SPOT-6 and SPOT-7 form with the two Pléiades satellites a constellation of optical Earth-imaging satellites providing continuity and availability of high- and very-high-resolution data.
SPOT-6 and SPOT-7 draw on the successful heritage of previous generations of SPOT satellites to offer products at a resolution of 1.5 m.
The two identical Korsch imaging instruments on SPOT-6 and SPOT-7 afford a ground swath of 60 km and a daily revisit capability (viewing angle >45°, operated simultaneously on the two satellites).
Resolution
The SPOT-6 and SPOT-7 satellites acquire imagery at a resolution of 2 m at nadir in panchromatic (black and white) mode and 8 m at nadir in multispectral (colour) mode, with a dynamic range of 12 bits per pixel. Images are then resampled on the ground. Airbus Defence & Space and GEOSUD/DINAMIS distribute SPOT-6 and SPOT-7 products at a resolution of 1.5 m in panchromatic mode and 6 m multispectral mode.
Spectral bands
The five spectral bands are always acquired simultaneously.
• Panchromatic (PA): 0.450-0.745 μm
• Blue (B0): 0.450-0.520 μm
• Green (B1): 0.530-0.590 μm
• Red (B2): 0.625-0.695 μm
• Near-infrared (B3): 0.760-0.890 μm
Spectral combinations
| Pan-sharpened (PAN+XS or PAN+MS) | Multispectral (XS) | Bundle (PAN+XS) | Pan-sharpened (PAN+XS or PAN+MS) |
| 1.5 m 1 band (black and white) | 6 m 4 bands (B, G, R, NIR) | 1.5 m and 6 m Acquired simultaneously Co-registered 1 file PAN 1.5 m 1 band 1 file Multispectral 6 m 4 bands | Merged product 1.5 m Pan-sharpened 3 natural or false colour bands or Pan-sharpened 4 bands |
Panchromatic (PAN)
• Single-spectral-band product
• Black and white
• 1.5-m resolution
Multispectral (XS)
• Four-spectral-band product (blue, red, green, near-infrared)
• Colour
• 6-m resolution
Bundle
• 1.5 m panchromatic (left) and 6-m multispectral (right) acquired simultaneously
• Delivered separately (not merged)
Pan-sharpened
Les produits PanSharpened combinent l’information visuelle des données multispectrales Pan-sharpening combines the visual detail of multispectral data with the spatial information of panchromatic data to provide a colour product at higher resolution (1.5 m).