Data from Landsat 5 was collected and distributed from the USGS's Center for Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS).

[2] Recognized by Guinness World Records as the longest-operating Earth-observing satellite mission in history, Landsat 5 orbited the planet more than 150,000 times while transmitting more than 2.5 million images of land surface conditions around the world, greatly outliving its original three-year design life.

Landsat 5 also documented deforestation occurring in tropical regions, and captured the devastating 2004 tsunami in southeast Asia.

[3] On November 26, 2005, the back-up solar array drive on Landsat 5 began exhibiting unusual behavior.

[8] Data downlink was restored on January 7, 2010, after a test successfully managed to retrieve a picture over North America.

[9] On November 18, 2011, image acquisitions were suspended for a period of 90 days, due to fluctuations in the performance of a critical amplifier in the satellite's transmission system.

[10] Landsat 5 significantly exceeded its designed life expectancy, lasting several decades beyond its original three-year mission.

Contributing to Landsat 5's longevity was the presence of extra fuel for possible future retrieval by the Space Shuttle.

On June 5, 2013, with Landsat 5's fuel reserve completely depleted, the USGS Flight Operations Team issued commands to shut off all moving mechanisms and hobble the spacecraft's ability to generate and store power from its solar arrays.