - 0.68 microns (B3)

0.77 - 0.86 microns (B4)

1.55 - 1.70 microns (B5)

Quantization 7 bits

WiFS Sensor Characteristics

Resolution 169 to 188 meter

Swath 728 to 812 Km
Revisit 3 days ( by combining paths )
Spectral Bands 0.62 - 0.68 microns (Visible)

0.77 - 0.86 microns (near infra-red)

Quantization 7 bits
INDIAN REMOTE SENSING SATELLITES: The series of indian Remote sensing satellites like IRS-
1A,IRS-1B,IRS-1C,IRS-1D,IRS-P4,IRS-P6,IRS-P5 with spatial resolution ranging from 360m to 2.5m
and also with pancromatic and multispectral imaging capability,catering to the needs of the country in
managing its natural resources. Today, IRS data is being used for a diverse range of applications such
as crop acreage and production estimation of major crops, drought monitoring and assessment based
on vegetation condition, flood risk zone mapping and flood damage assessment, hydro-geo-
morphological maps for locating underground water resources, irrigation command area status
monitoring, snowmelt run-off estimation, land use and land cover mapping, urban planning,
biodiversity characterization, forest survey, wetland mapping, environmental impact analysis, mineral
prospecting, coastal studies, integrated surveys for developing sustainable action plans and so on.

CARTOSAT – IRS-P3,P4,P5,P6,1A,1B,1C,1D

Resolution (m) Sensor Satellite

2.5 PAN Stereo IRS-P5
5 PAN IRS 1C, IRS 1D
LISS-IV (MX) IRS P6
LISS-IV(Mono) IRS P6

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 24 LISS – III IRS 1C, IRS 1D, IRS P6
36.25 LISS – II IRS 1A, IRS 1B
56 AWiFS IRS P6
72.5 LISS-I IRS 1A, IRS 1B
180 WiFS IRS 1C, IRS 1D, IRS P3
360 OCM (Multispectral) IRS P4

SATELLITES

INDIAN REMOTE SENSING SATELLITES

During the 1970's and 80's, India's remote sensing data needs were being addressed by foreign
satellites like LANDSAT , NOAA , SPOT etc., where NRSA procured the satellite data products from
foreign agencies and supplied it to the users.. With the setting up of an Earth Station at Hyderabad in
1979, satellite data reception started, first from USA's LANDSAT satellite. The launch of India's first
civilian remote sensing satellite IRS-1A in March 1988, marked the beginning of a successful journey
in the course of the Indian Space Programme. The two LISS sensors aboard IRS-1A beamed down
valuable data that aided in large scale mapping applications.

Subsequently, IRS-1B , having similar sensors, was launched in August 1991, and together, they
provided better repetivity. The LISS-III, PAN and WiFS sensors on IRS-1C (December 1995) and IRS-
1D (September 1997) further strengthened the scope of remote sensing, with increased coverage and
foray into application areas like resources survey and management, urban planning, forest studies,
disaster monitoring and environmental studies.

Subsequently, IRS-1B , having similar sensors, was launched in August 1991, and together, they
provided better repetivity. The LISS-III, PAN and WiFS sensors on IRS-1C (December 1995) and IRS-
1D (September 1997) further strengthened the scope of remote sensing, with increased coverage and
foray into application areas like resources survey and management, urban planning, forest studies,
disaster monitoring and environmental studies. The launch of IRS-P6 (Resourcesat-1) in October
2003, provided an excellent opportunity to obtain high resolution multi-spectral data and moderate
resolution data in 10-bi, while providing continuity of data. IRS-P5 (Cartosat-1), launched on May 5,
2005, catapulted the Indian Remote Sensing program into the world of large scale mapping and terrain
modeling applications.

FOREIGN SATELLITES

Apart from the Indian Remote Sensing Satellites, NRSA acquires and distributes data from a number
of foreign satellites. Currently, NRSA is acquiring data from NOAA-17, NOAA-18, TERRA, AQUA
and ERS. Apart from acquiring NRSA also distributes data collected by RADARSAT, IKONOS,
QUICKBIRD , ORBIMAGE and ENVISAT.

FUTURE IRS SATELLITES

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Continuing the journey, the Indian Space Research Organization is planning to offer much more to the
user community through its future IRS missions. Cartosat-2, RISAT and Oceansat-2 are the next few
missions which are scheduled to be launched during 2006-2007.

