Landsat C Press Kit

8/7/2019 Landsat C Press Kit

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M A ewsNahonal Aeronautics andSpaceAdministrationWashington. D C 20546AC 202 755-8370

Press Kit

For Release IMMEDIATE

RELEASE NO: 78-22

Con entsGENERAL RELEASE.................................... 1-8THE SPACECRAFT..................................... 9SEQUENCE OF ORBIT EVENTS........................... 9-11

LANDSAT USAGE TO DATE.............................. 13-28Agriculture.......................................Large Area Crop Inventory Experiment (LACIE). .....Rangelands........................................Forestry.. ........................................Water Resources....~..............................Environmental Marine Resources........ ............Cartography ......................................Land Use..........................................Demography........................................Geologic Survey and Mineral and PetroleumExploration......................................

1314-1515-1717-1818-2020-2121-2324-2525-2626-28

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GROUND SYSTEM SUPPORT ............................. 29DELTA LAUNCH VEHICLE .............................. 29-30LAUNCH SEQUENCE FO R DELTA 29lO/LANDSAT-C .......... 31LAUNCH OPERATIONS ................................. 32OSCAR-D AMATEUR RADIO SATELLITE ................... 33-35PLASMA INTERACTION EXPERIMENT ..................... 36LANDSAT-C/DELTA LAUNCH TEAM ...................... 36-39CONTRACTORS ....................................... 4 0

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C N e mNational Aeronautics andSpaceAdministrationWashington, D.C.20546AC 202 755-8370

Dick McCormackHeadquarters, Washington, D.C.(Phone: 202/755-8583)

For Release:IMMEDIATE

Don WittenGoddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.(Phone 30 /9 82 4 9 55

ReLEASE NO: 78-22

IMPROVED LANDSAT TO GIVE BETTER VIEW OF EARTH RESOURCES

NASA will launch a new, improved satellite to monitorthe Earth's resources -- Landsat C -- from the Western TestRange near Lompoc, Calif., on March 5.

Landsat C is the third in a series of satellites designedto orbit the Earth at an altitude of 917 kilometers (570 miles)and scan our planet's surface in a systematic study of itsresources and environment. The spacecraft will be designatedLandsat 3 after achieving successful orbit.

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The 900-kg (1,980-lb.) Landsat 3 will be placed intoa 917-km (570 mi.) circular, rear polar orbit. Circling theglobe every 103 minutes, the spacecraft's remote sensorswill view a 185-km (115-mi.) wide strip of the Earth runningnearly north-to-south at an angle to the equator of 99 degrees.

In this type of orbit, surface coverage of the Earthwill proceed westward, with a slight overlap, such that theglobe will be covered once every 18 days. The spacecraft'sorbit is synchronous with the Sun. Thus Landsat 3 (likeLandsat 2) will cross the equator at the same time (9:30 a.m.local time) every orbit. This results in consistent andconstant lighting of Earth, the best condition for the space-craft's imaging systems.

Synoptic, repetitive coverage of Earth's surface underconsistent observation conditions is required for maximumutility of the multispectral imagery to be collected. byLandsat 3 .

The most common value attributed to the Landsat systemis the large-scale perspective. Structural elements, per-haps irregular or even discontinuous within the confines ofa smaller area, may be revealed as regional or even semi-continental in extent.

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Another major asset of the Landsat system is itsrepetitive observation which makes possible the detectionof short-period changes -- as frequently as every nine daysusinq two satellites.

The three most important potential uses of the Landsatdata identified so far correspond to three of the major prob-lems confronting the world todav. These are energy supplies,food production and global large-scale environmental monitoring.

Innovations in the Landsat 3 multisyectral scannersystem (MSS) will provide for the detection of temperaturedifferences in vegetation, bodies of water and urban areas --day or night.

Improvements in the return beam vidicon ( R R V ) sensorwill increase tle resolution of its recorded imaqes by S Oper cent. Thus, areas as small as half an acre -- about twourban house lots -- can be identified and studied.

In addition to its two major remote sensing sytems,the Landsat 3 carries a data collection system ( D C S ) . Thisversatile experiment collects radioed data directly from asmany as 1,000 remote ground platforms and relays them to aLandsat data acquisition station.

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Volcano activity, stream flow, water and snow depth,water temperature and sed-iment ensity are some of themeasurements collected with the D C S .

Landsat 3 will he launched from the Western Test Range(WTR ) aboard a two-staqe Delta launch vehicle. In additionto Landsat 3 , ric?inq piggyback aboard the rocket will be anamateur radio communications satellite -- the OSCAQ-D. Thissatellite will be used by amateur r a d i o buffs around theqlobe for a variety of uses, particularly with small fixedand mobile stations. Primary emphasis will be placed onits application as a teachinq aid in secondary schools.

Another experiment attached to the second staqe of theexpendable Delta rocket will be a unit to hel? desiqners offuture space systems. This unit, called the Plasma Tnter-action Experiment (PIX),will remain in orbit at an altitudelower than either the Landsat 3 or the OSC9R-P. It isdesigned to provide information on how to control detrimentalinteractions between hiqh voltage systems and the electri-cally charged plasma fields in snace.

The Landsat sensors are improved versions of the XSSand the RBV units carried by the two earlier Landsats. Allthree satellites carry the same D C S experiment.

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The im p ro v ed s e n s o r s on L a n d s a t 3 a r e e x p ec t ed t oT d a t a s i g n i f i c a n t l y im proved o v e r t h o s e u se d i n t h e

p ro ve n a p p l i c a t i o n s of L a n d s a t s 1 and 2 . I n a g r i c u l t u r e ,f o r i n s t a n c e , t h e added t h er m a l i n f r a r e d ch a nn e l on t h e MSSi s e x p ec t ed t o be t h e major improvement . The t h e r m a l d a t ashou l d p r o v i d e i n f o r m a t i o n on p l a n t s t r e s s , v i g o r a n d otherc h an g es c h a r a c t e r i z e d by t e m p e r a t u r e d i f f e r e n c e s . The i m -p r o v e d r e s o l u t i o n RB V s y s t e m s h o u l d p r o v i d e more a c c u r a t em ea su rem ents o f a q r i c u l t u r a l f i e l d s t o im prove t h e c r o p y i e l dp r o j e c t i o n .

NASA's r e s e a r c h p r o q r a m i s b e i n g q e ar e d t o a s s e s s t h ev a l u e o f t h e s e im pr ov ed d a t a s o u r c e s a s we11 a s t o i nc or -p o r a t e t h e i r i n f o r m at io n c o n t e n t i n t h e c u r r e n t o p e r a t i o n a la p p l i c a t i o n s o f L an ds at d a t a by o t h e r f e d e r a l , s t a t e andi n d u s t r i a l u s e r s .

The improved Landsat 3 d a t a w i l l p r o v i d e m ore a c c u r a t ed i s c r i m i n a t i o n b et we en s u bu r ba n a r e a s an d s u r r o u n d i n q r u r a lo r fa rm la n d s ( i m po r ta n t f o r c en s us s t u d i e s ) ; w i l l i n c r e a s eo u r a b i l i t y t o r e co g n iz e " h e a t i s l a n d s " a s s o c i a t e d w i t h ur ba nand i n d u s t r i a l d e ve lo p me n ts ; a nd w i l l Fermi t improved moni -t o r i n g o f t h e r m a l s o u r c e s s u ch a s m ine f i r e s an d power p l a n te f f l u e n t s.

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T h r e e N A SA t r a c k i n g and d a t a a c q u i s i t i o n f a c i l i t i e sa r e e qu i pp e d t o r e c e i v e s e n s o r d a t a from t h e L a n ds a t s p a ce -c r a f t . The L an ds at f a c i l i t i e s a t G o ld st on e, C a l i f . , a nd a tG oddard S p ac e F l i g h t C e n t e r , G r e e n b e l t , M d . , c a n r e c e i v es e n s o r a n d DCS d a t a d i r e c t l y f rom t h e s p a c e c r a f t w h e n e v e r iti s i n d i r e c t l i n e - o f - s i g h t . The p r i ma ry s t a t i o n a t F a i r b a n k s ,A l a s k a , c o l l e c t s suc h d a t a by commanding t h e s a t e l l i t e ' s t a p er e c o r d e r s t o r e p l a y d u r i n g e a ch o r b i t o v er t h e N o rt h P ol ea r e a .

I n t e r n a t i o n a l i n t e r e s t i n E a r t h r es o u r c e s re mo te s e n s in gi s w id e s p r e a d a nd g r ow ing . F o r e ig n - f u n d e d g ro un d! s t a t i o n sa r e now o p e r a t i n g i n B r a z i l , I t a l y and Canada ( tw o f a c i l i t i e s ) .A no th er s t a t i o n i s u nd er c o n s t r u c t i o n i n I r a n and o t h e r s a r eb e i n q p l a n n e d by A r g e nt i na , C h i l e , I n d i a and Z a ir e . A u s t r a l i a ,J a p a n a nd Sweden a r e among o t h e r c o u n t r i e s p r e s e n t l y c on -s i d e r i n g s u ch an i n v e s t m e n t .

L a n d sa t gr ou nd s t a t i o n s c o s t t h e h o s t c o u n t r y some $ 4t o $ 7 m i l l i o n t o e s t a b l i s h and from $1 t o $2 m i l l i o n p e ry e a r t o o p e r a t e . I n a d d i t i o n , c o u n t r i e s o p e r a t i n q t h e s es t a t i o n s a r e p ay in g t h e U . S . S200,r )OO p e r s t a t i o n a y e a r a so f J u l y 1 9 7 6 . T h i s c h a r q e was e s t a b l i s h e d bv N A S A t o a s s i s ti n d e f r a y i n g t h e c o s t f o r t h e s p a ce s eg me nt. D at a from f o r e i g ns t a t i o n s i s d i s t r i b u t e d d i r e c t l y by t h e o r q a n i z a t i o n s o p e r a t i n gt h e s t a t i o n s .

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Once L a n ds a t d a t a r e c e i v e d i n t h e U . S . i s p r o c e s s e da t G od da rd C e n t e r , c o p i e s w i l l be f o r w a rd e d t o t h e D e p a r t -ment of I n t e r i o r ' s E a r t h R es ou rc es O b s e rv a t io n Sy st em s (EROS)D a t a C e n t e r a t S i o u x F a l l s , S . D . On r e c e i p t a t S i o u x F a l l s ,d a t a a r e i n t h e p u b l i c domain a nd c o p i e s c a n b e p u rc h a s e dby anyone.

T h e o v e r a l l L a n d s a t p r o g r a m i s t h e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y o fNASA's O f f i c e of S pa ce and T e r r e s t r i a l A p p l i c a t i o n s , Wash-i n g t o n , D.C.

P r o j e c t management f o r t h e L a n d s at s p a c e c r a f t , t h eD e l t a l a u n c h v e h i c l e , th e NASA Image P r o c e s s i n g F a c i l i t ya nd t h e w o rl dw i de t r a c k i n g n e t w o rk res ts w i t h th e GoddardC e n t e r .

Launching of t h e D e l ta i s s u p e r v i s e d b y t h e KennedySpace C e n t e r ' s unmanned l a u n c h o p e r a t i o n s t e a m .

G e n e r a l E l e c t r i c C o . , S p ac e D i v i s i o n , V a l l e y F o r g e ,Pa . , i s t h e p rim e c o n t r a c t o r f o r th e L a n d s a t s p a c e c r a f t ,t h e d a t a c o l l e c t i o n s y s t em an d w id eb an d v i d e o t a p e r e c o r d e r sa b oa r d t h e s p a c e c r a f t a nd th e g ro u nd d a t a h a n d l i n g s y s t em a tGoddard.

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Hughes Aircraft Co., Space and Communications Group,El Segundo, Calif., is prime contractor for the multispectralscanner; and RCA, Astro-Electronics, Princeton, N . J . , isprime contractor for the return beam vidicon camera. TheMcDonnell Douglas Astronautics Co., Huntington Beach, Calif.,is prime contractor for the Delta launch vehicle.

NASA costs for the Landsat program are about $251million. This includes $149 million for three spacecraftand their instruments, $ 5 4 million for the data handlingfacility at Goddard Center and ground operations, $34 millionfor support of investigations and about $14 million for threelaunch vehicles.

