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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