Mission type Earth imaging Reference system Geocentric | Regime Sun-synchronous | |
Launch date December 2020 (2020-12) | ||
Landsat 9 is a planned American Earth observation satellite, tentatively scheduled for launch in December 2020. NASA will build, launch, and test it, and the United States Geological Survey (USGS) will process, archive, and distribute its data. It's intended as the eighth satellite in the Landsat series, Landsat 6 having failed to reach orbit.
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Design
Landsat 9 "will largely replicate its predecessor Landsat 8", including reusing some designs and parts, with optical and thermal sensors generally comparable to the OLI and TIRS instruments. As of its announcement in April 2015, there is no specific public information about imaging characteristics such as ground sample distance, signal-to-noise ratio, and spectral bands.
The budget that provides for initial work on Landsat 9 also calls for research into less expensive and smaller components for future Landsat hardware.
Schedule
Landsat 9’s initially planned launch in December 2020 is 4–5 years after the end of Landsat 8's mission design lifetime, and near the end of its maximum (fuel supply) lifetime. Funding decisions may change the launch date.