Abstract Following the success of the Landsat series of remote sensing systems, first launched in 1972, a number of countries have launched or are planning to launch, other spaceborne systems. This paper details the factors that are influencing the design of these systems under the headings of spatial resolution, spectral resolution, system flexibility and system commercialisation. Four visible/infrared systems are described; Landsat Thematic Mapper, Systeme Probatoire d'Observation de la Terre (SPOT), Modular Optoelectronic Multispectral Scanner, and Large Format Camera, while a number of Synthetic Aperture Imaging Radar Systems are compared. Various characteristics of these systems are used as examples to illustrate the design-influencing factors.