Downloading satellite image from multiple sources using QGIS

Sry Handini Puteri
4 min readJun 4, 2021
Photo by SpaceX on Unsplash

Satellite images are available and able to be accrued from multiple sources. Depending on your necessity, the satellite image varies in spatial resolution, temporal resolution, and so forth. It is imperative to tailor your requirement list before downloading the image. The first question to ask is what do I want to do with the image? Do I need the image merely for the base map or do I need it for advanced research analysis?

This article will discuss the former reason, to display a base map and download it based on the preset area. There are multiple ways to achieve this, but one of the easiest ways is to download it using the open-source application, Quantum GIS.

Why do I need QGIS?

It goes back again to your initial reason. Oftentimes, I need to download the high-resolution image for free, but accessing high-resolution images such as WorldView, Ikonos, Quickbird, etc is not preferable due to its paywall. Another alternative is using Google Earth, but the scope of the image that can be downloaded in Google Earth is only limited to the scope of our desktop view. If the display is zoomed out, thus the resolution will be automatically declined. There are other options such as using SaSPlanet, but I personally feel that the interface is not that friendly, not to mention that the image is not…

--

--

Sry Handini Puteri

Personal learning space ; A Geoenthusiast ; Interested in Disaster Risk Management