Aeronautics and Space Report

of the President

Fiscal Year

2017 Activities

Aeronautics and Space Report

of the President

Fiscal Year 2017

Activities
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

The National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 directed 

the annual Aeronautics and Space Report to include a 

“comprehensive description of the programmed activities and 

the accomplishments of all agencies of the United States in the 

field of aeronautics and space activities during the preceding 

calendar year.” In recent years, the reports have been prepared 

on a fiscal-year basis, consistent with the budgetary period now 

used in programs of the Federal Government. This year’s report 

covers activities that took place from October 1, 2016, through 

September 30, 2017. Please note that these activities reflect 

the Federal policies of that time and do not include subsequent 

events or changes in policy.

On the title page, clockwise from the top left: 1. Virginia Tech students watch a Black Brant IX sounding rocket take off from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Credits: NASA/Allison Stancil. 

2. This artist’s concept depicts NASA’s Mars 2020 rover exploring Mars. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech. 

3. This view shows Saturn’s northern hemisphere in 2016, as that part of the planet neared its northern 

hemisphere summer solstice. NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute. 4. NASA astronaut Jack 

Fischer took this photograph of an American flag in one of the windows of the International Space 

Station’s cupola, a dome-shaped module through which operations on the outside of the Station can 

be observed and guided. Credit: NASA. 5. A photo illustration shows how a team of NASA-funded 

scientists would take to the skies during the August 21, 2017, eclipse, using two of NASA’s WB-57 jet 

planes to chase the shadow of the moon for unparalleled observations of the sun and Mercury. Credits: 

NASA/Faroe Islands/Southwest Research Institute. 6. NASA’s 18 Earth science missions in space, 

supported by aircraft, ships, and ground observations, measure aspects of the environment that touch 

the lives of every person around the world. This visualization shows the NASA fleet in 2017, from lowEarth orbit all the way out to the DSCOVR satellite taking in the million-mile view. Credit: NASA’s 

Goddard Space Flight Center/Matthew R. Radcliff.
Table of Contents

Table of Conten

The Re-Establishment of the National Space Council v

National Aeronautics and Space Administration 1

Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate 1

Science Mission Directorate .

Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate 45

Space Technology Mission Directorate 52

Department of Defense 59

Federal Aviation Administration 89

Department of Commerce . 

Department of the Interior . 

Federal Communications Commission 143

U.S. Department of Agricultur  1

National Science Foundation 171

Department of State 183

Department of Energy 189

Smithsonian Institution . 

Appendices

A-1 U.S. Government Spacecraft Recor  2

A-2 World Record of Space Launches Successful in

Attaining Earth Orbit or Beyond . 

B Successful Launches to Orbit on U.S. Vehicle  2

C Human Spaceflights . 

D-1A Space Activities of the U.S. Government—Historical Table of Budg

Authority in Millions of Real-Year Dollars . 

D-1B Space Activities of the U.S. Government—Historical Table of Budg

Authority in Millions of Inflation-Adjusted FY 2017 Dollars . 

D-2 Federal Space Activities Budget . 

D-3 Federal Aeronautics Activities Budget . 

E-1 Executive Order 13803 of June 30, 2017: Reviving the National Space Council 219

E-2 Remarks by the President Signing an Executive Order 

on the National Space Council 222

Acronyms 225

vThe Re-Establishment of the National Space Council

The Re-Establishment of

National Space Co

On June 30, 2017, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order to reinvigorate the National Space Council for the first time in 24 years and appointed 

Vice President Mike Pence to serve as the Chair. At the signing ceremony, the 

President remarked, “Today’s announcement sends a clear signal to the world that 

we are restoring America’s proud legacy of leadership in space.”

The Council has 13 members: the Vice President as Chair, the Secretary of 

State, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of 

Transportation, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Director of National 

Intelligence, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the Assistant 

to the President for National Security Affairs, the Administrator of the National 

Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Director of the Office of Science and 

Technology Policy, the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and 

Counterterrorism, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. 

President Donald Trump signs an Executive Order to re-establish the National Space Council, alongside 

members of Congress, NASA, and commercial space companies in the Roosevelt Room of the White House 

on Friday, June 30, 2017. Also present were Vice President Mike Pence and retired astronauts David Wolf, 

Alvin Drew, and Buzz Aldrin. Credit: NASA
viAeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

The Council is tasked with advising and assisting the President regarding 

national space policy and strategy. The Council was never formally disestablished, 

but it effectively ceased operation in 1993. 

