Exploring the Unknown - NASA's History Office

166
OBSERVING THE EARTH FROM SPACE
METOP. NOAA and EUMETSAT began to develop explicit plans to operate the METOP
satellite series as morning-crossing spacecraft carrying three U.S. instruments: the
Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR), the High-Resolution Infrared
Sounder (HIRS), and the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit. On May 6, 1994, NOAA
formally invited EUMETSAT to participate in the converged U.S. system. [II-11, II-12]
Under the convergence plan, by about 2005 or 2007, the United States will keep two
satellites in orbit at all times: a polar orbiter that will cross the equator early in the morning
to obtain early cloud data of particular interest to DOD and an afternoon-crossing
orbiter that will provide the atmospheric soundings that the National Weather Service
needs to support data inputs to its predictive models. METOP-1 will cross the equator in
the late morning to collect data of particular interest to EUMETSAT’s European data
users.
One important issue that had to be decided was the data policy for METOP. In keeping
with its long-standing U.S. data policies articulated in Office of Management and
Budget Circular A-130, the United States has insisted that data from its sensors not be controlled
even if they fly on the spacecraft of other nations. 46 In keeping with its data policy,
EUMETSAT wishes to control the data from the satellite to assure that the countries benefitting
from the system contribute to its funding. On the other hand, the United States wants
the power to deny data delivery to an adversary in times of crisis or war.
The three U.S. agencies will need the long period between the convergence decision
and operational status of the system to resolve several technical, programmatic, and institutional
issues:
1. Developing new sensors and spacecraft. Because DOD and NOAA have different data
requirements, it will be challenging to meet all the primary data requirements and
still reduce program costs. The IPO, for example, may find it difficult to satisfy DOD’s
need for images of constant resolution across the field and maintain the radiometric
quality that NOAA desires. NOAA also has a requirement for sounding data of higher
quality than DOD’s.
2. Incorporating new capabilities in operational sensors. NASA’s involvement in the integrated
program could lead to interesting opportunities to incorporate improved sensors
or new data types in DOD’s and NOAA’s operational programs, derived from experience
with NASA’s Mission to Planet Earth research efforts. However, the sensors
designed to tackle research problems are generally much more expensive and capable
than those designed for routine data collection. Hence, making the transition to
operational status also presents special challenges to designers in making cheaper
instruments capable of meeting operational requirements. Data users will also have to
adjust their operations to make efficient use of more complex, but more useful data.
3. Maintaining institutional collaboration among U.S. agencies. The three agencies in the
IPO have worked diligently to establish a collaborative working relationship. However,
each agency’s budget is subject to radically different priorities and is overseen within
the Office of Management and Budget by different examiners. In addition, each
receives oversight and its appropriation from different congressional committees and
subcommittees. Hence, continued progress in maintaining the IPO will depend on
46. International Space University, Toward an Integrated International Data Policy Framework for Earth
Observations: A Workshop Report, ISU/REP/97/1 (Illkirch, France: International Space University, January 1997).