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Class: Earth. Type: Landsat. Destination: Sun Synchronous Orbit. Nation: USA. Agency: NASA GSF.

NASA's Terra satellite (originally known as Earth Observing System EOS AM-1) was the first spacecraft in the EOS program. Terra carried multispectral imagers, a radiation budget instrument, a detector to measure CO and methane pollution, and an instrument to study cloud top and vegetation properties.

Typical orbit: 669 km circular orbit, 98.1 deg inclination. Mass: 4,854 kg (10,701 lb).


Terra Chronology
  • 1999 December 18 - Terra - Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC3E. Launch Vehicle: Atlas. Mass: 4,854 kg (10,701 lb). Perigee: 702 km (436 mi). Apogee: 703 km (436 mi). Inclination: 98.20 deg. Period: 98.80 min.
    First launch in NASA's Earth Observing System program. Terra carried multispectral imagers, a radiation budget instrument, a detector to measure CO and methane pollution, and an instrument to study cloud top and vegetation properties.


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© Mark Wade, 1997 - 2008 except where otherwise noted.