[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 230 (Monday, December 1, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71141-71143]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-28178]
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OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY
Microsatellite Technologies for Civil Earth Observations
ACTION: Notice of Request for Information (RFI).
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SUMMARY: The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is to
solicit input from interested parties on: (1) The current and near-term
state of microsatellite technologies, and (2) whether microsatellite
systems will be capable of meeting current and future civil Earth-
observing needs.
Public input provided in response to this RFI will inform the
Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) as to the state of
technologies associated with microsatellites to meet the Nation's civil
Earth observational requirements.
DATES: Responses must be received by 30 days from publication date to
be considered.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
Downloadable form/email: To aid in information collection
and analysis, OSTP encourages responders to fill out the downloadable
form located at http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/microsat_rfi_final.pdf and email that form, as an
attachment, to [email protected]. Please include ``Microsatellite
Technologies for Civil Earth Observations'' in the subject line of the
message.
Fax: (202) 456-6071.
Mail: Office of Science and Technology Policy, 1650
Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20504. Information submitted by
postal mail should allow ample time for processing.
Response to this RFI is voluntary. Respondents need not respond to
each section of the RFI; however, they should clearly identify those
sections to which they are responding by listing the corresponding
number for each point listed below. Respondents must mark their
responses as ``Business Confidential'' if responses contain information
that is business proprietary, or commercial confidential information.
OSTP will protect such information consistent with applicable law.
Please note that the U.S. Government will not pay for response
preparation, or for the use of any information contained in the
response.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Timothy Stryker, 202-419-3471,
[email protected], OSTP.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
In recent decades, the United States' Earth-observing capacity has
grown in scale and complexity, with multiple Federal agencies
collecting information about the state of the Earth system. Earth
observation systems consist of sensing elements that directly or
indirectly collect observations of the Earth, measure environmental
parameters, or survey biological or other Earth resources (such as land
surface, biosphere, solid Earth, atmosphere, and oceans). The platforms
carrying these sensing elements may be mobile or fixed, and are space-
based, airborne, terrestrial, freshwater, or marine-based.
Space-based observation systems have been used for decades to
collect critical information used by the civil Earth observation
community. The high vantage point afforded by Earth orbit provides the
opportunity to conduct
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observations covering broad areas, over long periods with frequent
revisit rates. Satellite platforms can be costly, and technology
improvements are implemented on lengthy timeframes. As microsatellite
technology improves, the cost of collecting sustained and scientific
observations from space may decrease, not only reducing costs for
current observations, but potentially enabling additional missions.
In 2013, the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC)
released a National Strategy for Civil Earth Observations (http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/nstc_2013_earthobsstrategy.pdf) outlining a policy framework organized
by Societal Benefit Areas (SBAs) to enable stable, continuous, and
coordinated global Earth-observation capabilities for the benefit of
society. Societal benefits accrue from Earth observations that inform
scientific research, policy, and decision-making. SBAs are
interconnected at local, regional, national, and international scales,
and include scientific research, economic activities, and environmental
and social domains.
Many SBAs involve critical government functions, such as the
continuity of national government and the protection of life and
property. The NSTC framework enabled the development of a National Plan
for Civil Earth Observations informed by a government-wide assessment
of the impact of more than 350 Earth observation systems.
The National Plan for Civil Earth Observations (http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/NSTC/2014_national_plan_for_civil_earth_observations.pdf) published in July
2014, lists the highest priority measurement groups for observations
as:
Weather and seasonal climate monitoring and prediction,
which characterize phenomena such as precipitation, storms, wind,
floods, sea state, drought, wildfires, ice, air quality (including
ozone), and weather risks to human health and transportation.
Dynamic land-surface monitoring and characterization to
support food and water security, water availability and quality, fire
detection and suppression, human health, forestry, soil
characterization (including soil moisture), hazards mapping and
response, and natural-resource management.
Elevation and geo-location to support food and water
security, hazard and risk mapping, and natural-resource management.
Water level and flow to support coastal inundation and
inland flooding, water availability, hydropower management,
transportation, human health, water equivalent of snow, and tsunami
hazard preparedness.
In addition to these highest priority measurement areas, the
National Plan (http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/NSTC/2014_national_plan_for_civil_earth_observations.pdf) specifies
additional categories of measurement areas that are also important for
sustained observations for public services. These categories include:
Ecosystem and biodiversity resource surveys for
terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems, including fisheries and
wildlife management;
Environmental-quality monitoring, specifically disease-
vector surveillance, water quality, and air quality associated with
changes in atmospheric composition, including particulate matter and
short-lived climate pollutants;
Geo-hazard monitoring for Earthquakes, volcanoes,
landslides, regional and local subsidence (e.g., sinkholes),
inundation, and tsunamis; and
Space-weather monitoring of geomagnetic storms, sunspots,
solar flares, associated x-ray and ultraviolet emissions, solar wind
(including coronal mass ejection), solar energetic particles, traveling
ionosphere disturbances, and associated changes of the Earth's
geomagnetic field and ionosphere for their impact on human activities.
