Hello All, I received the following message through our local GIS user list and thought that some of you may be interested. Linda Zellmer Linda Zellmer <[log in to unmask]> ------------------------------------------ From: Sokhan Hing [ mailto:[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]> ] Sent: Tuesday, May 22, 2001 6:22 AM Subject: LANDSAT 5 Recent decisions by the US Geological Survey have placed the current configuration of Landsat satellites in jeopardy. The Department of the Interior, through the USGS, has quietly announced that it intends to decommission (i.e. terminate) the Landsat 5 satellite (see <http://www.usgs.gov/public/press/public_affairs/press_releases/pr1455m.html > http://www.usgs.gov/public/press/public_affairs/press_releases/pr1455m.html) . In order to allow further time for both public and private organizations to express concerns and possibly justify the need for continuation of the Landsat 5 satellite, an immediate delay in the termination of this satellite would be necessary. Many (perhaps most) users of Landsat 5 may still be unaware of its imminent termination, which according to the latest information will likely be early June. Space News has also recently posted an article on the subject (see http://www.space.com/spacenews/remotesensing/landsats_decommissioned_010516 <http://www.space.com/spacenews/remotesensing/landsats_decommissioned_010516 > . html). Landsat 5's extraordinary long life of nearly 17 years has allowed a continuing program of earth observation, from its launch through the period of the loss of Landsat 6 to the successful launch of Landsat 7 in 1999. Landsat 5 imaging appears to be at very near the level of Landsat 7. The cost of maintaining the continued full operation of Landsat 5 is between two and three million dollars per year (estimated to be less than 1% of the cost of a new satellite). The cost of at least maintaining its capability as an on-orbit backup would likely be even less. One recognized advantage of having two operational (US) Landsat satellites is to allow timely tracking of land surface change, particularly vegetation change world wide, whereas a one-satellite configuration is less reliable because of cloud cover. Clearly there are many other advantages of maintaining both Landsat 5 and 7 in complementary orbits, if not reserving Landsat 5 on-orbit as a spare. If the maintenance of Landsat 5 capability is important to your operations, or may be important to future data applications, you are encouraged to voice your concerns on this issue to the USGS contact, Ray Byrnes, at mailto:[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]> .