Status of the Landsat Data Continuity Mission

Status of the Landsat Data Continuity Mission

Jim Irons

LDCM Project Scientist

Laboratory for Atmospheres

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

LDCM SRR/MDR/PNAR 22-24 April 2008

NASA Coastal Habitats WorkshopUniversity of California Santa Barbara

August 05, 2008

08/05/08 NASA Coastal Habitats Workshop 2

History of the Landsat Program

Gov’t Operations Gov’t OperationsCommercial Operations


Landsat Satellites in Operation

Landsat 5 - 21 years beyond design life 1984 Launch Spacecraft

– One remaining transmitter tube - TWTA– Solar Array Drive Failure

• Fixed array operations – Aug 2006 Thematic Mapper ( TM ) Sensor

– Functioning normally in bumper-mode

Landsat 7 - 4 years beyond design life 1999 Launch Spacecraft

– Gyro 3 Failure (Shut down May 5, 2004)• Functions nominally on two remaining gyros

– Enhanced Thematic Mapper - Plus (ETM+)– Scan Line Corrector Failure (May 31, 2003)

• Degraded data products


ETM+ SLC Failure Impact

Note that the images show partial scenes, from the western edge through the scene center.


Multi-Decadal Archive

USGS operates the National Satellite Land Remote Sensing Data Archive at its EROS Center in Sioux Falls, SD

Marketable Scenes through March 31, 2008

ETM+: Landsat 7– 813,298 scenes– 755 TB– Archive grows by 260 GB Daily

TM: Landsat 4 & Landsat 5– 738,798 scenes– 370 TB– Archive Grows by 40 GB Daily

MSS: Landsat 1 through 5– 652,174 scenes– 20 TB of Data

No other nation is committed to preserving a comparable record No other nation is committed to preserving a comparable record of the global land surfaceof the global land surface


ETM+ Scenes Archived in 2007

• Landsat 7 provides systematic coverage of the global land surface on a seasonal basis via a long term acquisition plan (LTAP)

• No other nation’s satellite system is designed or operated to achieve No other nation’s satellite system is designed or operated to achieve even even annualannual global coverage at the Landsat scale global coverage at the Landsat scale


2001-2005: Global Coral Reef Atlas

• 2001: NASA funds IMaRS/USF to achieve the “Millennium Coral Reef Mapping” as a Research project (PI: S. Andrefouet, F. Muller-Karger).

• 2002: NASA also funds NASA/Johnson Space Center (Houston) to distribute reef/land maps to end-users as an Application project (PI: J. Robinson).

• Combined goal: process the Landsat 7 ETM+ archive to achieve the first high resolution global map of coral reefs and distribute the products to users.


Global coral reef archive of L7 image

Hundreds of thousands of reef images collected but, Cloud issues (algorithm for land) Data policy and access issues (cost of L7 imagery) USF/NASA JSC really achieved one complete cover in late 2003 (~1500 images) Achieved through collaborations, “gifts”, and NASA data set purchase Completed by Aster, TM and SPOT occasionally


Data Distribution and Data Policy

A NEW ERA

USGS EROS has historically distributed Landsat data products to the general public on a non-discriminatory basis at the “cost of fulfilling a user request (COFUR)” $600 per Landsat 7 ETM+ scene

On April 21, 2008 the USGS released a USGS Technical Announcement stating: “By February 2009, any Landsat archive scene selected by a

user will be processed, at no charge, automatically to a standard product recipe and staged for electronic retrieval.”


LDCM Implementation Strategies

Data Buy / Government-Industry Partnership 2000 - 2003 Data Specification

NPOESS Incorporation 2004 - 2005 2004 Marburger Memo

Free-Flyer 2006 - present 2005 Marburger Memo


LDCM Milestones

Operational Land Imager (OLI) awarded to Ball Aerospace Technology Corporation (BATC), Boulder, CO on July 16, 2007 RFP released Jan. 09, 2007 Cost-plus-award-fee contract, including all options, is for $127.9M OLI Instrument Preliminary Design Review held March 03-07 at BATC

Atlas V launch vehicle selected Oct. 03, 2007

Spacecraft awarded to General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems on April 28, 2008 Request for Offer (RFO) released Dec. 07, 2007 via RSDO Fixed-price contract for $116M

Mission Operations Element (MOE) RFP released Feb. 28 SEB in progress


NASA / USGS Interagency Partnership NASA Associate Administrator Alan Stern and the USGS Associate Director of

Geography, Barbara Ryan, signed Final Implementation Agreement in April 2007 NASA Shall

