environmental-observing satellite

Environmental-observing
satellites


Below are checklists of environmental-observing satellites, including launch dates and images of the satellites. This is a work in progress, and completeness is our goal. If readers know of additional information or images, please contact the authors using the e-mail addresses at the bottom of this page.


Satellite series covered:


US Landsat / Earth Resources Technology Satellite (ERTS) series:

SatelliteLaunch DateImages
referencelaunch coversother postal items
Landsat-1 / ERTS-1 (ERTS-A)1972-07-23Landsat / ERTS
Landsat / ERTS
Landsat-1/2/3
Landsat-3
Landsat / ERTSLandsat / ERTS
Landsat-2 / ERTS-2 (ERTS-B)1975-01-22
Landsat-3 (Landsat-C / ERTS-C)1978-03-05
Landsat-4 (Landsat-D)1982-07-16Landsat-4
Landsat-4/5
Landsat-5 (Landsat-D1)1984-03-01
Landsat-6 [failed]1993-10-05Landsat-6
Landsat-6
Landsat-71999-04-15Landsat-7
Landsat-7
Landsat-8 / LDCM2013-02-11Landsat-8

French Satellite Probatoire de l'Observation de la Terre (SPOT) series:

SatelliteLaunch DateImages
referencelaunch coversother postal items
SPOT-1 (SPOT-A)1986-02-21SPOT-1
SPOT-1
SPOT-1/2/3
SPOTSPOT
SPOT-2 (SPOT-B)1990-01-22
SPOT-31993-09-26
SPOT-41998-03-24SPOT-4
SPOT-4
SPOT-4
SPOT-52002-05-03SPOT-5
SPOT-62012-09-09SPOT-6
SPOT-72014-?

Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellites:

SatelliteLaunch DateImages
referencelaunch coversother postal items
IRS-1A1988-03-17IRS
IRS-1
IRSIRS
IRS-1B1991-08-29
IRS-1E / IRS-P1 [failed]1993-09-20
IRS-P21994-10-15IRS-P2
IRS-1C1995-12-28IRS-1C/D
IRS-P31996-03-21IRS-P3
IRS-1D1997-09-29IRS-1C/D
IRS-1D
IRS-P4 / OceanSat-11999-05-26IRS-P4
IRS-P6 / ResourceSat-12003-10-17IRS-P6
IRS-P5 / CartoSat-12005-05-05IRS-P5
IRS-2 / CartoSat-22007-01-10CartoSat-2
IRS-2A / CartoSat-2A2008-04-28
IRS-P7 / OceanSat-22009-09-23OceanSat-2
IRS-2B / CartoSat-2B2010-07-12
IRS-P6 / ResourceSat-22011-04-20ResourceSat-2

European Remote Sensing (ERS) satellites:

SatelliteLaunch DateImages
referencelaunch coversother postal items
ERS-11991-07-16ERS
ERS
ERS
ERS-1
ERS-1
ERSERS
ERS-21995-04-20

Japanese Marine Observation Satellite (MOS) / Momo series:

SatelliteLaunch DateImages
referencelaunch coversother postal items
MOS-1A / Momo-11987-02-19MOS
MOS
MOS-1
MOSMOS
MOS-1B / Momo-1B1990-02-07MOS-2

Japanese ADvanced Earth Observing Satellite (ADEOS) / Midori series:

SatelliteLaunch DateImages
referencelaunch coversother postal items
ADEOS-1 / Midori / TOMS(-4?)1996-08-17ADEOS
ADEOS
ADEOS
ADEOS
ADEOS
ADEOSADEOS
ADEOS-2 / Argos-2+2002-12-14

US Earth Observation System (EOS) satellites:

SatelliteLaunch DateImages
referencelaunch coversother postal items
EOS-AM1 / EOS-Terra1999-12-18EOS-Terra (early-design)
EOS-Terra
EOSEOS
EOS-PM1 / EOS-Aqua2002-05-04EOS-Aqua
EOS-Aqua
EOS-Aura (formerly EOS-Chem)2004-07-15EOS-Aura
EOS-Aura

China (PR) Brazil Earth Resources Satellite (CBERS) / ZY-1 series:

SatelliteLaunch DateImages
referencelaunch coversother postal items
ZY-1A / CBERS-11999-10-14ZY-1
ZY-1 (CBERS)
ZY-1 / CBERSZY-1 / CBERS
ZY-1B / CBERS-22003-10-21
ZY-1B2 / CBERS-2B2007-09-19
ZY-1C / CBERS-32011-12-22ZY-1C
ZY-1D / CBERS-42013-?

China (PR) Resource (CR) satellite / ZY-2 and ZY-3 series:

SatelliteLaunch DateImages
referencelaunch coversother postal items
ZY-2A / China Resource-2A2000-09-01ZY-2ZY-2 and ZY-3 / China ResourceZY-2 and ZY-3 / China Resource
ZY-2B / China Resource-2B2002-10-27
ZY-2C / China Resource-2C2004-11-06
ZY-3A / China Resource-3A2012-01-09ZY-3
ZY-3B / China Resource-3B201?-?

China (PR) Haiyang (HY) / Ocean series:

SatelliteLaunch DateImages
referencelaunch coversother postal items
HY-1 / Ocean-12002-05-16HY-1HY-1
HY-1B / Ocean-1B2007-04-11HY-1B
HY-1B
HY-1B

China (PR) ShiYan (SY) / TanSuo (TS) series:

SatelliteLaunch DateImages
referencelaunch coversother postal items
SY-1 / TS-12004-04-18SY-1SY-1
SY-2 / TS-22004-11-18SY-2
SY-2 (back)
SY-3 / TS-32008-11-05

China (PR) Remote Sensing Satellite (RSS) / Yaogan-series:

SatelliteLaunch DateImages
referencelaunch coversother postal items
RSS-1 / Yaogan-12006-04-27Yaogan-1/3/10
RSS-2 / Yaogan-22007-05-25Yaogan-2/4/7Yaogan-2
RSS-3 / Yaogan-32007-11-12Yaogan-1/3/10Yaogan-3
Yaogan-3
RSS-4 / Yaogan-42008-12-01Yaogan-2/4/7
RSS-5 / Yaogan-52008-12-15Yaogan-5
RSS-6 / Yaogan-62009-04-22Yaogan-6
RSS-7 / Yaogan-72009-12-09Yaogan-2/4/7
RSS-8 / Yaogan-82009-12-15Yaogan-8Yaogan-8
RSS-9A,B,C / Yaogan-9A,B,C2010-03-05
RSS-10 / Yaogan-102010-08-10Yaogan-1/3/10

Republic of China (Taiwan) SATellite (Rocsat) / FORMOsa SATellite (Formosat) / Chunghua series:

SatelliteLaunch DateImages
referencelaunch coversother postal items
Rocsat-1 / Formosat-1 / Chunghua-11999-01-26Rocsat-1Rocsat-1
Rocsat-2 / Formosat-22004-05-20Rocsat-2Rocsat-2
Rocsat-2
Rocsat-3 / Formosat-3 / COSMIC2006-04-15Rocsat-3
Rocsat-5 / Formosat-52013-?
Rocsat-6 / Formosat-62012-?
Rocsat-7 / Formosat-7 / COSMIC-22014-?

Israeli Earth Resources Observation Satellite (EROS) series:

SatelliteLaunch DateImages
referencelaunch coversother postal items
EROS-A / Ofeq-4 [failed]1998-01-23EROSEROS
EROS-A12000-12-06EROS-1
EROS-B2006-04-25
EROS-C2012-?EROS-C

Argentine Satellite de Aplicaciones Cientifico (SAC) series:

SatelliteLaunch DateImages
referencelaunch coversother postal items
SAC-A [STS-88/Endeavour-deployed]1998-12-04SAC-ASACSAC
SAC-B1996-11-04SAC-B
SAC-C2000-11-21SAC-C
SAC-C
SAC-D / Aquarius / ESSP-62011-06-10SAC-D