The Council advises and assists the President regarding national space policy 

and strategy and is directed to review United States Government space policy and 

develop a strategy for national space activities. The Council also fosters close coordination, cooperation, and technology and information exchange among the civil, 

national security, and commercial space sectors. Additionally, the Council advises 

the President on participation in international space activities.

The Council held its first meeting, titled “Leading the Next Frontier: An 

Event with the National Space Council,” on October 5, 2017, at the Smithsonian 

National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, 

Virginia. At the meeting, Vice President Mike Pence outlined the Administration’s 

vision to return American astronauts to the Moon and to build the foundation 

needed to send Americans to Mars and beyond, remarking, “Today, in the shadow 

of this history, we pledge to do what America has always done: We will push the 

boundaries of human knowledge. We will blaze new trails into that great frontier. 

And we will once again astonish the world as we boldly go to meet our future in 

the skies and in the stars.”

The council heard testimony from expert witnesses representing the civil, commercial, and national security sectors of the space industry.

On December 11, 2017, President Donald Trump signed Space Policy Directive–1, 

which amended the National Space Policy of 2010 to instruct NASA to “[l]ead an 

innovative and sustainable program of exploration with commercial and international partners to enable human expansion across the solar system and to bring 

back to Earth new knowledge and opportunities. Beginning with missions beyond 

low-Earth orbit, the United States will lead the return of humans to the Moon for 

long-term exploration and utilization, followed by human missions to Mars and 

other destinations.”
1National Aeronautics and Space Administration

National Aeronauti

Space Administ

NASA

Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate

Exploration Systems Development

The Exploration Systems Development (ESD) programs—Space Launch System 

(SLS), Orion, and Ground Systems Development and Operations (GSDO)—are 

on track to serve as the foundation of U.S. human exploration and will ensure 

continued U.S. space leadership for decades to come. The systems development, 

fabrication, assembly, and testing efforts performed today are establishing the foundation for a series of missions that will lead to the moon, Mars, and beyond.

Orion

Orion will serve as the exploration vehicle that will carry the crew to space, provide emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during space travel, and provide 

safe reentry from deep space return velocities. Orion will launch on NASA’s new 

heavy-lift rocket, the SLS.

The Orion Program made substantial progress in 2017. The Orion Program 

completed and shipped the European Space Agency (ESA) Service Module (ESM) 

Structural Test Article (STA) from NASA’s Plum Brook Station in Sandusky, 

Ohio, to Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. The Program completed a 

successful hot fire test of the attitude control motor (HT-11) in April 2017 and 

a successful test of the launch abort system abort qualification motor 1 in June 
2Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

2017. ESA’s ESM Propulsion Qualification Module was installed at NASA’s White 

Sands Test Facility (WSTF) in February, and the first hot fire test of the Reaction 

Control System thrusters for Orion’s ESM was conducted. The Program conducted several successful Orion parachute tests at the U.S. Army Proving Ground 

in Yuma, Arizona, to qualify the Orion capsule for human flight. Engineers at 

the Space Power Facility at Plum Brook Station in Sandusky, Ohio, conducted 

acoustic testing on the ogive panels. The ogive panels protect Orion’s crew module 

from harsh acoustic conditions at launch and in case of an abort. The Exploration 

Mission–1 (EM-1) Crew Module (CM) and Crew Module Adapter (CMA) production at the KSC Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Center has made 

significant progress; both the CM and the CMA have completed initial power-on. 

During the initial power-on tests, engineers and technicians connected the vehicle 

management computers to Orion’s power and data units to ensure the systems communicated precisely with one another to accurately route power and functional 

commands throughout the spacecraft for the duration of a deep space exploration 

mission. Steady progress is also being made on the EM-1 ESM being manufactured 

in Bremen, Germany. A NASA and Department of Defense (DOD) team tested 

procedures for exiting the Orion spacecraft in a variety of scenarios in July in the 

waters off the coast of Galveston, Texas. In addition, the Orion Program began 

manufacturing components for the Exploration Mission–2 (EM-2) mission, including the Crew Module forward and aft bulkheads, the Crew Module cone panel, 

solar cells, and EM-2 motors.

Space Launch System

The Space Launch System (SLS) is an advanced launch vehicle for a new era of 

exploration beyond Earth’s orbit into deep space. SLS, the world’s most powerful 

rocket, will launch astronauts in the Orion spacecraft on missions to the lunar 

environment and eventually to Mars, while opening new possibilities for other payloads including robotic scientific missions to places like Mars, Saturn, and Jupiter. 

