[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

[[Page 71142]]

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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