The National Plan also describes the following measurement
categories as essential to the Federal government's research
objectives:
Atmospheric state, including measurements of temperature,
pressure, humidity, wind, and ozone at the accuracy required for long-
term climate research, and, as appropriate, to improve short and
medium-range weather forecasting;
Cryosphere, including measurements of ice sheets,
glaciers, permafrost, snow, and sea ice extent and thickness;
Earth's energy budget, including total solar irradiance
and Earth's radiation budget, and the reflectance and scattering
properties of clouds, aerosols, and greenhouse gases, specifically for
understanding Earth's sensitivity to climate change;
Extremes, including specific and routine observations for
the study of extreme temperatures, drought, precipitation, and wind;
Geo-hazard research, including monitoring land-surface
deformation to better understand regional and local disaster potential
and effects, and the monitoring of phenomena that precede natural
disasters (such as seismic, stress, strain, geochemical, and
temperature changes);
Greenhouse gas emissions and concentrations, including
understanding sources and sinks of greenhouse gases, as well as changes
in long-lived greenhouse gas and short-lived climate pollutant
concentrations over time;
Integrated geophysical and biosphere characterization
(terrestrial, freshwater, and marine), including long-term dynamics to
understand ecosystem change and biogeochemical processes (particularly
the carbon cycle);
Ocean state, including observations of sea levels,
temperature, salinity, pH, alkalinity, currents and characteristics of
marine ecosystems;
Space weather, including long-term understanding of the
Earth-Sun relationship, solar dynamics, and the drivers of space-
weather impacts at the Earth's surface (such as coupling between space
weather and geomagnetic storms); and
Water cycle, including the analysis of droughts, floods,
and water availability (precipitation, soil moisture, snow-water
equivalent, evapotranspiration, groundwater, surface water, and
runoff).
Societal Benefit Areas
(http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/nstc_2013_earthobsstrategy.pdf)
Agriculture and Forestry: Supporting sustainable
agriculture and forestry.
Biodiversity: Understanding and conserving biodiversity.
Climate: Understanding, assessing, predicting, mitigating,
and adapting to climate variability and related global change.
Disasters: Reducing loss of life, property, and ecosystem
damage from natural and human-induced disasters.
Ecosystems (Terrestrial and Freshwater): Improving the
management and protection of terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems.
Energy and Mineral Resources: Improving the identification
and management of energy and mineral resources.
Human Health: Understanding environmental factors
affecting human health and well-being.
Ocean and Coastal Resources and Ecosystems: Understanding
and protecting ocean, coastal, and Great
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Lakes populations and resources (including fisheries, aquaculture, and
marine ecosystems).
Space Weather: Understanding, assessing, predicting, and
mitigating the effects of space weather on technological systems
(including satellites, power grids, communications, and navigation).
Transportation: Improving the safety and efficiency of all
modes of transportation (including air, highway, railway, and marine).
Water Resources: Improving water resource management
through better understanding and monitoring of the water cycle.
Weather: Improving weather information, forecasting, and
warning.
Reference Measurements: Improving reference measurements--
the underpinnings of all the SBAs--and the fundamental measurement
systems and standards supporting them (such as geodesy, bathymetry,
topography, and geolocation).
OSTP invites you to submit public comments (limit 5 pages) on the
technical feasibility of developing microsatellites that can be
deployed at equal or lower cost compared to current satellites to meet
the sustained missions of the civil Earth observation community. For
the purposes of this study, OSTP considers microsatellites as having a
mass of less than 100 kg. In your written response, please identify the
number of each topic as you address it.
OSTP welcomes public input on the following topics:
1. Identify the measurement categories highlighted in the National
Plan for Civil Earth Observations relevant to your mission;
2. Technical near-term (1-5 years) capabilities of microsatellite
system(s) related to Earth observations capabilities as defined above;
3. Reliability, system lifetime, and maintainability;
4. Launch requirements including planned launch options (rideshare,
microsatellite launch companies, etc.), if they exist;
5. Current technical limitations on microsatellites for operational
Earth observing missions; and
6. Broad estimates of development, launch and operational costs of
specific systems.
Ted Wackler,
Deputy Chief of Staff and Assistant Director.
[FR Doc. 2014-28178 Filed 11-28-14; 8:45 am]
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