Landsat 1
Landsat 1 in flight configuration with solar panels deployed after tests at the G.E. Valley Forge Plant. | |
| Mission type | Earth imaging |
|---|---|
| Operator | NASA |
| COSPAR ID | 1972-058A |
| SATCAT no. | 06126 |
| Mission duration | 5 years, 5 months and 14 days |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Manufacturer | GE Aerospace |
| Launch mass | 1,800 kilograms (4,000 lb) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | July 23, 1972 |
| Rocket | Delta 900 |
| Launch site | Vandenberg SLC-2W |
| End of mission | |
| Disposal | Decommissioned |
| Deactivated | January 6, 1978 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Sun-synchronous |
| Semi-major axis | 7,280 kilometres (4,520 mi) |
| Perigee altitude | 902 kilometers (560 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 917 kilometers (570 mi) |
| Inclination | 99.1 degrees |
| Period | 117.04 minutes |
| Epoch | August 26, 1972 |
Landsat 1 (LS-1), formerly named Earth Resources Technology Satellite ERTS-A or ERTS-1, was the first satellite of the United States' Landsat program. It was a modified version of the Nimbus 4 meteorological satellite and was launched on July 23, 1972, by a Delta 900 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
It was the first satellite to carry a Multispectral Scanner.
The near-polar orbiting spacecraft served as a stabilized, Earth-oriented platform for obtaining information on agricultural and forestry resources, geology and mineral resources, hydrology and water resources, geography, cartography, environmental pollution, oceanography and marine resources, and meteorological phenomena.