The SLS Program achieved several important milestones this year. The Program 

completed the Orion Stage Adapter (OSA)/Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage 

(ICPS)/Launch Vehicle Stage Adapter (LVSA) integrated structural test qualification phase ahead of schedule. The SLS Program completed the EM-1 flight ICPS 
3National Aeronautics and Space Administration

and delivered the hardware to the Delta Operations Center at KSC for final testing. In February 2017, an F-3 tornado caused significant damage on the site of the 

Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in Louisiana, where the SLS Program manufactures the major SLS Core Stage elements. After recovering from this event, 

the Program completed liquid oxygen (LOX) qualification and flight tank Vertical 

Assembly Center (VAC) welding and the welding of the liquid hydrogen EM-1 

flight tank. Completion of the LH2 EM-1 flight tank welding marked the completion of VAC welding for the EM-1 flight. All EM-1 booster separation motors are 

cast and finalized. The SLS Program completed the Core Stage Pathfinder build—

a full-sized replica of the SLS Core Stage, which is used to simulate the Core Stage 

to test new shipping and handling equipment and procedures. NASA engineers 

closed a summer of successful hot fire testing for flight controllers on RS-25 engines 

that will help power the SLS. The 500-second hot fire of a RS-25 engine flight controller unit on the A-1 Test Stand at Stennis Space Center in August marked the 

fifth and final RS-25 hot fire test. In addition, the SLS Program began manufacturing a number of components for the EM-2 mission, including the EM-2 forward and 

center-forward booster segments and the EM-2 Core Stage engine section.

Ground Systems Development and Operations

The Ground Systems Development and Operations (GSDO) Program is responsible for overseeing ground systems upgrades and modifications to support the 

launch of the SLS and Orion spacecraft for EM-1, deep space missions, and NASA’s 

journey to Mars.

At KSC, GSDO completed Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) platform installation and outfitting. GSDO’s renovation of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station 

(CCAFS) Space Launch Complex (SLC) 39B is progressing well and includes 

upgrades and modifications to the flame trench and environmental control system and a new flame deflector. GSDO successfully tested Crawler-Transporter 2 

(CT-2) upgrades; CT-2 upgrades included new generators, gear assemblies, jacking, equalizing and leveling hydraulic cylinders, roller bearings, and brakes. The 

Program is progressing with Multi-Payload Processing Facility (MPPF) Verification 

and Validation; this facility will be used for offline processing and fueling of the 

Orion spacecraft and Service Module (SM) stack before launch. As of September 
4Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

2017, the GSDO Program had completed the installation of five sets of umbilicals/

attach points on the Mobile Launcher (Orion Service Module Umbilical, Core 

Stage Intertank Umbilical, Core Stage Forward Skirt Umbilical, Vehicle Support 

Posts, and Aft Skirt Electrical and Pneumatic Umbilicals), completing more than 

70 percent of the umbilical and launch accessory deliveries to the Mobile Launcher 

from the Launch Equipment Test Facility. The first major integrated operation at 

CCAFS SLC-39B began in September 2017 with the initial tanking of the liquid 

oxygen sphere, a giant sphere that can hold about 900,000 gallons of liquid oxygen. Hardware delivered to GSDO this year included a left-hand forward skirt for 

the SLS solid rocket boosters, service platforms for the SLS booster engines, and 

the ICPS. Damage to GSDO systems during Hurricane Irma was minimal (limited to some minor damage to the MPPF and some water intrusion on the Mobile 

Launcher, none of which will significantly impact EM-1 preparations), thanks to 

the diligence of GSDO personnel ahead of the storm.

Commercial Crew Program

During the fiscal year, the Commercial Crew Program (CCP) partners Boeing 

and SpaceX continued making technical and programmatic progress in maturing 

their respective commercial crew transportation systems.

Throughout the year, both partners continued identifying and submitting variances, alternate standards, and hazard reports necessary for NASA’s crew transportation system certification efforts.

• Both partners have advanced development and acceptance testing for key 

subsystems, including qualification and acceptance tests.

• Both partners have completed spacesuit designs and have publicly 

announced their designs. These suits provide protection to crewmembers 

during key mission phases.

• Both partners are manufacturing qualification hardware as well as the 

flight systems used to accomplish International Space Station (ISS) demonstration flights and operational missions.

