UNIT-IV

Satellite Remote Sensing

Satellite remote sensing as the use of satellite-borne sensors to observe, measure and
record the electromagnetic radiation reflected or emitted by the earth and its environment for
subsequent analysis and extraction of information.

Types of Satellites

A satellite is a body that orbits around another body in space. Based on the origin of
satellites it is classified in to natural satellite and man-made satellite.

1. Natural Satellites

Examples of natural satellites are the Earth and Moon. The Earth rotates around the
Sun and the Moon rotates around the Earth.

The Moon is a natural satellite of the Earth

2. Man-made Satellites

A man-made satellite is a machine that is launched into space and orbits around a
body in space. Examples of man-made satellites include the Hubble Space Telescope and
the International Space Station. Man-made satellites come in many shapes and size and have
different pieces of instruments on them to perform different functions while in space.
Satellites are built by engineers and take months sometimes even years to build. The satellites
have to endure many tests to make sure the satellite can withstand the launch and the harsh
environment of space.

Satellites can be classified by their function since they are launched into space to do a
specific job. The satellite must be designed specifically to fulfill its role. There are nine
different types of satellites i.e. Communications Satellite, Remote Sensing Satellite,
Navigation Satellite, LEO, MEO, HEO, GPS, GEOs, Drone Satellite, Ground Satellite, Polar
Satellite, Nano satellite, Mini satellite, micro satellite etc.
1.Communications satellite – is an artificial satellite that relays and
amplifies radio telecommunications signals via a transponder; it creates a communication
channel between a source transmitter and a receiver at different locations on Earth.
Communications satellites are used for television, telephone, radio, internet,
and military applications. There are about 2,000 communications satellites in Earth's orbit,
used by both private and government organizations. Many are in geostationary orbit 22,236
miles (35,785 km) above the equator, so that the satellite appears stationary at the same point
in the sky, so the satellite dish antennas of ground stations can be aimed permanently at that
spot and do not have to move to track it.

The high frequency radio waves used for telecommunications links travel by line of
sight and so are obstructed by the curve of the Earth. The purpose of communications
satellites is to relay the signal around the curve of the Earth allowing communication between
widely separated geographical points. Communications satellites use a wide range of radio
and microwave frequencies. To avoid signal interference, international organizations have
regulations for which frequency ranges or "bands".

2. Remote Sensing Satellite - A satellite with remote sensors to observe the earth
is called a remote sensing satellite or earth observation satellite. Meteorological satellites are
sometimes discriminated from the other remote sensing satellites. Remote sensing
satellites are characterized by their altitude, orbit and sensors. Example Landsat.

3. NAVIGATION SATELLITES - Artificial satellites can provide the basis for all-weather,
long-term navigation systems to determine with accuracy geodetic position, speed, and
direction of a surface vehicle or aircraft, north reference, and vertical reference. GPS Satellite
Constellation: The baseline satellite constellation consists of 24 satellites positioned in six
earth-centered orbital planes with four operation satellites and a spare satellite slot in each
orbital plane. The system can support a constellation of up to thirty satellites in orbit.

4. Geocentric orbit Satellites or Earth orbit Satellites - involves any object orbiting the
Earth, such as the Moon or artificial satellites. In 1997 NASA estimated there were
approximately 2,465 artificial satellite payloads orbiting the Earth and 6,216 pieces of space
debris as tracked by the Goddard Space Flight Center.
 a. Low Earth orbit Satellite (LEO)
Geocentric orbits ranging in altitude from 160 kilometers (100 statute miles) to 2,000
kilometres (1,200 mi) above mean sea level At 160 km, one revolution takes
approximately 90 minutes, and the circular orbital speed is 8,000 metres per second
(26,000 ft/s).
b. Medium Earth Orbit Satellite (MEO)
Geocentric orbits with altitudes at apogee ranging between 2,000 kilometres
(1,200 mi) and that of the geosynchronous orbit at 35,786 kilometres (22,236 mi).
c. Geosynchronous orbit Satellite (GEO)
Geocentric circular orbit with an altitude of 35,786 kilometres (22,236 mi). The
period of the orbit equals one sidereal day, coinciding with the rotation period of the
Earth. The speed is approximately 3,000 metres per second (9,800 ft/s).

d. High Earth Orbit Satellite (HEO)

Geocentric orbits with altitudes at apogee higher than that of the geosynchronous
orbit. A special case of high Earth orbit is the highly elliptical orbit, where altitude at perigee
is less than 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi)
5. GPS Satellite

GPS, or the Global Positioning System, is a global navigation satellite system that
provides location, velocity and time synchronization.
GPS is everywhere. You can find GPS systems in your car, your smartphone and your watch.
GPS helps you get where you are going, from point A to point B. The satellite system
consists of a constellation of 24 satellites in six Earth-centered orbital planes, each with four
satellites, orbiting at 13,000 miles (20,000 km) above Earth and traveling at a speed of 8, 700
mph (14,000 km/h).
 6. Geostationary satellites

A geostationary satellite is launched in such a way that it follows an orbit parallel to

the equator and travels in the same direction as the earth's rotation with the same period of 24
hours. Thus, it appears stationary with respect to the earth surface. ... A large area of the earth
can also be covered by the satellite.

Examples

 Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GEOS) of USA.

 INSAT of India.
 Himawari of Japan.
 Fengyun of China.
 Meteostat of Europe.
7. Drone satellite

In aviation and in space, a drone refers to an unpiloted aircraft or spacecraft. Another

term for it is an "unmanned aerial vehicle," or UAV. On Earth, drones are often used for
military purposes because they don't put a pilot's life at risk in combat zones. In addition,
drones don't require rest, enabling them to fly as long as there is fuel in the craft and there are
no mechanical difficulties.

Technically speaking, space borne drones could include cargo spacecraft, satellites
and machines that leave Earth, although they aren't usually referred to as such. Perhaps the
best example of a drone in space is the U.S. military's mysterious X-37B spacecraft, which
has made multiple flights into orbit for hundreds of days at a time. Its mission is highly
classified, leading to speculation about what it is doing.
8. Ground Satellite

Ground stations consist largely of an antenna that physically communicates data from
orbiting spacecraft and processes it into actionable reports for satellite and human spaceflight
operators. A single ground station can support multiple spacecraft, repositioning to
communicate with each one.
 Specialized satellite earth stations are used to telecommunicate with satellites—chiefly
communications satellites. A ground station that primarily receives telemetry data, or that
follows a satellite not in geostationary orbit, is called a tracking station.

8. Polar Satellite

Polar satellite is a satellite whose orbit is perpendicular or at right angles to the

equator or in simple words it passes passes over the north and south poles as it orbits the
earth . It can be at any height from the earth, typically at 500–800 Kms . As the earth rotates
under it while it orbit the earth , Earth present a different face at every pass, making it
possible to map / scan the entire earth surface with Polar satellite over time. This property
makes them excellent tool as earth observation / reconnaissance or spy satellite.
9. Nano Satellites

Nano satellites are loosely defined as any satellite weighing less than 10 kilograms.
CubeSats must also comply with a series of specific criteria that control factors such as their
shape, size and weight.

