ADEOS-1 Highlights

Launch Date : 17 Aug 1996
Altitude : 800 km
Cycle : 41 Days
Status : Out of Service 30 June 1997
Website: http://www.eorc.jaxa.jp/ADEOS/Directory/index.html

Detailed Summary

The Advanced Earth Observation Satellite (ADEOS-1), renamed Midori-1 after reaching orbit, was launched by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in 1996. The 4000 kilogram satellite was inserted into a sun-synchronous orbit by a Japanese H2 launcher.

Midori-1 failed approximately ten months after entering orbit. Its objectives included acquiring global observation data corresponding to environmental changes such as global warming, depletion of the ozone layer, decrease of tropical rain forests, and occurrence of unusual weather. It was also intended to help develop the technology necessary for the next-generation Earth Observation Systems.

ADEOS-1 Data

ADEOS-1 data are not archived by ASF. Information on accessing ADEOS-1 data can be found at the ADEOS-1 website.

ADEOS-2 Highlights

Launch Date : 14 Dec 2002
Altitude : 800 km
Cycle : 41 days
Status : Out of Service 24 Oct 2003
Website : http://sharaku.eorc.jaxa.jp/ADEOS2/index.html

Detailed Summary

Japan launched ADEOS-2 (Advanced Earth Observation Satellite 2) in December 2002, aboard a Japanese H2-A launcher. The 3600 kilogram satellite was inserted into a near-polar, sun-synchronous orbit. Renamed Midori-2, it failed approximately ten months after reaching orbit.

Midori-II was expected to contribute to studies of atmospheric, oceanic, and land water and energy circulations, carbon circulation by biological systems, global environmental change mechanism, and world climate changes.

ADEOS-2 Data

ADEOS-1 data are not archived by ASF. Information on accessing ADEOS-2 data can be found at the ADEOS-2 website.

ALOS Highlights

Launch Date : 24 Jan 2006
Altitude : 700 km
Cycle : 46 Days
Status : Out of Service April 22, 2011
Website :
http://www.jaxa.jp/projects/sat/alos/index_e.html

Detailed Summary

Japan launched ALOS (Advanced Land Observing Satellite) in January 2006, aboard an H2-A rocket. The 4000-kilogram satellite, renamed Daichi, was placed in a near-polar orbit. ALOS remote-sensing equipment enables precise land coverage observation and can collect enough data by itself for mapping on a scale of 25,000:1, without relying on points of reference on the ground. Some of its objectives are cartography, disaster monitoring, natural resource surveys and technology development.

ALOS Data

The Americas ALOS Data Node archives all ALOS data collected for the Americas, but also has available data from other parts of the world. AADN distributes ALOS data to customers physically located within North, South, and Central America with the exception of non-commercial customers located in Brazil and commercial customers located in Canada.

Anyone may search the AADN catalog using the User Remote Sensing Access (URSA) interface. To place an order an account on URSA must be established by completing an ALOS Customer Verification Form which includes agreeing to the ALOS End User License Agreement.

ALOS PALSAR data is also available to US researchers from the SAR Data Center.

CHAMP Highlights

Launch Date :July 15, 2000
Altitude :460 km
Status : In Service
Website :
http://op.gfz-potsdam.de/champ/index_CHAMP.html

Detailed Summary

The CHAllenging Mini-Satellite Payload (CHAMP) provides important contributions for geo-scientific research and information about the physics of the atmosphere. With its extremely precise multifunctional and complementary payload elements - including magnetometer, accelerometer, star sensor, GPS receiver, laser retro reflector and ion drift meter - CHAMP measures for the first time and with high accuracy the global gravity and magnetic field over a lifetime of more than five years.

CHAMP Data

CHAMP data are not archived by ASF. Information on accessing CHAMP data can be found at the CHAMP website.

ERS-1 Highlights

Launch Date : 17 July 1991
Altitude : 785 km
Cycle : 35 Days
Status : Out of Service March 2000
Website :
http://earth.esa.int/ers/satconc/

Detailed Summary

ERS-1 (European Remote Sensing) was a European Space Agency (ESA) satellite for remote sensing from a polar orbit. The 2400 kilogram satellite was inserted into a sun-synchronous polar orbit by an Ariane 4 launcher. The primary mission of ERS-1 and -2 was to perform remote sensing of the Earth's oceans, ice caps, and coastal regions.

