NASA Prepares for Launch of Next Earth Observation Satellite

Jan. 10, 2013

Steve Cole
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-0918
stephen.e.cole@nasa.gov

Rani Gran
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
301-286-2483
rani.c.gran@nasa.gov

Jon Campbell
U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Va.
703-648-4180
joncampbell@usgs.gov

RELEASE: 13-015

NASA PREPARES FOR LAUNCH OF NEXT EARTH OBSERVATION SATELLITE

WASHINGTON -- NASA's Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) is
scheduled to launch Feb. 11 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in
California. A joint NASA and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) mission,
LDCM will add to the longest continuous data record of Earth's
surface as viewed from space.

LDCM is the eighth satellite in the Landsat series, which began in
1972. The mission will extend more than 40 years of global land
observations that are critical in many areas, such as energy and
water management, forest monitoring, human and environmental health,
urban planning, disaster recovery and agriculture. NASA and the USGS
jointly manage the Landsat Program.

"For decades, Landsat has played an important part in NASA's mission
to advance Earth system science. LDCM promises to extend and expand
that capability," said Michael Freilich, director of the Earth
Science Division in the Science Mission Directorate at NASA
Headquarters in Washington. "USGS's policy of offering free and open
access to the phenomenal 40-year Landsat data record will continue to
give the United States and global research community a better
understanding of the changes occurring on our planet."

After launch, LDCM will enter a polar orbit, circling the Earth about
14 times daily from an altitude of 438 miles (705 kilometers),
returning over each location on Earth every 16 days. After launch and
the initial checkout phase, the USGS will take operational control of
the satellite, and LDCM will be renamed Landsat 8. Data will be
downlinked to three ground stations in Gilmore Creek, Alaska;
Svalbard, Norway; and Sioux Falls, S.D. The data will be archived and
distributed at no cost to users from the USGS's Earth Resources
Observation and Science Center in Sioux Falls.

"The Landsat program provides the nation with crucial, impartial data
about its natural resources," said Matthew Larsen, USGS associate
director for climate and land use change in Reston, Va. "Forest
managers, for instance, use Landsat's recurring imagery to monitor
the status of woodlands in near real-time. Landsat-based approaches
also now are being used in most western states for cost-effective
allocation of water for irrigation. This mission will continue that
vital role."

LDCM carries two instruments, the Operational Land Imager (OLI), built
by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. in Boulder, Colo., and the
Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS), built by NASA's Goddard Space Flight
Center in Greenbelt, Md. These instruments are designed to improve
performance and reliability over previous Landsat sensors.

"LDCM will be the best Landsat satellite yet launched in terms of the
quality and quantity of the data collected by the LDCM sensors," said
Jim Irons, LDCM project scientist at Goddard. "OLI and TIRS both
employ technological advances that will make the observations more
sensitive to the variation across the landscape and to changes in the
land surface over time."

OLI will continue observations currently made by Landsat 7 in the
visible, near infrared, and shortwave infrared portions of the
electromagnetic spectrum. It also will take measurements in two new
bands, one to observe high altitude cirrus clouds and one to observe
water quality in lakes and shallow coastal oceans as well as
aerosols. OLI's new design has fewer moving parts than previous
versions.

TIRS will collect data on heat emitted from Earth's surface in two
thermal bands, as opposed to the single thermal band on previous
Landsat satellites. Observations in the thermal bands are vital to
monitoring water consumption, especially in the arid western United
States.

The LDCM spacecraft, built by Orbital Sciences Corp. in Gilbert,
Ariz., will launch from Vandenberg's Space Complex 3 aboard an Atlas
V rocket provided by United Launch Alliance. NASA's Launch Services
Program at Kennedy Space Center is responsible for launch management.


For more information on LDCM and the Landsat Program, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/Landsat

and

http://landsat.usgs.gov


-end-



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