On August 17, 1996, the Japanese Space Agency (NASDA - National Space Development Agency) launched the Advanced Earth Observing Satellite (ADEOS). ADEOS was in a descending, Sun synchronous orbit with a nominal equatorial crossing time of 10:30 a.m. Among the instruments carried aboard the ADEOS spacecraft was the Ocean Color and Temperature Scanner (OCTS). 

OCTS was an optical radiometer with 12 bands covering the visible, near infrared, and thermal infrared regions. (Eight of the bands are in the VIS/NIR. These are the only bands calibrated and processed by the Ocean Biology Processing Group.) OCTS has a swath width of approximately 1400 km, and a nominal nadir resolution of 700 m. The instrument operated at three tilt states (20 degrees aft, nadir, and 20 degrees fore), similar to the Sea-Viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor (SeaWiFS).