LDCM SRR/MDR/PNAR 22-24 April 2008
Landsat Data Continuity Mission
and
Beyond
Mike Wulder
On behalf of
Landsat Science Team
4th Global Vegetation Workshop
June 18, 2009
Landsat’s role in understanding a changing Earth
July 5, 1973
August 13, 1984
June 30, 2000
Landsat includes the acquisition, archival, and distribution of
global, synoptic, and repetitive coverage multi-spectral
imagery of the Earth's land surfaces at a scale where natural
and human-induced changes can be detected, characterized,
and monitored over time.
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Driving the need for Landsat…
 Science – understanding a changing planet
 “Landsat is a climate instrument” – US CCSP
 Operational applications – managing and monitoring resources for
economic and environmental quality, public health and welfare, and
national security
 ALL require:
 A global perspective
 A long-term record of observation
 Huge amounts of well-calibrated data
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36+ Years of Continuous Landsat Global
Land Observation
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Landsat 1 was launched July 23, 1972 (MSS)
Landsat 2 was launched January 22, 1975 (MSS)
Landsat 3 was launched March 5, 1978 (MSS)
Landsat 4 was launched July 16, 1982 (TM)
Landsat 5 was launched March 1, 1984 (TM)
Landsat 6 was launched October 5, 1993, but never reached orbit
Landsat 7 was launched April 15, 1999, May 2003 SLC-Off (ETM+)
Landsat 8 is scheduled for launch in December 2012
http://landsat.usgs.gov/
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Landsat 5 and 7 are still functioning…
 Landsat 5 – 25 years since launch
(March 1, 1984)
 TM - functioning normally
 No on-board data recorders
 Landsat 7 – nearly 5 years beyond
design life
 1999 Launch
 ETM+ - Scan Line Corrector Failure
 Robust global acquisitions
Both satellites have enough fuel to operate through 2012.
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And…
 On December 8, 2008, the USGS made the entire 36year long Landsat archive available to anyone via the
Internet at no cost.
 GeoTIFF format
 Orthorectified “GIS-ready”
 Calibrated across missions and instruments
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Free Landsat Data…
 Newly acquired Landsat 5 and 7 data with <30 percent
cloud cover are automatically processed and placed online for immediate downloading.
 All other Landsat scenes (over 2.2 million) are available
at no charge via an on-demand ordering and
downloading capability.
 Initial experience - significant demand…
 In 2001 - 19,300 Landsat images were distributed
to users.
 In January 2009, nearly 73,000 scenes were
downloaded – an average of almost 2400 scenes
per day.
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Landsat Level 1T (L1T) Specification
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Pixel size:
Media type:
Product type:
Output format:
Map projection:
Datum:
Orientation:
Resampling:
15m/30m/60m
Download (no cost)
L1T (precision & terrain corrected)
GeoTIFF
UTM
WGS84
North up
Cubic convolution
Landsat holdings are accessible via:
GloVis (glovis.usgs.gov)
Earth Explorer (earthexplorer.usgs.gov)
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Changes and improvements are underway…
 NASA and the USGS are developing the Landsat Data Continuity
Mission (LDCM), which will further extend the global land record.
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Launch date – December 2012
5 year mission design life with 10 years of consumables
Support seasonal, global, image data collection
World Reference System – 2 (WRS-2), mid-morning equatorial crossing, 16
day repeat
 Collect, ingest, and archive at least 400 global WRS-2 scenes/day for U.S.