• Boeing completed modifications to CCAFS SLC-41, their designated 

commercial crew launch pad.
5National Aeronautics and Space Administration

• Boeing completed several program milestones during fiscal year (FY) 

2017, including the Spacecraft Servicing Operational Readiness Review, 

the Crew Seat Incline Implementation, the Spacecraft Servicing 

Operational Readiness Review, and the Interim Review of Water/Land 

Landing Qualification.

• SpaceX completed the activation of CCAFS SLC-39A and has successfully flown multiple successful missions from the pad. SpaceX has 

designated CCAFS SLC-39A to transport astronauts to the ISS under 

the Commercial Crew Contract. SpaceX completed several program 

milestones during FY 2017, including the Spacesuit Qualification Testing 

Complete milestone; the Environmental Control and Life Support System 

(ECLSS) Integrated System Test, the Launch Site Operational Readiness 

Review, and the Validation Propulsion Module Design Review.

Through the CCP, NASA is ensuring that the Agency’s commercial partners’ 

crew transportation systems are safe, reliable, and cost-effective. The certification 

process assesses progress throughout the production and testing of the partners’ 

systems, which include the launch vehicle, the spacecraft, and ground operations.

Collaborations for Commercial Space Capabilities

The objective of the Collaborations for Commercial Space Capabilities (CCSC) 

is to advance private-sector entrepreneurial space activities. All CCSC partners 

continue making technical and programmatic progress in maturing their respective 

commercial space capabilities.

International Space Station

The International Space Station (ISS) continued its focus on research and 

technology development in such disciplines as biology, human research, biotechnology, Earth science, physical science, and astrophysics during FY 2017. Orbital 

ATK completed two Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) flights, and SpaceX 

completed three CRS flights to the ISS. NASA relocated one of the Pressurized 

Mating Adapters (PMAs) to the forward end of the ISS to allow the ISS to 
6Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

accommodate future Boeing and SpaceX commercial crew vehicles to dock utilizing the International Docking Adapter. NASA also installed new lithium-ion 

batteries delivered by the Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV) through a combination of robotic operations and extravehicular activities (EVAs).

Five Soyuz crew rotations were accomplished in FY 2017. With the launch of 

Soyuz 50S on April 20, 2017, the Russian on-orbit crew decreased from three to 

two. U.S. astronaut Peggy Whitson’s stay was extended until after the arrival of 

Soyuz 51S on July 28, 2017, setting the American record for most days in space and 

most days by any woman worldwide (665) with 288 days during this mission. In 

September 2017, the Soyuz 50S crew returned, and with the launch of Soyuz 52S 

on September 12, the U.S. segment crew increased from three to four. As a result, 

2017 crew time spent on utilization far exceeded initial planning and has enabled 

additional research to be conducted. In 2017, the ISS hosted nearly 400 experiments in collaboration with more than 50 different countries.

Six U.S. EVAs were conducted during FY 2017. A pair of EVAs on January 6 

and 13, 2017, successfully installed new lithium-ion batteries to upgrade the power 

storage system of the ISS. A second pair of EVAs on March 24 and 30, 2017, successfully completed upgrades to an external computer and prepared for the PMA 

relocation. On May 12, 2017, the U.S. crew conducted the 200th spacewalk in 

history from the ISS, replacing an external payload avionics box and performing 

other maintenance tasks. This was followed by an unscheduled EVA on May 23, 

2017, to replace a failed external computer that could not be replaced robotically.

Orbital ATK’s sixth contracted cargo mission, OA-5 (OA-6 launched in 2016), 

arrived at the ISS on October 23, 2016, following an October 17, 2016, launch on an 

upgraded Antares rocket from Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, and departed from 

the ISS on November 21, 2016. The Cygnus spacecraft delivered over 5,200 pounds 

of supplies and science experiments to support Expedition 50, including deployment of four CubeSats after departing the ISS.

Orbital ATK launched its seventh contracted cargo mission, OA-7, to the ISS on 

April 18, 2017, from CCAFS on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket. 

The Cygnus spacecraft was berthed at the ISS on April 22, 2017, delivering more than 

7,600 pounds of science and research, crew supplies, and vehicle hardware, including the Saffire-III combustion experiment, which was activated following Cygnus’s 
7National Aeronautics and Space Administration

departure from the ISS on June 4, 2017. The spacecraft also deployed four Spire 

LEMUR-2 CubeSats from the NanoRacks deployer following departure from the ISS.

