Celebrating 35 Years of Space-Based Observations of the Earth by the Landsat Spacecraft

CELEBRATING 35 YEARS OF SPACE-BASED OBSERVATIONS OF THE EARTH BY THE LANDSAT SPACECRAFT -- (House of Representatives - April 22, 2008)

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Mr. LUCAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to join my colleague in support of H.R. 891, celebrating 35 years of continuous operation of the Federal Government's Earth observing Landsat satellite program. Generations of Landsat satellites have taken and continue to take an uninterrupted record of images of Earth's oceans and lands, enabling resource managers, geologists, climate researchers and scientists to closely monitor land use changes, water consumption, forestry, agricultural and the effects of climate change through the regular acquisition and cataloging of these photographs. This detailed and continuous record of observations offers an unambiguous insight into the changes that are occurring on a global, regional and local scale.

Landsat data and the research findings they enable would not be possible without the excellent cooperation and joint management between NASA, who designs, builds and launches the satellites, and the United States Geological Survey and the Department of Interior, who manage the archives of Landsat data at the National Satellite Land Remote Sensing Data Archives, what a title, located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Their data records extend back 33 years.

The early history of Landsat offers a remarkable insight into the events, culture, personalities and institutional jealousies of the 1960s and 1970s. When our earliest astronauts returned from the Mercury and Gemini missions with photographs of the Earth taken from their spacecraft, scientists and engineers quickly began to envision the value of using robotic spacecraft as a means of monitoring land use changes.

However, the Department of Defense initially objected to a space-based civilian reconnaissance satellite out of concern that it would compromise their own spy satellite programs. The Office of Management and Budget also objected, arguing that land use data could be more cheaply acquired by high-flying aircraft.

According to NASA historians, then Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall, being convinced of the value of space-based civil reconnaissance satellites, announced in 1966 that his department was initiating its own Earth observing satellite program. His pronouncement apparently spurred NASA to take the initiative to proceed in an ambitious manner to build Landsat.

Today, Landsat 5 and Landsat 7 continue to operate in Earth orbit, although both are nearing the end of their operational lives and may not last long enough to overlap the launch of their successor in 2011, called the Landsat Data Continuity Mission. If they both fail, the 35 year record of continuous Landsat coverage will be interrupted, and though it will be disappointing, I am optimistic that other methods of data collection will be able to fill in most of the gaps during that interim.

The Landsat program's data records are an invaluable national resource. The tenacity and the brilliance of the men and women at NASA, at USGS, and the contractors who helped design, build and launch the satellites, as well as manage the huge volume of data generated by the family of Landsat satellites, have created a legacy that will continue to serve our Nation's needs for many, many years to come.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support House Resolution 891.

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