Earth-watching satellites
1,647 satellites in orbit, 1,223 operating.
The count is the catalogue’s as of Nov 10, 2026, 8:17 AM; whether a satellite is operating is as Orbinauts writes it where it has written when the satellite’s mission ended, and otherwise as Jonathan McDowell’s general catalogue believes it, licensed CC BY 4.0: GCAT
An Earth-watching satellite looks down: the weather satellites GOES-19 and Meteosat-12, the Earth science missions Terra and Landsat 9. Otherwise the kind is the one GCAT gives a payload whose purpose is imaging, radar imaging, weather, Earth science or geodesy.
A satellite’s kind is the one Orbinauts writes for it, else its constellation’s, else the one its purpose in GCAT gives.
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| Satellite | Kind | Orbit class | Launched | Operating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FENGYUN 1C | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| LANDSAT 7 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| WESTPAC | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| FASAT B | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| RESURS O1-N4 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| NOAA 15 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| SPOT 4 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| IRS 1D | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| METEOSAT 7 | Earth-watching satellite | Inclined geosynchronous | Ended | |
| ORBVIEW 2 (SEASTAR) | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| FENGYUN 2A | Earth-watching satellite | Inclined geosynchronous | Ended | |
| COSMOS 2344 | Earth-watching satellite | Medium Earth orbit | Ended | |
| GOES 10 | Earth-watching satellite | Inclined geosynchronous | Ended | |
| DMSP 5D-2 F14 (USA 131) | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| ADEOS | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| TOMS EP | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| IRS B3 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| IRS 1C | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| RADARSAT | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| SICH 1 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| HELIOS 1A | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| GOES 9 | Earth-watching satellite | Inclined geosynchronous | Ended | |
| ORBVIEW 1 (MICROLAB) | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| DMSP 5D-2 F13 (USA 109) | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| HIMAWARI 5 (GMS 5) | Earth-watching satellite | Inclined geosynchronous | Ended | |
| NOAA 14 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| GEO IK | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| RESURS O1 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| ELEKTRO (GOMS) | Earth-watching satellite | Inclined geosynchronous | Ended | |
| IRS P2 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| OKEAN 4 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| DMSP 5D-2 F12 (USA 106) | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| COSMOS 2285 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| GOES 8 | Earth-watching satellite | Inclined geosynchronous | Ended | |
| METEOR 3-6 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| METEOSAT 6 | Earth-watching satellite | Inclined geosynchronous | Ended | |
| STELLA | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| SPOT 3 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| METEOR 2-21 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| NOAA 13 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| COSMOS 2226 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| LAGEOS 2 | Earth-watching satellite | Medium Earth orbit | Ended | |
| TOPEX/POSEIDON | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| DMSP 5D-2 F11 (USA 73) | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| IRS 1B | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| METEOR 3-5 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| ERS 1 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| OKEAN 3 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| NOAA 12 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| METEOR 3-4 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| METEOSAT 5 (MOP 2) | Earth-watching satellite | Inclined geosynchronous | Ended | |
| DMSP 5D-2 F10 (USA 68) | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| METEOR 2-20 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| FENGYUN 1B | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| COSMOS 2088 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| METEOR 2-19 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| OKEAN 2 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| MOS 1B (MOMO 1B) | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| SPOT 2 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| METEOR 3-3 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| HIMAWARI 4 (GMS 4) | Earth-watching satellite | Inclined geosynchronous | Ended | |
| COSMOS 2037 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| COSMOS 2024 (ETALON 2) | Earth-watching satellite | Medium Earth orbit | Ended | |
| METEOSAT 4 (MOP 1) | Earth-watching satellite | Inclined geosynchronous | Ended | |
| METEOR 2-18 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| COSMOS 1989 (ETALON 1) | Earth-watching satellite | Medium Earth orbit | Ended | |
| NOAA 11 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| FENGYUN 1A | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| METEOR 3-2 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| OKEAN 1 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| METEOSAT 3 | Earth-watching satellite | Inclined geosynchronous | Ended | |
| COSMOS 1950 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| IRS 1A | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| DMSP 5D-2 F9 (USA 29) | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| METEOR 2-17 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| METEOR 2-16 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| COSMOS 1869 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| DMSP 5D-2 F8 (USA 26) | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| GOES 7 | Earth-watching satellite | Inclined geosynchronous | Ended | |
| COSMOS 1823 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| MOS 1A (MOMO 1) | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| METEOR 2-15 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| COSMOS 1803 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| NOAA 10 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| EGS (AJISAI) | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| COSMOS 1766 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| METEOR 2-14 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| SPOT 1 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| COSMOS 1732 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| METEOR 2-13 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| METEOR 3-1 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| COSMOS 1660 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| GEOSAT | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| METEOR 2-12 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| NOAA 9 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| COSMOS 1589 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| HIMAWARI 3 (GMS 3) | Earth-watching satellite | Inclined geosynchronous | Ended | |