Canadian RADAR SATellite (Radarsat) series:

SatelliteLaunch DateImages
referencelaunch coversother postal items
Radarsat-11995-11-04Radarsat-1
Radarsat-1
Radarsat-1
Radarsat-1
RadarsatRadarsat
Radarsat-22007-12-14Radarsat-2

KOrean Multi-Purpose SATellite (Kompsat) / Arirang series:

SatelliteLaunch DateImages
referencelaunch coversother postal items
Kompsat-1 / Arirang-11999-12-21Kompsat-1KompsatKompsat
Kompsat-2 / Arirang-22006-07-28Kompsat-2

US / French Jason / Ocean Surface Topography Mission (OSTM) series:

SatelliteLaunch DateImages
referencelaunch coversother postal items
Jason-12001-12-07Jason-1JasonJason
Jason-2 / OSTM2008-06-20Jason-2
Jason-32013-?

Italian COnstellation of small Satellites for Mediterranean basin Observation (COSMO-SkyMed) series:

SatelliteLaunch DateImages
referencelaunch coversother postal items
COSMO-12007-06-08COSMO-SkyMed
COSMO-22007-12-09
COSMO-32008-10-25
COSMO-42010-11-06COSMO-SkyMed
COSMO-SkyMed

European Space Agency (ESA) CRYOgenic SATellite (CryoSat) series:

SatelliteLaunch DateImages
referencelaunch coversother postal items
CryoSat-1 [failed]2005-10-08CryoSat
CryoSat-1
CryoSatCryoSat
CryoSat-22010-04-08

NIGERIA SATellite (NigeriaSat) series:

SatelliteLaunch DateImages
referencelaunch coversother postal items
NigeriaSat-12003-09-27NigeriaSat-1
NigeriaSat-22011-08-17NigeriaSat-2

French Pleiades series:

SatelliteLaunch DateImages
referencelaunch coversother postal items
Pleiades-1A2011-12-17Pleiades-1Pleiades-1APleiades
Pleiades
Pleiades
Pleiades-1B2012-12-03

A-Train environmental-observing satellites (except EOS):

SatelliteCountryLaunch DateImages
referencelaunch coversother postal items
PARASOLFrance2004-12-18PARASOLPARASOLPARASOL
CloudSat / ESSP-4USA2006-04-28CloudSat
CloudSat
CloudSatCloudSat
CALIPSO / ESSP-3France2006-04-28CALIPSOCALIPSOCALIPSO
OCO-1 / ESSP-5 [failed]USA2009-02-24OCO
OCO
OCO-1OCO
Glory [failed]USA2011-03-04GloryGloryGlory
OCO-2 / ESSP-5 [replacement]USA2014-?OCO-2OCO-2OCO

Other (selected) US environmental-observing satellites:

SatelliteLaunch DateImages
referencelaunch coversother postal items
SeaSat-1 (SeaSat-A)1978-06-27SeaSat
SeaSat
SeaSatSeaSat
ERBS / SAGE-2 [STS-41G/Challenger-deployed]1984-10-05ERBS
ERBS
ERBS
ERBS (with STS-41G/Challenger)
ERBSERBS
Geosat-11985-03-13Geosat
UARS [STS-48/Discovery-deployed]1991-09-12UARS
UARS
UARS
UARS (with STS-48/Discovery)
UARSUARS
TOPEX-Poseidon1992-08-10TOPEX-Poseidon
TOPEX-Poseidon
TOPEX-Poseidon
TOPEX-Poseidon
TOPEX-Poseidon
TOPEX-Poseidon (early-design)
TOPEX-PoseidonTOPEX-Poseidon
TOMS-EP / TOMS(-3?)1996-07-02TOMS-EP
TOMS-EP
TRMM1997-11-28TRMM
TRMM
TRMM
TRMM
TRMMTRMM
GFO1998-02-10GFO
QuikScat1999-06-20QuikScat
QuikScat
QuikScatQuikScat
MTI2000-03-12MTI
EO-1 / NMP2000-11-21EO-1
EO-1
EO-1 or EO-1
QuikTOMS / TOMS-5 [failed]2001-09-21QuikTOMSQuikTOMS
Coriolis / WindSat2003-01-06CoriolisCoriolisCoriolis
ICESat2003-01-12ICESat
ICESat
ICESat
Hydros / ESSP-7CanceledHydros
VCL / ESSP-1CanceledVCL
SMAP2015-?SMAP
SMAP

