SPACECRAFT PROGRAMING AND CONTROL Mr. JOHNSON. The spacecraft programing and control is a quarter of a million dollars. This is to determine what you should do with the satellite when and while it is in orbit. The central data processing, including computer rental and operating costs and personnel is a little over $3 million; archives, processing data for research purposes and storage is $300,000; technical management costs, personnel, is $1 million for the Weather Bureau, and three-fourths of a million dollars for NASA. This comes out to a total of $60 million. The earlier figure we gave you of $75 million is what we may get to, because of the standard costs and inflation that will go on between now and 1966. At the time this report was prepared-it was completed in March or April-this was the cost arrived at, the total of $60 million which I have just outlined. JUSTIFICATION STATEMENT Mr. THOMAS. Insert pages 2, 3, 4, and 5 in the record. (The pages follow:) DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE-WEATHER BUREAU GENERAL STATEMENT From the beginning of plans for artificial satellites, it was recognized that one of the principal values would be in the field of atmospheric sciences, particularly in meteorology. Leading scientists have emphasized over and over again the importance of satellites in weather research, and many official studies have disclosed their unprecedented potentialities for improvement of weather predictions. At the recent meeting of the International Committee on Space Research (Cospar) in Florence, Italy (April 1961), the following resolution was adopted: "Cospar congratulates the U.S. scientists responsible for the successful launching of Tiros II, the scientific and practical results of which are already of benefit to mankind." The first "TV" meteorological satellite, TIROS I, launched on April 1, 1960, operated nearly 3 months and was successful beyond all expectations. It showed features of the atmosphere never known before and was acclaimed throughout the world. It was the greatest advance in many decades in the technology of meteorological observation. The achievement ranks with the development of numerical weather prediction as one of the major approaches to understanding the fundamental natural controls of weather and climate. The scientific achievements seen in the results of TIROS I and confirmed by TIROS II (launched Nov. 23, 1960) are in keeping with the policy declared by the Congress in the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958". * * * that activities in space should be devoted to peaceful purposes for the benefit of all mankind." The Government of the United States made this clear when the President in an address to the United Nations General Assembly, September 22, 1960, proposed that "*** we press forward with a program of international cooperation for constructive uses of outer space under the United Nations. Better weather forecasting, improved worldwide communications * * * a few of the benefits of such cooperation.' are but In his address to the Congress on the state of the Union, January 30, 1961, President Kennedy urged worldwide cooperation in such a program and states, "Specifically, I now invite all nations-including the Soviet Union-to join us in developing a weather prediction program. ***" In his second state of the Union address to the Congress on May 25, 1961, President Kennedy said "***Space is open to us now; and our eagerness to share its meaning is not governed by the efforts of others. We go into space because whatever mankind must undertake, free men must fully share. The President, in this message, requested the addition of $53 million for the Weather Bureau "*** to give us at the earliest possible time a satellite system for worldwide weather observation. Such a system will be of inestimable commercial and scientific value, and the information it provides will be made freely available to all the nations of the world." It is now clear from evaluations of the TIROS series that meteorological satellites can be used to provide global weather information necessary for service operations related to adequate weather forecasting for agriculture, aeronautics, forestry, commerce, industry, and transportation, and for the increased protection of life and property. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration research and development program has now reached the stage where an operational meteorological satellite program is feasible. The United States has achieved world leadership in the experimental use of artificial satellites for weather purposes. It would be to the advantage of the United States to take the lead in extending such international meteorological cooperation to include satellite data by setting up an operational meteorological satellite program making available to all nations the results of our peaceful use of outer space. It should be noted that it becomes no burden for the satellite system to satisfy simultaneously national requirements and many of those of the international meteorological community. International cooperation in the exchange of weather observations is of long standing and represents one of the outstanding examples of amicable international relationships. Since the Chief of the Weather Bureau is ex officio the permanent U.S. representative to the World Meteorological Organization, the Weather Bureau is in an excellent position to utilize existing international channels to make available to all nations of the world the benefits obtained from the operational meteorological satellite system. This The Weather Bureau as the National Meteorological Service will have program responsibility for the national operational meteorological satellite system. includes management responsibility for equipment procurement, launching, data retrieval and processing, and dissemination to users. NASA, under contract to the Department of Commerce, will procure the spacecraft, launch vehicles, and associated specialized