Landsat 8 To Go To Space Early In 2013

THE LANDSAT DATA CONTINUITY MISSION (LDCM), or Landsat-8 as it will be known upon its launch, will be launched in February 2013 aboard at Atlas-V from California to circle the globe collecting data for NASA and the Department of Interior, the seventh satellite to launch since 1972. The newest LandSat satellite in the fleet will extend the 40-year legacy of satellites that continuously collect data and images of the Earth's surface and widely used by remote sensing scientists around the globe. Landsat-5 and Landsat-7 are currently in commission for the project, however, upon the successful launch of Landsat-8, the fifth satellite will be decommissioned and taken out of orbit.Iverson said. The sixth in the series did not make it into space. The goal of Landsa-t8 is to remain fully operational into 2023. The data collection benefits many industries, including agriculture, geology, forestry, regional planning, education, mapping, global change research, emergency response and disaster relief. The Landsat-8 satellite has two new spectral bands, which will allow it to detect clouds on coastal zones. Additionally, it will produce more than twice as many images per day than the Landsat-7.

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