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(upbeat music)

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- [Announcer] Launch Conductor
proceed with terminal count

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at the end of the built-in hold.

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- [Launch Conductor] Roger.

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- [Narrator] April 15, 1999.

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- [Announcer] T-Minus 20 seconds.

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We are go for launch.

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- [Narrator] A Delta II rocket

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lifts off
(rocket roaring)

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from Southern California's
Vandenberg Air Force Base.

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- [Announcer] And lift
off of the Delta II Rocket

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with the advanced Landsat 7 spacecraft.

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- [Narrator] Its payload, Landsat 7,

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the seventh satellite in the series,

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part of a decades-long collaboration

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between NASA and the US Geological Survey.

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Its mission?

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To continue the Landsat legacy,

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by providing a continuous,
detailed portrait

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of Earth's changing landscapes.

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Just three days later,
438 miles above the Earth,

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Landsat 7 would use its
Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus,

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or ETM+, the most sophisticated
Landsat sensor yet,

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to capture its first image
above Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

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For the next two decades,
Landsat 7 would circle the globe

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every 99 minutes, collecting
high-resolution imagery

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of our planet's surface

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across eight distinct spectral bands,

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from visible to thermal
infrared, every 16 days.

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From agricultural monitoring
to urban planning,

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disaster management to climate research,

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Landsat 7's data is essential
for scientists, policymakers,

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and communities worldwide,

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to continue the record of
our changing home planet

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over the last half century.

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One of Landsat 7's most
valuable contributions

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was its ability to classify
and map different types

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of land cover on a global scale

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and how they change over time.

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By distinguishing between
forests and wetlands,

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urban areas versus agricultural areas,

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like this map of Portland, Oregon,

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assembled from data collected
over the course of 2001,

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scientists could monitor
ecological health,

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plan for sustainable development,

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and better understand
environmental changes.

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The data Landsat 7 collected
across the visible spectrum

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helped detect early signs of
drought stress and disease,

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allowing farmers to make
better management decisions,

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ensuring healthier
crops and higher yields.

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During catastrophic wildfires,

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Landsat 7 became our
watchful eye from above,

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mapping the extent of burned areas,

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helping firefighters strategize,

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and assisting communities
and other stakeholders

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in recovery and resilience planning.

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And Landsat 7's utility wasn't
just limited to the land,

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playing a key role

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in the Millennium Coral
Reef Mapping project.

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Its ability to capture
detailed cloud-free images

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over remote tropical regions
proved to be a critical tool

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in helping scientists
create the first consistent

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global map of our planet's coral reefs.

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And Landsat 7 imagery
played an integral role

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in the Landsat Image Mosaic
of Antarctica project,

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helping to create the
first-ever, true-color,

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high-resolution satellite view
of the Antarctic continent.

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The Landsat 7 mission, however,

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was not without its challenges.

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In May 2003, the onboard
Scan Line Corrector,

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a key component of the
ETM+ meant to compensate

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for the forward motion of
the satellite, malfunctioned,

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resulting in gaps in the imagery

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and creating noticeable stripes

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of missing data across scenes.

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Despite this setback, 78%
of the data from each scene

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remained intact, and
scientists at NASA and USGS,

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along with significant contributions

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from university-based members
of the Landsat Science Team,

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were able to quickly develop techniques

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to compensate for these gaps,

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enabling Landsat 7 to continue providing

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valuable imagery and scientific insights

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for many more years.

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Landsat 7's nominal science
mission came to a close

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in the spring of 2022,

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as its orbit was lowered following launch

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of Landsat 9 the previous fall.

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And, despite surpassing
its original expected

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5-year lifespan by nearly two decades,

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Landsat 7 continued to
collect valuable data

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even at its lower altitude.

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Unfortunately, Landsat 7's lowered orbit

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led to increasing drift, which
impacted battery maintenance,

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imaging opportunities,
and data processing.

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As a result, the USGS decided
to bring an end to imaging,

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with Landsat 7 collecting its
final images above Las Vegas

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in May 2024, returning
to where it had collected

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some of its first
imagery 25 years earlier.

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In those 25 years, Landsat 7
captured over 3 million images

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of our planet, collecting
data that would be used

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in over 2,000 scientific publications,

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generating billions of
dollars in economic benefits,

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and paving the way for the development

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of new and improved instruments

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for future Earth observing missions.

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The Landsat 7 mission
established new high-water marks

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in the Landsat Earth Imaging program,

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with respect to quality, quantity,

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and repetitive global coverage,

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creating the new baseline standard

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for future Landsat missions
to match and surpass.

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The sheer volume, exceptional quality,

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and precise calibration
of Landsat 7's data

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have provided humanity with a deeper

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and broader understanding of
our planet's land surfaces

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and their changes over time.

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Data that will remain a core component

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of the extensive Landsat archive,

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continuing to support
scientific innovation

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long into the future.

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So, after USGS engineers
powered down its batteries

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for good in 2025, we bid
Landsat 7 a fond farewell.

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Thank you for over two decades
of unprecedented vision,

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forever reshaping how we see
and protect our home planet.