(END OF G E N E R A L RELEASE. BACKGROUND INFORMATION F O L L O W S . }

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THE SPACECRAFT

Des ign o f La ndsa t 3 i s s i m i l a r b u t f e a t u r e s m a n yi mp ro ve me nt s o v e r t h e t wo L a n d s a t s p a c e c r a f t now i n o r b i t .A l l o f t h es e s a t e l l i t e s a r e p a t t e r n e d a f t e r t h e s u c c e s s f u lNimbus r e s e a r c h s p a c e c r a f t w hic h h a s r e t u r n e d v a l u a b l e d a t ao n t h e E a r t h ' s dy nam ic m e t e o r o l o g i c a l s y s te m s s i n c e 1 9 6 4 .

The Landsat 3 i s e qu ip pe d w i t h s o p h i s t i c a t e d s y st e msp r o v i d i n g s o l a r po wer, t h e r m al c o n t r o l an d t h r e e - a x i ss t a b i l i z a t i o n . I t i s d e s i g n e d t o b e a s t a b l e , E a r t h - o r i e n t e dp l a t f o r m -- f e a t u r e s r e q u i r e d f o r h i g h - r e s o l u t i o n r em ot es e n s i n g f ro m s p a c e .The s p a c e c r a f t ' s d e s i gn l i f e t i m e i s o n e y e a r . I t c a r r i e st w o d i f f e r e n t e x p er i m e n ta l s ys te m s f o r r em o te l y s e n s i n gf e a t u r e s on t h e E a r t h ' s s u r f a c e and a n o t h e r sy st em f o r

c o l l e c t i n g d a t a d i r e c t l y from bea con p l a t fo r m s i n remotea r e a s . Two o nb oa rd v i d e o t a p e r e c o r d e r s s t o r e d a t a f o rp l ay b ac k when t h e s p a c e c r a f t i s o u t o f s i g h t o f a gr ou nds t a t i o n .L a n d s a t 1 w a s l a u n c h e d J u l y 2 3 , 1 9 7 2 . L a n d s a t 2 f o l l o w e dit i n t o o r b i t on J an . 2 2 , 1975. Both s a t e l l i t e s e x c e e d e d t h e i rd e s i g n l i f e t i m e o f o n e y e a r a nd r e t u r n e d h u nd re d s o f t h o u s a n d so f im ag es c o v e r i n g t h e g l o b e . L a n d s a t 1 was t u r n e d o f f o nJ a n . 6 of t h i s y e a r . L an ds at 2 i s s t i l l o p e r a t i n g a t n e a r l yf - u l l c a p a c i t y .L a nd sa t was o r i g i n a l l y c a l l e d t h e E a r t h R e s o u r c e s T e c h n o l o g y

S a t e l l i t e ( E R T S ) . I t s name was chan ged i n 1975 t o r e f l e c t i t sm i s s i o n more a c c u r a t e l y .SEQUENCE O F O R B I T EVENTS

Once i n o r b i t , L a nd sa t 3 w i l l be s t a b i l i z e d and o r i e n t e ds o t h e o n b o a r d s e n s o r s w i l l b e s t v i e w t h e E a r t h d i r e c t l yb en e at h t h e s p a c e c r a f t . D uring t h e i n i t i a l o r b i t s , s y s t e m a t ict u rn - o n a nd c he c ko u t o f t h e s p a c e c r a f t s u b sy s te m s w i l l becommanded fr om t h e L a n d s a t o p e r a t i o n c o n t r o l c e n t e r ( O C C ) a tG oddard C e n t e r . S i m u l t a n e o u s l y , o r b i t a l i n f o r m a t i o n o b t a i n e dfrom N A S A ' s S p a c e T r a c k i n g a n d Data Network ( S T D N ) , a l s om anaged and c o n t r o l l e d by Goddard , w i l l b e u se d t o d e t e r m i n et h e p r e c i s e o r b i t .- more -


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Next , r e q u i r e d o r b i t a l a d j us tm e nt s w i l l be d e t e r m i n e da nd e x e c u t e d b y t h e L a n d s a t OCC t o e s t a b l i s h t h e p r e c i s eo r b i t f o r t h e s y s t e m a t i c g ro un d coverage by t h e s p a c e c r a f t ' ss e n so r s . W ith t h e i n i t i a l o r b i t a l c o r r e c t i o n an d ch ec ko utp h a s e c o m p l e t e , L a n d s a t 3 w i l l be commanded t o b eg in i t sf i r s t y e a r o f n or ma l o p e r a t i o n .

G r o s s s c h e d u l i n g of t h e two s e n s o r s (REW and MSS) w i l lbe p erf orm ed i n t h e o p e r a t i o n s c o n t r o l c e n t e r f o r each 18-dayc y c l e . More d e t a i l e d o p e r a t i o n s w i l l be p l a n n e d f o r e a c hf o r t h c o m i n g w ee k, d ay a nd o r b i t . R e a l t i m e s e n s o r o p e r a t i o n sw i l l be commanded over t h e p ri me o b s e r v a t i o n a reas o f t h eN o rt h A me ric an c o n t i n e n t w i t h i n d i r e c t v ie w o f o n e o f t h ep r i ma ry L an ds at d a t a a c q u i s i t i o n s t a t i o n s l o c a t e d a tF a i r b a n k s , A l a s k a ; G o l d s t o n e , C a l i f . ; and Goddard Cen te r .

THE SENSORSThe s e n s o r s y s t e m s c a r r i e d by L a n d s a t 3 a re s i m i l a r b u tmuch improved o ve r Lan ds ats 1 and 2 . These i n c lu d e t h e r e t u r nbeam v id ic on subsys tem ( R B V ) and t h e m u l t i s p e c t r a l s c an n e rs u b s y s t e m (MS S ) . Both of t h e s e s e n s o r s u bs y st e ms v i e w t h eE a r th d i r e c t l y b en ea th t h e s p a c e c r a f t .

M u l t i s p e c t r a l S c an n e r Su bs ys te mThe MSS s e n s o r s o p e r a t e on t h e p r i n c i p l e t h a t f e a t u r e s o nt h e E a r t h ' s s u r f a c e ca n be i d e n t i f i e d i n g e n e r a l by t h e e n er gyt h e y e m i t o r r e f l e c t from t h e s un . Thus, t h e s p e c t r a l" s i g n a t u r e " f o r v e g e ta t i o n i s d i f f e r e n t t h a n t h a t f o r r o ck ,s o i l o r w a t e r . In some ca se s , v a r i o u s o b j e c t s w i t h i n ag e n e ra l f e a t u r e c l a s s c an be d i s t i n g u i s h e d o ne f r o m t h eo t h e r by t h e i r " s i gn a t u re s . I'E a r l i e r MSS s e n s o r s w e r e l i m i t e d t o t h e d e t e c t i o n o fr e f l e c t e d s o l a r e ne rg y i n f o u r s p e c t r a l b an ds . I n no v at io n si n t h e L an ds at 3 MSS e xp an d t h e c a p a b i l i t y of t h i s s y s t e m t oi n c l u d e a f i f t h band f o r d e t e c t i n g e m i t t e d t h er ma l e n er gy .Whereas t h e r e f l e c t e d e n e r gy ba nd s r e q u i r e d a y l i g h t o p e r a t i o n ,t h e t h e r m a l b a nd c a n b e o p e r a t e d d a y o r n i g h t .Each MSS image c o v e r s a n a rea m e a s u r i n g 1 8 5 km (115 m i . )on a s i d e f o r a t o t a l area of 34,225 squ ar e km (1 3,225 sq ua re m i . ) .

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T h e MSS g a t h e r s d a t a by c o n t i n u a l l y s c an n i n g t h e E a r t h ' ss u r f a c e i n i t s f i v e s p e c t r a l ba nd s s i m u l ta n e o us l y t hr o ug h t h esame o p t i c a l s ys te m.As i n t h e case of t h e L a n d s a t 1 and 2 MSS u n i t s , f o u r oft h e s e b a n d s c o l l e c t s o l a r r e f l e c t e d e ne rg y i n s p e c t r a l b and sr a n g i n g f r o m 0 .5 t o 1.1 micrometers i n w a v el en g th ( b l u e ,g r e e n, i n f r a r e d and n e a r - i n f r a r e d ) .The f i f t h ch ann e l , new on th e Landsa t 3 MSS, o p e r a t e si n t h e t h e r m a l i n f r a r e d r e g i o n fro m 1 0 . 4 t o 1 2 . 6 micrometers .I t c o l l e c t s e n er gy e m i t te d r a t h e r t h a n r e f l e c t e d by f e a t u r e so n t h e E a r t h . The r e s o l u t i o n o f e a c h image i n t h i s band i s237 m (778 f t . ) on a s i d e .

Return Beam Vidicon SubsystemThe Landsat 3 RBV uses two panchrom at i c cameras p r o d u c i n gsepa ra t e s i d e - b y - s i d e images r a t h e r t h a n t h r e e s p e c t r a lsuper imposed images of t h e same s c e n e as i s t h e case w i t hL a n d s a t 1 and 2 RB V s u b s y s t e m s . B o t h cam eras have the samebroadband s p e c t r a l r e sp o ns e ( g re e n t o t h e n e a r i n f r a r e d ) of0 . 5 0 5 t o 0 . 7 5 micrometers.Each RBV camera s e n s o r o n t h e L a n d s a t 3 w i l l cover anarea 93 k m ( 5 8 m i . ) on a s i d e w i t h a g r o u n d r e s o l u t i o nt w i c e t h a t o f e a r l i e r L an ds at RBV s u b s y s t e m s : 4 0 m ( 1 31 f t . )v e r s u s 80 m ( 2 6 2 f t . ) .Each RB V camera c a n b e o p e r a t e d i n d e p e n d e n t l y of t h eo t h e r f o r e i t h e r s i n g l e frame o r c o n t i n u o u s c o v e r ag e .

D at a C o l l e c t i o n Sy st emThe DCS c a r r i e d by t h e L a n d s a t 3 w i l l c o l l e c t d a t a fromup t o 1 , 0 0 0 s e n s o r p la t f o r m s l o c a t e d t h ro u gh o ut t h e U . S . andr e l a y them t o t h e G od da rd S p a c e F l i g h t C e n t e r . D a t a w i l l b er e l a y e d t w i c e a day f rom each p la t f o r m when t h e s p a c e c r a f ti s i n s i m u lt a n eo u s v ie w of t h e c o n t i n u o u s l y t r a n s m i t t i n gp l a t f o r m and a d a t a a c q u i s i t i o n s t a t i o n .Each DCS p l a t f o r m c o l l e c t s d a t a from as many a s e i g h ts e n s o r s , s a mp l in g su c h l o c a l e n vi ro n m en t al c o n d i t i o n s a st e m p e r a t u r e , s t ream f l o w , snow d e p t h a nd s o i l m o i s t u r e .

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LANDSAT USAGE TO DATE

Images p r o d uc e d by t h e s e n s o r s o n b o a rd L a n d s a t s 1 and2 , h a ve b e en s u b j e c t e d t o i n t e n s i v e s t u d y and e x pe r im e nt a -t i o n by h u n d re d s of s c i e n t i s t s i n a b r o a d r a n g e of d i s -c i p l i n e s . Many of t h e s e s c i e n t i s t s , l o c a t e d t h r o u g h o u tt h e U n i t e d S t a t e s and 5 2 o t h e r c o u n t r i e s , w e r e s e l e c t e d b yNASA f o r f or ma l sp o ns o rs h ip a s p r i n c i p a l i n v e s t i g a t o r s .T h i s w a s done t o i n d u ce s y s t e m a t i c e x a m i n at i o ns of L a n d s a t sp o t e n t i a l v a l u e as a new t o o l i n r em ote s e n s i n g .The a r e a s s t u d i e d i n c l u d e a g r i c u l t u r e , r an g el a nd s ,f o r e s t r y , w at e r r e s o u r c e s , e n v i r o n m e n t a l an d m a r in e re -s o u r c e s , c a r t o g r a p h y , l a n d u s e , dem ography a nd g e o l o g i c s u r -v ey an d m i n e r a l / p e tr o l e u m e x p l o r a t i o n .