The HTV-6 cargo mission was launched from the Tanegashima Space Center 

in Japan on December 9, 2016, and was berthed to the ISS on December 13, 2016. 

The spacecraft carried more than 9,000 pounds of supplies, water, spare parts, and 

experiment hardware, including six new lithium-ion batteries and adapter plates to 

replace the nickel-hydrogen batteries on the ISS.

SpaceX launched its tenth contracted cargo mission, SpX-10, to the ISS on 

February 19, 2017, from CCAFS SLC-39A, marking the first launch from the site 

since the last flight of the Space Shuttle Program. The Dragon spacecraft was 

successfully berthed to the ISS on February 23, 2017, after the initial approach 

on February 22, 2017, was automatically aborted by an onboard computer when 

a data error was reported in its navigation system. The problem was traced to an 

incorrect data value in the spacecraft’s Global Positioning System (GPS) and was 

corrected. The Dragon spacecraft delivered over 5,000 pounds of cargo, including 

the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment III (SAGE III) Earth observation 

platform, and the U.S. Department of Defense’s Space Test Program Houston 5 

(STP-H5) package, which included the Raven navigation investigation and 

the Lightning Imaging Sensor. Dragon departed the ISS and splashed down on 

March 19, 2017, returning more than 3,600 pounds of NASA cargo and science 

samples from a variety of technological and biological studies.

SpaceX-11 launched on June 3, 2017, carrying three external payloads—the Roll 

Out Solar Array (ROSA), the Multi-User System for Earth Sensing (MUSES), 

and the Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER)—as well as nearly 

4,000 pounds of other supplies and research for the ISS, including an Advanced 

Plant Habitat to conduct plant bioresearch on the ISS. The mission marked the 

first reuse of a Dragon spacecraft, which was berthed to the ISS on June 5, 2017, 

and departed on July 2, 2017, after completing its mission. A constellation of five 

CubeSats was also carried on the mission, one each from the countries of Japan, 

Nigeria, Bangladesh, Ghana, and Mongolia. The satellites from Bangladesh, 

Ghana, and Mongolia were the first in space from each of those countries.

The 12th SpaceX cargo resupply mission, SpaceX-12, was launched on August 14, 

2017, and berthed to the ISS on August 16, 2017, carrying more than 6,400 pounds 
8Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

of cargo, including the ISS Cosmic Ray Energetics and Mass (ISS-CREAM) 

experiment. The Dragon capsule departed on September 17, 2017, after completing 

its mission.

Space Life and Physical Sciences Research and Applications

Human Research Program

In 2017, data collection for the NASA Human Research Program (HRP) Twins 

Study concluded with preliminary results being analyzed across the ten investigator teams; a summary publication is expected in early 2018. For more than a year, 

identical twin brothers Scott and Mark Kelly participated by providing physiological samples and performing psychological tests. For Scott, samples were collected 

before, during, and after his one-year ISS mission. While Mark remained on the 

ground, he also provided identical samples at approximately the same times as his 

brother provided the in-flight samples. This approach allowed for a more complete 

and accurate assessment of how genes may be used differently due to environmental factors over time during the year of spaceflight. This comprehensive biological 

and psychological analysis will allow NASA to better understand the health risks 

associated with space travel and develop strategies to mitigate these risks.

NASA’s Cooperative Agreement with the National Space Biomedical Research 

Institute (NSBRI) concluded this year. The 20-year agreement was established 

in 1997 by forward-thinking NASA personnel who envisioned the need for a 

nongovernmental organization to have a leadership role in bringing top-tier biomedical research, education, and clinical expertise to NASA to solve problems 

and mitigate risks associated with human space exploration. NSBRI leaves a rich 

legacy as its program ends, and it validates how great things happen in our Nation 

when two areas of American preeminence—biomedical research and human space 

exploration—come together in a collegial and productive mission-focused manner 

to push the frontier of what is possible.

NASA’s Translational Research Institute (TRI), headquartered at Baylor College 

of Medicine, awarded grants for ten trailblazing research projects in the areas of 

omics, lymphatic flow, radiation damage resistance, minimally invasive surgical 

capabilities, and the effects of the microbiome on health during long-duration 
9National Aeronautics and Space Administration

spaceflight. The Principal Investigators leading the research studies reside at nine 

institutions in six states: California, Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, North 

Carolina, and Texas; several are new to the space-related biomedical research com-

munity. Three projects are large program grants involving investigators from mul-

tiple institutions in different states, all working in a coordinated fashion. NASA’s 

TRI is charged with developing innovative approaches to reduce risks to humans 

during long-duration exploration missions, including NASA’s plans for the explo-

ration of the solar system. Translational research is an interdisciplinary model of 

research that focuses on rapidly translating fundamental research concepts into 

practice, thereby generating tangible health outcomes—in this case, for astronauts.

