- SPOT
- Overview
SPOT Overview
Series Background
Initiated by the French space agency CNES in 1977 and run by Spot Image, based in Toulouse, France, SPOT was the first European Earth-observation satellite programme. The series was developed in association with Belgian and Swedish institutions. The SPOT (Satellite Pour l’Observation de la Terre) series under CNES operated five satellites between 1986 and 2015, creating a 29 year archive of high resolution imagery.
CNES continued the legacy of the original five SPOT satellites with the Pléiades satellites, offering improved imaging capabilities.
Airbus Defence and Space continued with the SPOT series when CNES ended their programme in 2015. Airbus' commercial SPOT 6 and 7 satellites, launched in 2012 and 2014 respectively, also work with the Pléiades satellites, offering very high resolution imagery and data continuity for their predecessors in the series.
| SPOT 1 | SPOT 2 | SPOT 3 | SPOT 4 | SPOT 5 | SPOT 6 | SPOT 7 | |
| Operators | CNES (owner), Spot Image (operator) | Airbus DS | |||||
| Launch dates | 22 February 1986 | 22 January 1990 | 26 September 1993 | 24 March 1998 | 4 May 2002 | 9 September 2012 | 30 June 2014 |
| EOL | November 2003 | July 2009 | November 1996 | 29 June 2013 | March 2015 | operating nominally | 17 March 2023 |
| Orbit Height | 832 km | 694 km | |||||
| Orbit Type | Near-polar, sun-synchronous phased orbit local equator crossing time 10:30 on descending orbit at an altitude of 830 km completing over 14 revolutions per day | ||||||
| Orbit Period | 101 minutes | 98.79 minutes | |||||
| Inclination | 98.7° | 98.2° | |||||
| Repeat Cycle | 26 days | ||||||
| Onboard sensors provided under TPM | HRV | HRV | HRV | HRVIR, VEGETATION | HRG, HRS, VEGETATION | NAOMI | NAOMI |
| Resolution | HRV: 10 m (PAN), 20 m | HRVIR: 10 m (PAN), 20 m | HRG: 2.5 m (PAN), 10 m (MS), 20 (SWIR) HRS: 10 m (cross track), 5 m (along-track) | 1.5 m (PAN), 6 m (MS) | |||
| Swath Width | HRV: 117 (60 + 60) km | HRVIR: 117 (60 + 60) km | HRG: 117 (60 + 60) km HRS: 120 km | 60 km | |||