Utilization of the Polar Platform of NASA's Space Station Program for Operational Earth Observations

摘要

NASA's polar platform, one of the planned elements of the Space Station program, could contribute to the operational monitoring of the Earth's atmosphere, oceans, and land masses. The payload for the platform would include instruments derived from the current operational environmental satellites, ocean satellites that will be flown by several countries during the next decade, research programs and land satellite systems -- both governmental and commercial. These instruments may justify two polar-orbiting, sun-synchronous, astronaut-serviced platforms. The platforms would be at an altitude in the range from 700 to 900 kilometers and be at two equatorial crossing times, one early in the morning between 8:30 and 10:30 A.M. southbound and the second near noon, perhaps at 1:00 P.M. northbound. The platforms, which could be decoupled constellations of platform sections, will provide direct transmission data readout as well as readout via the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite. International cooperation is already an important element in earth observation systems and can be in the polar platform as well.