In 2017, the HRP completed delivery of the following for assessment and integra-

tion into operations: • Hybrid Ultimate Lifting Kit 2 (HULK2) will support the upcoming Next 

Step Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) Habitat Assessment. HULK2 

is a prototype hybrid pneumatic/servomotor-based exercise device for 

resistive and aerobic training, designed to accommodate long-duration 

space missions. HULK2 meets aerobic and resistive exercise functional 

performance requirements needed to maintain crew health for exploration 

missions, such as those envisioned for the Gateway and Transport habitat 

concepts, and accomplishes this in an extremely compact footprint.

• Cognition is a software tool that assesses real-time crew performance in 

both terrestrial and spaceflight operations to determine the efficacy of 

countermeasures designed to mitigate the effects of fatigue, circadian mis-

alignment, and work overload on cognitive functioning.

• Integrated Medical Model is a Monte Carlo model using spaceflight med-

ical data and selected terrestrial information to estimate in-flight medical 

risk to crew given specific resource requirements.

• Reaction Self-Test is a self-administered monitoring tool that enables 

astronauts to detect and measure neurobehavioral changes, which are 

induced by fatigue and other performance-degrading factors.
10Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

Biological and Physical Sciences

Under the management of the Space Life and Physical Sciences Research 

and Applications Division (SLPSRAD), Biological and Physical Sciences (BPS) 

at NASA in 2017 initiated a strategy to explicitly align research on two primary 

thrusts, Enabling Exploration and Pioneering Scientific Discovery. This structure 

is in keeping with the framework for research prioritization recommended by the 

National Research Council in its Decadal Survey for Life and Physical Sciences 

at NASA.

In 2017, SLPSRAD made focused efforts to connect research it sponsors under 

the theme of Enabling Exploration with organizations responsible for integrating 

technologies into exploration missions. The Zero Boil-Off Tank experiment, a 

research project developed by SLPSRAD for operation on the ISS in 2018, was 

identified by the Space Technology Mission Directorate as “Exploration Critical” 

in recognition of the value of the data from the experiment for the design of future 

cryogenic fuel storage facilities in space. The 2017 results of another SLPSRAD 

project, the Packed Bed Reactor Experiment, are being studied by the Advanced 

Exploration Systems Division for application to designs of future generations of 

life-support equipment.

Work in the Space Biology Program in 2017 also made significant progress to 

enable exploration. Research in the microbiome of space vehicles is just beginning, 

but it will be important to understand how humans and the microbes that live 

with and in us will adapt to life on long-duration space missions. In 2017, in the 

first of a new series of investigations into the microbiome (the microbial ecosystem) 

aboard the ISS, investigators identified several multi-drug-resistant bacteria, along 

with two previously unrecognized pathogenic fungi growing on various surfaces 

aboard the ISS. With the support of the Human Research Program, research on 

the microbiome of the ISS has been identified as “Exploration Critical.” Another 

2017 project in Space Biology that was determined to be an “Exploration Critical” 

investigation on the ISS was Rodent Research–9. NASA researchers are looking 

to this project, which uses mice to model human physiology, to provide insights 

into how changes in fluid pressure in the vascular function of the central nervous 

system might be responsible for changes in visual acuity that have been observed 

in a number of astronauts on the ISS.
11National Aeronautics and Space Administration

SLPSRAD research in 2017 is part of NASA’s commitment to develop the potential of low-Earth orbit (LEO) through pioneering scientific discovery. The continuing success of the ISS partnership hinges on NASA’s continuing leadership in space 

research and development. An example of how SLPSRAD work in 2017 helped 

maintain the vitality of the ISS partnership is in cold atom research. Working 

with a team of distinguished physicists that includes three Nobel Laureates, NASA 

is developing the Cold Atom Laboratory (CAL) at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory 

for deployment on the ISS in early 2018. In the weightless environment of the 

ISS, CAL should be able to create the coldest atoms in the observable universe, 

atoms so cold and nearly motionless that, following the Uncertainty Principle, 

each atom will be almost observable with the naked eye. Physicists working in 

German laboratories have been using microgravity for several years now and have 

been eager to get access to facilities on the ISS. The German Space Agency (DLR) 

and NASA made substantial progress in 2017 toward an agreement that will see a 

German-developed follow-on to CAL on the ISS in the early 2020s. In 2017, a joint 

U.S.-German Science Definition Team was established to define the capabilities 

and technical objectives for the new facility, called Bose-Einstein Condensate Cold 

Atom Laboratory, or BECCAL. BECCAL will be an important contribution to the 

scientific productivity of the ISS for European and American scientists in the next 

decade of ISS operations.