CubeSats can come in various sizes, but they are all based on the standard CubeSat
unit, namely a cube-shaped structure measuring 10x10x10 centimetres with a mass of
somewhere between 1 and 1.33 kg. This unit is known as 1U. After the first few years, this
modular unit was multiplied and larger nanosatellites are now common (1.5U, 2U, 3U or 6U).
10. Small satellites or Minisatellite
The term "small satellite", or sometimes "minisatellite", often refers to an artificial satellite
with a wet mass (including fuel) between 100 and 500 kg (220 and 1,100 lb), but in other
usage has come to mean any satellite under 500 kg (1,100 lb).
Small satellite examples
include Demeter, Essaim, Parasol, Picard, MICROSCOPE, TARANIS, ELISA, SSOT, SMA
RT-1, Spirale-A and -B, and Starlink satellites.
11. Microsatellites
The term "microsatellite" or "microsat" is usually applied to the name of an artificial
satellite with a wet mass between 10 and 100 kg (22 and 220 lb). However, this is not an
official convention and sometimes those terms can refer to satellites larger than that, or
smaller than that (e.g., 1–50 kg (2.2–110.2 lb)). Sometimes, designs or proposed designs from
some satellites of these types have microsatellites working together or in a formation.[10] The
generic term "small satellite" or "smallsat" is also sometimes used,[11] as is "satlet".
Examples: Astrid-1 and Astrid-2, as well as the set of satellites currently announced
for LauncherOne (below)
In 2018, the two Mars Cube One microsats—massing just 13.5 kg (30 lb) each—
became the first CubeSats to leave Earth orbit for use in interplanetary space. They flew on
their way to Mars alongside the successful Mars InSight lander mission. The two microsats
accomplished a flyby of Mars in November 2018, and both continued communicating with
ground stations on Earth through late December. Both went silent by early January 2019.

(Nano satellites <10kg

Minisatellite or small satellite 100-500kg

Microsat -10-100kg)

ORBITS

An orbit is a regular, repeating path that one object in space takes around another one.
An object in an orbit is called a satellite. A satellite can be natural, like Earth or the moon.
Many planets have moons that orbit them. A satellite can also be man-made, like the
International Space Station.
 When rockets launch our satellites, they put them into orbit in space. There, gravity
keeps the satellite on its required orbit – in the same way that gravity keeps the Moon in orbit
around Earth. A satellite is put into orbit by being placed hundreds or thousands of kilometres
above Earth’s surface (as if in a very tall tower) and then being given a ‘push’ by the rocket’s
engines to make it start on its orbit. In space, there is no air and therefore no air friction, so
gravity lets the satellite orbit around Earth with almost no further assistance. Putting satellites
into orbit enables us to use technologies for telecommunication, navigation, weather forecast,
and astronomy observations.

Types of orbit
Upon launch, a satellite or spacecraft is most often placed in one of several particular
orbits around Earth – or it might be sent on an interplanetary journey, meaning that it does
not orbit Earth anymore, but instead orbits the Sun until its arrival at its final destination, like
Mars or Jupiter.

There are many factors that decide which orbit would be best for a satellite to use, depending
on what the satellite is designed to achieve.

 Geostationary orbit (GEO)

 Low Earth orbit (LEO)
 Medium Earth orbit (MEO)
 Polar orbit and Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO)
 Transfer orbits and geostationary transfer orbit (GTO)
 Lagrange points (L-points)

1. Geostationary orbit (GEO)

Satellites in geostationary orbit (GEO) circle earth above the equator from west to
east following earth’s rotation – taking 23 hours 56 minutes and 4 seconds – by
 travelling at exactly the same rate as Earth. This makes satellites in GEO appear to be
‘stationary’ over a fixed position. In order to perfectly match Earth’s rotation, the
speed of GEO satellites should be about 3 km per second at an altitude of 35 786 km.
This is much farther from Earth’s surface compared to many satellites.

2. Low Earth orbit (LEO)

A low Earth orbit (LEO) is, as the name suggests, an orbit that is relatively close to
Earth’s surface. It is normally at an altitude of less than 1000 km but could be as low as 160
km above Earth – which is low compared to other orbits, but still very far above Earth’s
surface.

By comparison, most commercial aeroplanes do not fly at altitudes much greater than
approximately 14 km, so even the lowest LEO is more than ten times higher than that.
3. Medium Earth orbit (MEO)
Medium Earth orbit comprises a wide range of orbits anywhere between LEO and
GEO. It is similar to LEO in that it also does not need to take specific paths around Earth, and
it is used by a variety of satellites with many different applications. It is very commonly used
by navigation satellites, like the European Galileo system (pictured). Galileo powers
navigation communications across Europe, and is used for many types of navigation, from
tracking large jumbo jets to getting directions to your smartphone. Galileo uses a
constellation of multiple satellites to provide coverage across large parts of the world all at
once.

