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The timeline of first Earth observation satellites shows, in chronological order, those successful Earth observation satellites, that is, Earth satellites with a program of Earth science. Sputnik 1, while the first satellite ever launched, did not conduct Earth science. Explorer 1 was the first satellite to make an Earth science discovery when it found the Van Allen belts.
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| Satellite | Country | Date | Organisation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sputnik 2 | Soviet Union | 3 November 1957 [1] | Korolev Design Bureau | Researched charged particles near Earth |
| Explorer 1 | United States | 1 February 1958 | U.S. Army Ballistic Missile Agency | Decayed 31 May 1970. Discovered Van Allen belts. |
| Explorer 2 | United States | 5 March 1958 | U.S. Army Ballistic Missile Agency | Failed to orbit. |
| Vanguard 1 | United States | 17 March 1958 | U.S. Naval Research Laboratory | Oldest artificial satellite in orbit, along with its upper stage. |
| Explorer 3 | United States | 26 March 1958 | U.S. Army Ballistic Missile Agency | Decayed 28 June 1958. |
| Vanguard TV-5 | United States | 29 April 1958 | U.S. Naval Research Laboratory | Failed to orbit. |
| Sputnik 3 | Soviet Union | 15 May 1958 | Korolev Design Bureau | Decayed 6 April 1960. |
| Vanguard SLV-1 | United States | 28 May 1958 | U.S. Naval Research Laboratory | Failed to orbit. |
| Vanguard SLV-2 | United States | 26 June 1958 | U.S. Naval Research Laboratory | Failed to orbit. |
| Explorer 4 | United States | 26 July 1958 | U.S. DARPA | Measured electrons & protons in radiation belts. Also measured data on Operation Argus nuclear explosions. |
| Explorer 5 | United States | 24 August 1958 | U.S. DARPA | Failed to orbit. |
| Vanguard SLV-3 | United States | 26 September 1958 | U.S. Naval Research Laboratory | Failed to orbit. |
| Beacon 1 | United States | 23 October 1958 | NASA/U.S. Army | Failed to orbit. |
| Vanguard II | United States | 17 February 1959 | NASA/U.S. Naval Research Laboratory | Still in orbit. |
| Vanguard SLV-5 | United States | 14 April 1959 | NASA | Failed to orbit. |
| Vanguard SLV-6 | United States | 22 June 1959 | NASA | Failed to orbit. |
| Explorer S-1 | United States | 16 July 1959 | NASA | Failed to orbit. |
| Explorer 6 | United States | 7 August 1959 | Jet Propulsion Laboratory | Decayed 1 July 1961. |
| Beacon 2 | United States | 15 August 1959 | NASA/U.S. Navy | Failed to orbit. |
| Vanguard III | United States | 18 September 1959 | U.S. Naval Research Laboratory | Still in orbit. |
| Explorer 7 | United States | 13 October 1959 | NASA | Still in orbit. |
| Satellite | Country | Date | Organisation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Explorer 8 | United States | 3 November 1960 | Jet Propulsion Laboratory | Ionospheric studies; decayed from orbit on 28 March 2012. |
| Explorer 9 | United States | 16 February 1961 | Langley Research Center (NASA) | Thermosphere and exosphere studies; decayed from orbit on 9 April 1964. |
| Explorer S-56a | United States | 25 February 1961 | ||
| Explorer 10 | United States | 25 March 1961 | NASA | Magnetic field and plasma studies; decayed from orbit on June 1, 1968. |
| Explorer 11 | United States | 27 April 1961 | NASA | Gamma ray detection |
| Explorer 12 | United States | 16 August 1961 | NASA | Solar wind, cosmic ray and magnetic field studies |
| Explorer 13 | United States | 25 August 1961 | ||
| Kosmos 3 | Soviet Union | 24 April 1962 | Decayed from orbit on 17 October 1962. | |
| Ariel 1 | United Kingdom | 26 April 1962 | NASA-SERC | Ionospheric studies; decayed from orbit on 24 May 1976. |
| Kosmos 5 | Soviet Union | 28 May 1962 | ||
| Kosmos 8 | Soviet Union | 18 August 1968 | Micrometeoroid detection; discovered meteoroid flux | |
| Alouette 1 | Canada | 29 September 1962 | DRDC | Ionospheric studies |
| TAVE | United States | 29 September 1962 | ||
| Explorer 14 | United States | 2 October 1962 | NASA | Particle and field detection |
| Explorer 15 | United States | 27 October 1962 | NASA | |
| Explorer 900 | United States | 16 December 1962 | ||
A satellite or artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. Satellites have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation (GPS), broadcasting, scientific research, and Earth observation. Additional military uses are reconnaissance, early warning, signals intelligence and, potentially, weapon delivery. Other satellites include the final rocket stages that place satellites in orbit and formerly useful satellites that later become defunct.
The following outline is provided as an overview and topical guide to space science:
An Earth observation satellite or Earth remote sensing satellite is a satellite used or designed for Earth observation (EO) from orbit, including spy satellites and similar ones intended for non-military uses such as environmental monitoring, meteorology, cartography and others. The most common type are Earth imaging satellites, that take satellite images, analogous to aerial photographs; some EO satellites may perform remote sensing without forming pictures, such as in GNSS radio occultation.
Landsat 1 (LS-1), formerly named ERTS-A and 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.
