“Landsat Next” helps provide more than half of all climate change data and over 90 percent of weather data.
Australia Commits $207 Million to New Earth Observation Satellite Program
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Australia has renewed its nearly 50-year partnership in the Landsat program, committing $207.4 million over four years and ongoing funding.
The money will be spent on enhancing satellite ground station facilities in the central Australian town of Alice Springs, and supporting advanced new data processing and analytics capabilities.
The opportunity arose through the Landsat 2030 International Partnership Initiative, announced during the December 2023 U.S. National Space Council meeting.
There have been nine Landsat satellites since 1972, of which eight are operational today. Landsat Next will add three more with new capabilities. As a result, partner countries will get more data more often, and at a higher resolution.
3 New Satellites Added
The Landsat Next program will consist of three satellites operating in tandem and is planned for launch in the early 2030s. It will consist of three identical observatories sent into orbit on the same launch vehicle.
They will be spaced 120 degrees apart at an orbital altitude of 653 kilometres (406 miles), allowing their respective trajectories to cover the entire surface of the Earth. The enhancements to the new satellites mean they will collect about 20 times more data than their predecessors.
For more than 50 years Landsat has provided the “longest continuous space-based record of Earth’s land in existence.”
Assistance in Emergencies
And during the Black Summer megafires of 2019/20, the worst bushfire season New South Wales has ever recorded, Landsat images were critical in predicting where the bushfires would be worst, and assisting in real-time response.
The new commitment builds on what Australia already does—the ground and data segments of Earth observation satellite systems. In fact, the country is a world leader in Earth observation data management.
Australia has an ideal geography for collecting data from the satellites via large dishes in Alice Springs, and a longstanding tradition of being the data custodians and stewards for its U.S. and European partners.
The Landsat Next agreement fulfils one aspect of the planned National Space Mission for Earth Observation (NSMEO) which was cancelled last year due to major budget cuts.