The Landsat program is the longest-running enterprise for acquisition of satellite imagery of Earth. It is a joint NASA / USGS program. On 23 July 1972, the Earth Resources Technology Satellite was launched. This was eventually renamed to Landsat 1 in 1975. The most recent, Landsat 9, was launched on 27 September 2021.
Landsat 7 is the seventh satellite of the Landsat program. Launched on 15 April 1999, Landsat 7's primary goal is to refresh the global archive of satellite photos, providing up-to-date and cloud-free images. The Landsat program is managed and operated by the United States Geological Survey, and data from Landsat 7 is collected and distributed by the USGS. The NASA WorldWind project allows 3D images from Landsat 7 and other sources to be freely navigated and viewed from any angle. The satellite's companion, Earth Observing-1, trailed by one minute and followed the same orbital characteristics, but in 2011 its fuel was depleted and EO-1's orbit began to degrade. Landsat 7 was built by Lockheed Martin Space Systems.
Satellite images are images of Earth collected by imaging satellites operated by governments and businesses around the world. Satellite imaging companies sell images by licensing them to governments and businesses such as Apple Maps and Google Maps.
Landsat 3 is the third satellite of the Landsat program. It was launched on March 5, 1978, with the primary goal of providing a global archive of satellite imagery. Unlike later Landsat satellites, Landsat 3 was managed solely by NASA. Landsat 3 decommissioned on September 7, 1983, beyond its design life of one year. The data collected during Landsat 3's lifetime was used by 31 countries. Countries that cannot afford their own satellite are able to use the data for ecological preservation efforts and to determine the location of natural resources.
Earth Satellite Corporation (EarthSat), an American company, was a pioneer in the commercial use of Earth observation satellites. Founded in 1969, EarthSat was first headquartered in Washington, D.C., and later moved its offices to Bethesda, Maryland, and finally to Rockville, Maryland, in the late 1980s. In 2001, EarthSat was acquired by MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (MDA) of Vancouver, British Columbia. In August 2005, EarthSat was incorporated as MDA Federal Inc., the U.S. operation of MDA Geospatial Services.
Earth observation (EO) is the gathering of information about the physical, chemical, and biological systems of the planet Earth. It can be performed via remote-sensing technologies or through direct-contact sensors in ground-based or airborne platforms.
Landsat 2 is the second satellite of the Landsat program. The spacecraft originally carried a designation of ERTS-B but was renamed "Landsat 2" prior to its launch on January 22, 1975. The objective of the satellite was to acquire global, seasonal data in medium resolution from a near-polar, Sun-synchronous orbit. The satellite, built by General Electric, acquired data with the Return Beam Vidicon (RBV) and the Multispectral Scanner (MSS). Despite having a design life of one year, Landsat 2 operated for over seven years, finally ceasing operations on February 25, 1982.
Title 15 of the United States Code outlines the role of commerce and trade in the United States Code. Notable legislation in the title includes the Federal Trade Commission Act, the Clayton Antitrust Act, the Sherman Antitrust Act, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Consumer Product Safety Act, and the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003.
Landsat 8 is an American Earth observation satellite launched on 11 February 2013. It is the eighth satellite in the Landsat program; the seventh to reach orbit successfully. Originally called the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM), it is a collaboration between NASA and the United States Geological Survey (USGS). NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, provided development, mission systems engineering, and acquisition of the launch vehicle while the USGS provided for development of the ground systems and will conduct on-going mission operations. It comprises the camera of the Operational Land Imager (OLI) and the Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS), which can be used to study Earth surface temperature and is used to study global warming.
The Metric Conversion Act of 1975 is an Act of Congress that was signed into law by U.S. President Gerald Ford on December 23, 1975. It declared the metric system "the preferred system of weights and measures for United States trade and commerce", but permitted the use of United States customary units in all activities. As Ford's statement on the signing of the act emphasizes, all conversion was to be "completely voluntary". The Act also established the United States Metric Board with representatives from scientific, technical, and educational institutions, as well as state and local governments to plan, coordinate, and educate the U.S. people for the Metrication of the United States.