Lead, fund, and manage development of Space Segment and Launch Segment Procure on a reimbursable basis the Mission Operations Element (MOE) Lead the LDCM development as the system integrator for all mission segments

throughout development, on-orbit checkout, and acceptance Lead, fund, and manage the LDCM pre-launch calibration, validation, and

characterization of LDCM data through on-orbit check out Transfer the Space Segment and MOE contracts to USGS following on-orbit

acceptance Provide a co-chair for the Landsat Science Team

USGS shall Lead, fund, and manage development of the Ground System (excluding the MOE)

including flight operations and ground data processing Accept the LDCM Space Segment and MOE contracts following on-orbit acceptance Lead, fund, and manage on-orbit performance evaluation of the LDCM system and

calibration, validation, and characterization of the LDCM data following on-orbit acceptance

Lead, fund, and manage the Landsat Science Team Provide long-term archival of all LDCM data acquired by the U.S. Government


Operational Land Imager (OLI)

Instrument Preliminary Design Review successfully held 4-7 March Most board members felt OLI well beyond PDR & OLI Team

did an extraordinary job

Flight Hardware Secondary and Tertiary Mirrors completed polishing Optical Bench completed and in final testing Filters

– 5 Engineering model butcher block filter assemblies completed Focal Plane Array

– ROIC yield very good– ROIC testing at RVS has shown good results– SWIR detector test results good– Hybridization of first lot of 6 EDU/flight sensor chip assemblies in process

Instrument Support Electronics– All EDU board components have been mounted– Expecting all EDU boards to be in test by end of this month

OLI CDR - 9/30 – 10/2


Spectral CharacteristicsTable 1. Required Spectral Bands and Spatial Resolution

#

Band

Minimum Lower

Band Edge (nm)

Maximum Upper

Band Edge (nm)

Center Wavelength

(nm)

Maximum Spatial

Resolution

At Nadir

(m)

1 Coastal /Aerosol

433 453 443 30

2 Blue 450 515 482 30

3 Green 525 600 562 30

4 Red 630 680 655 30

5 NIR 845 885 865 30

6 SWIR 1 1560 1660 1610 30

7 SWIR 2 2100 2300 2200 30

8 Panchromatic 500 680 590 15

9 Cirrus 1360 1390 1375 30


System Enhancements

Ltypical SNR LHigh SNR Band ETM+

Performance EO-1 ALI

Performance OLI

Requirements ETM+

Performance EO-1 ALI

Performance OLI

Requirements

Coastal Aerosol

N/A 150 130 N/A 340 290

Blue 40 190 130 140 540 360 Green 40 210 100 190 830 390 Red 30 210 90 140 810 340 NIR 35 170 90 250 880 460

SWIR 1 35 200 100 190 1080 540

SWIR 2 30 240 100 140 950 510

Pan 16 190 80 90 550 230 Cirrus N/A N/A 50 N/A N/A N/A

EO-1 Science Team studies consistently found that ALI data offered improved ability to classify images, detect land cover change, and map environmental features and conditions relative to ETM+ data

(1) (2)

(3)

(2)(1)

Signal-to-Noise Ratios (SNR)


OLI Baseline Design

Pushbroom VIS/SWIR sensor Four mirror telescope with front

aperture stop FPA consisting of 14 sensor chip

assemblies, passively cooled


OLI Instrument Overview

Optical BenchStructure

Primary MirrorAssembly

Tertiary MirrorAssembly

Calibration Subassembly

Quaternary MirrorAssembly

Bench to DeckKinematic Mounts

Secondary MirrorAssembly

Instrument Support Electronics (ISE)

X (Velocity

Direction)

Y

Z (Nadir

Direction)

Focal PlaneElectronics (FPE)


Focal Plane Consists of 14 Modules

Focal Plane Module

Each Module contains Silicon and HgCdTe detectors mounted on a single readout chip (ROIC)

─ Spectral Filters above the detectors provide separation into bands


Calibration Subassembly Consists of Five Subassemblies

─ 3 LightShade Assemblies─ 1 Diffuser Assembly ─ 1 Shutter Assembly

EntranceLightShade

Diffuser Assembly

Aft LightShade

Exploded View of Calibration Subassembly

SolarLightShade

Shutter Assembly

Stim Lamp Assemblies redesigned to increase emitted light and optimize monitoring diode position

Diodes view diffuser instead of housing wallNo direct view of any lamps

Calibration Detailed Design Underway


Flight Optics

Flight Secondary Mirror at Final Edging (now in edge polish)

Flight Quaternary MirrorAfter Aspheric Shaping

Flight Primary MirrorPrior to Final Polishing

Flight Tertiary Mirror Silvered for WFE Testing


Main Bench Assembly Takes Shape

ATK technicians bond FPA bulkhead into bottom bulkhead as main bench assembly takes shape


Additional Instruments

Total Solar Irradiance Sensor On May 2nd , NOAA announced that TSIS is back on NPOESS TSIS no longer an option for LDCM

Thermal Infrared Sensor Based on continued Congressional interest (appropriation language) the

project is ensuring that TIRS will not be precluded from being accommodated on LDCM


