September 27, 2021
Landsat 9 is scheduled for launch today at 2:12pm EDT. Live coverage of the launch begins at 1:30pm on NASA Live.
Landsat 9 will carry two science instruments (like Landsat 8) - the Operational Land Imager 2 (OLI-2) and the Thermal Infrared Sensor 2 (TIRS-2). Landsat 9 will be placed in orbit that is 8 days out of phase with Landsat 8 to increase the temporal coverage from 16 to 8 days.
The launch of Landsat 9 will extend the continuity of the long-running Landsat program for earth observation, with wide-ranging applications for monitoring and tracking earth system change.
Even more info: Masek, et al., Landsat 9: Empowering open science and applications through continuity, Remote Sensing of Environment, 2020.