ABSTRACT
Sputnik is the first artificial satellite that was launched in October, 1957 by erstwhile Soviet Union. It was a very small satellite that orbited earth once in 98 minutes. Later, in 1958, Explorer-1 also known as Satellite-Alpha was launched by National Aeronautical Space Agency of United States of America. Satellites launched by different countries have served different purposes such as defense, transport, monitoring global and regional weather phenomena. They have been extensively used for collecting data about natural resources such as land, water and biomass. As time lapsed, some of the satellites were deployed or re-deployed to study agricultural parameters, study cropping systems, monitor and note crop productivity. ‘Landsat 8’ is latest satellite of the LANDSAT series. It was developed by National Aeronautical and Space Agency and United States Geological Survey crew and launched by an Atlas rocket in February, 2013 from Vandenberg Air force base, California.