L a nd s at s t u d i e s p r i m a r i l y a d d r e s s t e c h n i qu e s of p r o c e s s in g ,a n a l y s i s a nd i n t e r p r e t a t i o n . A l i m i t e d n u m b e r of q u a s i -o p e r a t i o n a l p r o j e c t s a l s o were u n d e r t a k e n .The volumes o f s c i e n t i f i c and t e c h n i c a l l i t e r a t u r e on

Based on t h e r e s e a r c h r e s u l t s t o d a t e , t h e f o l lo w i n gs e c t i o n s d e s c r i b e t h e c u r r e n t a ss e ss m en t o f w ha t La nd sa tm u l t i s p e c t r a l d a t a c an be made t o r e v e a l , t h e e x t e n t t ow hi ch t h e s e d a t a r e s p o nd t o d a t a r e q u i re m e n ts an d t h eu s e s o f t h e s e d a t a .A g r i c u l t u r e

W orld wid e p r e o c c u p a t i o n w i t h t h e f o o d s u p p l y p r o b le mh a s f o cu s ed s t r o n g a t t e n t i o n on t h e c o n t r i b u t i o n of s p a cer em o te s e n s i n g t o b e t t e r m an agem en t o f a g r i c u l t u r a l s y st e m sa nd more t i m e l y i n f o r m a t i o n o n o u t p u t of k e y a g r i c u l -t u r a l c om m od it ie s.I n v e s t i g a t i o n s of t h e a p p l i c a t i o n o f s a t e l l i t e s e ns in gt o U.S. a g r i c u l t u r e h a v e d e a l t p r i n c i p a l l y w i t h t h e in ve n-t o r y of c r o p a c r e a g e , f o r e c a s t i n g o f c r o p y i e l d a nd s o i ls u r v e y .

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L a r g e A r e a C ro p I n v e n t o r y E x p er i m e nt (LACIE)The Large A r e a C ro p I n v e n t o r y E x pe r i m en t (LACIE) h a sbeen a major t e c hn o l o g i c a l e f f o r t t o de ter mi ne how La nd satd a t a c a n b e u s e d t o m o ni to r s i t u a t i o n s of major n a t i o n a l o rg l o b a l i m p o r t a n c e . L A C I E h a s b ee n a t h r e e - y e a r , j o i n te x p e r i m e n t o f U S D A , N A S A and NOAA t o d et er m i ne i f f o r e i g ncom modity p ro du c t io n (whea t ha s been used as t h e example)c an b e f o r e c a s t w i t h a n a c c u r a c y of 9 0 p e r c e n t , 9 y e a r so u t o f 1 0 . The t h i r d c r o p y e a r , 1 9 7 6 - 1 9 7 7 , h a s b e e n c o m -p l e t e d a nd a f i n a l r e p o r t on t h e t h r e e - y e a r p e r i o d i s b e i n gcom pi l ed .So f a r , LACIE h a s shown t h a t when f i e l d s i z e s a r el a r g e eno ugh t o 1 b e c o m p a t i b le w i t h t h e r e s o l u t i o n o f L and-s a t d a t a t h e r e s u l t s are compatible w i t h t h e 9 0 p e r c e n ta c c u ra c y g o a l an d t h e d e s i r e d c o n f i d e n c e g o a l .S i n c e t h e L A C I E g o a l i s s t a t e d i n p ro d u c t io n t e r m s ,b o t h a c r e a g e an d y i e l d c o m p o n e n t s m u st be de te rm ined . W hi l et h e a c r e a g e c om po ne nt h a s b e e n d e t e r m i n e d f ro m L a n d s a t d a t a ,NOAA h as l e d t h e e f f o r t t o d e t e rm i ne y i e l d by u s i n g WorldM e t e o r o l o g i c a l O r g a n i z a t i o n (WMO) w e a t h e r i n f o r m a t i o n . The

WMO d a t a h a s b e e n c om pa red w i t h m e t e o r o l o g i c a l s a t e l l i t ed a t a t o d et er mi ne t h e r e a l e x t e n t of t h e e x i s t i n g w e at he rs i t u a t i o n .B e t t e r a r e a d e t e r m i n a t i o n i s r e q u i r e d w h e r e s m a l lf i e l d s p re do m in at e and b e t t e r y i e l d m ode l ing i s r e q u i r e d ,b u t t h e r e s u l t s o f L A C I E t o d a t e h ave b ee n s u f f i c i e n t l y

pro mi s in g f o r th e USDA t o w a n t t o e xp an d t h e e x p e r i m e n t t oi n c l u d e more c o m m od i ti e s a nd more c r o p s i t u a t i o n s .N A S A , NOAA and U S D A a re p r e s e n t l y i n vo l ve d i n a f o u r t hy e a r o f e x p e r i m e n t a t i o n and a r e p l a n n i n g for a n i n c r e a s e dr e s e a r c h e f f o r t t o d e t e rm i ne how remote s e n s i n g i n f o r m a t i o nc a n h e l p m e e t more b ro a d l y d e f i n e d a g r i c u l t u r a l i n f o r m a t i o nn e e d s .

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S o i l S ur ve y -- S t u d i e s t o d e t e r m i n e w h e t h e r L a n d s a t d a t ac o u ld p r o v id e u s e f u l s o i l a nd l a n d s y st em s u r v e ys a l s o ha veb ee n e n c o ur a g in g . V a r i a t i o n s i n s o i l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s can bei d e n t i f i e d i n c om pu te r- en ha nc ed L a n d s a t i m ag e ry . D e l i n e a t i o no f t h e s e p a t t e r n s , c o nf ir m ed by g ro un d o b s e r v a t i o n , c a n y i e l ds o i l a s s o c i a t i o n maps w hic h p r o v i d e a good i d e n t i f i c a t i o n o fp ro ba bl e s o i l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s .C o o pe r at iv e s t u d i e s be tw ee n s o i l s c i e n t i s t s o f t h e USDAS o i l C o ns er va ti on S e r v i c e and s c i e n t i s t s i n u n i v e r s i t i e s h av eshown i n I n d i a n a a nd M is s o u ri t h a t d i g i t a l p r o c e ss i n g o f Landsa td a t a p r ov i d e s s u f f i c i e n t i n fo r ma t i o n f o r d e t a i l e d mappinq o f s o i l sa t s c a l e s of 1 :15 , 840 and 1 : 2 0 , 0 0 0 . These s t u d i e s a l s os h o w e d t h a t , i n some c a s e s , s p e c i f i c t yp es o f s o i l s can b ei d e n t i f i e d .S p e c t r a l maps p r o du c e d f ro m L a n d s a t d a t a h a v e p r o v i d e di m p o rt a n t d i f f e r e n c e s be tw een s o i l s n o t d i s c e r n i b l e i n con-v e n t i o n a l b l a c k- a n d -w h i t e p h o t o g r a p h s . W ith a s p e c t r a l map ofa c o u n ty p r i o r t o f i e l d s a m p li n g an d m ea su re me nt s, a s o i l s u r -v e yo r c a n de t e rm i n e q u i c k l y l o c a t i o n s an d a r e a l e x t e n t ofs o i l s w i t h s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e s . Such i n fo r ma t io n c ang r e a t l y r e d u c e t h e number of o b s e r v a t i o n s a n d t i m e r e q u i r e di n t h e f i e l d .S i g n i f i c a n t u s e of L a nd s at i ma ge ry i s f o r es e e n f o r l a n dand s o i l r e c on n a i ss a n c e l e v e l s u r ve y s i n t h e d e v e l o p i n g w o rl d .I n a p r o j e c t now underw ay i n T a n z a n i a , d i g i t a l l y en h an ce dL a n d s at i ma ge ry h a s b ee n u s ed w i t h g ro u nd a nd a i r c r a f t ob-s e r v a t i o n s t o p r o v id e a b a s i c l a n d sy st em e v a l u a t i o n o f t h eArusha d i s t r i c t a t a s c a l e of 1 : 2 5 0 , 0 0 0 .The s o i l su r v e y s t a f f o f t h e U n i te d N a t i o n ' s F ood a ndA g r i c u l t u r e O r g a ni z a ti o n i s now u t i l i z i n g La n ds a t d a t a i n aw o r l d wi d e s t u d y o f s o i l l i m i t a t i o n s f o r a g r i c u l t u r a l p ro -d u c t i o n .

RangelandsR a n g e l a n d m o n i t o r i n g s t u d i e s a r e c on d uc te d t o g a t h e ri n f o r m a t i o n ne ed ed t o i mp ro ve p r o d u c t i v i t y . They s e e k d a t aon r an g e c o n d i t i o n s , t r e n d s , r e a d i n e s s f o r g r a z i n g and p a t -t e r n s o f g r a z i n g us e.

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I n v e s t i s a t i o n s i 2 t h e U . S . t o d e t e rm i n e t h e v a l u e o fr e m ote s e n s in g fr om s a t e l l i t e s f o r r a n g e l a n d m an ag em enth a v e f o c u s e d on t h r e e c o n c e r n s : i n v e n t o r i e s o f r a n g e v eg e-t a t i o n t y p e s , e v a l u a t i o n o f r an g e f e ed and m o n i t o ri n g o fran ge lan d improvement and change .L a n d s a t h a s p ro d uc ed u s e f u l r a n g e l a n d i n v e n t o r y d a t ai n t h e U . S . d e s p i t e t h e f a c t t h a t n o t a l l ra ng e ty p es showup c l e a r l y t o t h e s a t e l l i t e ' s s e n s o r s . Low p l a n t d e n s i t y ,v a r i a b l e p l a n t c o m p o s it i o n a nd t h e low p e r c e n t a g e of groundc o v e r a l l p os e p ro bl em s f o r r em ot e s e n s o r s .Dynamic s e n s i n g f r om L a n d s a t o f t h e a n n u a l g r a s s e swhich co v er m ost o f t h e f o o t h i l l t e r r a i n i n C a l i f o r n a h a st r a c e d t h e g r ee n in g of t h e l a nd s ca p e w i t h t h e o n s e t of t h er a i n y season each f a l l a nd w i n t e r a nd t h e p r o g r e s s i v e brown-i n g w i t h t h e o n s e t of t h e d r y s e as o n i n t h e s p r i n g andsummer. S uc h i n f o r m a t i o n may h e l p r e c o g n i z e p o t e n t i a l f i r e

h a z a rd , p r o j e c t t h e a n t i c i p a t e d w e ig h t g a i n o f l i v e s t o c ka nd d e t e r m i n e t h e e x t e n t t o w hi ch d r o u g h t a nd g r a z i n g h a ver e d u c e d a v a i l a b l e f o r a g e .I n o ne s t u d y , r a n g e la n d f e a t u r e s su ch as meadows,s p r i n g s , m o i s t s i t e s , i s l a n d s of browse, ponded wate r ands m a l l re se rvo i r s - a s s m a l l as 1 - 1 / 2 acres i n s i ze - -w ered e t e c t e d by u s i n g L a n ds a t d a t a a n d m anu al a n a l y s i st e c h n i q u e s . T h es e f e a t u r e s i n r a n g e la n d e n vi r on m e nt s a r es e n s i t i v e " a r e a s " t h a t n ee d t o be m o n it or ed i n o r d e r t op e r m it a s s es sm e nt o f a s s o c i a t e d g r a z i n g , w i l d l i f e a nd r e -c r e a t i o n a l p o t e n t i a l of t h e broader a r e a .B es id e i d e n t i f y i n g e x i s t i n g o r p o t e n t i a l r an ge la nda r e a s t h a t r e q u i r e more d e t a i l e d a e r i a l o r g r ou nd o b s e r va -t i o n , a s y s t e m o f r a n g e l a n d m o n i t o r i n q f ro m s p a c e c a n h e l pt o g u i de a number of i m p o r ta n t d e c i s i o n s i n d e ve l o p in gc o u n t r i e s :

Timing o f t u r n o u t a nd r em ov al of l i v e s t o c k i ng r a z i n g a r e a s ;0 P r e p a r a t i o n of p l a n s t o p r e v e n t o v e r gr a z i ng a ndt o open up new a r e a s f o r g r az i ng ;0 T im e ly m e a s ur e s t o r e d u c e f i r e h a z a r d s ;0 A d d i t i o n a l i n v e s t m e n t i n r a n g e i m pr ov em en ts byd r a i n in g , i r r i g a t i n g , s ee d i ng o r f e r t i l i z i n g .

