On this day in 1984, Landsat 5 was launched into orbit. Today, after 23 years of service, Landsat 5 is still operational. The original design life of Landsat 5 was just three years, but it has become the longest continuously operating Earth observation system in the U.S. civilian satellite fleet. Landsat 5’s tremendous life span is a tribute to the prodigious engineering behind the satellite.
How Early Astronaut Photographs Inspired the Landsat Program
September 26, 2025
In the 1960s, NASA was pioneering a new era of human spaceflight—and astronaut photography—that would change Earth observation forever.
