Peering Homeward, 1972
NASA
February 18, 2026
By Laura Rocchio On July 23, 1972 the first civilian satellite designed to image Earth’s land surfaces was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. On board the satellite, originally named the Earth Resources Technology Satellite (ERTS), but later known as Landsat 1, were two sensors. The primary sensor, called the Return Beam Vidicon […]
Verticals
spacescience
Originally published on NASA on 2/18/2026