The role of satellite images in the development of the Hungarian cartography until the 1980s

Abstract

Although satellite imagery was a secondary product of the Space Race, it had a major military importance. In the socialist countries, all the state topographic maps and aerial photographs were classified, and the maps produced for public use (tourist maps and city maps) were generally distorted. There was only a limited relationship between the two parts the world; therefore, collecting information on the other side became important. Hungary was a part of the Soviet block at that time, but we had practically no access to the Soviet satellite images. Hungary established its state/scientific institutes on space sciences and cooperated with Soviet institutions, but the real use of satellite images only started when the Landsat images became available. As Hungary was a very well-mapped country, the satellite images were not necessary for the state topographic maps. However, they were useful to monitor certain problems of agriculture, floods or to map natural resources.

Keywords:

• remote sensing
• cartography
• satellite images
• topographic maps