archive
 Operational Land Imager (OLI) - 9 spectral bands - 30 m for VIS/NIR/SWIR,
15m for PAN
 Instrument data will be quantized in 12-bits
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LDCM Milestones
 OSTP directed NASA and USGS to implement the LDCM as a “free-flyer”
satellite in Dec., 2005
 NASA and USGS signed Final Implementation Agreement in April, 2007
 Operational Land Imager (OLI) contract was awarded
to Ball Aerospace Technology Corporation in July, 2007
 Atlas V launch vehicle was selected in Oct. 2007
 Spacecraft contract was awarded to General Dynamics
Advanced Information Systems in April, 2008
 Mission Operations Element (MOE) contract awarded to The Hammers
Company in September, 2008
 Key Decision Point - B review on September 25, 2008
 Mission Preliminary Design Review (PDR) is scheduled for July, 2009
leading to a Key Decision Point - C review in Oct., 2009
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Programmatic Status
 LDCM approved to proceed into Project Life Cycle Phase B
 Key Decision Point – B (KDP-B) Review (Initial Confirmation) conducted on
September 25, 2008
– As a NASA Category 1 Mission, LDCM requires highest level approval of the
Agency Program Management Council chaired by NASA Associate
Administrator, Chris Scolese, to initiate each phase of the project life cycle
– Phase B is the system preliminary design phase following concept studies,
Pre-Phase A, and concept and technology development, Phase A
– LDCM spent 9 years in formulation, re-formulation, Pre-Phase A, and
Phase A
LDCM at KDP-B
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New LDCM Launch Readiness Date
 Major finding of System Requirements Review
 Original launch readiness date, July, 2011 was considered excessively
aggressive and added risk to the mission
– “The existing LDCM development schedule is not achievable. There is less
than a 20% chance that the July 24, 2011 Launch Readiness Date (LRD)
can be achieved.”
 Mission schedules must reflect a 70% confidence level (70%
chance of making launch date)
 Reconciliation of numerous independent schedule assessments and
project’s own assessment resulted in a retargeted 70% confidence
launch date for LDCM
 Through KDP-B Process
 Retargeted launch date to December, 2012
– Provides appropriate level of confidence
– Approved by NASA Agency Program Management Council
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Operational Land Imager (OLI)
Contract awarded to Ball Aerospace Technical Corp. (BATC) July 2007
Critical Design Review Completed Oct. 2008
 Pushbroom VIS/NIR/SWIR
sensor
 Four-mirror telescope with
front aperture stop
 FPA consisting of 14 sensor
chip assemblies, passively
cooled
 Aperture 135 mm
 F number 6.4
 36 um / 18 um detectors (MS
/ Pan)
June 18, 2009
Courtesy of BATC
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OLI Spectral Bands
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Launch Vehicle
In September 2007, the Atlas V 401 launch vehicle was selected
for LDCM by the Kennedy Space Center.
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LDCM Spacecraft
Contract awarded to General Dynamics Advanced
Information Systems (GDAIS) in April 2008
Courtesy of GDAIS
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LDCM Spacecraft
COMMUNICATIONS
• S-band to GN/LGN: 1, 32kbps uplink:
and 2k,16k, 32k, or 1 Mbps downlink
• Omni antennas
• TDRSS - SA: 1 kbps return and 2 or
32 Kbps forward
• X-band: 384 Mbps science data
THERMAL CONTROL
• Passive with heaters
• Constant conductance heat
pipes (if needed)
STRUCTURE
• Aluminum primary structure
• Externally mounted components
• Clear instrument FOVs
• Clear instrument radiative paths
PROPULSION
• Hydrazine blow-down propulsion
module
• Eight 22N Redundant Thrusters
GUIDANCE, NAVIGATION
& CONTROL
• 2 of 3 star trackers active
• High precision IRU
• Honeywell reaction wheels
• SADA with damper
• 3-axis stabilized
• Zero momentum biased
ELECTRICAL POWER
• Single wing single axis articulated
GaAs solar array provides 4300 W
at EOL
• 125 amp-hour NiH2 battery
• Unregulated 22 V - 36 V power bus
• Two power distribution boxes
COMMAND & DATA HANDLING
• cPCI architecture; RAD750 CPU
• 3.1 Tbit (BOL) solid state recorder
• 265 Mbps peak OLI data transfer
• 26.2 Mbps peak TIRS data transfer
• High rate PB at 384 Mbps
Courtesy of GDAIS
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Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS)
 NASA President’s FY10 Budget Request (announced May 07,
2009)
 “Starting in FY2009, NASA will develop a Thermal Infrared
Sensor (TIRS) instrument, to be flown on LDCM or (potentially)
some other spacecraft. A decision as to which spacecraft will
carry TIRS will be made by summer of 2009. Meanwhile, funding
for TIRS (approximately $150-175M) is now carried within the
LDCM budget.”
