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March 4, 1968 

MEMORANDUM FOR COLONEL WORTHMAN 

SUBJECT: NASA's Geodetic Satellite Program 

The attached summary is a gist of NASA's program and proposed 

future plans in the geodesy area as they recently presented it to the 

Karth Subcommittee. I can find no evidence that they have a thoughtout cartographic plan beyond generalized statements of a need for better 

maps for the world community, etc. 

The following conclusions are based on a meeting Lt Col Williamson 

and I had with DIAMC on 1 March: 

a. DOD has given NASA a broad charter in the geodetic area which 

will enable them to construct a world-wide datum at accuracies of 10-

15 meters. There are several agreements on the books, signed by 

Drs, Foster and Brown, which give NASA a very liberal charter on a 

completely unclassified basis. We are getting copies of the papers from 

Col Guinan. They will be difficult to overturn. These agreements were 

rooted in a conclusion of the scientific community, supported by PSAC, 

that the Soviets had geodetic data as good as our own. 

b. NASA's program plan is detrimental to U. S. security interests. 

There is evidence that it will tie neatly into Soviet requirements for 

better geodetic data. This is evident from reports of Soviet attempts 

to obtain French assistance to tie into the North American geodetic 

datum system. Moreover, the Soviets are attempting to frustrate our 

efforts to obtain bilateral agreements to establish geodetic control points 

in other countries, which confirms their understanding of the military 

importance of this data. 

c. NASA's need for geodetic data is not well defined. They allude 

to applications in scientific disciplines such as earth sciences, space 

sciences, earth dynamics, etc., the "benefit to all mankind" appeal. 

Cost benefits are not shown. 

d~ NASA's program and that of the DOD geodetic satellites not in 

the NGSP will inevitably involve a great deal of duplication. Some 25-

30 control points of the present NASA NGSP points have already been 

covered by DOD satellites outside the national system. 

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There are several approaches that come to mind for dealing' with 

tho lWtlblem: 

a. Continue the battle in the SACC, using the security impHcation5 

of releasing the data on an unclassified basis as an arglil'l"HHl,t to alter 

the agreement. In view of NASA world-wide commitmatltiS, hQw(':lve:r, 

this may be difficult to accomplish. 

b. Alternative ly, have DOD drag its feet in supplying data to 

NASA for use in the National Geodetic Satellite Program (NGSP), and 

supply only that data which clearly relates to control points in the 

NGSP system (DIA has a great deal of data which has not been released 

but which they f~el would be difficult to withhold in light of existing agreements, if NASA requested it). 

c. Fight the battle on the grounds of duplication of effort as it can 

be clearly shown that DOD has a sufficient progr am -- apart from the 

NGSP - - to do the job. 

d. As a minimum, keep the data reduction program wholly within 

DOD. This would allow the filtering out of militarily significant data 

and some control of t he rate at which any of it is released. 

~ has about a one hour briefing which goe s into the backgrO~NASA-DOD relationships and DOD interests. I recommend 

that YFJU, Colonel Carter and Mr. Kirk hear it before the SACC meeting . .I 

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THE NASA GEODETIC SATELLITE PHOGRA M 

NASA I S geodetic satellite program was launched in 1962 through 

a recommendation of the House Subcommittee on Space Sciences. The 

recommendation was that NASA should ,prepare, organize, and assume 

management of a multiagency program to satisfy the requirements of 

U. S. scientific and military communities in satellite geodesy: the 

National Geodetic Satellite Program (NGSP). 

In the initial stages of the NGSP, interagency agreements were 

reached concerning program objectives and flight missions required, 

the Department pf Commerce, DOD and NASA being the main participants, sup~lemented by work of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. 

The NGSP has a twofold objective: 

1. To establish a unified earth reference system 

2 .. To determine the gravitational field of the earth 

More precisely, the NGSP goal is to: 

1. Establish a unified world datum which will permit the connection 

of existing local datum systems within ~ 35 feet to a common geocentric 

reference frame based on the earth r s center of mass and axis of rotation. 

In this world-wide geodetic reference system, any two control points will 

be located within 35 feet of each other using the single set of earthcentered coordinates. 

2. Provide a refined description of world-wide variations of the 

earth f s gravitational field. 

NASA plans to achieve the datum accuracy of 35 feet by precisely 

locating 86 geodetic control stations spread through the various existing 

separate geodetic reference systems. In 1963, only 12 of these station 

sites had been located; at the end of 1967 this number had been increased 

to 42, with 20 of these located to an accuracy of -:t 60 feet. 

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Similarly. NASA reports considerable progress in determining 

the earth's gravimetric anomalies since the inception of the NGSP. 

The number of 'J i/ coefficients (constants in a mathematical expression which describe the earth's gravity fie l d) for which estimates 

are available has increased from 11 in 1963 to 60 at the end of 1967, 

with a corresponding increase in the complexity witl1. which the gravity 

field is known. 

NGSP Launch Program. The program to date has consisted of 

five geodetic satellites successfully launched by NASA between October 

1964 and January 1968. These were Explorers XII and XXVII, Geos I 

and Geos II, and Pageos I. NASA has stated in testimony to the House 

Space Subcommittee that one or more additional flight~' will be required 

to satisfy the gravimetric objective of the NGSP. Also, according to the 

same testimony, NASA is planning one additional mission, Geos-C, to 

achieve theIr geometric objectives. 

Data Analysis Program. NASA is proposing a full scale effort in 

FY69 in data reduction and analysis directed to the achievement of their 

two basic geodesy objectives. They plan to prepare an interim global 

geodetic system using all data accumulated through calendar year 1968, 

to provide the scientific community with a provisional unclassified 

geode~ic reference system. 

Another significant aspect of NASA's future plans in the geodesy 

area is the application in support of such scientific areas as marine I 

sciep-'ces, space sciences and the solid earth sciences. This proposed 

wo~k, as you know, has been aided and abetted by the Woods Hole session 

and by an Ad Hoc NASA Advisory Group. They are talking here about such 

things as precise ship positioning (100 feet or better), establishing ocean 

bottom control points, ice movement determination, improved satellite 

orbit predictions, etc. 

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