 Landsat 3 in the clean room | |
| Mission type | Earth imaging |
|---|---|
| Operator | NASA |
| COSPAR ID | 1978-026A[1] |
| SATCAT no. | 10702[1] |
| Mission duration | 5 years, 6 months, 2 days |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Bus | Nimbus |
| Manufacturer | GE Aerospace |
| Launch mass | 960.0 kilograms (2,116.4 lb) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | March 5, 1978 |
| Rocket | Delta 2910 |
| Launch site | Vandenberg AFB SLC-2W |
| End of mission | |
| Deactivated | September 7, 1983 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Sun-synchronous |
| Perigee altitude | 818 kilometers (508 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 918 kilometers (570 mi) |
| Inclination | 99.1 degrees |
| Period | 103.16 minutes |
| Epoch | May 15, 1990[1] |
Landsat 3 is the third satellite of the Landsat program. It was launched on March 5, 1978, with the primary goal of providing a global archive of satellite imagery. Unlike later Landsat satellites, Landsat 3 was managed solely by NASA. Landsat 3 decommissioned on September 7, 1983, beyond its design life of one year.[2] The data collected during Landsat 3's lifetime was used by 31 countries. Countries that cannot afford their own satellite are able to use the data for ecological preservation efforts and to determine the location of natural resources.
- ^ a b c McDowell, Jonathan. "Satellite Catalog". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved March 18, 2014.
- ^ United States Geological Survey (August 9, 2006). "Landsat 3 History". Archived from the original on April 12, 2016. Retrieved June 29, 2017.