Photos: NASA's Advanced Landsat Earth-Watching Satellite

Operational Land Imager (OLI) Telescope

NASA/GSFC/Landsat

The OLI telescope uses a four-mirror compact design. The optics are positioned inside a lightweight, yet highly stable, carbon composite optical bench (i.e., a substrate on which the optics are mounted) that has special features to control undesired stray light (stray light is any light entering the optics from someplace other than the observed Earth surface, or imaging “target”). This photo was taken on June 17, 2011.

Assembly of Landsat's TIRS Instrument

NASA/GSFC/Rebecca Roth

Aleksandra Bogunovic reaches across the instrument to affix the corners of a Multi-Layer Insulation blanket to the TIRS instrument. This photo was taken on Feb. 14, 2012.

Assembly of Landsat's Instruments

NASA/GSFC/Rebecca Roth

Bob Rosenberry and Aleksandra Bogunovic tape down the electrical wires on the TIRS instrument before covering it with the MLI blanket. This photo was taken on Feb. 14, 2012.

The Telescope —Part of the LDCM Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS)

NASA/GSFC/Landsat

Technicians at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center lower the telescope into the body of the TIRS instrument. This photo was taken on April 22, 2011.

Assembly of Landsat TIRS Instrument

NASA/GSFC/Rebecca Roth

Pete Steigner, and Mike Golob (middle and right) assist an Chris Kolos in carefully moving a TIRS component across the clean room at Goddard. This photo was taken on Feb. 14, 2012.

Landsat's TIRS Instrument

NASA/GSFC/Debbie Mccallum

This large mirror is called the "Earth Shield" situated on the right side of the TIRS instrument to block light from the sun. This photo was taken on Jan. 26, 2011

The Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS)

NASA/GSFC/Rebecca Roth

The Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) will fly on the next Landsat satellite, the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM). This photo was taken on Feb. 14, 2012.

Multi-Layer Insulation Blanket

NASA/GSFC/Rebecca Roth

Aleksandra Bogunovic inspects the fastenings of the Multi-Layer Insulation blanket on the TIRS instrument. This photo was taken on Feb. 14, 2012.

Shipment of the TIRS instrument

NASA/GSFC/Rebecca Roth

The TIRS instrument in the foreground with its shipping container waits in the background. This photo was taken on Feb. 14, 2012.

Atlas V First Stage

NASA/Roy Allison

A truck moves the first stage booster of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V to Space Launch Complex-3E at Vandenberg Air Force Base in preparation for the launch of the Landsat Data Continuity Mission, or LDCM. This image was taken Feb. 7, 2013.

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