Landsat 5 and Landsat 7 Orbit the Earth

Some of the most popular and valued remote sensing images of the earth are obtained from the Landsat satellites which
have been orbiting the earth for over thirty years. Landsat is a joint venture between NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey.

On April 15, 1999, NASA launched Landsat 7 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the last Landsat to be deployed
since 1984. Prior to the launch of Landsat 7, two Landsats were in operation - Landsat 4 (operating from 1982 to
decommission in June 2001) and Landsat 5 (operating since March 1984). Landsat 6 was launched in 1993 but it failed to
attain proper orbit.

The Landsat satellites make loops around the earth and are constantly collecting images of the surface through the use of a
variety of sensing devices. Since the beginning of the Landsat program in 1972, the images and data have been available to
all countries around the world. Images are used to measure rain forest loss, assist with mapping, determine urban growth,
and population change.

The different Landsats each have different remote sensing equipment. Each sensing device records radiation from the
surface of the earth in different bands of the electromagnetic spectrum. Landsat 7 has more sensing equipment than any
other Landsat. It even includes a new panchromatic scanner with an impressive resolution of 15 meters (the highest
resolution until Landsat 7 was 30m). This means that buildings or other objects which are 15 meters across will show up on
the Landsat images.

The Landsats orbit the earth from the north to south poles and vice versa. Landsat 7 completes a full orbit of the earth in
about 99 minutes, allowing the satellite to achieve over 14 orbits per day. The satellites make a complete coverage of the
earth every 16 days.

Landsat 5 and 7 collect images from a swath of land about 183-185 kilometers wide. The ground path of the satellites is
from east to west with each subsequent pass. About five passes cover the entire United States, from Maine and Florida to
Hawaii and Alaska.

SPOT (Satellite Pour l'Observation de la Terre) is a high-resolution, optical imaging earth observation
satellite system operating from space. It is run by Spot Image based in Toulouse, France. It was
initiated by the CNES (Centre national d'études spatiales – the French space agency) in the 1970s and
was developed in association with the SSTC (Belgian scientific, technical and cultural services) and
the Swedish National Space Board (SNSB). It has been designed to improve the knowledge and
management of the earth by exploring the earth's resources, detecting and forecasting phenomena
involving climatology and oceanography, and monitoring human activities and natural phenomena.
The SPOT system includes a series of satellites and ground control resources for satellite control and
programming, image production, and distribution. The satellites were launched with the ESA rocket
launcher Ariane 2, 3, and 4.

The company SPOT Image is marketing the high-resolution images, which SPOT can take from every
corner of the earth.

• SPOT 1 launched February 22, 1986 with 10m panchromatic and 20m multispectral picture
resolution capability. Withdrawn December 31, 1990.
• SPOT 2 launched January 22, 1990 and is still operational.
• SPOT 3 launched September 26, 1993. Stopped functioning November 14, 1997
• SPOT 4 launched March 24, 1998

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 • SPOT 5 launched May 4, 2002 with 2.5m, 5m and 10m capability

The SPOT Orbit

The SPOT orbit is polar, circular, sun-synchronous, and phased. The inclination of the orbital plane
combined with the rotation of the earth around the polar axis allows the satellite to fly over any point
on earth within 26 days. The orbit has an altitude of 822 kilometers, an inclination of 98.7 degrees, and
14 + 5/26 revolutions per day depending.

[edit] SPOT 1, 2, and 3

Since 1986 the SPOT family of satellites has been orbiting the earth and has already taken more than
10 million high quality images. SPOT 1 was launched with Ariane 2 on February 22, 1986. Two days
later, the 1800 kg SPOT 1 transmitted its first image with a spatial resolution of 10 or 20 meters. SPOT
2 joined SPOT 1 in orbit on January 22, 1990 and SPOT 3 followed on September 26, 1993.

The satellite loads were identical, each including two identical HRV (High Resolution Visible)
imaging instruments that were able to operate in 2 modes, either simultaneously or individually. The
two spectral modes are panchromatic and multispectral. The panchromatic band has a resolution of 10
meters, and the 3 multispectral bands have resolutions of 20m. They have an image swath of 3600km2
and a revisit interval of 1 to 4 days depending on the latitude.

Because the orbit of SPOT 1 was lowered in 2003, it will gradually lose altitude and break up naturally
in the atmosphere. Although the recorders aboard SPOT 2 do not work anymore, it still provides
measurements and high-quality images. SPOT 3 is not working anymore either due to problems with
its stabilization system.

