[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 196 (Tuesday, October 8, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52775-52776]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-25683]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Space-Based Data Collection and Location Systems

AGENCY: National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information 
Services (NESDIS), NOAA and Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of public hearing and change in administrative policy.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: NESDIS of NOAA is changing its policy concerning non-
environmental use of the Argos space-based data collection and location 
system. As of this date, NESDIS will no longer promote the use of the 
Argos system for commercial non-environmental applications.
    Furthermore, NESDIS, in cooperation with the Department of Commerce 
Office of Air and Space Commercialization, is hosting a public meeting 
on December 12 and 13, 1996, to bring together current and planned 
space-based data collection and location service providers and users to 
present, discuss and document pertinent information necessary to 
reevaluate and redefine overall government policy and practice. This 
meeting is being held in recognition of the emerging market in 
commercial data collection and location services (e.g., Mobile Space 
Services), which motivated the recent change in Argos system use 
policy.

DATES: This public meeting will take place December 12 and December 13, 
1996. There will be a technical session on December 12, 1996, from 9:30 
a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The policy session will be held on December 13, 1996, 
from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The meetings will be held at the United States Department of 
Commerce, NOAA Silver Spring Metro Campus Auditorium, 1301 East-West 
Highway, Silver Spring, Maryland. Parties interested in participating 
in the December 12 technical session, particularly service providers 
who would like to present current and future capabilities and display 
materials in the exhibit hall, and users who would like to present 
current and future requirements, should contact Mr. Dane Clark (see FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT) by close of business November 1, 1996. 
Parties interested in participating in the December 13 policy session, 
particularly those that would like to give oral and/or written 
presentations, should also contact Mr. Dane Clark by close of business 
November 1, 1996. Due to time constraints, oral presentations may be 
limited.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Mr. Dane Clark, NOAA, National Environmental Satellite, Data, and 
Information Service, Direct Services Division, Federal Building 4, Room 
0160, 4401 Suitland Road, Suitland, Maryland 20746; (301) 457-5678, e-
mail: [email protected]. NOAA plans to provide further 
information about this meeting, and other Argos and GOES Data 
Collection System-related information, on the Public Meeting homepage; 
which can be accessed via http://www.nnic.noaa.gov/.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NOAA operates an environmental data 
collection system on its Geostationary Operational Environmental 
Satellite (GOES) and an environmental data collection and location 
system on its Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite 
(POES).
    The data collection and location service on POES is provided 
through a cooperative program with the Centre National d'Etudes 
Spatiales (CNES), the French national space agency, wherein a French 
instrument, Argos, flies aboard U.S. spacecraft. The Argos Data 
Collection and Location System, managed by NOAA and CNES jointly, 
consists of: (1) Instruments provided by CNES, which, as noted above, 
are flown aboard NOAA polar orbiting satellites, and are scheduled to 
also fly on Japanese and European polar-orbiting satellites starting in 
1999 and 2002, respectively; (2) user platforms equipped with sensors 
and a transmitter terminal; (3) global data receipt and data processing 
centers. The GOES Data Collection System (DCS) consists of: (1) U.S. 
Government instruments on NOAA geostationary satellites; (2) user 
platforms; (3) data receipt and data dissemination systems. The GOES 
DCS is managed solely by NOAA.
    Both the GOES DCS and the Argos system are operated to support 
environmental applications, e.g. meteorology, oceanography, hydrology, 
ecology, and remote sensing of earth resources. In addition, the Argos 
system supports those applications which protect the environment, e.g. 
hazardous material tracking, fishing vessel tracking for treaty 
enforcement, animal tracking, and oil and gas pipeline monitoring to 
prevent leakage. The majority of users are government agencies and 
researchers, and in fact, much of the data collected by both the GOES 
DCS and the Argos system are provided to the World Meteorological 
Organization via the Global Telecommunications System for inclusion in 
the World Weather Watch Program.
    On October 2, 1981 NOAA published regulations at 15 CFR 911 (46 FR 
48634) that made the extra capacity of the GOES DCS available to non-
NOAA users. Such use of the GOES DCS by other government and private 
users to collect environmental data was contingent upon: (1) All 
required conditions for access to the GOES DCS being met; (2) NOAA, 
another Federal agency, or a state or local agency being interested in 
or having a requirement to collect such data; and (3) no alternative 
commercial service existing that could provide this service.
    No regulations have been published concerning the Argos system. 
However, in March 1992, NESDIS published a notice in the Commerce 
Business Daily (CBD) noting that a small portion, i.e., less than 5 
percent of the Argos system capacity could be used for non-
environmental purposes. The CBD notice explained:

    Potential users interested in utilizing the Argos System for 
innovative experiments or demonstrations of non-environmental 
applications may request admission by submitting a program 
application. Programs admitted under this provision will normally be 
limited for periods not to exceed one year. However, program 
extensions may be requested.

The impetus for encouraging non-environmental uses of the Argos system 
was the U.S. Commercial Space Guidelines of 1991 which encouraged 
government agencies to promote commercial entities access to excess 
U.S. space-based assets in order to encourage the growth of the 
emerging U.S. commercial space industry. This 5 percent non-
environmental system use

[[Page 52776]]

policy successfully allowed commercial developers access to an 
operational space-based system to help develop, but not implement, 
their nascent services.
    In light of the fact that a commercial industry is starting to 
emerge in precisely this area of data collection and location services, 
(e.g., Mobile Space Services) as well as the U.S. Government's long-
standing policy against competing with the private sector, NESDIS will 
no longer promote the use of the Argos system for commercial non-
environmental applications.

Public Meeting

    As new, private space-based data collection and location systems 
begin to evolve, NOAA is eager to explore new opportunities that will 
be consistent with NOAA's mission and user requirements and national 
policies supporting commercial development. To do this requires an 
active dialogue between both users and service providers. In order to 
launch such a dialogue, NOAA, in cooperation with the Department of 
Commerce Office of Air and Space Commercialization, will sponsor a 
public meeting on data collection and location system use policy.
    This public meeting will bring together current and planned space-
based data collection and location service providers and users to 
present, discuss, and document pertinent information necessary to 
reevaluate and redefine overall government policy and practice. One 
possible outcome of this meeting may be the development of consolidated 
regulations concerning use of GOES DCS and Argos data collection 
systems.
    The meeting will be held at the NOAA Complex in Silver Spring, 
Maryland on December 12 and 13, 1996. The first day of the meeting will 
focus on technical, informational presentations and exhibits by 
industry participants. The second day of the meeting will focus on the 
policy discussions.
    Parties interested in participating in the public meeting, 
particularly those that would like to give oral and/or written 
presentations or who would like to display materials in the exhibit 
room should contact Mr. Dane Clark (See FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT) by close of business, November 1, 1996. Due to time 
constraints, oral presentations may be limited. The exhibit area will 
be accessible on December 11, 1996, from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. for 
those participants who will be setting up exhibits.

    Dated October 1, 1996.
Robert S. Winokur,
Assistant Administrator for Satellite and Information Services.
[FR Doc. 96-25683 Filed 10-7-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-12-M