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A s t u d y i n t h e Arusha r e g i o n of Tanzania employedL a n d s a t d a t a s u c c e s s f u l l y i n d e l i n e a t i n g b ou n da r i es f o r 550d i s t i n c t l a nd sc ap e u n i t s i n an a rea m e a s u r i n g 8 2 , 0 0 0 s q u a r ekm ( 3 2 , 0 0 0 s q u a r e m i . ) o n t h e b a s i s o f l a n d f or m a nd ve ge -t a t i o n c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s . F o ur te en g r a s s l a n d t y pe s o f va r y i n gs u i t a b i l i t y for f o r a g e were r e c o g n i z e d i n t h e L a nd s at d a t a .T hese d e l i n e a t i o n s , f o r t i f i e d w i t h d e t a i l e d s am pl in g i n -f o r m a t i o n p r o v id e d b y a e r i a l p h ot og ra ph y a nd o n - s i t e i n -s p e c t i o n s , h a ve i d e n t i f i e d pr om is in g a r e a s f o r r a n ge ,a g r i c u l t u r a l and g ro un d w a t e r deve lopm ent .F o r e s t r v

The r e s e a r c h f i n d in g s o f v a r i o u s i n v e s t i g a t o r s i n d i c a t et h a t L a n ds a t d a t a c o u l d c o n t r i b u t e t o f o r e s t management a n dh e l p t o r e du c e f o r e s t i n v e n t o r y c o s t s . The d a t a h av e p ro v edu s e f u l w i th r e s p e c t t o :

0 S a mp li ng p r o c e d u r e s f o r e s t i m a t i n g volume oftimber;0 M o ni to ri ng o f f o r e s t c u t t i n g o f c l e a r- c u t -t y p e ;0 Mapping of f o r e s t f i r e b ur ns , e s p e c i a l l y t h e' 'cro wn f i r e " t y p e common i n t h e w e s t e r n p a r t o fN o r t h America.Q u a s i -o p e r a t i o n a l s t u d i e s i n n o r t h e r n C a l i f o r n i a fo un dt h a t La nd sa t d a t a , w i t h t h e a i d of m u l t i s t a g e s a m p l i n g , w e r ea b l e t o p r o v id e t i m el y and c o s t - e f f e c t i v e i n v e n t o r i e s o fg r o s s t imber volume a n d an e c o n o m ic a l i n v e n t o r y o f t o t a ltimber r e s o u r c e s , i n c l u d i n g t h e f a c t o r s of g ro wt h r a t e andt imber s t a n d c o n d i t i o n . M anual a nd a u t o m a t i c t e c h n i q u e s ofd a t a a n a l y s i s u se d i n t h e same s t u d i e s d e t e c t e d c h an ge s i nt h e r e s o u r c e b a s e o v e r t i m e , a s s i s t i n g l o c a t i o n a nd a r e ae s t i m a t i o n o f h a r v e s t i n g a c t i v i t i e s , p o s t - f i r e mapping an df i r e damage a s s e s s m e n t .A C a na di an p r o j e c t u s i n g L a n d s a t i m ag er y t o map f o r e s tb u r n s i n S a sk at ch ew an d e t e c t e d 4 2 b u r ns a c r o s s t h e n o r t h e r np a r t o f t h e p r o v in c e . T he L a n d s a t i ma ge ry w a s p ro d uc ed f a rmore q u i c k l y a nd a c c u r a t e l y t h a n w ou ld h av e been p o s s i b l ef o r p h o t o g r a p h i c im ag er y o b t a i n e d from c o n v e n t i o n a l h e l i -c o p t e r o r a i r c r a f t p la t f o r m s .I n mo st o f t h e d e v e lo p i n g w o r l d , d a t a o n f o r e s t re -s o u r c e s a r e c r u d e a n d i n c o m p l e t e a t b e s t . T h e r e a r e noc o m p r e h e ns i v e s y s t e m s of f o r e s t i n ve n to r y by a e r i a l pho-t og ra p hy o f t h e t y p e f ou nd i n t h e U ni te d S t a t e s an d i n o t h e rt e c h n o l o g i c a l l y a d v a n c e d c o u n t r i e s .

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B ut d a t a r e q u i re m e n ts may a l s o be s u b s t a n t i a l l y l e s ss t r i n g e n t . I n s uc h a s e t t i n g , L a n d s a t d a t a may b e o f s i g -n i f i c a n t b e n e f i t i n p r o v i d i n g b a s i c i n f o r m a t i o n on t h e e x-t e n t an d l o c a t i o n o f f o r e s t r e s o u r c e s and t h e c ha ng eso c c u r r i n g i n t h e w oo dla nd s.D e v e l o p i n g c o u n t r i e s a r e i n c r e a s i n g l y aware o f t h e needt o manage t h e i r f o r e s t r es o u r ce s n o t o n ly t o m e e t the i rtimber and e n er gy n ee ds b u t a l s o t o p r e s e r v e t h e e c o l o g i c a lb a l a n c e an? t o p r e v en t e r o s i o n , s i l t a t i o n o f dams andp o l l u t i o n o f c o a s t a l w a t e r s . Mapping o f f o r e s t v e g e t a t i o n ,e s t i m a t i o n o f timber volume and measurement of t h e r a t e o fd e p l e t i o n -- t o which s a t e l l i t e d a t a c a n make i m p o r t a n tc o n t r i b u t i o n s -- a r e e s s e n t i a l s t e p s i n t h e p l an ni ng o fc o n t r o l measures .I n B r a z i l , Landsa t im agery h a s b ee n u s e d t o m o n i to r ap ro gra m f o r c o n t r o l l e d d e ve lo p me n t o f l a r g e a r e a s of t h e

Amazon f o r e s t f o r v a r i o u s p u r p o se s , e s p e c i a l l y c a t t l e g r a z i n g .L an do wn er s, w i t h t h e h e l p o f g ov er nm en t s u b s i d i e s , a rep e r m i t t e d t o c u t down t r e e s up t o a t h i r d of t h e i r l an dh o l d i n g s . R o u t i ne a nd s y s t e m a t i c u s e o f L a n d s a t i ma ge ryh a s p r o v e d t o b e t h e o n l y e co no mi c way o f e n f o r c i n g t h eterms o f t h e g o v e r n m e n t - a s s i s t a n c e c o n t r a c t s a nd o f moni-t o r i n g a nd c o n t r o l l i n g t h e volume o f t r e e - c u t t i n g .Water Resources

S u r f a c e W at er -- L a n d s a t d a t a h a ve b ee n f ou nd t o b ep a r t i c u l a r l y r e l i a b l e i n l o c a t i n g s u r f a c e w a t e r . Onem u l t i s p e c t r a l c h a n n e l (Band 7 on t h e MSS) shows the con-t r a s t between wate r a nd o t h e r s u r f a c e s o n t h e g ro un d s oc l e a r l y t h a t w a t e r b o di e s l a r g e r t h an 1 0 a c r e s c a n b ei d e n t i f i e d w i t h 99 p e r c e n t a c c u ra c y. W i t h t h e h e l p o fcom pute r p rogram s , i t i s now p o s s i b l e t o c o m p i l e mapss ho wi ng s u r f a c e w a t e r a r e a s l a r g e r t h a n a bo u t 6 a c r e s f o rm os t c o u n t r i e s o f t h e w o r ld .F o r a r e a s l a c k i n g a d e q u a t e d r a i n a g e m ap s, L a n d s a t i nmany b a s e s c a n p r o v i d e d a t a o n s t r e a m n e t w o r k s t o w i t h in af e w p e r c e n t o f t h o s e d i s p l a y e d o n t o p o g r a p h i c maps. I n somecases L a n ds a t a lo n e c a nn o t p r o v i d e a c c e p t a b l e d a t a , b u t

i n c o n j u n c t i o n w i t h t o p o g r a p h i c maps s ho wi ng b a s i n b ound-a r i e s it c an g i v e r e l e v a n t i n f o r m a t i o n o n l a n d use andv e g e t a t i o n f o r w a te r resources m a n a g e r e n t w i t h b e t t e r q u a -l i t y , l e s s c o s t and more f r e q u e n c y t h a n c a n be o b t a i n e d f ro mo t h e r s o u r c es .- more -


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L a n d s a t i m ag e ry c a n b e u s e d t o a s s e s s m a j o r w a t e r s h e dc h a r a c t e r i s t i c s t h a t a f f e c t r u n o f f . I n a 1 97 3 e x p e r i m e n t ,s i g n i f i c a n t c o r r e l a t i o n s were o b t a i n e d be tw ee n i n t e g r a t e db a s i s r e f l e c t a n c e v a l u e s from La n ds at and a c t u a l w a te r sh e dc o n d i t i o n s a nd r u n o f f a mo un ts i n a r e a s of dormant vege-t a t i o n and d r y c o n d i t i o n s i n Oklahoma. T h i s s u g g e s t s t h a tit would b e f e a s i b l e , i n s e m i a r i d t o a r i d w a t e rs h e d s i nd e v e lo p i ng c o u n t r i e s , t o d e v e lo p much n e ed e d i n f o r m a t i o nf o r r u n o f f p r e d i c t i o n ba s e d on d a t a f ro m L a nd s at a nda v a i l a b l e m e t e or o l og i c a l s a t e l l i t e s . R ec en t s t u d i e s i nC ol om bi a a nd V e n e z ue l a h a v e i n d i c a t e d t h e v a l u e o f d a t af r o m s y n c h r o n o u s m e t e o r o l o g i c a l s a t e l l i t e s f o r i m p r o v e dr u n o ff p r e d i c t i o n and e f f i c i e n t , e co no mic al s i t i n g o f hy dro -m e t e or o l og i c a l s t a t i o n s .

Many s t u d i e s i n t h e U n it ed S t a t e s a s w e l l as i n s e v e r a lo t h e r c o u n t r i e s h a ve d em o ns tr at ed t h e e f f e c t i v e u s e of Land-s a t d a t a f o r d e l i n e a t i n g f l o o d a r e a s , a t l e a s t i n l a r g ed r a i n a g e s y s te m s wh ere t h e f l o o d s l a s t e d l o n g enough t o beo b s e r v e d o n a n 18 -d ay c y c l e o p e r a t e d by L a n d s a t o r w h er et r a c e o f t h e i r p a s t p r e s e n c e c an be n o t e d . F o r e xa mp le ,f l oo d e d c ro p l an d i n t h e I n du s B a si n i n P a k i s t a n w a s d i s -t i n g u i s h ed e a s i l y by t h e s a t e l l i t e d a t a f ro m f lo o d e ds e m i a r i d a r e a s and a r i d d e s e r t .

I n many p a r t s o f t h e w o r l d , w a t e r a v a i l a b i l i t y s t e m sf rom snowmelt . La nd sat ha s shown a c a p a b i l i t y of m e a s u r in gs n o w l i n e an d e x t e n t o f snow w i t h i n 5 p e r c e n t o f t h e a cc u-r a c y o b t a i n e d by a i r c r a f t m ea su re me nt o r o t h e r m eans. Thea v e r a g e o f snow c o v e r , m u l t i p l i e d by i t s d e p t h a n d d e n s i t y ,r e p r e s e n ts t h e s t o r a g e of w at e r t h a t may b e a v a i l a b l e f o rwater s u p p l y , h yd ro po we r g e n e r a t i o n , n a v i g a t i o n a nd i r -r i g a t i o n , o r t h a t c o u ld be r e l e a s e d s ud de nl y t o c a u sef lo o d s d o w n s t r e a m .L a n d sa t h a s be en a b l e t o p r o v id e r e c o n n a i s s an c e - l e v e ld a t a ne ed ed f o r t h e d e s i g n a nd o p e r a t i o n o f l a r g e - s c a l ei r r i g a t i o n p r o j e c t s a nd f o r t h e d e s i g n o f a m a jo r impound-m en t s t r u c t u r e . S t u d i e s b a s ed on L a n d s at d a t a h av e p r o -duced s i g n i f i c a n t r e s u l t s a s i n p u t t o w at er -d em an d a ndg r o u nd w a t er - f lo w m o de ls i n K ern C o u nt y , C a l i f . T h es es t u d i e s o f a d e s e r t r e g io n have i d e n t i f i e d c r op a r e a s t ow i t h i n 1 p e r c e n t of t h e a i r c r a f t c e n s u s w i t h a c c e p t a b l el e v e l s o f c r op i d e n t i f i c a t i o n . L an ds at d a t a a r e now regu-l a r l y u se d as an i m po ra n t f a c t o r i n t h e water supply/demanda s se s sm e n t f o r t h a t r e g i o n .

