5880 days, that is how long the SPOT-VEGETATION mission has been delivering images on the global vegetation status to more than 10.000 users worldwide on a daily basis. Now, 16 years later, it is time for SPOT-VEGETATION to hand over the torch to its successor, the micro-satellite PROBA-V. The SPOT-VEGETATION mission is a collaboration between France, Belgium, Italy, Sweden and the EC that has been monitoring the global vegetation status for more than 16 years. The VEGETATION instruments (VGT1 and VGT2) were incorporated in the SPOT programme, a programme that was founded in 1978. SPOT 4, with VGT1 on board, was launched March 24,1998. The VGT2 instrument, incorporated onto the SPOT 5 satellite, was sent into orbit on May 4, 2002. SPOT 4 has been deactivated a couple of years ago, but SPOT 5 will still be delivering images of the Earth until the end of May 2014. Every day a new image of the global vegetation status is being processed, archived and distributed at the Image Processing Centre of VITO in Belgium.
After 16 years of successful operations, SPOT-VEGETATION ready to hand over the torch to PROBA-V!
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