Satellite Description

SPOT 6 (Satellite pour l’Observation de la Terre) is a commercial Earth-imaging satellite owned and operated by Airbus Defence and Space. It was launched on 9 September 2012 and remains operational. SPOT 6 and SPOT 7 identical satellites, form a constellation designed to provide continuity of high-resolution, wide-swath SPOT data up to 2023. Both satellites have drawn on technological and operational innovations conceived for the Pléiades constellation. It represents a source of broad-swath imagery in complement to the Pléiades Very High Resolution data. Users have access to 1.5 m colour imagery, to high quality ortho-images and to large area mosaics. SPOT 6 is part of ESA’s Third Party Missions Programme, in which ESA has an agreement with Airbus Defence and Space to distribute data products from the mission.

Observation Scenario

•  Swath width: In simultaneous mode the swath is 120 km 2 and individual mode the swath is 60 km 2.

•  Orbit: Sun-synchronous

•  Inclination: 98.2°

•  Altitude: 694 km

Sensor Characteristics

High-resolution optical push broom imager:

  • •  Panchromatic (Pan): 0.45 – 0.75 µm
  • •  Multispectral (MS):
    • •  Blue: 0.45 – 0.52 µm
    • •  Green: 0.53 – 0.60 µm
    • •  Red: 0.62 – 0.69 µm
    • •  Near-infrared: 0.76 – 0.89 µm

Spatial Resolution

Ground sampling distance:

  • •  Panchromatic: 1.5 m at nadir
  • •  Multispectral: 6 m at nadir

Temporal Resolution

• 1 day with SPOT 6 and SPOT 7 operating simultaneously

• Between 1 and 3 days with one satellite

Data Products

SPOT 6 data collections consist of Very High Resolution (VHR) and High Resolution (HR) data products between 0 and 5 m and 5 and 20 m resolution, respectively, from the New Astrosat Optical Modular Instrument (NAOMI), processed to Level-1, Level-2 and Level-3. Products are available in panchromatic and multispectral band combinations with the following processing levels:

  • •  Primary: The Primary product is the processing level closest to the natural image acquired by the sensor. This product restores perfect collection conditions: the sensor is placed in rectilinear geometry, and the image is clear of all radiometric distortion.
  • •  Standard ortho: The Ortho product is a georeferenced image in Earth geometry, corrected from acquisition and terrain off-nadir effects.
  • •  Tailored Ortho: Aside from the Standard Ortho product, when different specifications are needed, a custom orthorectification, with a more precise 3D model provided by the client or acquired for the purpose, can be provided on demand.

Archive Availability

ESA is offering access to the full SPOT 6 archive for scientific research and application development. Access is only available to submitted proposals that are accepted. As many as possible of the high-quality and innovative proposals submitted will be supported within the quota limit available, therefore, only a limited amount of products can be made available to each project.

ESA offers registered users access through the Online Dissemination server to the SPOT 6 and 7 ESA archive. The dataset consists of coverage that ESA has collected during this mission and the dataset continues to grow as new products are added.

Data Continuity

N/A

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