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S u b s u r f a c e Water -- Geologic i n fo r m at i on r e l a t i n g t ogroundwate r may bes p e c t r a l sensors. d e r i v e d f r o m d a t a o b t a i n e d b y mu l t i -L a nd s at d a t a c a n o f f e r i n fo r m a t i o n on s u r f a c e l i t h o l o g y ,

f r a c t u r e p a t t e r n s a nd v e g e t a t i o n a nd g eo mo rp hi c i n d i c a t o r sof s h a ll o w a q u i f e r s . Such i n f o r m a t i o n , p r o p e r l y i n t e r p r e -t e d , c an serve as a n e x p l o r a t i o n b as e a nd s t r a f e g y f o rg r ou n dw a te r p r o s p e c t i n g . R e c en t s t u d i e s h a ve shown t h a t t h ei n f o r m a t i o n i s u s e f u l i n s i t i n g s h a ll ow w e l l s a n d t h u smay provide a c o s t - e f f e c t i v e t o o l f o r im p ro vi ng g ro un dw at ere x p l o r a t i o n i n s e m i a r i d l a n d s . L a n d sa t i ma ge ry h a s l e dt o t h e i d e n t i f i c a t i o n o f a l l u v i a l f a n s which may c o n t a i nv e r y l a r g e g ro un dw at er r e s e r v o i r s . An a l l u v i a l f a n a b o uth a l f as b i g a s t h e s t a t e of Iowa h a s been i d e n t i f i e d i nL a n d s a t im a g e s o f w e s t e r n B r a z i l .Two s e r i e s o f L a n d s a t im ag es t a k e n f i v e we e k s a p a r t

made an i m p or t an t c o n t r i b u t i o n t o a m u l t i - s t a t e s t u d y o ft h e a n n u al f l o o d i n g of t h e L o w e r Magdalena-Cauca RiverB a s i n i n n o r t h e r n C o lo m bi a. The s e q u e n t i a l im a ge s madep o s s i b l e a c l a s s i f i c a t i o n o f t h e r i v e r m a r g i n a l l a k e s a c-c o rd i n g t o t h e i r r o l e i n t e mp er in g t h e w a t e r wave a nd t h e i rp o t e n t i a l f o r s e rv i n g as r e s e r v o i r b a s i n s . The L a nd s atimagery w a s p a r t i c u l a r l y s u c c e s s f u l i n i d e n t i f y i n g t h el a k e s t h a t d r i e d up i n t h e f iv e- we ek i n t e r v a l . T he Land-s a t d a t a , t o g e t h e r w i t h a e r i a l ph ot og ra ph s and s i d e- l oo k i nga i r b o r n e r a d a r (SLAR) i m a g es , y i e l d e d i n f o r m a t i o n n ee de d by t h eg o ve r nm e n ta l p l a n n e r s t o d e t e rm i n e t h e m os t p r a c t i c a l m eanst o r e c l a i m l a nd i n t h e l ow er p a r t o f t h e i n u n d a t e d a r e a .E n v i r o n m e n ta l M a r in e R e s o u r c e s

The L a n d s at h a s p ro v en o f v a l u e i n r e c o g n i z i n g d i s c o n -t i n u i t i e s o f c o l o r a t i o n i n water and t o d i s t i n g u i s h d i f -f e r e n c e s i n l a n d c o v e r o v e r l a r g e a r e a s f o r i d e n t i f y i n gc e r t a i n t y p e s o f p o l l u t i o n o r e n vi ro n me n ta l d e g r a d a t i o n.C o l or a t i o n d i f f e r e n c e s Seen i n L a n d s a t i m ag er y h av e l e d t od e t e c t i o n o f o i l s l i c k s and o i l s ee p ag e i n c o a s t a l a r e a s ,e f f l u e n t s c a r r y i n g i n d u s t r i a l o r mu ni ci pa l w a s t e s and waterc u r r e n t s c a us in g s i l t a t i o n . The e f f e c t s of t i n m in in g i ns h a l l o w w a t e r a l o n g t h e c o a s t s o f M a l a y s i a h a ve b e en m appedw i t h t h e h e l p of L a n d s a t d a t a , w h i c h a r e a l s o b e i n g u s e d i na U n i te d N a t io n s s t u d y o f t h e e n vi r o nm e n t al e f f e c t s o n l a n do f s t r i p m in in g of t i n i n t h a t c o un t r y .L a n d s a t im a g e r y i s b e i n g u s ed e x p e r i m e n t a l l y t o mon-i t o r s t r i p - m i n e d a r e a s i n t h e A pp a la c hi an r e g i o n and i nI da ho , t o o b se rv e la n d d e t e r i o r a t i o n i n a r i d a r e a s s u c h a st h e S a h e l a nd t o m e as u re t h e e x t e n t o f damage of f o r e s t f i r e sa n d f l o o d s . - more -


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I n s t u d i e s o f s an d s e a s , s c i e n t i s t s have r e l i e d h e a v i l yon L a n d s a t d a t a t o e s t a b l i s h a b a s i s f o r c l a s s i f y i n g andm o n i to r i ng en v ir o nm e n ta l c ha ng es i n t h e p r i n c i p a l d e s e r t a r e a sof t h e g l ob e .Landsa t im agery i s i n c r e a s i n g l y e mployed i n a n a l y s e sof c o a s t a l a r e a s , e x p e c i a l l y w h e r e e f f l u e n t s a nd s h a l l o wwaters d i f f e r i n c o l o r o r r e f l e c t a n c e from t h e l o c a l watersand a r e , t h e r e f o r e , r e a d i l y i d e n t i f i e d and d e l im i t ed . T h isi n f o r m a t i o n i s a p p l i c a b l e t o pr ob le ms o f e n v i ro n m e n ta lp r o t e c t i o n , n a v i g a t io n and f i s h e r i e s . O i l s p i l l s and s ee p s ,i l l e g a l dumping a nd p o l l u t i n g e f f l u e n t s h av e b ee n o b s e rv e d ,b o t h i n s h a l l o w water and i n a d j o i n i n g w e t l a n d s . C e r t a i nf i s h s t o c k s may a l s o b e l o c a t e d by i d e n t i f y i n g t h e i rh a b i t a t s on t h e i m ag e ry . N a v i g a t i o n c h a n n e l s a nd i n l e t s canb e w a t ch e d f o r c ha n ge s i n d e p t h s t h a t may e n d a ng e r s h i p p i n gand b o a t i n g . R e p e t i t i v e c ov er ag e i n c o a s t a l a r e a s may beu s e f u l i n de t e rm i n g m aj or c ha ng es i n r a t e s o f p o l l u t i o n ,

d e s i m e n t a t i o n , e r o s i o n , m ar sh d r y i n g o r s u b si d e n ce .I n Gam bia, L andsa t im agery showed c l e a r l y t h a t t h ec u r r e n t s f ro m t h e Gambia , R i v e r , c a r r y i n g e f f l u e n t s f ro m t h ec i t y o f B a n j u l , f o r some p o r t i o n o f t h e y e a r sw in g p a s t t h eb e ac h f r o n t a g e f o r wh ich a t o u r i s t dev elo pm en t p r o j e c t wasp l a n n e d w i t h f i n a n c i n g f r om t h e World B ank. N e w p l a n n i n gs t u d i e s have had t o t a k e t h i s f a c t o r i n t o a cc ou nt .L a n ds a t a l s o d i s c l o s e d o f f s h o r e p o l l u t i o n p r ob le ms a ttwo c o a s t a l t o u r i s t de ve lo pm en t s i t e s i n T ur ke y.

C a r t o g r a p h yT h e L a n ds a t m u l t i s p e c t r a l s c a n n e r h as s hown c a p a b i l i -t i e s f o r c a r t o g r a p h i c mapping g r e a t l y e x c e ed i ng o r i g i n a le x p e c t a t i o n s . MSS im ag ery h a s s e v e r a l c h a r a c t e r i s t c s t h a te n a b l e it t o c o n t r i b u t e s i g n i f i c a n t l y t o s m a l l - s c a l e c a r -t o g r a p h y i n t h e U n i te d S t a t e s an d t o become p r o b a b l y t h e mo ste f f i c i e n t c u r r e n t means o f p o r t r a y i n g t h e f a c e of t h e l a n d .These c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s i n c l u d e :0 U n i f o r m i t y o f v ie w o v e r a wide a r e a ;0 Near v e r t i c a l a n g l e ;

G e o m e t r i c a n d r a d i o m e t r i c f i d e l i t y :0 S u pe r io r d e f i n i t i o n of c e r t a i n n a t u r a l f e a t u r e s ;

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C a p ac i t y t o be t u r n e d i n t o a f i n i s h e d mapp r o d uc t ve r y n e a r t o t h e " r e a l t i m e " o f t h ea c q u i s i t i o n o f t h e d a t a .Landsa t im agery i s h e l p i n g t o c o r r e c t and u pd a t e ce r -

t a i n f e a t u r e s o f e x i s t i n g U . S . maps a t s ca le s o f 1 : 2 5 0 , 0 0 0o r s m a l l e r a t , o r n e a r , n a t i o n a l map a c c u ra c y s t a n d a r d s .W i t h m u l t i s p e c t r a l i m a g e r y it i s p o s s i b l e t o make 1 :250 ,000p h o t o map o v e r p r i n t s t o f i t w i t h p r e v i o u s b l a c k - l i n e d a t ao f c o n v e n t i o n a l m ap s- The Sresh informat ion i n t& o v w -p r i n t h a s made it p o s s i b l e t o o b s e r v e s u c h d e v e l o p m e n t s asu rb an s p ra w l a nd m o d i f i c a t i o n s t o t r a n s p o r t a t i o n n et wo rk s.Us ing Lan dsa t im agery and new m os a ic in g t ec hn iq ue s , t h e U.S.G e o l o g i c a l S u r v e y h a s p r o d u c e d a new map of F l o r id a which i st h e f i r s t color mosaic i n map form t h a t m a i n t a i n s u n i f o r m l yh i g h i m a g e q u a l i t y .A new typ e o f s m a l l - sc a l e map ha s been made p o s s i b l e

by t h e u n i q ue c a p a c i t y of Landsat Band 7 t o d e l i n e a t e l an d-w a t e r b o u n d a r i e s . T h i s b an d c a n d e f i n e w a t e r b o d i e s a ssmall a s 2 0 0 m ( 6 5 6 f t . ) i n d i a m et e r w i t h h ig h r e l i a b i l i t yand can i d e n t i f y s t reams 2 0 t o 50 m ( 6 5 t o 1 6 5 f t . ) w idei f t h e y a r e no t ove r -hung by t r e e s . T h e c a p a b i l i t y i s ex-p e c i a l l y i m p or ta n t f o r u p da t i ng c h a r t s of e s t u a r i e s i nc o a s t a l a r e a s and f o r o u t l i n i n g i n t e r i o r l a k e s .S e n s o r s o n c u r r e n t L a n d s a t s a r e a b l e t o p e n e t r a t ec l e a r w a t e r s u r f a c e s t o a d e p t h o f a b o u t 20 m ( 6 5 f t . ) . I nt h e C a r ib b e a n , L a n d s at d a t a made p o s s i b l e t h e c h a r t i n g o fs h a l l o w u n de rw a te r f e a t u r e s t h a t w e r e prev ious ly unknown.C a r t o g r a p h e r s ha ve f ou nd t h a t t h e L a n ds a t s c a n n e r s canp ro du ce w i t h v i r t u a l l y no d i s t o r t i o n , a g e n e r a l l y c o n t i n u -ous image on a d e f i n e d map p r o j e c t i o n . Thus t h e L a n d s ats e r i e s , w i t h t h e i r un if or m r e p e t i t i v e c o ve r ag e , may p r o v i d et h e b a s i s f o r an "au tom ated" image-m apping sys t em of t h e en -

t i r e E a r t h .F o r d e v e l o p i n g c o u n t r i e s , t h e v a l u e of L a n d s at f o r c a r -t o g r a p h i c p u r p o s e s pr o m i se s t o b e v e r y h i g h . More t h a n h a l ft h e g e o g ra p h i c a r e a s o f A s i a , A f r i c a , an d L a t i n A m e r i c a haven o t y e t b e e n m apped a t 3c a le s l a r g e r t h an 1 :1 ,000 ,000 andmany o f t h e b a s e maps f o r t h e o t h e r a r e a s a r e o u t d a t e d .