4. Polar orbit and Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO)

Satellites in polar orbits usually travel past Earth from north to south rather than from
west to east, passing roughly over Earth's poles.Satellites in a polar orbit do not have to pass
the North and South Pole precisely; even a deviation within 20 to 30 degrees is still classed as
a polar orbit. Polar orbits are a type of low Earth orbit, as they are at low altitudes between
200 to 1000 km.

Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) is a particular kind of polar orbit. Satellites in SSO,

travelling over the polar regions, are synchronous with the Sun. This means they are
synchronised to always be in the same ‘fixed’ position relative to the Sun. This means that
the satellite always visits the same spot at the same local time – for example, passing the city
of Paris every day at noon exactly.

5. Transfer orbits and geostationary transfer orbit (GTO)

Transfer orbits are a special kind of orbit used to get from one orbit to another. When
satellites are launched from Earth and carried to space with launch vehicles such as Ariane 5,
the satellites are not always placed directly on their final orbit. Often, the satellites are instead
placed on a transfer orbit: an orbit where, by using relatively little energy from built-in
motors, the satellite or spacecraft can move from one orbit to another.

This allows a satellite to reach, for example, a high-altitude orbit like GEO without actually
needing the launch vehicle to go all the way to this altitude, which would require more effort
– this is like taking a shortcut. Reaching GEO in this way is an example of one of the most
common transfer orbits, called the geostationary transfer orbit (GTO).

6. Lagrange points
Lagrange points, or L-points, allow for orbits that are much, much farther away (over
a million kilometres) and do not orbit Earth directly. These are specific points far out in space
where the gravitational fields of Earth and the Sun combine in such a way that spacecraft that
orbit them remain stable and can thus be ‘anchored’ relative to Earth. If a spacecraft was
launched to other points in space very distant from Earth, they would naturally fall into an
orbit around the Sun, and those spacecraft would soon end up far from Earth, making
communication difficult. Instead, spacecraft launched to these special L-points stay fixed, and
remain close to Earth with minimal effort without going into a different orbit.
RESOLUTION

The resolution of an image refers to the potential detail provided by the imagery. In
remote sensing four types of resolution are there:
1. Spatial Resolution – refers to the size of the smallest feature that can be detected by a
satellite sensor or displayed in a satellite image. It is usually presented as a single value
representing the length of one side of a square. For example, a spatial resolution of 250m
means that one pixel represents an area 250 by 250 meters on the ground.
2. Spectral Resolution – refers to the ability of a satellite sensor to measure specific
wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum. The finer the spectral resolution, the narrower
the wavelength range for a particular channel or band.
3. Temporal Resolution – refers to the time between images. The capability for satellites to
provideimage of the same geographical area more frequently has increased dramatically since
the dawn of the space age.
4. Radiometric Resolution – refers to the smallest change in intensity level that can be
detected by the sensing system. The intrinsic radiometric resolution of a sensing system
depends on the signal to noise ratio of the detector. In a digital image, the radiometric
resolution is limited by the number of discrete quantization levels used to digitize the
continuous intensity value.

SENSOR
Sensor is an instrument to collect data by detecting the energy that is reflected from
earth. Sensors are classified in to passive and active sensors.
Passive Sensor: Passive sensors are the sensor which measure energy that is naturally
available. Passive sensors can only be used to detect energy when the naturally occurring
energy is available. For all reflected energy, this can only take place during the time when the
sun is illuminating the earth.
Active Sensor: Active sensors provide their own energy source for illumination. The sensor
emits radiation which is directed toward the target to be investigated. The radiation reflected
from that target is detected and measured by the sensor. Example laser fluorosensor and a
synthetic aperture radar (SAR).

