Landsat satellites have been known since 1972. The NASA project dates back to the mid-1960s and consists of an Earth observation space program, launched in response to a request from the US Department of Geological Studies and the United States. Agriculture. On September 27, the United Launch Alliance (ULA) launches Landsat 9 on the Atlas V rocket. It is the ninth satellite in the program. Today, it has returned to its final orbit located 705 km above the ground. Together with its twin Landsat 8, the two satellites will collect images covering the entire planet every eight days. “We are able to specifically study the impact of climate and climate change on ecosystems,” explains Jeff Masek, Landsat 9 project scientist.this space program maps “areas of increased vegetation cover at high latitudes due to global warming” and “areas of vegetation decline in water-limited semi-arid environments”.

Collect valuable scientific information

The nine satellites have a fifteen-degree sphere of vision and operate in synchronous solar orbit.

Each has a lot of surveillance equipment.

This technology allows them to capture millions of images in visible, panchromatic and infrared light.

Images that allow researchers to monitor agricultural productivity, the extent and health of forests, water quality, the health of coral reef habitats and the dynamics of glaciers.

“As the impacts of the climate crisis intensify in the United States and around the world, Landsat 9 will provide data and images to help make science-based decisions on key issues, including the use of water, the impact of forest fires, degradation of coral reefs, retreating glaciers and ice shelves, and tropical deforestation, ”said Bill Nelson, NASA administrator.

A delayed launch

The launch was originally scheduled for September 16.

According to NASA officials, this one-week delay can be explained by two reasons.

In September, the demand for liquid oxygen for the treatment of coronavirus patients skyrocketed. An emergency that affected the Landsat 9 launch schedule. In fact, in this epidemic context, the company in charge of delivering liquid nitrogen has revised its priorities. It is committed to meeting its demands for medical liquid oxygen, ahead of its liquid nitrogen orders. Liquid nitrogen being an essential element for takeoff, the launch of Landsat 9 had to be postponed. Weather problems then delayed the launch for a few more days.

For NASA, the launch of Landsat 9 marks the 145th flight of an Atlas V and the 88th flight of the rocket.

In August, the United Launch Alliance (ULA) announced that it only had 29 Atlas V rockets left in its fleet.

All of these launchers already have assigned missions.

Science

Solar system: NASA will launch on October 16 the Lucy spacecraft towards the asteroids of Jupiter

Planet

Climate change: Find out which cities will be flooded by rising sea levels

  • Environment

  • Technology

  • Nasa

  • Satellite

  • Space

  • High-Tech