Mission Status

The DOI/USGS and NASA are in partnership to acquire Landsat-quality data that meets both scientific and operational requirements by providing continuity of data characteristics and accessibility for Landsat data users.

In accordance with the Land Remote Sensing Policy Act of 1992, LDCM will be derived from one of four possible courses of action for the satellite production, launch, operations, and delivery of data to the user community. The partners are investigating the options below. A selection has not been made at this time.

Option 1

The first option is for the LDCM to be developed, owned, and operated, solely by a private enterprise that will distribute data on a commercial basis to U.S. Government and all other users.

Option 2

The second option is for a joint commercial-government enterprise. Under this option, LDCM would be a commercially owned and operated system with NASA acquiring the U.S. Government's LDCM data via a contract to industry. DOI/USGS would be responsible for the archive, data processing, data access, and distribution of LDCM data products to users throughout the life of the mission. This role is a subset to the current DOI/USGS role in regards to handling Landsat 1-5 and 7 data.

Option 3

The third option is for the LDCM to be derived from an international consortium, wherein countries could share developmental and operational responsibilities for a satellite, sensor(s), launch vehicle, and ground system. U.S. Government owned LDCM data would be handled and distributed by DOI/USGS.

Option 4

The fourth option is for the LDCM to be built and operated by the U.S. Government. This option would be similar to the current operational structure of Landsat 7, with DOI/USGS handling and distributing data.

For other information related to the LDCM mission status, please visit the NASA LDCM webpage.