π Global High-Resolution Optical and SAR Satellite Catalog
Hi there! This catalog gathers star satellites from China, the US, Europe, Japan and Korea β optical for detail, SAR for all-weather β from 0.3m to 30m. Filter by country, search, and click headers to sort.
π Optical vs SAR, in short
Optical uses sunlight β true color and rich detail, but blocked by clouds and night. SAR radar emits its own microwaves β day/night, all-weather β plus millimeter deformation measurement. The table below labels each type for one-click filtering.
π· Optical picks: WorldView-3 (0.31m), Beijing-3B (0.3m), Pleiades Neo (0.3m).
π‘ SAR picks: Gaofen-3, ALOS-2, Sentinel-1, TerraSAR-X, COSMO-SkyMed.
π Free picks: Landsat 1β9, Sentinel-1/2, ASTER, CBERS-04A for time series.
π Fleet picks: Jilin-1, Planet, SkySat, QPS-SAR for fast revisit.
ποΈ Global catalog (click headers to sort)
π‘ Click Name / Launch date / Resolution to sort; filter by country/type or search. Smaller = sharper.
Total 48 satellites Β·
| Name β | Launch β | Band count | Resolution β | Country | Type | Main uses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JERS-1 | 1992-02-11 | 8 optical + SAR | 18m | Japan | SAR | Resources pioneer |
| ASTER | 1999-12-18 | 14 bands | 15m | Japan | Optical | Free geology |
| ALOS | 2006-01-24 | 4 + SAR | 2.5m | Japan | Optical | Mapping, disasters |
| ASNARO-1 | 2014-11-06 | 6 bands | 0.5m | Japan | Optical | Commercial 0.5m |
| ALOS-2 | 2014-05-24 | L-band SAR | 1m | Japan | SAR | Disaster InSAR |
| ALOS-3 | 2023-03-07 | 6 bands | 0.8m | Japan | Optical | 0.8m wide-area |
| ALOS-4 | 2024-07-01 | L-band SAR | 3m | Japan | SAR | 200km-wide watch |
| KOMPSAT-2 | 2006-07-28 | 5 bands | 1m | Korea | Optical | National mapping |
| KOMPSAT-3 | 2012-05-18 | 5 bands | 0.7m | Korea | Optical | Sub-meter survey |
| KOMPSAT-3A | 2015-03-26 | 6 bands | 0.55m | Korea | Optical | 0.55m with IR |
| Gaofen-1(GF-1) | 2013-04-26 | 5 bands | 2m | China | Optical | Wide agriculture survey |
| Gaofen-1B/C/D | 2018-03-31 | 4 bands | 2m | China | Optical | Constellation continuity |
| Gaofen-2(GF2) | 2014-08-19 | 4 bands | 0.8m | China | Optical | Sub-meter detail |
| Gaofen-6 (GF6) | 2018-06-02 | 8 bands | 2m | China | Optical | Red-edge crop estimates |
| Gaofen-3 (GF3) | 2016-08-10 | C-band full-pol | 1m | China | SAR | Ocean, disaster watch |
| ZY-3 | 2012-01-09 | 5 bands | 2.1m | China | Optical | Stereo mapping |
| ZY02C | 2011-12-22 | 5 bands | 2.36m | China | Optical | Land resource survey |
| CB04A | 2019-12-20 | 7 bands | 2m | China | Optical | CN-BR free data |
| HJ-2A/B | 2020-09-27 | 8 + SAR | 2m | China | Optical | Emergency monitoring |
| Ludi Tance-1 LT-1 | 2022-01-26 | L-band full-pol | 3m | China | SAR | Deformation InSAR |
| SuperView-1 | 2016-12-28 | 4 bands | 0.5m | China | Optical | Commercial 0.5m |
| SuperView Neo | 2022-04-16 | 6 bands | 0.5m | China | Optical | Agile 0.5m fleet |