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TIRS Status
 NASA GSFC has initiated development of TIRS for the LDCM
spacecraft
 NASA HQ directed GSFC to begin a Phase A instrument study in July, 2009 on
the basis of Congressional interest in continued thermal imaging
– GSFC established TIRS specifications and developed instrument concept
 TIRS development has progressed through three successful reviews by
independent board
– System Concept Review held October 17, 2008
– System Requirements Review held February 02 - 03, 2009
– Preliminary Design Review held May 27 - 28, 2009
 Baseline design meets or exceeds TIRS requirements
 Aggressive TIRS development schedule maintains Dec. 2012 LDCM
launch readiness data
– TIRS delivered for observatory integration by Dec., 2011
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LDCM Thermal Requirements
Center
Wave length
(micro meters)
Spatial
Resolution
At Nadir
(m)
Ther mal
1
10.8
120
0.4K
0.35K
Ther mal
2
12.0
120
0.4K
0.35K
Band
NET Requi rements
At TTypical
AtTHig h
 120 m resolution was felt to be sufficient to resolve most center-pivot
irrigation fields in U.S. West - typically 400 to 800 m in diameter
 Landsat satellites provide 16 day repeat imaging -- sufficient for water
consumption estimation
 Landsat 4 & 5 TM’s provided 120 m thermal images for a single thermal band
 Landsat 7 ETM+ provided 60 m thermal images for a single thermal band
 A two band instrument will enable atmospheric correction so that more
accurate surface temperatures can be derived.
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Landsat Science Team:
Current Working Groups (issues)
 Future Missions
 Recommendations for future missions - standardsrequirements
 What constitutes “operational”?
 Long Term Goals and Purpose of Landsat Missions (Climate
emphasis - land cover ECV)
 Data Gap Working Group
 Recommendations for an operational plan for the USGS to
acquire moderate resolution data during a data gap
 Global Consolidated Landsat Archive
 More images outside the US Archive than within
 Considerable overlap, but difficult to resolve
 Provide guidance on priorities
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Outstanding Issues
 Surface Reflectance and Temperature
 Recommendations for standard products
 Need derived products
 Carbon Mapping and Monitoring
 White paper on state-of-the-art
 Operational land cover change monitoring
 Definition and implementation of a standard product
 Cloud screening the archive
 Routinely cited as the primary impediment to more automated use of Landsat
imagery over large areas/multiple time periods
 Reconstructing the history of the surface of Earth in the satellite era
 A community agenda
 Continuity
 Behind in authorizing and building Landsat 9; community advocacy is needed
 Definition of longer term sensing scenarios
 What should happen after L9?
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Summary
 Good progress towards implementation of the LDCM as a free-flyer Program has advanced to Phase B
 Ball Aerospace Technology Corporation is building the OLI
– OLI Critical Design Review successfully conducted in Oct., 2008
 Atlas V launch vehicle was selected in Oct., 2007
 General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems awarded spacecraft
contact in April, 2008 - SRR competed; PDR scheduled in March
 Mission Operations Element contract awarded to The Hammers
Company in Sept., 2008
 Ground system development underway at USGS EROS
– Preliminary Design Review scheduled for September, 2009
 Launch readiness date rescheduled from July, 2011 to December, 2012
 TIRS implementation remains to be determined
 Successful TIRS Preliminary Design Review conducted May 27 - 28, 2009
 The Mission Preliminary Design Review scheduled for July 14 - 16
 Leads to Fall Key Decision Point - C (KDP-C) review and authorization to
proceed to Phase C - Final Design and Fabrication Phase
 New bands, Free data policy, Top quality data
 is Landsat: resolutions, ground segment, archive, global coverage, LTAP……..
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