EO_satellites_OTD

What Earth observation satellite launches happened on a specific day?

Table 1: Earth observation satellite launches, failures, and data collection events

Date	Year	Event	Multi	Hyper	Thermal	SAR	LiDAR	Notes	More info
12 Jan.	2003	Launch: ICESat satellite (NASA)					x	It operated until 2006.	link
22 Jan.	1975	Launch: Landsat-2 satellite (NASA, USGS)	x					**	link
8 Feb.	2024	Launch: PACE satellite (NASA)		x				**	link
11 Feb.	2000	Start: SRTM mission (NASA, DLR)				x		data collection was from 11-22 Feb. 2000	link
11 Feb.	2013	Launch: Landsat-8 satellite (NASA)	x		x			**	link
1 March	1984	Launch: Landsat-5 satellite (NASA, USGS)	x		x			**	link
5 March	1978	Launch: Landsat-3 satellite (NASA, USGS)	x					**	link
7 March	2015	Launch: Sentinel-2B satellite (Copernicus)	x					**	link
3 April	2014	Launch: Sentinel-1A satellite (Copernicus)				x		**	link
15 April	1999	Launch: Landsat-7 satellite (NASA, USGS)	x		x			**	link
25 April	2016	Launch: Sentinel-1B satellite (Copernicus)				x		Five and a half years in, the mission suffered an anomaly in Dec. 2021 and was decomissioned in Aug. 2022.	news release
27 April	1999	Launch failure: IKONOS-1 satellite (Space Imaging)	x					**	link
29 April	2025	Launch: Biomass satellite (ESA)				x		**	video
4 May	2002	Launch: Aqua satellite (NASA)	x		x			**	link
23 June	2015	Launch: Sentinel-2A satellite (Copernicus)	x					**	link
14 July	2022	Launch: EMIT instrument (NASA)		x				**	link
16 July	1982	Launch: Landsat-4 satellite (NASA, USGS)	x		x			**	link
30 July	2025	Launch: NISAR satellite (NASA, ISRO)				x		**	video
23 July	1972	Launch: Landsat-1 satellite (NASA, USGS)	x					**	link
29 Aug.	2008	Launch: RapidEye satellite constellation (RapidEye AG)	x					**	link
5 Sept.	2024	Launch: Sentinel-2C satellite (Copernicus)	x					**	link
15 Sept.	2014	Launch: ICESat-2 satellite (NASA)					x	**	link
18 Sept.	2007	Launch: WorldView-1 satellite (DigitalGlobe)	x					**	link
24 Sept.	1999	Launch: IKONOS-2 satellite (Space Imaging)	x					**	link
24 Sept.	2014	SRTM 30m data (NASA) starts being released				x		previously, only 90m data were public	link
27 Sept.	2021	Launch: Landsat-9 satellite (NASA, USGS)	x		x			**	video
5 Oct.	1993	Launch failure: Landsat-6 satellite (NASA, USGS)	x		x			**	link
18 Oct.	2001	Launch: QuickBird-2 satellite (DigitalGlobe)	x					**	link
28 Oct.	2011	Launch: Suomi NPP satellite (NASA, NOAA, DoD)	x		x			**	link
10 Nov.	2022	Launch: NOAA-21 (formerly JPSS-2) satellite (NASA, NOAA)	x		x			**	link
20 Nov.	2000	Launch failure: QuickBird-1 satellite (DigitalGlobe)	x					**	link
18 Nov.	2017	Launch: NOAA-20 (formerly JPSS-1) satellite (NASA, NOAA)	x		x			**	link
5 Dec.	2018	Launch: GEDI instrument (NASA)					x	**	link
5 Dec.	2024	Launch: Sentinel-1C satellite (Copernicus)				x		**	link
18 Dec.	1999	Launch: Terra satellite (NASA)	x		x			**	link
****								**

Table 2: Various other noteworthy events in Earth observations

Date	Year	Event	Notes	More info
3 Feb.	2005	Establishment of the SERVIR program as the Regional Visualization & Monitoring System for Mesoamerica	**	link
20 March	2019	Signing of NASA-SICA Joint Statement	**	link
28 June	2005	Google Earth software launches	**	link
14 July	2014	Establishment of the SERVIR-West Africa program (SERVIR Afrique de l'Ouest)	**	link
31 July	2003	Establishment of the inter-governmental Group on Earth Observations (GEO)	this occurred at the Earth Observation Summit, which was hosted in Washington, DC, USA	fact sheet
30 Sept.	2025	The SERVIR program officially ceases operations	**	link
2 Dec.	2010	Google Earth Engine platform officially launched (Google)	launched during the UNFCCC's COP-16 event in Cancun, Mexico	link
6 Dec.	2024	Establishment of the SERVIR-Central America program (SERVIR Centroamérica)	**	video
10 Dec.	1998	Signing of NASA-CCAD Memorandum of Understanding	**	link
****			**