The SPOT satellite

The background, objectives and data products of the French SPOT remote sensing satellite system are presented. The system, which was developed starting in 1978 with the subsequent participation of Sweden and Belgium, is based on a standard multimission platform with associated ground control station and a mission-specific payload, which includes two High-Resolution Visible range instruments allowing the acquisition of stereoscopic views from different orbits. Mission objectives include the definition of future remote sensing systems, the compilation of a cartographic and resources data base, the study of species discrimination and production forecasting based on frequent access and off-nadir viewing, the compilation of a stereoscopic data base, and platform and instrument qualification, for possible applications in cartography, geology and agriculture. Standard data products will be available at three levels of preprocessing: radiometric correction only, precision processing for vertical viewing, and cartographic quality processing.