For some time past satellites have been orbiting the Earth and sending back images of it to ground stations. These remote‐sensing images are now accumulating in large numbers: present plans for satellite launches indicate that the growth rate will continue to rise further into the 1990s. In consequence, satellite remote‐sensing data are raising urgent questions concerning their efficient storage and rapid retrieval. The experience of handling of remote‐sensing images is likely to influence future developments in computer graphics information more generally. We review here the current position regarding these problems and the steps being taken to overcome them.