Earth Observing 1 (EO-1) is a
satellite launched by the
New Millennium Program. It was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base on November 21, 2000. It was inserted into a 705 km circular, sun-synchronous orbit at a 98.7 degrees inclination, so that it is flying in formation 1 minute of an arc behind
Landsat Satellite 7 in the same orbit and maintaining the separation within 2 seconds.
Its mission is to test several new technologies to be used in future landsat satellites, as well as duplicating the USGS data that Landsat 7 provides. It produces 20 gigabits of data every orbit.
The Advanced Land Imager, the first of the three surveying technologies being tested on EO-1, is a basic land imager with three important improvements; a silicon carbide optics system which is lighter than the materials currently used, a larger field of view without using mechanical scanning by instead using mirrors, and multispectral imaging to increase data quality and lower the signal-to-noise ratio. Each of these technologies will lower weight and cost while increasing data quality and usable life of future satellites.
Design ideas based on EO-1 use one fifth as much power, weigh one fourth as much, and have twice the data rate (with one fourth the noise) as satellites currently in use.
Non-surveying technologies that debuted on EO-1, which will improve the usefulness of many future satellites include: