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About SPOT Series

Uluru (Ayers Rock), Australia, imaged by SPOT 6
Uluru (Ayers Rock), Australia, imaged by SPOT 6. Copyright: Airbus

The SPOT (from French "Satellite pour l'Observation de la Terre") series has been supplying high-resolution, wide-area optical imagery since 1986. Conceived by the French National Centre for Space Studies (CNES), five satellites were launched between 1986 and 2015, and in revealing Earth’s surface in detail they led to new applications in mapping, vegetation monitoring, land use and land cover, and the impacts of natural disasters.

The latest satellites in the series, SPOT 6 and SPOT 7, are commercial satellites owned by Airbus Defence and Space, and assure data continuity through to 2024.

All of the SPOT satellites provide imagery in panchromatic and multispectral bands with a swath of 60 km.

The SPOT series is part of ESA's Third Party Missions Programme, in which ESA has an agreement with Airbus Defence and Space to distribute data products from the mission.

SPOT Series Objectives

The goal of the SPOT series is to improve the knowledge and management of Earth by exploring the planet's resources, detecting and forecasting phenomena involving climatology and oceanography, and monitoring human activities and natural phenomena.

SPOT Series Missions

SPOT-1
SPOT 1 was launched on 22 February 1986 and operated succesfully until November 2003, when it was deorbited. The onboard HRV instrument supplied high-resolution, wide-area optical imagery.

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SPOT-2
SPOT 2 was launched on 22 January 1990 and operated successfully until it was deorbited in July 2009. The onboard HRV instrument supplied high-resolution, wide-area optical imagery.

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SPOT-3
SPOT 3 was launched on 26 September 1993 and operated for three years before suffering a stabilisation malfunction in November 1996. The onboard HRV instrument supplied high-resolution, wide-area optical imagery.
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SPOT-4
SPOT 4 launched on 24 March 1998 and operated successfully until it was retired on 29 June 2013. The onboard HRVIR instrument supplied high-resolution, wide-area optical imagery.

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SPOT-5
SPOT 5 was launched on 4 May 2002 and operated successfully until March 2015. The satellite carried the HRG and HRS instruments, which added new stereo pair imaging for 3D terrain modelling.

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SPOT-6
SPOT 6 was launched 9 September 2012 and was later joined by SPOT 7 to form a constellation providing continuity of high-resolution, wide-swath data up to 2024. It carries the NAOMI instrument.

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SPOT-7
SPOT 7 was launched on 30 June 2014 and operated successfully until March 2023. SPOT 7 formed a constellation with SPOT 6 to provide continuity of high-resolution, wide-swath data. It carried the NAOMI instrument.

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