Exploring the Unknown - NASA's History Office

Document II-8
[1] June 2, 1993
The Honorable Ron Brown
Secretary of Commerce
US Department of Commerce
Herbert C. Hoover Building
14th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20230
Dear Secretary Brown:
EXPLORING THE UNKNOWN 215
I plan to make a statement on the Senate floor soon about the weather satellite systems
operated by the Department of Defense (DoD) and the National Oceanographic
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). I do not believe that two separate U.S.
Government weather satellite systems can be justified any longer given the budget problems
we face.
The DoD operates a constellation of two weather satellites called the Defense
Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP). These satellites are flown in sun-synchronous
polar orbits (meaning that they cross the same point above the Earth twice a day at the
same times every day). They are built by the General Electric Corporation. They are
equipped with sensors for imaging clouds, determining moisture and temperature in the
atmosphere, and for measuring ocean currents. The data from DMSP is broadcast to tactical
users over an encrypted link and at the same time the data is remotely relayed to
Omaha’s Weather Central for comprehensive analysis. Historically, the DoD system’s primary
customer was a classified intelligence gathering program.
The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the
Department of Commerce also operates a constellation of two weather satellites called
TIROS. These satellites are also flown in sun-synchronous polar orbits, are built by
General Electric, and have sensors for imaging clouds and taking readings of moisture
and temperature in the atmosphere. TIROS data also is broadcast directly to users around
the world as well as to a central processing location in the United States. TIROS data, however,
is completely unclassified.
In terms of capacity, the United States does not need four weather satellites in orbit.
In last year’s defense authorization act, the conferees directed the Secretary of Defense to
develop a comprehensive space investment strategy. As [2] part of this effort, the conferees
directed DoD to examine anew the potential for greater cooperation between civil and
military weather satellite programs in light of changes in the world and budget pressures.
Merging the two satellite programs will take time—time to design a common system,
to determine management arrangements between DoD and NOAA, to build new satellites,
and to launch them. Both DoD and NOAA will obviously have to continue to launch
and operate their own systems until the new system can be deployed.
Ideally, DoD and NOAA would run out of their current satellites at precisely the same
time and precisely when the new system became operational. It appears that this is possible,
but not without some planning.
Last year Congress directed NOAA to procure two more TIROS satellites. If this happens,
NOAA will have 7 satellites, which could last until 2005, and DoD’s inventory of
9 DMSP satellites will last until 2007 or longer. That would mean waiting 12 to 15 years to
deploy a common, merged satellite system and waiting several years before starting