Eyes on Earth Episode 127 – The Historic Landsat 7 Mission
Taking care of a satellite that’s 438 miles in space requires creative problem solving—we talk about those moments and memories of the nearly 25 years of land imaging from Landsat 7.
Summary: In this episode, we talk about the incredible career of Landsat 7, which collected science imagery of the Earth for nearly 25 years. The Flight Operations Team at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and engineers at EROS work together to collect imagery, send commands to the satellite, and keep it healthy. After over 133,000 orbits and 3.3 million images collected, Landsat 7 stopped acquiring imagery in 2024. We talked with some of the people who helped keep Landsat 7 flying to make sure it could keep doing its job during its long life. They talk about the close calls, different types of maneuvers, working on holidays, and creatively solving problems to keep it flying and operating. And as always, we discuss the importance of the Landsat mission, its global legacy, and the continuity of the long record that goes back to 1972.
Guests:
Tammy Vajo, KBR, contractor to USGS
Tom Cooke, KBR, contractor to USGS
Jim Lacasse, USGS EROS
Pat Scaramuzza, KBR, contractor to USGS
Jon Christopherson, KBR, contractor to USGS
Host: Tom Adamson, contractor for USGS EROS
Producer: Tom Adamson, contractor for USGS EROS
Release date: Tuesday, November 12, 2024
Download and Transcript Access
Related Episodes
-
-
Eyes on Earth Episode 85 - Landsat 7 Extended Science Mission
Landsat 7’s nominal science mission ended in April 2022 after nearly 23 years of acquiring Earth imagery from 705 kilometers above the Earth. Landsat 7 is now in an extended science mission after having its orbit lowered by about 8 kilometers to make way for Landsat 9.
-
Eyes on Earth Episode 31 – Landsat 7 Flight Operations
Just recently, in mid-July, the flight operations team charged with keeping the Landsat 7 satellite running smoothly achieved a major milestone. They have gone 8 straight years now without an operator error.
-
Eyes on Earth Episode 97 – EROS 50th: Earth As Art
Satellites capture an incredible variety of views of Earth. In this episode of Eyes on Earth, we talk with the three engineers at USGS EROS who started the USGS Earth As Art project. The Earth As Art origin story is an example of the initiative and creativity of EROS staff.
-
Taking care of a satellite that’s 438 miles in space requires creative problem solving—we talk about those moments and memories of the nearly 25 years of land imaging from Landsat 7.
Summary: In this episode, we talk about the incredible career of Landsat 7, which collected science imagery of the Earth for nearly 25 years. The Flight Operations Team at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and engineers at EROS work together to collect imagery, send commands to the satellite, and keep it healthy. After over 133,000 orbits and 3.3 million images collected, Landsat 7 stopped acquiring imagery in 2024. We talked with some of the people who helped keep Landsat 7 flying to make sure it could keep doing its job during its long life. They talk about the close calls, different types of maneuvers, working on holidays, and creatively solving problems to keep it flying and operating. And as always, we discuss the importance of the Landsat mission, its global legacy, and the continuity of the long record that goes back to 1972.
Guests:
Tammy Vajo, KBR, contractor to USGS
Tom Cooke, KBR, contractor to USGS
Jim Lacasse, USGS EROS
Pat Scaramuzza, KBR, contractor to USGS
Jon Christopherson, KBR, contractor to USGS
Host: Tom Adamson, contractor for USGS EROS
Producer: Tom Adamson, contractor for USGS EROS
Release date: Tuesday, November 12, 2024
Download and Transcript Access
Related Episodes
-
-
Eyes on Earth Episode 85 - Landsat 7 Extended Science Mission
Landsat 7’s nominal science mission ended in April 2022 after nearly 23 years of acquiring Earth imagery from 705 kilometers above the Earth. Landsat 7 is now in an extended science mission after having its orbit lowered by about 8 kilometers to make way for Landsat 9.
-
Eyes on Earth Episode 31 – Landsat 7 Flight Operations
Just recently, in mid-July, the flight operations team charged with keeping the Landsat 7 satellite running smoothly achieved a major milestone. They have gone 8 straight years now without an operator error.
-
Eyes on Earth Episode 97 – EROS 50th: Earth As Art
Satellites capture an incredible variety of views of Earth. In this episode of Eyes on Earth, we talk with the three engineers at USGS EROS who started the USGS Earth As Art project. The Earth As Art origin story is an example of the initiative and creativity of EROS staff.
-