The satellite provided systematic, repetitive global measurements of wind speed and direction, wave height, surface temperatures, surface altitude, cloud cover, and atmospheric water vapor levels. Archived SAR data from ERS-1 is available from the ASF SAR Data center for the regions of the world covered by the ASF station mask and the McMurdo station mask.

ERS-1 Data

Archived ERS-1 SAR data are available from the ASF SAR Data center for the regions covered by the ASF STGS station mask and the McMurdo station mask. Anyone may search the SDC archive using the URSA interface. However, ERS-1 data are considered restricted data and a short proposal is required to receive the data.

ERS-1 data are available at three different processing levels.

• Level Zero: Raw signal data that requires SAR processing before it can be visualized. Data can be received as a swath product in SKY telemetry format or subdivided into frames with an accompanying CEOS format leader file.
• Single Look Complex (SLC): Processed SAR data that contains both amplitude and phase information. The data is not multilooked and to be visualized must be further processed to an amplitude image.
• Detected Image: Fully processed SAR data which only contains the amplitude information. Image does not require any further SAR processing to be visualized.

ERS-2 Highlights

Launch Date : 20 April 1995
Altitude : 783 km
Cycle : 35 days
Status : Out of Service 4 July 2011
Website :
http://earth.esa.int/ers/

Detailed Summary

ERS-2 (European Remote Sensing) is a European Space Agency (ESA) satellite for remote sensing from a polar orbit. The 2500 kilogram satellite provides global and repetitive observations of the environment using techniques which allow imaging in all weather conditions. The ERS-2 satellite is essentially the same as ERS-1 except that it includes a number of enhancements and it is carrying a new payload instrument to measure the chemical composition of the atmosphere, named the Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOME). SAR data from ERS-2 is available from the Alaska Satellite Facility (ASF) for the regions of the world covered by the ASF station mask and the McMurdo station mask.

ERS-2 Data

Archived ERS-2 SAR data are available from the ASF SAR Data center for the regions covered by the ASF STGS station mask and the McMurdo station mask. Anyone may search the SDC archive using the URSA interface. However, ERS-2 data are considered restricted data and a short proposal is required to receive the data.

ERS-2 data are available at three different processing levels.

• Level Zero: Raw signal data that requires SAR processing before it can be visualized. Data can be received as a swath product in SKY telemetry format or subdivided into frames with an accompanying CEOS format leader file.
• Single Look Complex (SLC): Processed SAR data that contains both amplitude and phase information. The data is not multilooked and to be visualized must be further processed to an amplitude image.
• Detected Image: Fully processed SAR data which only contains the amplitude information. Image does not require any further SAR processing to be visualized.

FAST Highlights

Launch Date : 21 Aug 1996
Altitude : 4200 km
Status : In Service
Website :
http://sprg.ssl.berkeley.edu/fast/

Detailed Summary

NASA launched the Fast Auroral SnapshoT Explorer (FAST) satellite as part of the Small Explorers (SMEX) Program. The 190 kilogram satellite was launched in August, 1996 by a winged Pegasus XL rocket released from an L-1011 jet aircraft at an altitude of about 12,200 meters(40,000 feet) traveling at Mach 0.8. The FAST satellite was inserted into a polar orbit with an altitude range of 350 to 4200 km (220 to 2,600 miles) above Earth.
FAST carries instruments to measure energetic electrons and ions, electric fields, and magnetic fields above the Earth's auroral zones.

FAST Data

FAST data are not archived by ASF. Information on accessing FAST data can be found at the FAST website.

JERS-1 Highlights

Launch Date : 11 Feb 1992
Altitude : 565-580 km
Cycle : 44 days
Status : Out of Service Oct 1998
Website :
http://www.eorc.jaxa.jp/JERS-1/en/index.html

Detailed Summary

JERS-1 (Japanese Earth Resources Satellite) was launched by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) aboard a Japanese H-1 launcher, to provide global and repetitive observations of the environment using techniques which allow imaging to take place in all weather conditions. Its primary objective was gathering data on global land masses while conducting observation for land surveys, agricultural-forestry-fisheries, environmental protection, disaster prevention and coastal surveillance.

Archived SAR data is available from the ASF SAR Data center. A variety of mosaics from around the world were created using JERS-1 data and are available as unrestricted products from ASF.

JERS-1 Data

Archived JERS-1 SAR data are available from the ASF SAR Data and coverage is global. Anyone may search the SDC archive using the URSA interface. However, JERS-1 data are considered restricted data and a short proposal is required to receive the data.

JERS-1 data are available at three different processing levels.

