US Earth Observation Satellites
The USA is the world’s most powerful country in terms of aerospace technology. Since 1960 when it launched its first Earth observation satellite, TIROS, which was intended for television infrared observation, the country has made a great progress in Earth
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US Earth Observation Satellites
3.1 Overview of US Earth Observation Satellites The USA is the world’s most powerful country in terms of aerospace technology. Since 1960 when it launched its first Earth observation satellite, TIROS, which was intended for television infrared observation, the country has made a great progress in Earth observation technology. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) planned to use the satellite to determine whether Earth observation technology could be used to study Earth. Because meteorological satellites have prospects for widespread applications in weather forecasting and disaster warning, the USA initially focused on the development of meteorological satellites. With continuous economic and technological development in the USA, NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and other US space agencies have developed a series of satellite-based Earth observation systems, launched meteorological satellites, terrestrial satellites, ocean satellites, manned spacecraft, and space shuttles, and are implementing comprehensive Earth observation satellite programs. The working wavebands of the sensors installed on these space vehicles cover visible light, infrared light, and microwaves. The information processing technology includes regular satellite data processing, massive spectral data processing, radar digital imaging, and other key technologies, all of which have achieved major breakthroughs in the past few decades. From the beginning of the 1980s, the USA began to implement a program called “Mission to Planet Earth,” the purpose of which was to study Earth as a whole (Andreoli 2005). The main goal of the implementation of the program was to establish an “Earth Observation System” (EOS). Since entering the twenty-first century, the rapid development of space technology, computer technology, and data communication technology and the intensification of global change have provided both new opportunities and challenges for the development of Earth observation. In 2011, NASA launched a strategic plan called “Earth Science Enterprise” as an improvement and continuation of EOS. The US government is actively working to
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2019 H. Guo et al., Scientific Satellite and Moon-Based Earth Observation for Global Change, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-8031-0_3
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3 US Earth Observation Satellites
build a lasting national “Integrated Earth Observing System” (IEOS) as an important part of its global Earth observation system (Rosmorduc et al. 2009).
3.1.1 The Earth Observing System Program The USA was the second country to launch an artificial satellite, following the former Soviet Union. The US “Mission to Planet Earth” program initiated in the early 1980s was intended to build an “Earth Observation System” (NASA 1999). 1. Scientific objectives and specific tasks of EOS The fundamental goal of EOS is to deepen humankind’s understanding of global change and predict changes in the Earth system across a time span of severa
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