LDCM Spacecraft

General Dynamics selected for LDCM spacecraft Delivery order signed 4/28

Key deliverables Observatory (on-orbit; L+90 days) Two Simulators

– One Interface Simulator to be provided to OLI for interface testing with the instrument– One Spacecraft/Observatory Simulator for the MOC

Software Development Verification Facility FOT Training

– Manuals, classroom session, videotape, qualification testing

Recent activities focused on OLI to S/C interface Ensure TIRS accommodation is not precluded Requirements

Systems Requirements Review September, 2008


Mission Operations Element (MOE)

Mission Operations Element (MOE) Command & Control, Mission Scheduling, Long-Term Trending and

Analysis, and Flight Dynamics SEB in progress


Landsat Science Team

USGS convened the first meeting of the USGS-sponsored science team for Jan. 09 - 11, 2007 at USGS EROS in Sioux Falls, SD Co-chaired by the USGS Landsat Project Scientist, Tom

Loveland, and the NASA LDCM Project Scientist, Jim Irons USGS selected 17 science team members in Oct.

– 8 PI’s from academia and private industry

– 6 civil servant PI’s and 3 international PI’s

Team selected Curtis Woodcock, Boston U., as Team Leader

Second meeting held June 12 - 14, 2007 in Corvallis, OR Third meeting held Jan. 08 - 10, 2008 at USGS EROS Fourth Meeting held July 15 - 7 at USGS HQ, Reston, VA


SRR/MDR/PNAR

SRR/MDR/PNAR successfully conducted May 20-23 Purpose of review

– System Requirements Review (SRR)• Examines the functional and performance requirements defined for the

system and the preliminary project plan and ensures that the requirements and the selected concept will satisfy the mission

– Mission Definition Review (MDR)• Examines the proposed requirements, the mission architecture, and the

flow down to all functional elements of the mission to ensure that the overall concept is complete, feasible, and consistent with available resources

– Preliminary Non Advocate Review (PNAR)• PNAR is conducted as part of the MDR to provide Agency management

with an independent assessment of the readiness of the project to proceed to Phase B

SRR/MDR/PNAR Results Standing Review Board (SRB) identified 11 strengths SRB identified three issues


Standing Review Board Issues

SRB identified 3 issues

Launch Readiness Date requirement of July 2011 drove the Project to baseline an extremely aggressive, high risk schedule which lacks any schedule reserve at the mission level.

– Probability of the project successfully implementing this schedule is extremely low based on the SRB schedule analysis.

Project currently has a requirement for the spacecraft to accommodate a thermal imagining instrument (TIRS) and continues to conduct feasibility studies to include this instrument on the LDCM.

– Adding the TIRS instrument at this point in the Project would have significant cost and schedule impacts.

– Continued requests for technical, cost, and schedule plans and estimates for adding the TIRS instrument distract the Project leadership and engineering personnel from focusing on implementing the current baseline mission which adds risk.

Based on the schedule assessment, which identified the current baseline schedule as very high risk, and the SRB Independent Cost Analysis (ICA), including an Independent Cost Estimate (ICE), the Project baseline budget may not be adequate.


Results of the SRR/MDR/PNAR

Launch readiness date (LRD) under review Current LRD of July, 2011 found unrealistic in multiple

independent schedule analyses of baseline (OLI-only) mission LRD will likely be moved out 6 to 18 months

Addition of a thermal infrared sensor is being revisited 2007 study at GSFC estimated cost and schedule impacts and

developed conceptual sensor design based on microbolometer-based focal plane - study terminated in Sept., 2007

Due to Congressional interest expressed in draft 2009 NASA appropriation language, GSFC has been directed by NASA HQ to revisit the 2007 study

– Cryogenically-cooled detector technologies are being evaluated


120 m resolution 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 of imaging - sufficient for water consumption estimation unless clouds preclude imaging

Landsat 4 & 5 TM’s provided 120 m thermal images for single thermal band Landsat 7 ETM+ provided 60 m thermal images for single thermal band The two bands enable atmospheric correction for accurate surface

temperatures

LDCM Thermal Requirements

08/05/08 NASA Coastal Habitats Workshop

Landsat Thermal Data for Hydrodynamic Modeling

True Color Composite Thermal Channel

Landsat TM Data, June 12, 1992

Courtesy of John SchottRochester Institute of Technology


Why Build the LDCM?

Due to increasing population land cover and land use are changing at rates unprecedented in human history with profound consequences for society

Food - Water - Shelter - Climate

No alternatives to Landsat data continuity Scale Archive Geographic coverage Data distribution policy Calibration & data quality

The need is urgent Landsat 5 and Landsat 7 are well past design lives A Landsat data gap is imminent

LDCM aligns directly with strategic plans for NASA, national climate change research, and international earth observations

Both the Executive Office of the President and the Congress have mandated a Landsat 7 successor mission

Documents

Status of the Landsat Data Continuity Mission