The Earth Observing System (EOS) is a program of NASA comprising a series of artificial satellite missions and scientific instruments in Earth orbit designed for long-term global observations of the land surface, biosphere, atmosphere, and oceans. Since the early 1970s, NASA has been developing its Earth Observing System, launching a series of Landsat satellites in the decade. Some of the first included passive microwave imaging in 1972 through the Nimbus 5 satellite. Following the launch of various satellite missions, the conception of the program began in the late 1980s and expanded rapidly through the 1990s. Since the inception of the program, it has continued to develop, including; land, sea, radiation and atmosphere. Collected in a system known as EOSDIS, NASA uses this data in order to study the progression and changes in the biosphere of Earth. The main focus of this data collection surrounds climatic science. The program is the centrepiece of NASA's Earth Science Enterprise.
LAGEOS, Laser Geodynamics Satellite or Laser Geometric Environmental Observation Survey, are a series of two scientific research satellites designed to provide an orbiting laser ranging benchmark for geodynamical studies of the Earth. Each satellite is a high-density passive laser reflector in a very stable medium Earth orbit (MEO).
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is the Japanese national air and space agency. Through the merger of three previously independent organizations, JAXA was formed on 1 October 2003. JAXA is responsible for research, technology development and launch of satellites into orbit, and is involved in many more advanced missions such as asteroid exploration and possible human exploration of the Moon. Its motto is One JAXA and its corporate slogan is Explore to Realize.
Orbital Sciences Corporation was an American company specializing in the design, manufacture, and launch of small- and medium- class space and launch vehicle systems for commercial, military and other government customers. In 2014, Orbital merged with Alliant Techsystems to create a new company called Orbital ATK, Inc., which in turn was purchased by Northrop Grumman in 2018. The remnants of the former Orbital Sciences Corporation became a subsidiary of Northrop Grumman, known as Northrop Grumman Space Systems.
TIROS, or Television InfraRed Observation Satellite, is a series of early weather satellites launched by the United States, beginning with TIROS-1 in 1960. TIROS was the first satellite that was capable of remote sensing of the Earth, enabling scientists to view the Earth from a new perspective: space. The program, promoted by Harry Wexler, proved the usefulness of satellite weather observation, at a time when military reconnaissance satellites were secretly in development or use. TIROS demonstrated at that time that "the key to genius is often simplicity". TIROS is an acronym of "Television InfraRed Observation Satellite" and is also the plural of "tiro" which means "a young soldier, a beginner".
Deep Space Climate Observatory is a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) space weather, space climate, and Earth observation satellite. It was launched by SpaceX on a Falcon 9 v1.1 launch vehicle on 11 February 2015, from Cape Canaveral. This is NOAA's first operational deep space satellite and became its primary system of warning Earth in the event of solar magnetic storms.
STEREO is a solar observation mission. Two nearly identical spacecraft were launched in 2006 into orbits around the Sun that cause them to respectively pull farther ahead of and fall gradually behind the Earth. This enabled stereoscopic imaging of the Sun and solar phenomena, such as coronal mass ejections.
The Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) was a robotic spacecraft operated by NASA. The mission was conceived as a low-cost means of determining the nature of hydrogen detected at the polar regions of the Moon. Launched immediately after discovery of lunar water by Chandrayaan-1, the main LCROSS mission objective was to further explore the presence of water in the form of ice in a permanently shadowed crater near a lunar polar region. It was successful in confirming water in the southern lunar crater Cabeus.
Geotail was a satellite that observed the Earth's magnetosphere. It was developed by Japan's ISAS in association with the United States' NASA, and was launched by a Delta II rocket on 24 July 1992 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to space exploration.
The Active Cavity Radiometer Irradiance Monitor Satellite, or ACRIMSAT was a satellite carrying the ACRIM-3 instrument. It was one of the 21 observational components of NASA's Earth Observing System program. The instrument followed upon the ACRIM-1 and ACRIM-2 instruments that were launched on multi-instrument satellite platforms. ACRIMSAT was launched on 20 December 1999 from Vandenberg Air Force Base as the secondary payload on the Taurus launch vehicle that launched KOMPSAT. It was placed into a high inclination of 98.30°, at 720 km. Sun-synchronous orbit from which the ACRIM-3 instrument monitored total solar irradiance (TSI). Contact with the satellite was lost on 14 December 2013.
Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) is a decommissioned NASA Earth observation satellite created to develop and validate a number of instrument and spacecraft bus breakthrough technologies. It was intended to enable the development of future Earth imaging observatories that will have a significant increase in performance while also having reduced cost and mass. The spacecraft was part of the New Millennium Program. It was the first satellite to map active lava flows from space; the first to measure a facility's methane leak from space; and the first to track re-growth in a partially logged Amazon forest from space. EO-1 captured scenes such as the ash after the World Trade Center attacks, the flooding in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, volcanic eruptions and a large methane leak in southern California.
Space research is scientific study carried out in outer space, and by studying outer space. From the use of space technology to the observable universe, space research is a wide research field. Earth science, materials science, biology, medicine, and physics all apply to the space research environment. The term includes scientific payloads at any altitude from deep space to low Earth orbit, extended to include sounding rocket research in the upper atmosphere, and high-altitude balloons.
TIROS 4 was a spin-stabilized meteorological satellite. It was the fourth in a series of Television Infrared Observation Satellites.