ground equipment, carry out the launchings, and provide necessary engineering support and coordination. The fully operational system of the future is dependent on at least one command and data acquisition station on foreign soil. In its earliest phase it is anticipated that the reduced and analyzed products of the global observations can be disseminated internationally. Furthermore, any nation that so desires can, at minimum expense, establish stations to obtain, directly from the satellites, cloud pictures in its immediate vicinity. Later, significant portions of the global data can be transmitted from the satellites directly to cooperative regional weather centrals in other parts of the world. A truly international system can be foreseen with the satellites transmitting their observations to a world meteorological center as well as to more specialized regional, national, and local weather centrals. At a meeting of representatives from the Department of Commerce, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Department of Defense, and the Federal Aviation Agency in October 1960 it was agreed that the National Coordinating Committee on Aviation Meteorology should establish a panel to lay plans for a national operational meteorological satellite system. This budget request is the product of planning by the panel of satellite pioneers to utilize effectively the capabilities of meteorological satellites for public service and the national welfare. The concept that maximum benefits with a minimum of cost would be achieved best through a single national system meeting the requirements of all users has been endorsed by the Department of Defense, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the Federal Aviation Agency. The national plan for a single system of meteorological observation satellites has the goals of complete global coverage, uninterrupted continuity in time, and maximum national and international utilization for the benefit of all mankind. The plan will 1. Make a major contribution toward the satisfaction of the meteorological requirements of all users, taking into account present technical limitations. 2. Enable the earliest operations consistent with sound development practices and reasonable costs. 3. Utilize the best available technology in instrumentation, spacecraft, and launch vehicles. 4. Profit from new experience and remain flexible. 5. Create a system capable of being managed effectively. 6. Serve major interests of the United States first but concurrently provide, where reasonable, for the requirements of the international community. It is no exaggeration to state that nature uses clouds to draw its own weather map; satellites permit us to both see and use this map. The satellite will be a powerful tool, complementing existing systems by filling observational voids which exist even within dense data areas. Over immense oceanic expanses and over sparsely settled land areas, where present meteorological observations are meager and economic considerations make any significant improvement using conventional techniques prohibitive, the satellite will be especially useful. Less graphic than the clouds, but possibly more important for the future of weather prediction, are observations of the various radiations entering and leaving the atmosphere. The full potential of such data awaits the results of current research and the development of techniques for their utilization. The data that are an operational meteorological satellite system can provide will be of immeasurable assistance in detecting and predicting severe storms of all types that cause considerable loss of life and property each year. The requirements for an operational satellite system derive from the following types of direct applications that can be made of the data obtained: 1. Some of the most destructive storms are those of tropical origin which form near the Equator in areas that are practically devoid of weather information. Quite frequently, the first warning of such a storm is when it strikes an island, ship, or continental shoreline. Satellites can provide surveillance of these datasparse ocean regions on a global basis, permitting earlier detection and accurate tracking of storm systems. Based on such observations, timely warnings can be issued to both populated areas and vessels at sea. Such information would be of value not only to this Nation, but also to other countries, particularly those which border on tropical seas. 2. In the same manner, accurate tracking of extratropical storms in datasparse regions (including ocean areas adjacent to our own coasts) would aid more accurate forecasting of these systems. 3. Daily hemispheric weather charts are prepared in the Northern Hemisphere but are nonexistent in the Southern Hemisphere. Satellite observations will improve the Northern Hemisphere. Mr. THOMAS. Has the program been authorized? Dr. REICHELDERFER. Yes, but we need no new legislation for it. Mr. THOMAS. Which committee authorized it? Dr. REICHELDERFER. It did not require any new legislation. We are directed under our basic statutes to obtain weather observations as necessary to forecast the weather and warn the public of severe storms and for other national purposes. Mr. THOMAS. You did not need any new legislation? Dr. REICHELDERFER. We did not; no, sir. Mr. THOMAS. For spacecraft and launching, you have $38 million; command and data acquisition stations, $12,320,000; central data processing, analysis, and technical management, $2,680,000; for a total of $53 million. VIDICON CAMERA What kind of a camera is a Vidicon camera? Dr. REICHELDERFER. It is similar to what is used in regular television work. Mr. THOMAS. How expensive is it? Dr. REICHElderfer. Do we have the unit cost on that? Mr. JOHNSON. The tube itself in the present TIROS satellite runs a few thousand dollars. However, there is a tremendous amount of equipment that has to go on it. Mr. THOMAS. What is the distance of the exposure? Mr. JOHNSON. If I