Picture of the Landsat 1 satellite in a clean room, surrounded by Landsat team members.

How a satellite found a tiny island—and made Canada a bit bigger

Discovered only about 50 years ago, Landsat Island off the country's Atlantic coast bears the name of the world's first Earth-observing satellite program.

Landsat 1, launched in July 1972, was the first satellite designed to study Earth from orbit. The spacecraft is seen here in flight configuration with its solar panels deployed at the former GE plant in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.
Photograph by NASA
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