The first Landsat satellite in the 21st century, Landsat 8 provides vital information with two new instruments.
Celebrating a Decade of Data
Landsat 8 celebrates its tenth anniversary. The technology of the satellite and its instruments, revolutionary in 2013, continues to provide important and timely data for scientific observation of the Earth’s land surfaces.
Landsat 8 (formerly the Landsat Data Continuity Mission, or LDCM) was launched on an Atlas-V rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California on February 11, 2013. The satellite carries the Operational Land Imager (OLI) and the Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) instruments.
The OLI measures in the visible, near infrared, and shortwave infrared portions (VNIR, NIR, and SWIR) of the spectrum. The TIRS measures land surface temperature in two thermal bands with a new technology that applies quantum physics to detect heat. Landsat 8 images have 15-meter panchromatic and 30-meter multi-spectral spatial resolutions along a 185 km (115 mi) swath.
Landsat 8 Satellite Orbit Facts
- Orbits the Earth in a sun-synchronous, near-polar orbit (98.2 degrees inclination)
- Achieved an altitude of 705 km (438 mi)
- Completes one Earth orbit every 99 minutes
- Has a 16-day repeat cycle with an equatorial crossing time of 10:00 a.m. +/- 15 minutes
- Acquires about 740 scenes a day on the Worldwide Reference System-2 (WRS-2) path/row system, with a swath overlap (or sidelap) varying from 7 percent at the equator to a maximum of approximately 85 percent at extreme latitudes
Landsat 8 Instruments
Landsat 8 carries two sensors. The Operational Land Imager sensor is built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corporation. The Thermal Infrared Sensor is built by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.
Operational Land Imager (OLI)
- Nine spectral bands, including a pan band:
- Band 1 Coastal Aerosol (0.43 - 0.45 µm) 30 m
- Band 2 Blue (0.450 - 0.51 µm) 30 m
- Band 3 Green (0.53 - 0.59 µm) 30 m
- Band 4 Red (0.64 - 0.67 µm) 30 m
- Band 5 Near-Infrared (0.85 - 0.88 µm) 30 m
- Band 6 SWIR 1(1.57 - 1.65 µm) 30 m
- Band 7 SWIR 2 (2.11 - 2.29 µm) 30 m
- Band 8 Panchromatic (PAN) (0.50 - 0.68 µm) 15 m
- Band 9 Cirrus (1.36 - 1.38 µm) 30 m
OLI captures data with improved radiometric precision over a 12-bit dynamic range, which improves overall signal to noise ratio. This translates into 4096 potential grey levels, compared with only 256 grey levels in Landsat 1-7 8-bit instruments. Improved signal to noise performance enables improved characterization of land cover state and condition.
The 12-bit data are scaled to 16-bit integers and delivered in the Level-1 data products. Products are scaled to 55,000 grey levels, and can be rescaled to the Top of Atmosphere (TOA) reflectance and/or radiance using radiometric rescaling coefficients provided in the product metadata file (MTL file).
Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS)
- Two spectral bands:
- Band 10 TIRS 1 (10.6 - 11.19 µm) 100 m
- Band 11 TIRS 2 (11.5 - 12.51 µm) 100 m
Landsat 8 Spacecraft Facts
- Built by Orbital Science Corporation
- 3.14 terabit solid-state data recorder
- Power provided by a single 9 x 0.4 meter solar array and one 125 Ampere-Hour (AHr), Nickel-Hydrogen (NiH2) battery
- Weight: 2,071 kg (4,566 lbs) fully loaded with fuel (without instruments)
- Length: 3 m (9.8 ft)
- Diameter: 2.4 m (7.9 ft)
- Direct Downlink with Solid State Recorders (SSR)
- Data rate: 384 Mbps on X-band frequency; 260.92 Mbps on S-band frequency
Landsat 8 Data Products
Landsat 8 data products are consistent with all Landsat standard Level-1 data products, using the specifications described on the Landsat Processing Details page.
