SPOT satellites 1, 2, and 3, launched between 1986 and 1993, carry High Resolution Visible (HRV) instruments. Each scene covers an area of 60 x 60 km² in near-vertical viewing, with resolutions of 10 meters in panchromatic mode and 20 meters in multispectral mode. The data is provided by SPOT IMAGE of Toulouse, France and hosted on NASA EarthData.
Use Cases
- Land cover classification based on multispectral bands (500-590nm, 610-680nm, 790-890nm)
- Creating stereoscopic elevation models based on oblique viewing for acquiring pairs from different revolutions
- Radiometric and geometric calibration studies based on LEVEL 1A raw data with normalized CCD detector response
- Monitoring revisiting capability up to five times per 26 days based on oblique viewing angles up to 27 degrees
Strengths
- Provides two spectral modes: panchromatic (510-730nm) at 10m resolution and multispectral (three bands) at 20m resolution
- Oblique viewing allows scenes up to 60 x 80 km² and increases revisiting frequency
- Scenes can be shifted along-track (SAT) for flexible positioning relative to the SPOT Grid Reference System
Limitations
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
- Row count and total dataset size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment
- Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified
Provenance
- Source
- SPOT IMAGE, Toulouse, France
- Collection Method
- Data acquired by SPOT satellite push broom instruments.
- Time Range
- Satellites launched between February 1986 and September 1993.
- Geography
- Global coverage from a sun-synchronous polar orbit at 830 km altitude.