[edit] SPOT 4
SPOT 4 was launched on March 24, 1998 and features major improvements over SPOT 1, 2, and 3.
The principal feature was the modification of the HRV, becoming a high-resolution visible and infrared
(HRVIR) instrument. It has an additional band at mid-infrared wavelengths (1.58-1.75 micrometre),
intended to provide capabilities for geological reconnaissance, vegetation surveys, and survey of snow
cover, with a resolution of 20 meters. The two HRVIR imaging instruments are programmable for
independent image coverage, increasing the number of imaging opportunities. Its lifetime was
increased from 3 to 5 years, and its telescopes and recording capacities were improved.

[edit] SPOT 5
SPOT 5 was launched on May 3, 2002 and has the goal to ensure continuity of services for customers
and to improve the quality of data and images by anticipating changes in market requirements.

SPOT 5 has two high resolution geometrical (HRG) instruments that were deduced from the HRVIR of
SPOT 4. They offer a higher resolution of 2.5 to 5 meters in panchromatic mode and 10 meters in
multispectral mode. SPOT 5 also features an HRS imaging instrument operating in panchromatic

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mode. HRS points forward and backward of the satellite. Thus it is able to take stereopair images
almost simultaneously to map relief.

Platforms
The vehicles or carriers for remote sensors are called the platforms. Typical platforms are satellites and aircraft,
but they can also include radio-controlled aeroplanes, balloons kits for low altitude remote sensing, as well as
ladder trucks or 'cherry pickers' for ground investigations. The key factor for the selection of a platform is the
altitude that determines the ground resolution and which is also dependent on the instantaneous field of view
(IFOV) of the sensor on board the platform.

Salient feature of some important satellite platforms.

Features Landsat1,2,3 Landsat 4,5 SPOT IRS-IA IRS-IC

Natre Sun Sys Sun Sys Sun Sys Sun Sys Sun Sys

Altitude (km) 919 705 832 904 817

Orbital period 103.3 99 101 103.2 101.35

(minutes)

inclination 99 98.2 98.7 99 98.69

(degrees

Temporal 18 16 26 22 24
resolution
(days)

Revolutions 251 233 369 307 341

Equatorial 09.30 09.30 10.30 10.00 10.30

crossing (AM)

Sensors RBV,MSS MSS,TM HRV LISS-I,LISS-II LISS-

III,PAN,WIFS

SENSORS
ACTIVE SENSORS PASSIVE SENSORS
(Detect the reflected or emitted electromagnetic (Detect reflected responses from objects that are
radiation from natural sources.) irradiated from artificially-generated energy sources
such as radar.)

Passive Active
Non-Scanning Non-Scanning

Non-Imaging. (They are a type of  Non-Imaging. (They are a type of

profile recorder, ex. Microwave profile recorder, ex. Microwave
Radiometer. Magnetic Radiometer.Microwave Altimeter.Laser
sensor.Gravimeter.Fourier Water Depth Meter.Laser Distance
Spectrometer. Meter. Scanning

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 Imaging. (Example of this are the  Imaging. (It is a radar ex. Object Plane
cameras which can be: Monochrome, scanning:
Natural Colour, Infrared etc.)
• Real Aperture Radar.
Scanning • Synthetic Aperture Radar.

Imaging. Image Plane scanning.Ex. TV

CameraSolid scanner. Image Plane Scanning:

Object Plane scanning.Ex. Optical

• Passive Phased Array Radar.
Mechanical ScannerMicrowave
radiometer.

Resolution
In general resolution is defined as the ability of an entire remote-sensing system, including lens antennae,
display, exposure, processing, and other factors, to render a sharply defined image. Resolution of a remote-
sensing is of different types.

1. Spectral Resolution: of a remote sensing instrument (sensor) is determined by the band-widths of the
Electro-magnetic radiation of the channels used. High spectral resolution, thus, is achieved by narrow
bandwidths width, collectively, are likely to provide a more accurate spectral signature for discrete
objects than broad bandwidth.
2. Radiometric Resolution: is determined by the number of discrete levels into which signals may be
divided.
3. Spatial Resolution: in terms of the geometric properties of the imaging system, is usually described as
the instantaneous field of view (IFOV). The IFOV is defined as the maximum angle of view in which a
sensor can effectively detect electro-magnetic energy.
4. Temporal Resolution: is related ot the repetitive coverage of the ground by the remote-sensing system.
The temporal resolution of Landsat 4/5 is sixteen days.

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