especially operators of ground station facilities, to plan and design their facilities and efforts so as to be able to participate in such systems. Moreover, advance knowledge of operational systems would facilitate compatible design in other operational systems. This principle has nothing to do with any user charge. Nor is it contemplated that such information would be disclosed only upon payment of a fee. The draft principle recognizes that certain information may be restricted from disclosure for any of several reasons, and the decision whether to release such information is left to the discretion of the country holding the technology. d. To the extent that such information is useful in permitting compatible design of ground facilities or space facilities, the draft principle recommends its disclosure. This principle does not relate to technological details that do not pertain to matters of compatibility. Technology in the sense of "know-how" is not the subject matter of the principle.

Senator FORD. Mr. Epstein, if you want to submit your statement for the record, and highlight it, you may do so; I will leave it to you. STATEMENTS OF DR. EDWARD S. EPSTEIN, ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE; AND DAVID S. JOHNSON, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL SATELLITE SERVICE Dr. EPSTEIN. Thank you. I think it's a brief enough statement that I can go through it.

Senator FORD. Mighty fine.

Dr. EPSTEIN. As you know, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the Department of Commerce is the only civilian agency of the Federal Government with an operational satellite program.

Our involvement goes back almost to the beginning of the space age. Following the launch of Sputnik in October 1957, the development of the TIROS weather satellite was initiated, with the first successful launch taking place on April 1, 1960. Because of the outstanding success of the TIROS satellites, an Interagency Panel on Operational Meteorological Satellites (POMS), involving representatives from Commerce, DOD, FAA, and NASA, recommended that the United States undertake the development of a National Operational Meteorological Satellite System (NOMSS) with management responsibility placed in the Weather Bureau of the Department of Commerce-now the National Weather Service of NOAA-that the Department contract with NASA to develop and/or procure the spacecraft, launch vehicles, and ground support equipment, and to accomplish the launchings, and that also foreign countries be phased into the program at an early enough date to allow them adequate time to develop their roles.

President Kennedy accepted the POMS recommendations and in his special message delivered before a joint session of Congress on May 25, 1961, asked Congress to provide funds for the weather bureau to initiate an operational satellite system for worldwide weather obser

vations.

Congressional committee reports and hearings at that time clearly supported the President and culminated in Public Law 87-332, which provided the first appropriation for establishing the operational system.

For the ensuing 16 years, leaders in both the executive and legislative branches have emphasized the role of the operational meteorological satellite system in meeting the common meteorological requirements of the military and civilian weather services and as an important tool in U.S. foreign policy through the program of peaceful uses of outer space. With the creation of the Environmental Science Services Administration in 1965 and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in 1970, the system has been expanded to an operational environmental satellite system, providing support also to various marine, hydrologic, and solar monitoring activities of NOAA. I have a summary report on NOAA's space activities for inclusion in the record.

Senator FORD. Without objection, they will be included in the record. [The report follows:]

OVERVIEW OF NOAA SPACE PROGRAMS

I. FUNDING FOR NOAA SPACE PROGRAMS

Based on the Congressional Submission for FY 1978, NOAA allocates the following resources to operation and management of environmental satellite systems, including research and development on the utilization of space derived data: Polar-orbiting spacecraft, launch vehicles,

launch services, and ground equipment---- $32, 361K Geostationary spacecraft, launch vehicles,

launch services, and ground equipment_--- $21, 369K Research on application of satellite data (in

Not included in these figures are the large sums spent by research and operational programs in weather and climate monitoring and prediction, oceanographic services, and other activities based on using the data derived from NOAA's operational satellite systems and NASA experimental satellite systems (ATS, NIMBUS, TIROS N, SEASAT A, and Landsat). Also excluded from these figures are the block-funded resources (ships, aircraft, buoys, computers) which are essential to developing and using the capability to derive useful products and services from space-acquired data on the sun, atmosphere, oceans, and certain terrestrial features (e.g., snow, ice, temperature).

II. OPERATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL SATELLITE PROGRAMS

The Nation's operational environmental satellite service is operated by NOAA's National Environmental Satellite Service (NESS). The basic objectives of this operational environmental satellite program include:

Monitoring the atmosphere regularly and reliably on a global basis, day and night, with direct readout to local ground stations around the globe within radio range of the satellite.

Sounding the atmosphere regularly and reliably on a global basic and providing quantitative data for numerical weather prediction services.

Continuous monitoring of environmental features in the western hemisphere, and the collection and relay of environmental data from remote platform such as buoys, ships, automatic stations, aircraft, and balloons.

Applying environmental satellite data for the purpose of improving environmental services.

A. Polar-Orbiting Satellites

NOAA-5, launched July 29, 1976, is the sixth in the series of ITOS satellites, (the NASA prototype was called ITOS-1 in orbit), the current operational

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polar-orbiting satellite. Sensors carried by these spacecraft include the Scanning Radiometer (SR), the Very High Resolution Radiometer (VHRR), the Vertical Temperature Profile Radiometer (VTPR) and the Solar Proton Monitor (SPM). Real-time broadcast of the SR images is available to more than 800 ground stations located in over 120 countries and territories around the world. Realtime broadcast of VHRR images and the VTPR data is available to a limited number of specially equipped ground stations. VHRR ground stations have been established by a number of countries including the U.S., Canada, France, West Germany, Norway, Brazil, Japan, the Peoples Republic of China, New Zealand, United Kingdom and Belgium. VTPR readout stations are located in France, West Germany, the United Kingdom, and Norway.

Development of the TIROS-N series, the third generation of operational polar-orbiting satellites, is continuing. These satellites will replace the present ITOS series and provide more accurate data for environmental monitoring and prediction. This new system will consist of two satellites in orbit at 833 kilometers altitude.

TIROS-N, the NASA prototype, is scheduled for launch in the second quarter of CY 1978; about four to six months later NOAA-A, NOAA's first operational version of this series, will be launched. Detailed design of the spacecraft began in 1974 using technology developed by both NASA and DOD. The TIROS-N series of satellites initially will carry a TIROS Operational Vertical Sounder (TOVS), and Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR), a Space Environment Monitor (SEM), and a Data Collection and Platform System (DCPLS). The major improvements in the TIROS-N system will be in providing higher accuracy and increased yield of atmospheric temperature and water vapor sounding, increased spectral radiometric information for more accurate sea surface temperature mapping and delineation of melting snow and ice fields, a remote platform location and data collection capability, and increased proton, electron, and alpha particle spectral information for improved solar disturbance prediction. The present direct broadcast services, including night and day cloud cover and sounder data transmission, will be continued.

The DCPLS is being furnished by France, who will also do the platform location analysis in the operational system. A three-channel Stratospheric Sounding Unit (a component instrument of the TOVS) is being provided by the United Kingdom.

B. Geostationary Satellites

NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) system is an outgrowth of NASA's Applications Technology Satellite (ATS) program. The GOES system includes two operating satellites, the ground data acquisition stations, and a central data distribution system. The first satellite in this system, NASA's Synchronous Meteorological Satellite (SMS-1) which is a prototype for GOES, was launched May 17, 1974. The second satellite, NASA's SMS-2 was launched February 6, 1975. The first NOAA-funded satellite, GOES-1, was launched October 16, 1975; another is scheduled for launch about May 25, 1977. At the present time the system consists of two operating spacecraft located to provide continuous observations of the Western Hemisphere. A third spacecraft is located in orbit between the operating spacecraft and is on standby. The primary instrument carried by the SMS and GOES satellites, through GOES-C, is the Visible and Infrared Spin-Scan Radiometer (VISSR). The VISSR provides a full disc view of the Earth every 30 minutes. More frequent images can be obtained at the sacrifice of spatial coverage. The visible channel provides high resolution (about 1 km) daytime images. The infrared channel provides lower resolution (about 8 km) day and night images. The SMS/GOES satellites also carry a Space Environment Monitor for observing solar radiation and the Earth's magnetic field, and a data collection system for collection of environmental data from remote observing platforms. The VISSR images are processed through the NESS Central Data Distribution Facility, either as a full disc image or a sector thereof, and routed to Satellite Field Services Stations (SFSS) for analysis and further routing to National Weather Service Forecast Offices and other users. The SFSS's are located at Washington, D.C.; Miami, Florida; Kansas City, Missouri; San Francisco, California; Honolulu, Hawaii; and Anchorage, Alaska. Each SFSS provides regional analysis, interpretation, and distribution of the VISSR images to meet a wide variety of environmental needs. A most important service rendered is the near-continuous viewing of the development and movement of severe weather systems. An extension of the GOES