Scientific discovery is also the pioneering effort for future commercial developments. Throughout the history of science, basic research has created opportunities 

for commercial application. In 2017, SLPSRAD-sponsored space biology projects in 

animal physiology, using mice, teamed with commercial investigators sponsored by 

the management organization for the ISS National Laboratory, the Center for the 

Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), to greatly increase the productivity 

of these resource-intensive experiments. SLPSRAD-sponsored investigations in 

2017 enabled commercial experiments to explore many potential new applications 

for research with rodent models in space. This interaction has led to increasing 

cooperation between commercial and basic rodent research, as well as the sponsorship by CASIS of a SLPSRAD rodent research investigation on the ISS, because 

of its potential to shed light on new applications for rodent research in space for 

pharmaceutical development.
12Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

Human Spaceflight Capabilities

By the end of FY 2017, the Rocket Propulsion Test (RPT) Program had safely 

performed 586 tests. Test time totaled over 205,566 seconds, with more than 18,366 

seconds of hot fire testing at various levels of thrust. This represents a 10 percent 

increase in the number of tests performed and a 35 percent increase in test duration from FY 2016. During this period, the test facilities had seven facility-caused 

test delays, resulting in 98.8 percent facility readiness, far exceeding the 90 percent 

RPT Annual Performance Indicator.

In FY 2017, Stennis Space Center (SSC) performed 165 tests for a variety of 

NASA, other Government, and commercial propulsion systems developers. Test 

programs included RS-25 in support of the SLS Program, testing of the Aerojet 

Rocketdyne (AR) RS-68 engine in support of the U.S. Air Force (USAF) and 

ULA, WSTF testing of ESA’s ESM subscale diffuser, testing of Aerojet Rocketdyne 

AR-1 subscale and full-scale components for the USAF RD-180 replacement effort, 

subscale and full-scale testing of SpaceX Raptor engine components, and testing of 

Relativity Space Aeon-1 engine and components.

In 2017, there were several facility preparation activities under way to support multiple Government and commercial development activities, including 

B-2 test stand repair and restoration activities to support SLS Core Stage testing. Additionally, NASA made investments to modernize and automate the SSC 

sitewide nitrogen supply system, facility modifications and special test equipment 

(STE) development in E-1 Cell 1 supporting AR-1 full-scale LOX/refined propellant (Rp) battleship pre-burner testing, and design and demolition activities on A-2 

in support of the AR-1 engine system testing.

Other activities at SSC included the buildup of systems in the E-Complex 

required to support the joint DOD-NASA hydrocarbon boost program and the 

Aerojet Rocketdyne LOX and refined propellant (Rp) development program. USAF 

and NASA Advanced Booster Engineering Demonstration and/or Risk Reduction 

(ABEDRR)/Hydrocarbon Boost development activities, facility modifications, and 

STE development are under way on E-1 Cell 1, supporting the joint Hydrocarbon 

Boost testing.
13National Aeronautics and Space Administration

In 2017, Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) performed 116 tests for a variety 

of NASA, other Government, and commercial test programs, which included testing engine components manufactured using advanced technologies and affordable 

additively manufacturing technologies. In addition, MSFC tested articles using 

LOX, liquid methane (LCH4), and new LOX Rp combustion techniques for both 

Government and commercial test customers. In 2017, MSFC provided test services 

for Aerojet Rocketdyne, Orbital ATK, Dynetics, and United Launch Alliance.

In 2017, WSTF performed over 250 tests and completed the buildup and preparation of Test Stand (TS) 301 to support testing of the Orion ESA ESM and Test 

Stand 301A to support the Boeing Crew Space Transportation (CST)–100 crew 

abort system and SM testing. Following the completion of the buildup activities on TS-301, WSTF performed the first integrated hot fire tests of the ESA 

ESM. In addition to the two ESM programs, WSTF also provided test support 

for the Missile Defense Agency (MDA), the USAF Minuteman, and the USAF 

Peacekeeper demilitarization.