| METEOR 2-11 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| LANDSAT 5 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| COSMOS 1510 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| OPS 1294 (DMSP 5D-2 F7) | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| METEOR 2-10 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| GOES 6 | Earth-watching satellite | Inclined geosynchronous | Ended | |
| NOAA 8 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| OPS 9845 (DMSP 5D-2 F6) | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| METEOR 2-9 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| COSMOS 1410 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| METEOR 2-8 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| COSMOS 1312 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| HIMAWARI 2 (GMS 2) | Earth-watching satellite | Inclined geosynchronous | Ended | |
| NOAA 7 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| METEOSAT 2 | Earth-watching satellite | Inclined geosynchronous | Ended | |
| GOES 5 | Earth-watching satellite | Inclined geosynchronous | Ended | |
| METEOR 2-7 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| GOES 4 | Earth-watching satellite | Inclined geosynchronous | Ended | |
| METEOR 2-6 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| METEOR 2-5 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| NOAA 6 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| OPS 5390 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| METEOR 2-4 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| COSMOS 1067 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| COSMOS 1045 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| NIMBUS 7 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| TIROS N | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| SEASAT 1 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| GOES 3 | Earth-watching satellite | Inclined geosynchronous | Ended | |
| OPS 6182 (DMSP 5D-1 F3) | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| LANDSAT 3 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| METEOR 2-3 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| COSMOS 963 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| METEOSAT 1 | Earth-watching satellite | Geostationary | Ended | |
| HIMAWARI 1 (GMS 1) | Earth-watching satellite | Inclined geosynchronous | Ended | |
| GOES 2 | Earth-watching satellite | Inclined geosynchronous | Ended | |
| OPS 5644 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| COSMOS 911 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| METEOR 1-27 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| METEOR 2-2 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| METEOR 1-26 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| OPS 5721 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| NOAA 5 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| COSMOS 842 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| METEOR 1-25 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| LAGEOS 1 | Earth-watching satellite | Medium Earth orbit | Ended | |
| METEOR 1-24 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| METEOR 1-23 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| GOES 1 (SMS-C) | Earth-watching satellite | Geostationary | Ended | |
| COSMOS 770 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| METEOR 1-22 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| METEOR 2-1 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| NIMBUS 6 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| OPS 6226 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| GEOS 3 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| METEOR 1-21 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| COSMOS 708 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| SMS 2 | Earth-watching satellite | Inclined geosynchronous | Ended | |
| STARLETTE | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| LANDSAT 2 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| METEOR 1-20 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| NOAA 4 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| METEOR 1-19 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| COSMOS 675 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| OPS 6983 (DMSP 5C F1) | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| METEOR 1-18 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| SMS 1 | Earth-watching satellite | Medium Earth orbit | Ended | |
| COSMOS 650 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| METEOR 1-17 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| OPS 8579 (DMSP 5B F5) | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| METEOR 1-16 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| NOAA 3 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| COSMOS 585 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| OPS 8364 (DMSP 4) | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| METEOR 1-15 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| METEOR 1-14 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| COSMOS 539 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| NIMBUS 5 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| OPS 7323 (DMSP 5B F3) | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| METEOR 1-13 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| NOAA 2 (ITOS-D) | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| LANDSAT 1 (ERTS 1) | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| METEOR 1-12 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| METEOR 1-11 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| COSMOS 480 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| OPS 5058 (DMSP 5B F2) | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| METEOR 1-10 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| COSMOS 457 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| OPS 4311 (DMSP 5B F1) | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| COSMOS 409 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| OPS 5268 (DMSP 5A F3) | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| NOAA 1 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| OPS 0203 (DMSP 5A F2) | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| METEOR 1-5 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| TOPO 1 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| NIMBUS 4 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| OPS 0054 (DMSP 5A F1) | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| ITOS 1 (TIROS M) | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| COSMOS 312 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| OPS 1127 (DMSP 4B F3) | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| SECOR 13 (EGRS 13) | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| NIMBUS 3 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| COSMOS 272 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended |