At the time of its launch on July 16, 1982, it was considered the most advanced Earth remote sensing satellite of its era. ” The new Landsat design also allowed it to fly in a lower orbit than its predecessors. Landsat 4 was also outfitted with a new Thematic Mapper, described by Rocchio as “a more advanced version of the MSS. But the mission requirements were many-the satellite was required to be Space Shuttle rendezvous ready (for the concept of Shuttle-based repairs) to carry a large antenna (at the end of a long 12.5 foot boom) for communicating with NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) and to carry a GPS receiver.” “Landsat 4 was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Jon a Delta 3920 rocket.” Photo Credit: EROS History Project/USGSĪccording to a NASA/JPL article by Laura Rocchio, “The Landsat 4 spacecraft was a custom-designed platform and not a re-purposed Nimbus weather satellite platform used for the first three Landsats. For one, it used a Multimission Modular Spacecraft (MMS) bus, which optimized it for Space Shuttle servicing missions, and allowed for it to be recovered in space and returned to Earth for repairs. However, Landsat 4, built by GE Astro Space, represented a massive departure from the previous Landsats. The first three Landsat satellites were nearly identical and utilized the Nimbus weather satellite program bus. While this story originated in 1972, here’s a brief history of how the Space Shuttle was bandied about as a potential solution to rescue the ailing Landsat 4 during the mid-1980s.Ī Capsule History of the Early Landsat Program It is a truly “down-to-Earth” program that prioritizes the practical imagery of Earth’s resources over the glitz and glamour associated with human spaceflight.īut during one brief, shining moment, Landsat crossed paths with the airplane-spaceship-cargo vessel approved the same year the first of its kind was launched. “Multispectral scanner” doesn’t carry the same excitement and drama that “translunar injection” does. Landsat at age 50 remains hard to popularize within the space community. While ERTS-A, aka Landsat 1, was decommissioned in 1978, the program remains ongoing.
This satellite program would be renamed Landsat in 1975. Skylab was readied for its 1973 launch, while a second Skylab was consigned to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum thanks to the budget cuts that scuttled any hopes of an extended Apollo program.Īmid all this, on July 23, the first Earth Resources Technology Satellite (ERTS) was launched by a Delta rocket out of hilly Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The Apollo lunar missions ended, while the Space Shuttle – touted as part airplane, part cargo truck, and the embodiment of a nation’s collective spaceflight dreams – was just being developed. The year 1972 marked the beginning of a transitional period for NASA.
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