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W ith L a n d s a t d a t a , u n c h a r t e d a r e a s c a n now be q u i c k l ya nd c h e a p l y ma pped , e x i s t i n g maps c a n b e u p d a t e d w i t ha c c e p t a b l e a c c ur a cy a n d d e c i s i o n s c an e a s i l y b e mader e g a r d i n g a r e a s w he re h i g h e r r e s u l t i o n i ma ge ry fr om a i r -c r a f t i s r e q u i r e d . S e v e r a l S o u t h A me ric an c o u n t r i e s a rec u r r e n t l y u s i n g L a n d s a t im ag er y t o r e v i s e t h e i r sma l l - s ca l ea n d i n t e r m e d i a t e - s c a l e m a p s .B o l i v i a , w i th s i z e a b l e p a r t s o f i t s t e r r i t o r y s t i l l i n -adequa te ly m apped , i s now u s i n g L a n d s a t i m a g er y t o h e l pf i l l t h e g a p . A map a t t h e s c a l e o f 1:1,000,000 o f t h ee n t i r e co u n t r y h a s a l r e a d y be en u p d at e d a nd p u b l i s h e d . Am ore d e t a i l e d map a t 1:500,000 of t h e C o i p a s a a r e a , m e e t i n gU . S . N a t i o n a l Map A c c ur a cy S t a n d a r d s , h a s a l s o b e en pu b-l i s h e d . L a n d s at d a t a made p o s s i b l e t h e f i r s t geomorpho-l o g i c a l map o f t h e c o u n tr y and c o n t r i b u t e d c o r r e c t i o n s t o ar e c e n t l y p u b l i s h e d t e c t o n i c map. Maps now b e i n g p r o d u ce da t a sc a l e of 1 : 2 5 0 , 0 0 0 w i l l se r ve a s a b a s i s f o r an i n-v e n to r y o f B o l i v i a ' s n a t u r a l r e s o ur c e s i n c lu d i n g s o i l ,

f o r e s t s a nd p ro m is i ng a r e a s f o r m i n e r a l a nd p e t r o le u m e x-p l o r a t i o n . With L an ds at d a t a , a t a s k t h a t w a s e x p e ct e d t ot ak e e i g h t y e a r s , w i l l now be a c c o m p li s h ed i n two.D e ve lo pi ng c o u n t r i e s a l s o h av e n ee d f o r f r e q u e n t up-d a t i n g o f c h a r t s w i t h r e s p e c t t o g e og r ap h ic f e a t u r e s s u b j e c tt o c ha ng e. F o r e xa mp le , t h e t e m p o r a l a nd s p e c t r a l c h a r a c -t e r i s t i c s o f L a n d s a t a r e of e x c e p t i o n a l v a l ue i n d e f i n i n gl an d- wa te r b o un d ar ie s i n c o u n t r i e s w i t h l a r g e d e l t a s( Eg yp t, B an gl ad es h, I r a n ) o r w i t h s h a l lo w , i n t e r i o r d r a i n a g eb a s i n l a k e s ( I r a n ) .

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Land U s eL a n d s a t i m ag e ry h a s p r ov e n u s e f u l f o r r e g i o n a l p l a n ni n gp u r p o s e s a nd t h e m o n i t o r i n g o f l a n d c o n v e r s i o n a l o n g t h e u r ba nf r i n g e . However, u r b a n p l a n n e r s , c o n ce r ne d w i t h t h e d i s p o s i -t i o n a nd r e l a t i o n s h i p s o f s m a l l s p a t i a l u n i t s c h a r a c t e r i s t i co f t h e c i t y s p a c e , g e n e r a l l y r e q u i r e v e ry h i gh r e s o l u t i o n i m a -g e r y o f t h e s o r t o b t a i n a b l e a t p r e s e n t o n l y from a e r i a lpho tography .S t a t e an d r e g i o n a l p l a n n e r s , on t h e o t h e r ha nd , a rei n t e r e s t e d i n f r e q u e n t up d at in g of b r o a d e r s ca l e c h a ng e s i nt h e n a t u r e o f l a n d c o v er -- s u c h a s t h e e x t e n t t o w h i c h a q r i -c u l t u r a l l a nd i s g i v i n g w ay t o h o u si n g o r t h e p a c e a t whichf o r e s t l a n d i s b e i n g d e p l e t e d .The l e v e l of a c c u r ac y o b t a in e d i n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s fromL a n d s a t i n d i s t i n g u i s h i n g among m aj o r categories such a s f o r -e s t s , w a t e r and urban a rea s h a s b e en g e n e r a l l y a n a d e q u at e 90

p e r c e n t o r b e t t e r . E x ce p t f o r u r ba n a n d b u i l t - u p a r e a s , m o r ed e t a i l e d c a t e g o r i e s (w hi ch d i s t i n g u i s h , f o r ex am ple , b et we end e c i d u o u s a n d e v e r g r e e n t r e e s ) h av e b ee n g e n e r a l l y i d e n t i f i e da t a n a c c u r a c y o f 80 t o 85 p e r c e n t . I n s o m e s t u d i e s , i m a g e r yt a k e n a t d i f f e r e n t s ea s o n s has b ee n d i q i t a l l y merged a n d h a sl e d t o g r e a t e r a cc ur ac y i n i d e n t i f i c a t i o n .For p r e s e n t l a n d u se pu rp os es , s a t e l l i t e d a t a can be au s e f u l c c m p l e m e n t t o p h o to g ra p hi c s t u d i e s f rom a i r c r a f t p l a t -f o r m s . F or r e g i o n a l p l a n n i n g i n p a r t i c u l a r , a s a t e l l i t e "Scene"c a n s e r v e as a r e c o n n a i s s a n c e b a s e o n w h ic h p l a n n e r s c a n p i n -p o i n t a r e a s o f s t r e s s o r o f r a p i d c ha ng e f o r wh ic h more de-t a i l e d i n f o r m a t i o n i s r e q u i r e d a n d c a n be o b t a i n e d b y a e r i a l

pho tography .It i s a n t i c i p a t e d t h a t E a r t h r e s o u rc e s a t e l l i t e s w i l lp l a y a n e x p a n d i n g r o l e i n p r ov i d i n g p e r i o d i c u p d at es t o d a t ab a s e s o r i g i n a l l y d e r i v e d f ro m s t a n d a r d mapping t e c h n i g u e s .F o r t h e f i r s t t i m e p l a n n e r s h a v e a l a n d u se d a t a a c q u i s i t i o nsys tem which can be c o n t i n u a l l y r e v i s ed a t a l e v e l of a c c u r a c ycommensura te wi th t h e a c cu r ac y o f s t a t i s t i c a l up d a te s d ev el op edf o r p o p u l a t i o n a nd ec on om ic d a t a between t h e d e c e n n i a l c e n su s es .The c om pu te r p r o c e s s i n g o f L a n d s at t a p e s p e r m i t s i n c o r p o r a t i o nof s u ch d a t a i n d a t a b a n k s, whose u s e i s r a p i d l y i n c r e a s i n q ,a nd i n wh ic h s o c i a l , e co no mic a nd r e s o u r c e i n f o r m a t i o n f r o m av a r i e t y o f s o ur c es i s r e t r i e v a b l e i n r e l a t i o n t o s p e c i f i c

l o c a l i t i e s .R eso ur ce p l a n n e r s i n s e v e r a l s t a t e g ov ern men ts i n t h eU n i t e d S t a t e s a r e b e q i n n in g t o u s e L an d sa t d a t a i n l a r g e - a r e at r a n s p o r t a t i o n , r e c r e a t i o n and e n v i r o n m e n t a l p l a n n i n g .

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A substantial volume of land-use information was obtainedfrom a comparative analysis of two sets of Landsat scenescovering the state of Orissa in India. One set was takenduring the dry season and the other was recorded at the endof the monsoon.

The two sets of scenes highlighted the differences betweendry and wet season agricultural patterns and were used to iden-tify promising areas for conversion to irrigated two-cropproduction.These Landsat data also indicated areas suitable for damsor barrages, showed the extent of forest cutting in the high-lands and coastal regions and provided a new base for checking

the accuracy of crop acreage estimates done bv conventionalmeans. They further showed the changing course of the MahandiRiver and its tributaries from the time of the last topographicmapping two or three decades earlier as well as major chanqesin sandbars and coastal islands.

DemographyIn the United States, demographic applications of Landsatdata have been studied under the general heading of land useinvestigations. To the extent that urban classification cate-gories can be identified, a population densitv can be assignedto each category on the basis of careful ground sampling. TheU.S. Bureau of the Census is workinq with diqital data fromLandsats to test the validity of this application. Present

Landsat data are useful for identifying new urban areas anddrawing urban/rural boundaries. It is generally assumed thatbetter spatial resolution will be needed for reliable classi-fication of urban categories.In many developing countries, the problem in demoqraphiccensus is not only to qauqe increments to urban growth but todetermine the number, location and population densitv of oldand new villages. Since most village settlements cover more

than one acre (the approximate size of the individual pixelthat registers on a Landsat sensor up to n o w ) , satellite datamay provide a better base for estimating rural population incountries where compact villages are common than any enumera-ting system thus far employed. In countries in which ruralpopulation is more dispersed, Landsat data can provide infor-mation on patterns of land use from which it may be possibleto infer population density with some accuracv. Studies todevelop appropriate sampling techniques have been undertakenin several countries in Asia and Africa. Preliminary resultsappear to be promising.

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I n s t u d i e s f i n a n c e d b y Agency f o r I n t e r n a t i o n a l D ev elo p-m en t i n B o l i v i a a nd K en ya , t h e U . S . Census Bureau i s s e e k i n gt o d e te r m in e i n w h a t ways La nd sa t ima gery may be a p p l i e d i nd e mo g ra p hi c c e n s u s a n d s a m pl e s u r v e y o p e r a t i o n s a n d i n popu-l a t i o n e s t i m a t e s b a s e d on v i l l a g e m ea s ur e me n ts a nd l a n d u s ei n t e r p r e t a t i o n s . T h e s t u d y i n B o l i v i a w a s i n p r o a r e s s b e f o r e ,d u r i n g an d a f t e r a n a t i o n w i d e c e n s u s u nd e rt a k en b y t h e n a t i o n a lgovernment . The t i m e l y c o i n c i de n c e o f t h e s t u d y a nd t h e c e n s u smakes it p o s s i b l e t o t e s t t h e v a l u e of L a n d s a t d a t a f o r p r e -c e n s u s p r e p a r a t o r y work a nd p o s t c e n s u s c h e c k i n g f o r a c c u r a c y .G e o l o g i c S u r ve y a nd M i n e r a l a nd P e t r o l e u m E x p l o r a t i o n

