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FORMOSAT-5 Satellite

A Taiwanese remote-sensing satellite, FORMOSAT-5 satellite provides 2-meter resolution, 4-band multispectral imagery along a fixed orbital track.

The FORMOSAT-5 Advantage

Download Orbital Track

You can download the fixed orbital track of FORMOSAT-5 here.

Pay Less For Multispectral

Most satellites feature multispectral data that is a quarter the resolution of the panchromatic band, but FORMOSAT-5’s multispectral band is half the resolution. This means you are getting higher-resolution 4-m multispectral data at medium-resolution prices!

Overview & History

Launched in 2017 nearly a year after the decommissioning of its satellite sibling (i.e. FORMOSAT-2), FORMOSAT-5 is the continuation of the National Space Organization’s (NSPO) optical FORMOSAT series. This medium-resolution satellite features 2-meter (m) panchromatic and 4-m multispectral (i.e. blue, green, red and near-infrared/NIR) bands with 24-kilometer (km) wide images. FORMOSAT-5 distinguishes itself from the competition with its fixed orbital path along which images of the same location can be collected every two days.

FORMOSAT-5 Specifications

Launch Details
  • Launch Date: August 24, 2017, 18:50 UTC
  • Vehicle: Falcon 9
  • Site: Space Launch Complex 4 (SLC-4E), Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, USA
  • Expected Mission Life: at least 2022
FORMOSAT-5 Components
  • Dimensions: 2.4-m tall x 1.6-m across (2.0-m across with deployed solar array); 450 kg
  • Solar Array: 600W, 24 Ahr battery
  • Control Systems:
    • 3-axis stabilized
    • Actuators–reaction wheels
    • Altitude determination–star trackers, fiber optic gyro and GPS
  • Onboard Storage Capacity: 128 gigabytes, solid state with EDAC
  • Ground Communication Systems:
    • Imagery downlink–150 megabytes per second, X-band
    • Commands–32 kbps, S-band
    • Telemetry–2 Mbps, S-band
  • Focal Plane:
    • Panchromatic linear CMOS sensor–12,000 pixels
    • 4 multispectral linear CMOS sensor–6,000 pixels (blue, green, red and NIR)
  • Optical Sensor Assembly: 3.6-m focal length, 45-cm aperture
Orbit Characteristics
  • Altitude: 720 km
  • Period: 99.3 minutes
  • Inclination: 98.3°
  • Direction: sun-synchronous circular, north to south (across the lit side of Earth)
  • Equatorial Crossing Time: 10:40 AM local time (approximate; across lit side of Earth)
  • Revisit Frequency: 2-days along a fixed orbital track
Imaging System
  • Spectral Bands:
    • Panchromatic
    • 4-band multispectral (blue, green, red and NIR)
  • Sensor Resolution:
    • At nadir–2-m panchromatic & 4-m multispectral
  • Spectral Band Wavelength Range: (in nm)
    • Panchromatic–450 to 700
    • Blue–455 to 515
    • Green–525 to 595
    • Red–630 to 690
    • NIR–762 to 897
  • Dynamic Range: 12-bits
Collection Capabilities
  • Footprint Width: 24 km (at nadir)
  • Retargeting Ability: 50 sec (time to slew 200 km at 720-km altitude)
  • Daily Collection Capacity: 172,240 sq km (based on April 2019 data)
  • Georeferenced Horizontal Accuracy: < 390-m CE90 (global average, dependent on terrain)

Pricing

Data Source

archive + tasking

Minimum Order Size

200 sq km (per area & date)

Product Type

RCP-controlled + bundle

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Completing an atmospheric correction and/or radiance conversion of FORMOSAT-5 imagery?

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