Exploring the Unknown - NASA's History Office

348
This management plan spells out how the Bush administration planned to manage the continuation
of the Landsat program. It roughly split the financial responsibility for Landsat development and
operations evenly between the Department of Defense and NASA over the projected lifetime of the satellite.
According to the agreement, the Department of Defense was to procure the satellite and NASA was
to build and operate the data reception and distribution facility.
[1]
Introduction
Management Plan for the Landsat Program
The Landsat Program benefits a wide community of users, including the private sector,
the global change research community, national security and other Government
users. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Department
of Defense (DoD) agree that the program provides a unique capability that should be continued.
The two agencies will therefore cooperate in the continuation of the Landsat program,
including the development and operation of a Landsat follow-on (Landsat 7)
satellite, as well as in planning for future operations and advanced technology development
with other appropriate agencies.
This plan responds to the President’s National Space Policy Directive 5 on Landsat
Remote Sensing Strategy, dated February 1992. It outlines an integrated approach to the
management, development and operation of a newly structured Landsat program tailored
to be more responsive to national security and global change research needs through the
year 2002 and potentially beyond.
To implement this plan, the involved agencies will work with the Congress to obtain
any necessary enabling legislation.
Concept
DoD, representing the national security community, and NASA, representing the U.S.
Global Change Research Program and the civil/private Landsat use community in general,
will divide the management responsibilities and costs for the program with approximate
equality.
General Description
OBSERVING THE EARTH FROM SPACE
The program will:
• Be consistent with the following goals:
– Maintain Landsat program data continuity beyond Landsat 6 by:
[2] – Seeking to launch Landsat, approximately 5 years after the launch of Landsat 6
– Continuing to provide data which are sufficiently consistent in terms of acquisition
geometry, calibration, coverage characteristics and spectral characteristics
with previous Landsat data to allow comparisons for global and regional
change detection and characterization
– Continue to make such data available for U.S. civil, national security, and private
sector uses
– Seek to expand the use of such data for global change research and national
security purposes
• Acquire a Landsat 7 satellite which is, as a minimum, functionally equivalent to
the Landsat 6 satellite, with the addition of a Tracking and Data Relay Satellite
[System] (TDRSS) communications capability. Additional improvements will be