LANDSAT

Instrument Launched Terminated Duration Notes

Landsat 1 July 23, January 6, 5 years, 6 Originally named Earth Resources
1972 1978 months and Technology Satellite 1. Landsat 1
14 days carried two vital instruments; a
camera built by the Radio
Corporation of America (RCA)
known as the Return Beam Vidicon
(RBV). As well as a Multi spectral
Scanner (MSS) built by the Hughes
Aircraft Company. (RBV+MSS)
Landsat 2 January 22, February 25, 7 years, 1 Nearly identical copy of Landsat 1.
1975 1982 month and Payload consisting of a Return Beam
3 days Vidicon (RBV) and a Multi spectral
Scanner (MSS). The specifications
of these instruments were identical
to Landsat 1(RBV+MSS)
Landsat 3 March 5, March 31, 5 years, 26 Nearly identical copy of Landsat 1
1978 1983 days and Landsat 2. Payload consisting of
a Return Beam Vidicon (RBV) as
well as a Multi spectral Scanner
(MSS). Included with the MSS was
a short-lived thermal band. MSS
data was considered more
scientifically applicable than the
RBV which was rarely used for
engineering evaluation purposes.
(RBV+MSS –short lived thermal
band)
Landsat 4 Landsat 4 carried an updated Multi
11 years, Spectral Scanner (MSS) used on
July 16, December
4 months previous Landsat missions, as well
1982 14, 1993
and 28 days as a Thematic Mapper. ( Updated
MSS +TM)
Landsat 5 Nearly identical copy of Landsat 4.
Longest Earth-observing satellite
mission in history. Designed and
29 years,
March 1, built at the same time as Landsat 4,
June 5, 2013 3 months
1984 this satellite carried the same
and 4 days
payload consisting of a Multi
Spectral Scanner (MSS) as well as a
Thematic Mapper. (MSS+TM)
Landsat 6 Failed to reach orbit. Landsat 6 was
an upgraded version of its
predecessors. Carrying the same
October 5, October 5, Multi spectral Scanner (MSS) but
0 days
1993 1993 also carrying an Enhanced Thematic
Mapper, which added a 15m-
resolution panchromatic band.
(MSS+Enhanced TM)
Landsat 7 Operating with scan line corrector
disabled since May 2003.[11] The
main component on Landsat 7 was
the Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus
21 years, (ETM+). Still consisting of the 15m-
April 15,
Still active 6 months resolution panchromatic band, but
1999
and 22 days also includes a full aperture
calibration. This allows for 5%
absolute radiometric calibration
(ETM+15m resolution panchromatic
band)
Landsat 8 Originally named Landsat Data
Continuity Mission from launch
until May 30, 2013,
when NASA operations were turned
over to USGS.[13] Landsat 8 has two
sensors with its payload,
the Operational Land Imager (OLI)
and the Thermal InfraRed Sensor
(TIRS)
Landsat 9 April 8, Landsat 9 will be a rebuild of its
2021 predecessor Landsat 8
(expected)

Uses

Natural resources management

a. Agroindustry
b. Forestry

Climate change and disasters

a. The shrinking of Aral sea

b. Yellowstone part historic fires
c. Glacier retreat

Discovery of new species

SPOT

France, Sweden and Belgium joined together and pooled up their resources to develop
the System Pour Observation dela Terre (SPOT), an earth observation satellite programme.
The first satellite of the series, SPOT-1 was launched ro4m Kourou Launch Range in French
Guiana on February 21, 1986 aboard an Ariance Launch vehicle (AIV). This is the first earth
resource satellite ystem to include a linear array sensor employing the pushroom scanning
technique. This enables side-to-side oft-nadir viewing capabilities and affords a full scene
stereoscopic imaging from two different viewing points of the same area. The high resolution
data obtained from SPOT sensors, namely, Thematic Mapper ™ and High Resolution Visible
(HRV), have been extensively used for urban planning, urban growth assessment,
transportation planning, besides the conventional applications related to natural resources.
The characteristics of SPOT satellite and HRV;

SPOT satellite
Orbit Near polar sun-synchronous
Altitude 832 km
Inclination 98.7 Degree
Equatorial Crossing Time 10.30 Hours
Repeat Cycle 26 Days
HRV Sensor
Channel Waveband (Micron) Multispectral
1 0.50-0.59
2 0.61-0.68
3 0.79-0.89