Landsat 9

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Landsat 9
Satellite imagery
OperatorNASA / USGS
COSPAR ID2021-088A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.49260
WebsiteLandsat 9
Mission duration15 years - with fuel (planned)[1]
2 years, 6 months, 12 days (in progress)
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftLandsat 9
Spacecraft typeLandsat
BusLEOStar-3
ManufacturerNorthrop Grumman Innovation Systems
Launch mass2,711 kg (5,977 lb)
Dimensions4.6 m × 3 m × 3 m (15.1 ft × 9.8 ft × 9.8 ft)
Power4300 watts
Start of mission
Launch date27 September 2021,
18:12:00 UTC[1][2]
RocketAtlas V 401 (AV-092)
Launch siteVandenberg, SLC-3E
ContractorUnited Launch Alliance
Entered serviceJanuary 6, 2022 [1]
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric orbit
RegimeSun-synchronous orbit
Altitude705 km (438 mi)
Inclination98.2°
Period99.0 minutes
Repeat interval16 days
Instruments
Operational Land Imager-2 (OLI-2)
Thermal Infrared Sensor-2 (TIRS-2)

LANDSAT 9 mission patch  

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.[3] 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.[4] 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.[5]

Design

The design and construction of Landsat 9 were assigned by NASA, under a delivery order contract to Orbital ATK, in October 2016. The purchase cost of US$129.9 million is part of a five-year contract between the two entities. The budget that provides for initial work on Landsat 9 also calls for research into less expensive and smaller components for future Landsat hardware.[4]

Landsat 9 will largely replicate the functions of its predecessor Landsat 8. The former will include near-identical copies of remote sensors: the Operational Land Imager (OLI) and the Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) instruments – optical and thermal sensors respectively – that will be designated OLI-2 and TIRS-2;[6] the latter will be upgraded to a risk class B implementation (high priority, high national significance, high complexity)[7] while no changes will be applied to OLI-2.[8]

NASA selected Ball Aerospace & Technologies to provide the OLI-2 instrument through a sole source procurement. OLI-2 will collect data for nine spectral bands with a ground sample distance (GSD) of 30 m for all bands except the panchromatic band, which has a 15 m GSD.[9]

NASA assigned the TIRS-2 instrument as a directed development to Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). Design changes to the TIRS-2 are intended to address the stray light and Scene Select Mechanism (SSM) encoder problems experienced with the TIRS on Landsat 8.[6] Testing and assessment of the TIRS-2 demonstrate the stray light magnitude has been reduced to insignificant levels.[10]

Launch

Landsat 9 was launched on 27 September 2021 at 18:12 UTC.

Launch Services Program (LSP) at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) controlled the launch operations, which was conducted from Vandenberg Space Force Base.[12] The launch of Landsat 9 was delayed to September 2021 due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on spacecraft work in Arizona.[3]

Gallery

  • Landsat 9 launch, as seen from Lompoc, California, on a cloudy day.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Costa, Jason (27 September 2021). "Landsat 9 Continues a Legacy of 50 Years". blogs.nasa.gov. NASA. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  2. ^ "NASA and United Launch Alliance Update Landsat 9 Target Launch Date – Kennedy Space Center". blogs.nasa.gov. NASA. 15 September 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2021. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  3. ^ a b "Coronavirus delays push back launch of next Landsat to September 2021". Spaceflight Now. 7 September 2020. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  4. ^ a b "NASA, USGS Begin Work on Landsat 9 to Continue Land Imaging Legacy". NASA. 16 April 2015. Retrieved 16 April 2015. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  5. ^ "FY 2021 Congressional Justification: Landsat 9 – Schedule Commitments/Key Milestones" (PDF). NASA. 10 February 2020. p. 321. Retrieved 7 May 2020. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  6. ^
    S2CID 3929985
    . 99720G.
  7. ^ "Risk Classification for NASA payloads" (PDF). nodis3.gsfc.nasa.gov. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 7 April 2017. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  8. ^ "Landsat 9 Science Instrument Details". Goddard Space Flight Center. NASA. Archived from the original on 7 April 2017. Retrieved 7 May 2020. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  9. ^ "Landsat 9 Instruments". Goddard Space Flight Center. NASA. Retrieved 10 January 2019. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  10. S2CID 249032009
    .
  11. ^ "LAUNCH ALERT! We are heading to the West Coast for our next launch. #AtlasV is scheduled to launch #Landsat 9 for @NASA_LSP and @NASA_Landsat next Monday from Vandenberg Space Force Base. Liftoff is 11:12 PDT (14:12 EDT; 18:12 UTC)". Twitter. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  12. ^ Amos, Jonathan (27 September 2021). "Landsat-9: 'Satellite of record' launches to picture Earth". BBC.

External links

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