the cost of building and launching Landsat-8, the newest Land-
sat satellite expected to operate for at least five years. Much
of the value stems from the free and open data policy which
allows users to access as much imagery as they need at no cost.
Charging even small fees would result in an immediate loss of
users and most likely, a steep decline in the amount of imagery
downloaded. The impacts of charging for Landsat imagery
would be felt by downstream users as well, through increased
prices for value-added products as well as more intangible
effects, such as reduced monitoring of environmental hazards.
Future research efforts could continue to assess the value of a
growing archive of Landsat satellite imagery and evaluate the
increasing number of users and uses of this unique resource.
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