Government programs for research and operational uses of commercial remote sensing data

• Published in: Remote sensing of environment 2003-11, Vol.88 (1), p.3-16
• Main Authors: Birk, Ronald J., Stanley, Thomas, Snyder, Gregory I., Hennig, Thomas A., Fladeland, Matthew M., Policelli, Fritz
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Commercial remote sensing; Digital elevation model; Earth science; Hyperspectral; IKONOS; Imagery; LIDAR; Mapping; Monitoring; Multispectral; OrbView-3; QuickBird; Radar
• ISSN: 0034-4257; 1879-0704
• DOI: 10.1016/j.rse.2003.07.007

The private sector is delivering products and services derived from an expanding array of airborne and spaceborne remote sensing systems. The successful commercial launches of the IKONOS, QuickBird, and OrbView-3 satellites in 1999, 2001, and 2003, respectively, combined with commercial airborne sensors such as the Positive Systems ADAR 5500 (multispectral), the Intermap STAR-3 i (interferometric synthetic aperture radar), and TerraPoint, LLC, LIDAR System have ushered in an era of expanded capability and capacity for the field of remote sensing of our Earth. Remote sensing data from commercial sensors offer the public and private geospatial information communities important new sources of timely and accurate spatial information that can augment data provided by public-sector remote sensing systems. Several Federal agencies, including the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the U.S. Geological Survey, and the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA), have established data purchase programs and related activities to access, evaluate, and assimilate new commercial remote sensing products to serve research and operational requirements. Plans for future commercial systems and data products indicate an expanding set of data types using hyperspectral, radar, LIDAR, and microwave technologies. The availability of new data sources has established the basis for Federal programs to provide for systematic characterization of the products, consistent with the characterization of data products enabled by traditional sources that include Landsat, SPOT, and the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR). An overview of commercial remote sensing initiatives within the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the U.S. Department of the Interior, and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), and of their Joint Agency Commercial Imagery Evaluation (JACIE) team, illustrates these points, highlights lessons learned from these activities, and outlines recommendations for the future.