Landsat Data Continuity Mission: Spacecraft Flow

The Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) is a collaboration between NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey that will continue the Landsat Program's 40-year data record of monitoring Earth's landscapes from space. LDCM will expand and improve on that record with observations that advance a wide range of Earth sciences and contribute to the management of agriculture, water and forest resources. The LDCM observatory was successfully launched aboard an Atlas V-401 rocket on February 11, 2013, from Vandenberg Air Force Base. The operation of the satellite will be handed over to the U.S. Geological Survey on May 30, 2013.