Landsat 8 Pre-WRS-2 Data Products
Nearly 10,000 scenes were acquired by OLI/TIRS after launch (February 11, 2013) through April 10, 2013, when the satellite achieved operational orbit (WRS-2). The earliest images are TIRS data only. These data are also visible and can be downloaded from EarthExplorer or GloVis.
While these data meet the quality standards and have the same geometric precision as data acquired on and after April 11, 2013, the geographic extents of each scene may differ. Most data are processed to the highest level possible, however there may be some differences in the spatial resolution of the early TIRS images due to telescope temperature changes, but they should be within +/- 1 percent.
Landsat 8 Data Users Handbook
Additional Resources
- Landsat Project Documentation
- Landsat 8 Information (NASA Landsat Science)
- Landsat 8 Underfly with Landsat 7: In March 2013, the Landsat 8 satellite was in position under Landsat 7 to collect near-coincident data for calibration activities.
- Landsat 8 Mission Milestones
- Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) Information
- LDCM First Light Image
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Eyes on Earth Episode 90 – Landsat 8 Turns 10
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Landsat 8: 5-Year Anniversary
February 11 will mark the 5th anniversary of the launch of Landsat 8!
Since 2013, over 1.1 million scenes have been acquired, adding to the Landsat archive which started almost 45 years ago, and continue to help support studies in agriculture, forest and water quality/use/management, natural disasters, and land change.
How is the Landsat 8 and Landsat 9 Cirrus Band 9 used?
The Operational Land Imager’s Band 9 1.360-1.390 µm on Landsat 8 and Landsat 9 detects thin, high-altitude clouds composed of ice crystals that might not be visible in other spectral bands. In Band 9, cirrus clouds appear bright while most land surfaces appear dark through an otherwise cloud-free atmosphere containing water vapor. Learn more: Landsat 8 Mission Landsat 9 Mission Landsat 8 & 9 bands...
How is the Landsat 8 and Landsat 9 Coastal/Aerosol Band 1 used?
The Operational Land Imager Band 1 (0.433-0.453 µm) on Landsat 8 and Landsat 9 is useful for imaging shallow water and tracking fine atmospheric particles like dust and smoke. Band 1 reflects blues and violets, where light is scattered by dust, smoke, and water particles in the air. Collecting data with enough sensitivity at this spectrum is difficult. Since water absorbs and scatters light...
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Eyes on Earth is a podcast on remote sensing, Earth observation, land change and science, brought to you by the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center. In this episode, we reflect on Landsat 8’s 10th anniversary and the satellite’s contribution of 2.5 million scenes to the 50-year Landsat archive.Eyes on Earth Episode 78 – Landsat 50 Lookback
Eyes on Earth is a podcast on remote sensing, Earth observation, land change and science, brought to you by the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center. In this episode, we look back at how past guests viewed the value of Landsat satellites and their 50-year history. - Multimedia
Landsat 8: 5-Year Anniversary
February 11 will mark the 5th anniversary of the launch of Landsat 8!
Since 2013, over 1.1 million scenes have been acquired, adding to the Landsat archive which started almost 45 years ago, and continue to help support studies in agriculture, forest and water quality/use/management, natural disasters, and land change.
- Publications
- Web Tools
- News
- FAQ
How is the Landsat 8 and Landsat 9 Cirrus Band 9 used?
The Operational Land Imager’s Band 9 1.360-1.390 µm on Landsat 8 and Landsat 9 detects thin, high-altitude clouds composed of ice crystals that might not be visible in other spectral bands. In Band 9, cirrus clouds appear bright while most land surfaces appear dark through an otherwise cloud-free atmosphere containing water vapor. Learn more: Landsat 8 Mission Landsat 9 Mission Landsat 8 & 9 bands...
How is the Landsat 8 and Landsat 9 Coastal/Aerosol Band 1 used?
The Operational Land Imager Band 1 (0.433-0.453 µm) on Landsat 8 and Landsat 9 is useful for imaging shallow water and tracking fine atmospheric particles like dust and smoke. Band 1 reflects blues and violets, where light is scattered by dust, smoke, and water particles in the air. Collecting data with enough sensitivity at this spectrum is difficult. Since water absorbs and scatters light...