One of t h e m ost v a l u a b l e a t t r i b u t e s of s a t e l l i t e d a t a f o rgeologic a p p l i c a t i o n d e r i v e s s i m p l y f ro m t h e a r e a c o v er e d by as i n g l e o b s e r v a t i o n o r p h o t o g r a p h . A few L a n d s a t f r a m e s cancover whole m o u n t a i n r a n g e s . I t r e q u i r e s a b o u t 500 f r a me s t oc o v e r t h e U . S . c o n t i n e n t . A s a r e s u l t L a nd sa t imaqes p r o v i d ea v ie w o f t h e g e o l o g i c f a b r i c of c o n t i n e n t s w h i c h i s c o m p a t i b l ew i t h t h e s c a l e of modern t h eo r i e s of g l o b a l o r p l a t e t e c t o n i c s .S t r u c t u r a l e l e m en t s , p e rh a ps i r r e g u l a r o r e ve n d i s c o n t in u o u sw i t h i n t h e c o n f i n es o f a s m a l l e r a r e a , m a y be r e v e a l e d a s l i n e a -m e nt s o f r e g i o n a l o r e ve n s e m i - c o n t i n e n t a l e x t e n t , an d p r om i ne n tr o c k u n i t s may b e t r a c e a b l e f a r beyond t h e s i t e of i n i t i a lr e c o g n i t i o n . G e o l o g i s t s c an f o l l o w s u ch f e a t u r e s a c r o s s ane n t i r e f o l d b e l t w i th o u t t r y i n g t o p i e c e t o g e t h e r a m u l t i t u d eo f p h o t o gr a p hs w hic h d i f f e r i n s c a l e , e x p os u re , l i g h t a n g l eand q u a l i t y o f p r i n t .O b s e r v a t io n s f rom s p a c e h av e two p r a c t i c a l a p p l i c a t i o n s :improved g e o l o g i c mapping and m o r e e f f i c i e n t r e s o u r c e ex p lo r -a t i o n . Good g e o l o g i c maps a r e e s s e n t i a l f o r t h e p ro pe r s i t i n gof m aj or c o n s t r u c t i o n p r o j e c t s i n c l u d i n g r a i l r o a d s , h ig hw ay s,dams and power p l a n t s . Even i n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s , s a t e l l i t ed a t a hav e been a b l e t o c o n t r i b u t e t o t h e a c c u r a c v an d c o m p le te -n e s s of e x i s t i n g g e o l o g ic maps and t o i d e n t i f y f a u l t s h i t h e r t ou n p e r c e i v e d .A c o n t r i b u t i o n of t h e U . S . G e o l o g i c a l S u r v e y t o t h e 3 5 -n a t i o n C i r cu m - P ac i fi c Map P r o j e c t d e m o n s t r a t e d t h e v a l u e ofL a n d s a t d a t a f o r e v a l u a t i n g t h c a cc u ra c y o f e x i s t i n q g e o l og i cmaps and f o r augm ent ing map d e t a i l .I n some d e ve lo p in g c o u n t r i e s , n a t i o n a l o r r e g i o n a l g e o -l o g i c maps h a v e b e e n p r o d u c e d w i t h t h e h e l p of L a n d s a t imageryf a r more q u i c k l y a nd e f f i c i e n t l y t h a n c o u l d ha ve S e en accom-p l i s h e d by u s u a l m ea ns a n d now p r o v id e a g oo d b a s i s f o r l o c a -t i o n a l p l a n n i n g o f d ev el op m en t p r o j e c t s .

I

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F o r s i t e l o c a t i o n d e c i s i o n s , h owever , s a t e l l i t e d a t a ont h e g e o l o g y , t o p o g r a p h y a nd h y d r o l o g y of a r e g i o n m us t b ec om pl em en te d b y m ore d e t a i l e d d a t a o b t a i n e d by c o n v e n t i o n a lmethods -- a e r i a l p ho t og r ap h y an d g ro un d o b s e r v a t i o n s t u d i e s .L a n d s a t h a s m a d e it p o s s i b l e , or i n s t a n c e , t o o b t a i ns y n o p t i c and v i r t u a l l y d i s t o r t i o n f r e e im ages of h i g h - r e l i e fm o u n t a i n p r o v i n c e s i n t h e Hi m al ay a s, t h e A l p s and t h e AndeanC o r d i l l e r a . Su ch i ma ge s h e l p i n c r e a s e u n d e r s t a n d in g o f m i n e r a lq e n e s i s .L o c a t i o n of m a jo r g e o l o g i c e l e m e n t s g e n e r a l l y w i l l s e r v ea s a g u i d e t o s e l e c t i o n of s m a l l e r t a r g e t s w or th y o f c l o s e rs t u d y a s p o s s i b l e r e s o u r c e a r e a s , p a r t i c u l a r l y i f t h e i n t e r -p r e t a t i o n i s done bv a t r a i n e d o b s e r v e r f a m i l i a r w i t h t h e r e g i o n .T he se s m a l l e r t a r g e t a r e a s c an be f u r t h e r l i m i t e d by im age en -h an cem en t an d /o r co mp ute r a n a l y s i s o f m u l t i s p e c t r a l d a t a , w i t hc o n s e q u e n t r e d u c t i o n i n t h e am ount o f c o s t l y an d t i m e consumingg ro un d s e a r c h . F u r t h e r s o p h i s t i c a t i o n c an h e added by u s e o fd a t a a c qu ir ed . d u r i n g d i f f e r e n t t i m e s o f t h e y e a r , t o t a k e a d -v a n t a g e of d e t a i l s r e v e a l e d by s e a s o na l d i f f e r e n c e s i n v e q e t a -t i o n o r s o i l m o i s t u r e . I n g e n e r a l , h ow ev er, a l a r g e p e r c e n t a g eof t h e p o t e n t i a l i n f o r m at i on on s t a t i c phenomena can b e o b t a i n e dfrom a s i n g l e , c l o u d - f r e e p a s s o v e r t h e a r e a .By e l i m i n a t i n g a r e a s where f u r t h e r e f f o r t i n m i n e r a le x p l o r a t i o n i s l i k e l y t o b e u nr ew ar di nq , s a t e l l i t e d a t a c ani d e n t i f y t h e a r e a s w here more d e t a i l e d s t u d y by a i r c r a f t andf i e l d work m i q ht h e p r o f i t a b l e . S e v e r a l f i n d i n q s of m i n e r a l si n v a r i o u s p a r t s of t h e wo rl d h av e been f a c i l i t a t e d by a n a l y s i so f L a n d s a t scenes .O n t h e b a s i s of a r o c k -t y p e c l a s s i f i c a t i o n map p r od u ce dby d i g i t a l c om pu te r p r o c e s s i nq of L a n d s a t d a t a , 30 p r o s p e c t -t a r g e t s i t e s were c h o s e n i n a P a k i s t a n a r e a n e a r known c o p p e rd e p o s i t s . O ut o f t h e 1 9 s i t e s v i s i t e d , f i v e v i e l d e d e v i de nc eo f s u r f a c e m i n e r a l i z a t i o n , i n d i c a t i n g t h e p o s s i b i l i t y of ane n r i c h e d z o n e of c op pe r a t d e p t h .A p l a n t o make a new g e o l o q i c a l map o f F q y p t a t a s c a l eo f 1:1,000,000 i n 1 0 y e a r s a t a c o s t o f $ 2 . 4 m i l l i o n u s i ngb l ac k -a n d- w hi te a e r i a l p h o t o g r a p h s was a l t e r e d when L a n d s a timagery p roved t o b e more s a t i s f a c t o r y . The l a t t e r o f f e r e dr o ug h ly t h r e e t i m e s more g e o l o g i c a l d e t a i l a nd c o u l d accomp-l i s h t h e t a s k more q u i c k l y a t l e s s c o s t . I n t h r e e y e a r s , mapsc o v e r i n g a bo u t h a l f t h e c o u n t r y ha ve h e e n c o m p le t e d a n d t h et a s k i s e x p e c t e d t o b e f i n i s h e d i n two more y e a r s .

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A second area of applications for Landsat data relatesto dynamic phenomena. The particular value of space-basedmeasurement lies in repetitive observation which makes pos-sible the detection of short-period chanqes, such as thosein a stream course following a major flood, or alonq a coast-line after a major storm. Landsat images, for example, haveenabled Bangladesh scientists to identify and measure theaccretion of new land to islands in the Bay of Bengal, open-ing the way for a government program to plant trees and sta-bilize the new land for agricultural purposes. Studies inIceland showed that with the aid of 1,andsat some of the sur-face effects of intense geothermal or volcanic activity canbe mapped.

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G R O U N D SYSTEM s uppow rG r o u n d c o n t r o l of L a n d s a t 3 w i l l b e m a i n t a i n e d f ro mNASA's Goddard Space F l i g h t Ce n t e r , Gr ee nb e l t , Md. A s i nt h e case o f e a r l i e r L a n d s a t s , d a t a w i l l be c o l l e c t e d a ndp ro ce ss ed i n i t i a l l y a t Goddard Cente r and a t f o r e i g n g r o u n dr e c e iv i n g s t a t i o n s b e f o r e d i s se m i n at i on t o u s e r s .Improvements i n t h e NASA I m a g e P ro c es s i ng F a c i l i t y ( I P F )a t G od da rd C e n t e r s h o u l d r e d u c e by h a l f t h e t i m e r e q u i r e df o r L a n ds at d a t a p r o c e ss i n g -- f r o m a b o u t a month t o t w oweeks. U s e r s w i l l r ece i ve t h e d a t a i n h i g h d e n s i t y c om pu tert a p e s f ro m w hi ch f i l m o r c om p ut er c o m p a t i b l e t a p e p r o d u c t sc a n be made q u i c k l y . I n a d d i t i o n , t h e ge o m e tr i c a c c ur a cyof L a n d s a t im a g e s w i l l be s i g n i f i c a n t l y im proved w i t h t h enew p r o c e s s i n g s y s t e m . L a n d s a t 3 i ma ge ry , f o r i n s t a n c e ,s h o u l d a c h i e v e a n a c c u r a c y o f 40 meters r e l a t i v e t o a na c c u r a t e map l o c a t i o n .

NASA Image Pr oc es s i ng F a c i l i t yI n i t i a l pr o c es s in g o f t h e d a t a f rom La nd sa t 3 MSS andR BV s e n s o r s w i l l b e d o ne b y t h e N A S A I m a g e P r o c e s s i n g F a c i l i t y( I P F ) , t h e p r o c e s s in g c e n t e r f o r d a t a from a l l o f NASA'se n v ir o n m en t a l a nd m e t e o r o l o g i c a l r e s e a r c h s p a c e c r a f t . TheIPF i s l o c a t e d a t t h e G o d d a r d C e n t e r .E x p e c t e d t o b e f u l l y o p e r a t i o n a l by m id-1978, t h i sf a c i l i t y w i l l b e us e d t o p r o v i d e r a d i o m e t r i c a nd g eo m e t r i cc o r r e c t i o n s f o r t h e L a nd s at d a t a . W hereas t h e e a r l i e ra r c h i v a l medium f o r L a n d s a t d a t a w a s 7 0 m i l l i m e t e r f i l m ,h i g h d e n s i t y t a p e s ( H D T ) w i l l now be u s e d . A l l f i l m an dc o m p u t e r c o m p a t i b l e t a p e ( C C T ) p r o d u c t s w i l l be made fromt h e I IDT on f i l e . T ur n a ro un d t i m e f o r t h e C C T p r o d u c t i se x p e c t e d t o be no more t h a n 4 8 h o u r s .

a g e n c i e s a s t h e I n t e r i o r D e pa rt me nt 's EROS Data C e n te r i nS i o u x F a l l s , S . D . , 5 7 1 9 8 , A t t e n t i o n : U s e r S e r v i c e s . T h i sc e n t e r i s t h e p r i n c i p a l p u b l i c o u t l e t f o r La n ds a t d a t a ,i n c l u d i n g i m ag es o f C C r s .

C op ie s o f t h e a r c h i v a l t a p e s w i l l b e s e n t t o s u c h u s e r

-E L T A LAUNCH V E H I C L EL a n d s a t 3 w i l l be l a u n c h e d b y a tw o - s t a g e D e l t a 2 9 1 0l a u n c h v e h i c l e , managed f o r NASA's O f f i c e o f S pa ce T r a n s p o r t a t i o nS y st em s by G od da rd S p ac e F l i g h t C e n t e r . The l a u n c h v e h i c l e i sD e l t a 1 3 9 .T o d a t e , t h e D e lt a h a s la un ch ed 1 3 8 p a y l o a d s a n d h a s as u c c e s s r e c o r d of o v e r 90 p e r c e n t .

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The 3 5 . 3 - m ( 1 1 6 - f t . l - t a l l D e l t a v e h i c l e c o n s i s t s o f al i q u i d - f u e l M cD onn ell D o ug la s A s t r o n a u t i c s C o . e x t e n d e d -l o ng - ta n k T ho r b o o s t e r , n i n e T h i o k o l s t r a p - o n C a s t o r I1s o l i d - f u e l r o c k e t motors and a TRW C o r p . l i q u i d - f u e l s e c o n ds t a g e e n g i n e . The d i a m e t e r of t h e 1 3 2 , 1 8 0 kg ( 2 9 0 , 7 9 6 lb.)D e l t a v e h i c l e i s 2 . 4 4 m ( 8 f t . ) n o t i n c l u d i n g t h e s t ra p -o nmotors .