understand your question correctly, sir, it takes pictures from a satellite altitude of the earth and the atmosphere below. Dr. REICHELDERFER. At any altitude. Mr. THOMAS. Is there any limitation on the distance it will cover? Mr. JOHNSON. No, sir. The Dr. REICHELDERFER. The only limitation is the light that reaches the lens from the object it is trying to photograph or scan. AEROS satellite will be at some 23,000 miles above the Equator and so far as we know the optical system will be the same as used for the TIROS satellite with some improvements. Mr. THOMAS. In other words, three pictures and it will get the whole world at one time? Dr. REICHELDERFER. Everything except the polar areas. It would be looking at a tangent, so it will not see the polar areas. Mr. THOMAS. It depends on the light? Dr. REICHELDERFER. Yes, sir. Mr. THOMAS. Not the miles? Mr. JOHNSON. No. VALUE OF AEROS SATELLITE Dr. REICHELDERFER. The value of the AEROS satellite internationally is tremendous. The United States will be in a position then to scan the weather over the Equatorial and Temperate Zones and tell any country, in effect, more about the storms that are to visit its coasts than they can tell by any other means. If I may point this out, I think this will be as impressive to you as it is to meteorologists: Here is an actual working chart that came from TIROS III. It has been sent out not only nationally but internationally and this little line [indicating] is the coast of Australia. This is the Pacific Ocean [indicating] over most of the sheet and here in the middle we spotted a hurricane in mid-Pacific and this gave information about the cloud areas, extent of the hurricane, its circulation, and movement that could not be obtained in any other way. Mr. THOMAS. I think this is one of the great breakthroughs that is equally as important as the communications feature of space operations. JUSTIFICATION OF THE ESTIMATES Put pages 15 through 19 in the record. (The pages follow:) METEOROLOGICAL SATELLITE OPERATIONS SPACECRAFT AND LAUNCHING To 1. A vidicon camera system to provide complete coverage of the globe. increase reliability and lifetime, this subsystem will be installed in redundant units. 2. A radiation subsystem including high resolution sensors for night-time cloud observations and low resolution sensors for measurements of the earthatmosphere heat balance. 3. Devices to measure solar radiations of importance to meteorology. Later NIMBUS satellites may test new and improved sensors such as electrostatic tape cameras, spectrometers, image orthicon cameras and radar. The NIMBUS research and development program is already well underway under the direction of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Goddard Space Flight Center. The major contract, for integration and testing of the spacecraft, was awarded to General Electric, Missile and Space Vehicle Division, in early 1961. Contracts for the several functional and sensory subsystems (approximately 15 in number) were awarded in late 1960 and early 1961. During the early part of phase I, there may be some periods with no satellite in orbit. Such gaps would occur because it is only prudent to delay launching a satellite until any malfunctions in the previous one are corrected. To minimize such gaps, two backup spacecraft and launch vehicles are provided. Those not used will be deferred for use in phase II. Funds for the operationally modified NIMBUS spacecraft and THOR AGENA B launch vehicles will be made available to NASA to increase their present contracts to cover the additional items. The planned rate of launches will require three additional spacecraft and four launch vehicles and augmentation of the (contractual) launch crew. Laboratory and checkout space will be designed for expansion as the rate of launches and complexity increase. For the construction of command and data acquisition facilities at Fairbanks, Alaska, and on the east coast of North America to support the operational meteorological satellite program. Command and data acquisition stations Command and data acquisition at the beginning of phase I will be limited to the NIMBUS research and development stations located at Fairbanks, Alaska, and an east coast U.S. location. The Fairbanks, Alaska, station is now being constructed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for use with the Nimbus research and development spacecraft and in other NASA space programs. It will be necessary for the operational system to provide separate command and data acquisition facilities at Fairbanks as soon as possible because the station now under construction will not be capable of handling the planned operational program as well as NASA's research and development program. Because of the long leadtime required for construction at Fairbanks, funds for general construction and equipment are requested in fiscal year 1962 in order to complete work on the new facilities before the end of calendar year 1963. Funds for Nimbus ground consoles and data processing and terminal equipment will be required in fiscal year 1963 as well as additional funds for general construction and equipment. Complete redundancy of facilities and equipment is scheduled at the Fairbanks, Alaska, site to insure operational reliabilities. This is because this one station will acquire nearly three-fourths of the Nimbus data; because of this workload a single set of equipment would not allow sufficient "downtime" to permit necessary maintenance without significant loss of data. NASA plans, as a part of its present program, to construct a data acquisition station in the vicinity of Washington, D.C. However, their present funding does not include the special purpose equipment required for the NIMBUS satellite. Therefore, funds for this equipment are included in the proposed fiscal year 1962 budget so that this station may be in operation as soon as possible, hopefully before the launch of the first NIMBUS satellite. While the general purpose equip73884-61-17 |