| Jilin-1 | 2015-10-07 | 4 bands | 0.75m | China | Optical | 100-sat fast revisit |
| Jilin-1 NEO | 2022-04-30 | 6 bands | 0.5m | China | Optical | 0.5m night imaging |
| Keyhole KH-11 | 1976-12-19 | Multi | 0.15m | USA | Optical | Military recon |
| Landsat-1 | 1972-07-23 | 4 bands | 80m | USA | Optical | Survey pioneer |
| Landsat-8 | 2013-02-11 | 11 bands | 15m | USA | Optical | Free time series |
| Landsat-9 | 2021-09-27 | 11 bands | 15m | USA | Optical | Landsat continuity |
| IKONOS | 1999-09-24 | 5 bands | 0.82m | USA | Optical | First 1m commercial |
| QuickBird | 2001-10-18 | 5 bands | 0.61m | USA | Optical | Urban sub-meter |
| GeoEye-1 | 2008-09-06 | 5 bands | 0.41m | USA | Optical | Precision base maps |
| WorldView-1 | 2007-09-18 | 1 band | 0.5m | USA | Optical | 0.5m stereo |
| WorldView-2 | 2009-10-08 | 9 bands | 0.46m | USA | Optical | 8 multispectral |
| WorldView-3 | 2014-08-13 | 29 bands | 0.31m | USA | Optical | Sharpest + SWIR |
| WorldView-4 | 2016-11-11 | 5 bands | 0.31m | USA | Optical | 0.3m-class commercial |
| WorldView Legion | 2024-05-02 | 9 bands | 0.3m | USA | Optical | New 0.3m fleet |
| PlanetScope | 2014-06-01 | 8 bands | 3m | USA | Optical | Daily global cover |
| SkySat | 2013-11-21 | 5 bands | 0.5m | USA | Optical | Rapid video stare |
| RapidEye | 2008-08-29 | 5 bands | 5m | USA | Optical | Red-edge farming |
| Sentinel-1 | 2014-04-03 | C-band dual-pol | 5m | Europe | SAR | Free SAR disasters |
| Sentinel-2A | 2015-06-23 | 13 bands | 10m | Europe | Optical | Free 10m ecology |
| SPOT-5 | 2002-05-04 | 5 bands | 2.5m | Europe | Optical | French 2.5m maps |
| SPOT-6/7 | 2012-09-09 | 5 bands | 1.5m | Europe | Optical | 1.5m wide fleet |
| Pleiades-1A/1B | 2011-12-17 | 5 bands | 0.5m | Europe | Optical | 0.5m agile survey |
| Pleiades Neo | 2021-04-29 | 7 bands | 0.3m | Europe | Optical | 0.3m 4-sat fleet |
| TerraSAR-X | 2007-06-15 | X-band dual-pol | 1m | Europe | SAR | German 1m SAR |
| COSMO-SkyMed | 2007-06-08 | X-band | 1m | Europe | SAR | Italian 4-sat fleet |
| RADARSAT-2 | 2007-12-14 | C-band full-pol | 3m | Europe | SAR | Sea ice, ships |
π Charts: type and country split
π° Type split (optical / SAR)
π© Optical Γ37π§ SAR Γ11
π Satellites by country
πΌοΈ HD imagery showcase
Stylized previews of typical optical and SAR imagery. For real HD samples, use βSamplesβ below.
ποΈ
WorldView-3 Β· 0.31m city, countable cars
πΎ
Sentinel-2 Β· 10m regional crop vigor
π
Sentinel-1 Β· flood SAR through clouds
π°οΈ Satellite image object recognition
Optical + SAR fusion enables automatic detection. Tap an icon to open each topic:
π‘ Which satellite to choose? 3 quick tips
β For maximum 0.3m sharpness β WorldView Legion, Beijing-3B, Pleiades Neo; β‘ for free time series β Landsat, Sentinel-1/2, ASTER; β’ for rainy disasters and night watch β Gaofen-3, ALOS-2, TerraSAR-X. Message us for a free recommendation.