image distribution service is the "GOES-TAP" system. Instituted by NESS in 1975, "GOES-TAP" now allows Federal, state, and local agencies, television stations, universities, and industry to receive a limited inventory of GOES satellite products directly from the nearest SFSS. Alternatively the full image data can be received directly from the satellite. This now is being done or planned for by USAF, Offutt AFB, U.S. Navy at Monterey, University of Wisconsin, Canada, France, and Brazil.

In addition the GOES satellites broadcasts environmental data to remote locations using the Weather Facsimile (WEFAX) System.

The GOES Data Collection System (DCS) collects and relays environmental data obtained by remotely located sensing platforms such as river and rain gages, seismometers, tide gages, buoys, ships, aircraft, and automatic weather stations. Each operational GOES spacecraft can accommodate data from more thn 10.000 platforms each six hours. The Data Collection Platform Radio Set (DCPRS) provides the link between the platform sensors and the GOES satellite. Data are transmitted in a self-timed mode or upon interrogation by the satellite. Data also may be transmitted under emergency conditions at which time the DCPRS is triggered whenever an observed parameter exceeds a predetermined threshold value. Over 200 satellite-interrogated platforms of the GOES DCS now provide data and servcies to users in the United States and Canada and the number is steadily increasing. Requests for DCS services also have been received from Chile and Bolivia. The DCS provides a near-instantaneous source of information for many applications such as river and flood monitoring and forestfire index measurements. A recent test involving relay of data from a prototype Shipboard Environmental Acquisition System (SEAS) and Aircraft to Satellite Data Relay (ASDAR), demonstrated the technical feasibiltiy of collecting environmental data automatically from ocean vessels and commercial wide-body jets.

C. Cooperation in International Activities

An international system of five geostationary satellites will play an important part in the World Weather Watch program and the First GARP Global Experiment. The United States, through NOAA and NASA, is cooperating in the coordination and planning that will lead to the international geostationary satellite system. The two satellites operating in NOAA's GOES system will be a part of the international program as will the polar-orbiting satellites. The European Space Agency plans to place a satellite in orbit to view Europe and Africa. The launch is scheduled for September 1977. Japan will launch its satellite into geostationary orbit over the western Pacific Ocean in July 1977. The Russian geostationary satellite is scheduled to be launched in late 1978, and will be located over the Indian Ocean.

NESS assisted the Office of Foreign Disaster Relief Coordinator of the Agency for International Development (AID. Department of State, by providing satel lite views of major disaster areas. This information was used in planning relief operations for and aerial photographic surveys of disaster areas, including earthquakes in Italy and Guatemala, floods in Nicaragua, and typhoons in Guam and the Phillipines.

The United States and the Soviet Union continue to exchange environmental satellite data operationally under terms of a long-standing bilateral agreement. NOAA-4 satellite data were used in the development of a method to contro! locusts in southern Algeria. The U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization used Very High Resolution Radiometer images to locate rainfall areas and hence areas of emergent vegetation. Algerian control teams examined these areas to determine if insecticide spraying was needed to inhibit the development of migratory swarms. This application of satellite data to locust control shows promise and may eventually be applied to the entire desert locust zone, covering about 31 million square kilometers from Dakar, Senegal, to Dacca, Bangladesh.

III. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

There is a substantial and continuing need for NASA research and development programs to support the NOAA mission. The success of NOAA in carrying out its mission depends heavily on the support received from the NASA research and development programs, particularly those in sensor development and space technology.

Current NASA programs with application to NOAA's needs include the following:

A. TIROS-N

Development of the TIROS-N prototype of the next series of operational environmental polar-orbiting satellites was undertaken by NASA in response to requirements and specifications established by NOAA. The system uses technology and hardware developed and tested in NASA's research and development programs, and to the extent feasible makes maximum use of technology developed in military satellite programs.

B. Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (SBUV) Spectrometer

In recent years, there has been a growing awareness of the impact of man on the atmosphere, particularly the possibility of reduction of stratospheric ozone and subsequent effects on climate and health. The stratospheric ozone layer shields man from the deleterious effects of ultraviolet radiation. Depletion of the ozone layer may destroy this shield and may lead to other climatic changes. In studies conducted by various Federal agencies and committees, all have recommended a long-term monitoring of atmospheric ozone.

NASA demonstrated a practical technique to monitor ozone changes in the atmosphere using data from the Backscatter Ultraviolet instruments flown on Nimbus-4 and Atmospheric Explorer-E. An improved instrument, the SBUV, will be flown on Nimbus-G in 1978. After this, there are no further ozone research satellite measurements planned. However, NASA is preparing a design and interface study for adapting the Nimbus-G SBUV instrument to operational use on the TIROS-N series spacecraft. The protoflight model is expected to be available for NOAA-E.

C. Earth Radiation Budget Satellite System (ERBSS)

Knowledge of the earth's radiation budget and its components is fundamental to understanding climate. Monitoring of variations of solar and terrestrial radiation parameters is necessary to determine how natural and man-made changes affect the Earth's climate. Natural changes are variations in cloudiness, snow, and ice; and man-induced changes include the introduction of pollutants into the atmosphere and changes in land use. These changes ultimately may have considerable impact on food production, energy use, and water resources. Global monitoring of solar and terrestrial radiation is feasible and reliable only from outside the atmosphere by use of instruments carried on satellites. NASA and NOAA are collaborating on developing an Earth Radiation Budget Satellite System (ERBSS) which will include instruments to be flown on the TIROS-N series spacecraft. The technology for this system is based on the NOAA developed Earth Radiation Budget (ERB) instrument carried on Nimbus-6 and planned for Nimbus-G. The first operational satellite to carry this instrument will be NOAA-F.

D. Visible and Infrared Spin-Scan Radiometer (VISSR) Atmospheric Sounder (VAS)

The operational capability to obtain global quantitative soundings of atmospheric temperature and moisture from polar-orbiting spacecraft has been demonstrated by instruments flown on the ITOS series of satellites; improved version will be flown on the TIROS-N series. The next major step forward will be atmospheric soundings from geostationary orbit. NASA is developing the VAS as a second generation sensor for replacement of the VISSR on future GOES spacecraft. The initial VAS experiment is to be conducted on GOES-D, planned for launch about 1980. The VAS, a modification of the VISSR, will extend the VISSR imaging capabilities to include additional infrared channels for measurement of atmospheric temperature and water vapor in the CO2 and H2O absorption bands. The added infrared channels will be used to obtain vertical profiles of temperature and moisture by methods similar to those employed with the VTPR on the NOAA satellites. The data will be spatially averaged to obtain soundings at about 20 km intervals with a frequency of about once an hour. The VAS will provide visible images identical to the original instrument. It is expected that the VAS data will contribute to improved mesoscale weather analysis and prediction, and better warnings of severe short-lived weather events such as thunderstorms and tornado-producing cloud systems.

E. SeaSAT-A

The oceans, covering about two-thirds of the Earth's surface, have considerable influence on our weather and climate, serve as a medium for transportation, and is a virtually untapped resource warranting further exploration. The