Title 51 of the United States Code, entitled National and Commercial Space Programs, is the compilation of the general laws regarding space programs. It was promulgated by U.S. President Barack Obama on December 18, 2010 when he signed PL 111-314 into law.
The space policy of the United States includes both the making of space policy through the legislative process, and the implementation of that policy in the United States' civilian and military space programs through regulatory agencies. The early history of United States space policy is linked to the US–Soviet Space Race of the 1960s, which gave way to the Space Shuttle program. At the moment, the US space policy is aimed at the exploration of the Moon and the subsequent colonization of Mars.
IRS-1A, Indian Remote Sensing satellite-1A, the first of the series of indigenous state-of-art remote sensing satellites, was successfully launched into a polar Sun-synchronous orbit on 17 March 1988 from the Soviet Cosmodrome at Baikonur. IRS-1A carries two sensors, LISS-1 and LISS-2, with resolutions of 72 m (236 ft) and 36 m (118 ft) respectively with a swath width of about 140 km (87 mi) during each pass over the country. Undertaken by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). It was a part-operational, part-experimental mission to develop Indian expertise in satellite imagery.
Commercial Space Launch Act of 1984 is a United States federal law authored to facilitate the private enterprise of the commercialization of space and space technology. The Act of Congress set forth the quest to acquire innovative equipment and services offered by entrepreneurial ventures from the information technology services, remote sensing technology, and telecommunications industries. The Act recognized the United States private sector as having the capability to develop commercial launch vehicles, orbital satellites, and operate private launch sites and services. The Act also assigned the duties of overseeing and coordinating commercial launches, issuing of licenses and permits, and promotion of safety standards to the Secretary of Department of Transportation.
Aviation Drug-Trafficking Control Act of 1984 is a United States Federal law amending the Federal Aviation Act of 1958. The statutory law authorized criminal penalties for the unlawful aerial transportation of controlled substances. The Act of Congress mandated the revocation of aircraft registrations and airman certificates by the Federal Aviation Administration whereas an aircraft aviator knowingly engages in the transit of illicitly used drugs. The Act established authority and a statute of limitations for the reissuance of airman certificates by the United States Secretary of Transportation.
Landsat 9 is an Earth observation satellite launched on 27 September 2021 from Space Launch Complex-3E at Vandenberg Space Force Base on an Atlas V 401 launch vehicle. NASA is in charge of building, launching, and testing the satellite, while the United States Geological Survey (USGS) operates the satellite, and manages and distributes the data archive. It is the ninth satellite in the Landsat program, but Landsat 6 failed to reach orbit. The Critical Design Review (CDR) was completed by NASA in April 2018, and Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems (NGIS) was given the go-ahead to manufacture the satellite.
Helium Act of 1925, 50 USC § 161, is a United States statute drafted for the purpose of conservation, exploration, and procurement of helium gas. The Act of Congress authorized the condemnation, lease, or purchase of acquired lands bearing the potential of producing helium gas. It banned the export of helium, for which the US was the only important source, thus forcing foreign airships to use hydrogen lift gas. The Act empowered the United States Department of the Interior and United States Bureau of Mines with the jurisdiction for the experimentation, production, repurification, and research of the lighter than air gas. The Title 50 codified law provided the authority for the creation of the National Helium Reserve.
Abandoned Barge Act of 1992, known as the Oceans Act of 1992, is United States federal law prohibiting the abandonment of barges in navigable and territorial waters. The Act of Congress establishes financial penalties and removal procedures for unattended barges exceeding forty-five days. The federal statute provides the U.S. Secretary of Transportation authority to contract with barge removal contractors for abandoned barges of more than one hundred gross tons.
Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977 is a statute formulating a national policy to diminish the perils of earthquakes in the United States. The Act of Congress is a declaration for an earthquake prediction system, national earthquake hazards reduction program, and seismological research studies. The United States public law authorizes States assistance through the provisions of the Disaster Relief Act of 1974.
Qihao Weng is an American geographer, urban, environmental sustainability, and remote sensing scientist. He has been a Chair Professor at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University since July 2021, and was the Director of the Center for Urban and Environmental Change and is a professor of geography in the Department of Earth and Environmental Systems at the Indiana State University.
