The practical application of the American system for studies of the earth resources -Landsat was commenced in 1972 with the launch of a Landsat-1 spacecraft.
The new Landsat-8 (LDCM - Landsat Data Continuity Mission) launched on February 11, 2013 from Vandenberg Air Force Base (USA), continues implementation of Landsat program by delivering data for use in agriculture and other industries as well as education, business and public administration.
The Landsat-8 has two sensors: optical and electronic (Operational Land Imager, OLI) and thermal (Thermal InfraRed Sensor, TIRS).
Operators: NASA (USA) and USGS (USA)
Technical Characteristics
| Modes: | VNIR | SWIR | PAN | TIR |
| Spectral range, µm | 0.43–0.45 (violet or coastal) 0.45–0.52 (blue) 0.53–0.60 (green) 0.63–0.68 (red) 0.85–0.89 (near infrared) |
1.36–1.39 (Cirrus) 1.56–1.66 (SWIR-1) 2.10–2.30 (SWIR-2) |
0.50–0.68 | 10.40-12.50 |
| Spatial Resolution (nadir-viewed), m | 30 | 30 | 15 | 100 |
| Radiometric resolution, bits / pixel | 12 | |||
| Swath Width, km | 185 | |||
| Revisit Time, days | 16 | |||