Landsat 1

To accomplish these objectives, the spacecraft was equipped with (1) a three-camera return beam Vidicon (RBV) to obtain Visible Light and Near Infrared photographic images of Earth, (2) a four-channel multispectral scanner (MSS) to obtain radiometric images of Earth, and (3) a data collection system (DCS) to collect information from remote, individually equipped ground stations and to relay the data to central acquisition stations. Landsat 1 carried two wide-band Video Tape recorders (WBVTR) capable of storing up to 30 min of scanner or camera data to give the spacecraft's sensors a near-global coverage capability.

An advanced attitude control system consisting of horizon scanners, sun sensors, and a command antenna combined with a freon gas propulsion system permitted the spacecraft's orientation to be maintained within plus or minus 0.7 degrees in all three axes. Spacecraft communications included a command subsystem operating at 154.2 and 2106.4 MHz and a PCM narrow-band telemetry subsystem, operating at 2287.5 and 137.86 MHz, for spacecraft housekeeping, attitude, and sensor performance data. Video data from the three-camera RBV system was transmitted in both real-time and tape recorder modes at 2265.5 MHz, while information from the MSS was constrained to a 20 MHz rf bandwidth at 2229.5 MHz.

The spacecraft was turned off on January 6 , 1978 , when cumulative precession of the orbital plane caused the spacecraft to see almost constant sunlight which led to overheating.

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Landsat 1