• Level Zero: Raw signal data that requires SAR processing before it can be visualized. Data can be received as a swath product in SKY telemetry format or subdivided into frames with an accompanying CEOS format leader file.
• Single Look Complex (SLC): Processed SAR data that contains both amplitude and phase information. The data is not multilooked and to be visualized must be further processed to an amplitude image.
• Detected Image: Fully processed SAR data which only contains the amplitude information. Image does not require any further SAR processing to be visualized.

MSX Highlights

Launch Date : 24 April 1996
Altitude : 903 km
Status : Out of Service

Detailed Summary

The Midcourse Space Experiment (MSX), launched in April 1996, was a test project of the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO). The 2700 kg satellite was inserted into a polar sun-synchronous orbit by a Boeing Delta II rocket.

Its primary purpose was to gather data to demonstrate the feasibility of identifying and tracking ballistic missiles during their midcourse flight phase. Its multispectral instruments were capable of obtaining wide band and spectral images in the range of ultraviolet to infrared wavelengths (110 nm to 28,000 nm). The instruments also provided data for civilian astronomical and auroral studies.

MSX Data

MSX data are not archived by ASF. MSX data is available at the Infrared Science Archive provided by NASA's Infrared Processing and Analysis Center.

RADARSAT-1 Highlights

Launch Date : 4 Nov 1995
Altitude : 798 km (793-821 km)
Cycle : 24 Days (343 orbits)
Status : Out of Service 29 March 2013
Website :
http://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/satellites/radarsat1/

Detailed Summary

RADARSAT-1 is an advanced Earth observation satellite developed by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) to monitor environmental change and to support resource sustainability. NASA launched RADARSAT-1 aboard a Delta-II rocket in exchange for access to the satellite on a pro rata basis through the Alaska Satellite Facility (ASF).

At the heart of RADARSAT-1 is an advanced radar sensor called Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR). SAR is a microwave instrument, which sends pulsed signals to the Earth and processes the received reflected pulses. SAR operates day or night, regardless of weather conditions. RADARSAT-1 was placed into a sun-synchronous polar orbit in order to provide global coverage. Research emphasis will be on the Polar Regions, though onboard tape recorders will allow imaging of any region, worldwide. Data acquired for U.S researchers prior to May 3, 2008 is available through the ASF SAR Data Center to approved investigators.

RADARSAT-1 Data

RADARSAT-1 data at the SDC is global in nature but only includes data acquired prior to May 3, 2008. Anyone may search the SDC archive using the URSA interface for RADARSAT-1 data. However, most RADARSAT-1 data considered restricted and a short proposal is required to access the data.

RADARSAT-1 data are available at three different processing levels.

• Level Zero: Raw signal data that requires SAR processing before it can be visualized. Data can be received as a swath product in SKY telemetry format or subdivided into frames with an accompanying CEOS format leader file.
• Single Look Complex (SLC): Processed SAR data that contains both amplitude and phase information. The data is not multilooked and to be visualized must be further processed to an amplitude image.
• Detected Image: Fully processed SAR data which only contains the amplitude information. Image does not require any further SAR processing to be visualized.

SNOE Highlights

Launch Date : 26 Feb 1998
Altitude : 580km
Status : Out of Service 13 Dec 2003
Website : http://lasp.colorado.edu/snoe/

Detailed Summary

The Student Nitric Oxide Explorer (SNOE) was launched by a winged Pegasus XL rocket released from an L-1011 jet aircraft. It was a small scientific spacecraft designed, built, and operated by the University of Colorado at Boulder, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics.
The 115 kilogram satellite ’s scientific goals were to measure nitric oxide density in the terrestrial lower thermosphere (100-200 km altitude) and analyze the energy inputs from the sun and magnetosphere that create it and cause its abundance to vary dramatically.

SNOE Data

SNOE data are not archived by ASF. SNOE data is available at the National Space Science Data Center.

TRACE Highlights

Launch Date :April 2, 1998
Altitude :600 x 650 km
Status : Out of Service
Website :
http://trace.lmsal.com/

Detailed Summary

The Transition Region and Coronal Explorer was a NASA Small Explorer (SMEX) mission to image the solar corona and transition region at high angular and temporal resolution.
TRACE enables solar physicists to study the connections between fine-scale magnetic fields and the associated plasma structures on the Sun in a quantitative way by observing the photosphere, the transition region, and the corona.

TRACE Data

TRACE data are not archived by ASF. Information on accessing TRACE data can be found at the TRACE website.