Other (selected) non-US environmental-observing satellites:

SatelliteCountryLaunch DateImages
referencelaunch coversother postal items
JERS-1 / Fuyo-1Japan1992-02-11JERS-1
JERS
JERSJERS
Tsinghua-1China (PR)2000-06-28Tsinghua-1
EnvisatEurope (ESA)2002-03-01Envisat
Envisat
Envisat
Envisat-1
Envisat
EnvisatEnvisat
Alsat-1Algeria / Russia2002-11-28Alsat-1AlsatAlsat
BilsatTurkey2003-09-27Bilsat-1
Monitor-ERussia2005-08-26Monitor-EMonitor-E (GOES-13/14/15 image)
ALOS / DaichiJapan2006-01-24ALOS
BelKa [failed]Russia2006-11-26BelKaBelKa
BelKa
LAPAN-TUBsatIndonesia / Germany2007-01-10LAPAN-TUBsatLAPAN-TUBsat
LAPAN-TUBsat
LAPAN-TUBsat
EgyptSat-1Egypt2007-04-17EgyptSat-1EgyptSat-1
EgyptSat-1
TerraSAR-XGermany2007-06-15TerraSAR-XTerraSAR-X
TerraSAR-X
TerraSAR-X
TerraSAR-X
HJ-1A, HJ-1BChina (PR)2008-09-06HJ-1AHJ-1A+1B
RapidEye-1 (Tachys), RapidEye-2 (Mati), RapidEye-3 (Choma), RapidEye-4 (Choros), RapidEye-5 (Trochia)Germany2008-08-29RapidEyeRapidEye
THEOSThailand2008-10-01THEOSTHEOS
GOSAT / IbukiJapan2009-01-23GOSAT
SMOSEurope (ESA)2009-11-02SMOSSMOS
SMOS
SMOS
SMOS
SMOS
SMOS
SMOS
TanDEM-XGermany2010-06-21TanDEM-XTanDEM-X
RasatTurkey2011-08-17RasatRasat
Rasat
GCOM-W / ShizukuJapan2012-05-17GCOM-W
SARALIndia / France2013-02-25SARAL
PRSSPakistan2014-?PRSSPRSS

US commercial environmental-observing satellites:

SatelliteCompanyLaunch DateImages
referencelaunch coversother postal items
EarlyBird-1 [failed]Earth Watch Inc.1997-12-24EarlyBird
Ikonos-1 [failed]Space Imaging Co.1999-04-27Ikonos
Ikonos-2Space Imaging Co.1999-09-24
QuickBird-1 [failed]DigitalGlobe Inc.2000-11-20QuickBirdQuickBird
QuickBird-2DigitalGlobe Inc.2001-10-18QuickBird-2
OrbView-1Orbital Imaging Corp.1995-04-03OrbView-1OrbViewOrbView
OrbView-2 / SeaStar / SeaWiFSOrbital Imaging Corp.1997-08-01OrbView-2
OrbView-2
SeaWiFSSeaWiFS
OrbView-3Orbital Imaging Corp.2003-06-26OrbView-3OrbViewOrbView
OrbView-4 [failed]Orbital Imaging Corp.2001-09-21OrbView-4
GeoEye-1 (formerly OrbView-5)GeoEye Inc.2008-09-06GeoEye-1GeoEyeGeoEye
GeoEye-2GeoEye Inc.2017-?GeoEye-2
WorldView-1Satellite Imaging Corp.2007-09-18WorldView-1WorldViewWorldView
WorldView-2Satellite Imaging Corp.2009-10-08WorldView-2


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Updated: 2013-06-14