Landsat

The Landsat program is the longest running enterprise for acqusition of imagery of Earth from space. The first Landsat satellite was launched in 1972; the most recent, Landsat 7, was launched on April 15, 1999. The instruments on the Landsat satellites have acquired millions of images. The images, archived in the United States and at Landsat receiving stations around the world, are a unique resource for global change research and applications in agriculture, geology, forestry, regional planning, education and national security. History: The program was called the Earth Resources Observation Satellites Program when it was initiated in 1966, but the name was changed to Landsat in 1975.Landsat 1 - launched July 23, 1972, terminated operations in 1978, Landsat 2 - launched January 22, 1975, terminated in 1981, Landsat 3 - launched March 5, 1978, terminated 1983, Landsat 4 - launched July 16, 1982, terminated 1993, Landsat 5 - launched March 1, 1984, Landsat 6 - launched October 5, 1993, failed to reach orbit, Landsat 7 - launched April 15, 1999.