View LANDSAT satellite launch videos

If you missed the live launch of the LANDSAT satellite yesterday, you can see the event by watching these NASA videos.  When you go to view the videos, you will find:

• "Landsat Launches on Atlas V Rocket" - a video of the launch itself

• "LDCM in Space" - a video of the spacecraft separating from the booster

• And much more information about the project. 

Currently known as NASA’s Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM), the satellite will be renamed Landsat 8 after three months of extensive testing.  Operational control will then be transferred to USGS.

Data from LANDSAT 8 will be archived at EROS Data Center near Sioux Falls, as has the data from previous LANDSAT satellites, and the Data Center employs DSU graduates and interns. “Landsat images reveal subtle, gradual changes, such as Wyoming rangelands greening up after a drought, as well as massive landscape changes that occur in rapidly growing urban areas. Landsat can also provide broad assessments of sudden natural or human-induced disasters, such as the number of acres charred by a forest fire or the extent of tsunami inundation. Landsat data have been used to monitor water quality, glacier recession, sea ice movement, invasive species encroachment, coral reef health, land use change, deforestation rates, and population growth.” To learn more about LANDSAT, visit Observing Tomorrow: Continuing Landsat’s Long Look at Our Changing World.