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Landsat 5

By Landsat Missions

Landsat 5

Explore research, stories, and images featuring the satellites

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Landsat 5 orbited the planet more than 150,000 times over the course of 28 years while transmitting over 2.5 million images of land surface conditions around the world.

Rendering of Landsat 4 and Landsat 5
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.
Rendering of the Landsat 4 and Landsat 5 satellites. 

Developed by NASA, Landsat 5 was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on March 1, 1984, and like Landsat 4, carried the Multispectral Scanner (MSS) and the Thematic Mapper (TM) instruments. Landsat 5 delivered Earth imaging data for nearly 29 years— setting a Guinness World Record for 'Longest Operating Earth Observation Satellite,' before being decommissioned on June 5, 2013. Clearly, this satellite outlived its three-year design.

 

 

 

 

Landsat 5 Satellite Orbit Facts

  • Orbited the Earth at 705 km (438 mi) in a sun-synchronous, near-polar orbit (98.2 degrees inclination)
  • Circled the Earth every 99 minutes, fourteen orbits a day
  • Had a 16-day repeat cycle with an equatorial crossing time of 9:45 a.m. (+/- 15 minutes)
  • Acquired on the Worldwide Reference System-2 (WRS-2) path/row system, with swath overlap (or sidelap) varying from 7 percent at the Equator to a maximum of approximately 85 percent at extreme latitudes.  
Landsat 5 First Light Image over South Texas Gulf Coast
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.
One of the first Landsat 5 images in the archive shows Corpus Christi and Padre Island National Seashore. The image was acquired on March 6, 1984 and is shown as a false color composite using the near infrared, red, and green bands (bands 4,3,2). 

Landsat 5 Spacecraft Facts

  • 3-axis stabilized, zero momentum with control of 0.01 deg using reaction wheels
  • Aluminum with graphite struts
  • Hydrazine propulsion system
  • Single solar array with 1-axis articulation
  • Three Nickel Cadmium (NiCd) batteries provide 100 Ampere-Hour (AHr) total
  • Retractable boom (4 m long) with 2 powered joints supports the articulated High Gain Antenna, which downlinks data via Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS)
  • Communications system uses S,X,L, and Ku Bands
  • Weight: approximately 4,800 lbs (2,200 kg)

Landsat 5 Instruments

Landsat 5 carried the Multispectral Scanner (MSS) and the Thematic Mapper (TM) sensors. MSS data acquisitions over the United States ceased in 1992 and global acquisitions ended in 1999.  After the TM sensor failed in November 2011, the MSS instrument was brought back online. From June 2012 until January 2013, over 15,000 MSS scenes were collected.

Landsat 5 First Light Image of Lake Superior
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.
One of the first clear Landsat 5 images shows an icy Lake Superior, northern Minnesota, and the Wisconsin's Apostle Islands. The Thematic Mapper (TM) image is shown as a false color composite using the near infrared, red and green bands (bands 4,3,2) and was acquired on March 6, 1984, just 5 days after the launch. 

Multispectral Scanner (MSS)

  • Four spectral bands (identical to Landsat 1 and 2):
    • Band 4 Visible Green (0.5 to 0.6 µm) — powered off due to high current in August 1995
    • Band 5 Visible Red (0.6 to 0.7 µm)
    • Band 6 Near-Infrared (0.7 to 0.8 µm)
    • Band 7 Near-Infrared (0.8 to 1.1 µm)
  • Six detectors for each spectral band provided six scan lines on each active scan
  • Ground Sampling Interval (pixel size): 57 x 79 m

Visit Landsat 1-5 MSS for more information. 

Thematic Mapper (TM)

  • Added the mid-range infrared to the data
  • Seven spectral bands, including a thermal band:
    • Band 1 Visible Blue (0.45 - 0.52 µm) 30 m
    • Band 2 Visible Green (0.52 - 0.60 µm) 30 m
    • Band 3 Visible Red (0.63 - 0.69 µm) 30 m
    • Band 4 Near-Infrared (0.76 - 0.90 µm) 30 m
    • Band 5 Near-Infrared (1.55 - 1.75 µm) 30 m
    • Band 6 Thermal (10.40 - 12.50 µm) 120 m
    • Band 7 Mid-Infrared (2.08 - 2.35 µm) 30 m
  • Ground Sampling Interval (pixel size): 30 m reflective, 120 m thermal

Visit Landsat 4-5 TM for more information. 

 

Additional Resources

Landsat 5 History (NASA Landsat Science)

The Thematic Mapper (NASA Landsat Science)

The Multispectral Scanner (NASA Landsat Science)

Earth Observing Landsat 5 Turns 25 Years Old - March 2009 (NASA)

Aging Landsat 5 Changes Glasses At 28: Vintage Satellite Finds New Life with Alternate Imaging System - June 2012  

Landsat 5 Decommissioning Announcement - December 2012 (USGS)

The Legacy of Landsat 5 - January 2013 (USGS)

Landsat 5 Sets Guinness World Record For 'Longest Operating Earth Observation Satellite' - February 2013 (NASA)

How to Manage a Satellite Going 17K MPH - May 2013 (Library of Congress)

USGS Completes Decommissioning of Landsat 5 - June 2013 (USGS)

The Final Journey of Landsat 5: A Decommissioning Story

 

 

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