An a l l - i n e r t i a l g ui da nc e s ys te m, c o n s i s t i n g o f a n i n e r t i a ls e n s o r p ac ka ge a n d d i g i t a l g u id an ce c om p ut er , c o n t r o l s t h ev e h i c l e a nd se qu en ce o f o p e r a t i o n s f rom l i f t o f f t o s p a c e c r a f ts e p a r a t i o n . A s e n s o r pa ck ag e p r o v id e s v e h i c l e a t t i t u d e a nda c c e l e r a t i o n i n f o rm a t i on t o t h e g u i d a n c e c o m p u t e r , w h i c hg e n e r a t e s v e h i c l e s t e e r i n g commands t o e a c h s t a g e . Thes y s te m t h u s c o r r e c t s t r a j e c t o r y d e v i a t i o n s b y compar ingcomputed p o s i t i o n a nd v e l o c i t y a g a i n s t p r e s t o r e d v a l u e s .I n a d d i t i o n t h e g u id a nc e co mp ut er p er fo r m s t h e f u n c t i o n sof t i m i n g a nd s t a g i n g a s w e l l a s i s su ing p re -p rogram m eda t t i t u d e r a t e s d u r i n g t h e c o a s t p h a s e s .

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LAUNCH SEQUENCE F O R DELTA 2 9 1 n /L A N D S A T CV e l o c i yMP H K m / H r .l t i t u d eS t a t . M i . Km,T i m eH r . M i n . S e c .E v e n t

L i f t o f fS i x S o l i d Motor B u r n o u tT h r e e S o l i d Motor I g n i t i o nT h r e e S o l i d Motor B u r n o u tN i n e S o l i d Motor J e t t i s i o nMain E n g i n e C u t o f f ( M E C O )F i r s t / S e c o n d S t a g e S e p a r a t i o nS e c o n d S t a g e I g n i t i o nF a i r i n g J e t t i s i o nF i r s t C u t o f f S t a g e I1 (S E C O 1)R e s t a r t S t a g e I 1S e c o n d C u t o f f S t a g e I1 ( S E C O 11)A c h i e v e S / C S e p a r a t i o n A t t i t u d eL a n d s a t 3 / S t a g e I1 S e p a r a t i o n

0 0 00 0 3 80 0 3 90 1 1 70 1 2 70 3 4 70 3 5 40 3 5 90 4 3 30 8 5 50 5 5 3 20 5 5 4 41 1 2 4 91 1 3 0 2

044

1 41 65 96 46 68 0

1 1 75 6 65 6 65 7 05 7 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 01 , 1 3 7 1 , 8 3 01 , 1 3 4 1 , 8 2 61 , 8 3 7 2 , 9 5 8

62 2

-4 2 6 1 , 9 7 9 3 , 1 8 51 8 1 0 41 , 2 4 96

1 0 2 1 1 , 2 3 1 1 8 , 0 7 511 2 1 5 1 8 , 0 4 91 1 , 5 9 6 1 8 , 6 6 31 7 , 8 8 1 2 8 , 7 7 6

1 0 61 2 91 8 99 1 2 1 6 1 0 9 2 5 , 9 2 59 1 2 1 6 , 5 4 9 2 6 , 6 3 39 1 79 1 7

1 6 , 5 4 6 2 6, 6 2 81 6 , 5 4 6 2 6 , 6 2 8

A c t i v a t e P l a s m a I n t e r a c t i o n E x p e r i m e n to n S t a g e I 1 1 1 3 2 2 5 7 05 7 85 7 85 7 8

9 1 79 3 09 3 0

1 6 , 5 4 6 2 6 , 6 2 8R e s t a r t S t a g e I1 1 2 4 4 2 1 6 , 5 3 2 2 6 , 6 0 6

1 6 , 5 1 7 2 6 , 5 8 2i n a l C u t o f f S t a g e I1 1 2 4 4 6O s c a r - D S e p a r a t i o n From S t a g e I1 1 2 5 2 1

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LAUNC H OPERATIONSNASA laun ch op e r a t i o n s f rom i t s W e s t C o a s t f a c i l i t y a r ec o n d u c t e d by t h e Ke nn ed y S p a c e C e n t e r ' s E x p e n d a bl e V e h i c l e sD i r e c t o r a t e . T hi s f a c i l i t y i s l o c a t e d a t t h e W e st er n T e s tRange ( W T R ) , Vandenberg A i r F o r c e , n e a r Lompoc, C a l i f . ,

a p p r o x i m a t e l y 2 0 1 km ( 1 2 5 m i . ) n o r t h w e s t o f Los A n g e le s a n d4 5 1 km ( 2 8 0 m i . ) s o u t h o f S an F r a n c i s c o . L au nch f a c i l i t i e sa re l o c a t e d o n a pro mo nto ry wh ich j u t s i n t o t h e P a c i f i cO cean n e a r P o i n t A r g u e l l o , m ak in g i t p o s s i b l e t o l a u n c h t ot h e s o u t h t o p l a c e p ay lo ad s i n t o p o l a r o r b i t w i t ho u t o v e r f ly i n gp o p u l a t e d a r e a s .L a n d s a t 3 w i l l be l a u n c h e d a b o a r d D e l t a 139 f rom SpaceLaunch Complex 2 W e s t , w hi ch h a s b e en e x t e n s i v e l y u p d a te dover t h e y e a r s t o a c c e p t t h e v a r i o u s D e l t a c o n f i g u r a t i o n s ,i n c l u d i n g t h e p o we r fu l new v e r s i o n i n u s e .Some Kennedy C en te r pe rs on ne l a r e on permanent ass ignment

a s members of the D e l t a West O p e r a t i o n s B r an c h a n d We s t er nO p e r a t i o n s S u p p o r t O f f i c e . T he se p e r s o n n e l a r e augmented bya l a r g e r m anagem ent a n d t e c h n i c a l g r o u p f r o m t h e KennedyS p a c e C e n t e r i n F l o r i d a d u r i ng f i n a l p r e p a ra t i o n s a nd t h elaunch countdown.P r e p a r a t i o n s f o r t h e l au nc h of Landsa t 3 began D e c . 7 ,1 9 7 7 , w i t h e r e c t i o n of t h e D e l t a 139 f i r s t s t a g e a t t h e l a u nc hp ad . S i g n i f i c a n t m i le s t o n e s s i n c e t h a t d a t e in c lu d e i n s t a l l a t i o no f t h e n in e s o l i d s t r ap -o n r o c k e t motors a ro u nd t h e b a s e of t h ef i r s t s t a g e , Dec. 9 - 1 3 , e r e c t i o n of t h e i n t e r s t a g e D e c . 1 3 ,a n d m a t i n g o f t h e D e l t a s e c o n d s t a g e D e c . 1 9 .The L an d s at 3 s p a c e c r a f t a r r i v e d Fe b. 1 and movementt o t h e p ad f o r ma ti ng w i t h D e l t a 139 i s s c h e d u l ed f o r F eb . 2 3.The p a yl o a d f a i r i n g w hi ch w i l l p r o t e c t t h e s p a c e c r a f t on i t sf l i g h t t hr ou g h t h e a tm o sp he re i s s ch ed ul ed f o r e r e c t i o nFeb . 2 8 .

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OSCAR-D AMA TEUR RADIO SATELLITE

OSCAR-D is a communications satellite desiqned to operatewith small stations in the amateur satellite service on a non-commercial basis. This 27-kg (60-lb.) satellite was built byradio amateurs in the U.S., Canada, West Germany and Japan.It was developed under the auspices of the Radio Amateur Satel-lite Corp., a non-profit organization, in cooperation with theAmerican Radio Relay Leaque, Inc. (See: NASA Headquarters ReleaseNO: 7 8 - 2 6 , NASA to Launch OSCAR-D, Eiqhth Radio Amateur Satellite.)

The principal objective of OSCAR-D is to expand the edu-cational proqram that brings communications satellites intoclassrooms across the U . S . and Canada.Additional objectives include the provision of continuous

radio communications for the conduct of a wide range of experi-ments, particularly with small amateur ground terminals. Someof these experiments include emeraency communications betweenmedical centers and isolated areas, alonq with mobile communi-cations with aeronautical, maritime and land units.OSCAR-D, eighth in a series, will be placed into a Sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of about 9 0 0 km (560 mi.).In this orbit, the solar-powered satellite will pass withinrange of any one location at about the same time each morningand evening. Anticipated useful lifetime of the satellite isthree years.OSCAR-D carries two transponders for amateur radio com-munications. Both of these transponders use the same uplinkfrequency of 145.9 MHz but employ different downlink frequen-cies of 29.4 MHz a n d 435.1 MHz. Current plans are to useonly one transponder at a time.The amateur radio satellite will he desiqned OSCAR 8,once it is put in orbit.

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PLASMA INTERACTION EXPERIMENT

The Plasma Interaction Experiment (PIX) is part of abroad investigation by NASA's Lewis Research Center, Cleve-land, Ohio, to develop design guidelines, materials, devicesand test methods for controllinq detrimental interactionsbetween high voltage systems and the space plasma environment.Systems of interest include solar arrays, power system con-ductors and insulators, and other exposed components. Surfaceplasma interactions include current drains, charge buildup oninsulators and discharges to or through the space plasma.

Specific objectives of the PIX fliqht experiment are tomeasure the plasma couplinq current and the negative voltagebreakdown characteristics of a solar array seqment and a goldplated steel disk. Measurements will be made over a range ofsurface voltages up to plus or minus one kilovolt.The 34-kq (75 lb.) PIX is attached to the second stageof the Delta launch vehicle which will remain in orbit at analtitude lower than either the Landsat 3 or the OSCAR 8.

LANDSAT-C/DELTA LAIJNCH TEAT4

NASA HeadquartersDr. Anthony J. Calio

Leonard Jaffe

Pi t Thome

Harry MannheimerJoseph B. Mahon

Peter T. Eaton

Associate Administratorfor Space and TerrestrialApplicationsDeputy Associate Adminis-trator for Space andTerrestrial ApplicationsDirector, ResourcesObservations DivisionLand-sat roqram ManagerDirector, Launch Vehicleand Propulsion ProgramDelta Program Manager

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G od da rd S p a c e F l i g h t C e n t e rD r . R o b e r t S. CooperR o b e r t E. S m y l i eR o b e r t N . LinclleyRonald K. BrowningL u i s G o n z a l e s

E d Baden

D r . S t a n l e y C . FredenEnnio Scope1P i e r c e Smi thJames L. M ic h a e lS t e p h e n F . O ' D e aR o b e r t C. Raumann

David W. G r i m e s

Don V. Fordyce

W i l l i a m A. R u s s e l l

John Langmead

R o b e r t J. G o s s

D i r e c t o rD e p u t y D i r e c t o rD i r e c t o r of P r o j e c t sP r o j e c t M a n a g e r - L a n d s a tD ep uty P r o j e c t M a na ge r,T e c h n i c a lD ep utv P r o j e c t M a n ag er ,R e s o u r c e sP r o j e c t S c i e n t i s tS p a c e c r a f t M anagerM is s io n O p e r a t i o n s M an ag erMis s ion Su ppo r t ManaqerNetworks Su pp or t ManaqerA s s o c i a t e D i r e c t o r f o r S pa ceT r a n s p o r t a t i o n S y s t e m sD e l t a Launch Vehic leP r o j e c t M a n a g e rA s s o c i a te D i r e c t o r f o rP r o j e c t sDeputy, D e l t a P r o j e c t M a n a g e r ,T e c h n i c a lD ep ut y D e l t a P r o j e c t M an aq er ,R e s o u r c e sM is s io n A n a ly s i s a n d L n te -g r a t i o n M a n a q e r , D e l t aP r o j e c t O f f i c e

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Kennedy SDace C e n t e rL e e R. S c h e r e rG e r a l d D. G r i f f i nD r . Wal te r J . Kapryan

George F. PageW . C . Thacker

R. J. K i rn l i nge r

H . R . Van Goey

E. J . Langenfe ld

L e w i s Resea rch C e n t e rD r . Bernard Lubar skyF r e d H a l e y

A c t i n q D i r e c t o rP l a s m a I n t e r a c t i o n E x p e r i m e n t

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D i r e c t o rD e p u t y D i r e c t o rD i r e c t o r o f

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