In 2017, WSTF also provided support to the Commercial Crew Program by 

conducting acceptance-testing of the Boeing CST-100 Launch Abort Engines 

(LAEs) on TS-301A, Orbital Maneuvering Attitude Control (OMAC) thrusters on 

TS-401, and Reaction Control System (RCS) thrusters on the reactivated TS-406.

In 2017, Glenn Research Center performed 61 tests. At the Lewis Field location, 

the Altitude Combustion Stand (ACS) performed 29 tests in support of advanced 

research and development (R&D) of green-propellant propulsion systems.

The GRC Plum Brook Station (PBS) In Space Propulsion Facility (formerly 

known as B2) performed 32 hot fire tests in a simulated vacuum and simulated 

thermal conditions of space. These 32 tests were the first to be performed in the 

facility in over ten years. The 32 tests were performed over a cumulative 52 hours, 

during which the test article was also exposed to the simulated space environment. 

The testing and preparations began for the Moon Express Lander, SpaceX Dragon, 

and advanced cryogenic fluid management. In 2017, PBS also began preparations 

for a facility refurbishment that will enable hot fire testing of a 30,000-foot-poundthrust system for up to 300 seconds (used as a reference; other articles of different 

thrusts can be tested with varying run times).
14Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

Launch Services

During FY 2017, the Launch Services Program (LSP) successfully launched 

two major science missions and one communications satellite: The Geostationary 

Operational Environmental Satellite R (GOES-R), the Cyclone Global Navigation 

Satellite System (CYGNSS), and the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite  M 

(TDRS-M). GOES-R successfully launched on November 19, 2016, aboard an 

Atlas V rocket, followed by CYGNSS on December 15, 2016, aboard a Pegasus XL 

rocket. TDRS-M launched on August 18, 2017, also aboard an Atlas V rocket. 

All three missions launched from CCAFS in Florida. The LSP also continued to 

provide launch-related systems engineering, launch integration, and mission design 

and analysis support to over 40 NASA-sponsored missions in various phases of 

development. To learn more about these and other NASA science missions, see the 

Science Mission Directorate section in this report.

The LSP continued its efforts to expand the selection of launch vehicles, working across the launch-vehicle industry to support the continued growth of the U.S. 

commercial space sector by offering competitive opportunities to U.S. commercial 

launch providers. In FY 2017, the program acquired launch services for one future 

science mission and one new-generation polar-orbiting operational environmental satellite: The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) and the Joint 

Polar Satellite System 2 (JPSS-2). The SWOT launch service was awarded to 

Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) of Hawthorne, California. SWOT will 

launch in April 2021 aboard a Falcon 9 Full Thrust. The JPSS-2 launch service was 

awarded to United Launch Services (ULS), LLC, of Centennial, Colorado. JPSS-2 

will launch in July 2021 aboard an Atlas V rocket. Both missions will launch from 

Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. JPSS is a collaborative program between 

the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and NASA.

NASA and LSP continue to partner with several universities and NASA 

Centers to launch small research satellites through the CubeSat Launch Initiative 

(CSLI), providing rideshare opportunities for small satellite payloads to fly on 

upcoming launches when space is available. These partnerships have provided 

regular educational opportunities for students in science, technology, engineering, 

and mathematics disciplines, thereby strengthening the Nation’s future workforce. 
15National Aeronautics and Space Administration

To date, CubeSats have been selected from 38 states across the United States, 

with 49 missions launched and 46 manifested on NASA, National Reconnaissance 

Office, U.S. Air Force, and commercial missions. In FY 2017, six CSLI CubeSats 

were launched.

The Venture Class Launch Services (VCLS) contracts for CubeSat satellites 

foster a commercial launch market dedicated to flying small-satellite payloads by 

serving as an alternative to the current rideshare approach, in which one or more 

CubeSats take advantage of excess payload capacity on a rocket whose primary 

mission is to launch a larger satellite. Rocket Lab USA has the first VCLS launch 

scheduled for FY 2018 aboard the Electron launch vehicle. Virgin Galactic will 

follow with a scheduled launch in FY 2018 aboard the LauncherOne. In addition, 

the certification effort for ULA’s Delta IV Heavy launch vehicle was completed in 

FY 2017. The Delta IV Heavy launch vehicle is now Category 3 certified by NASA 

LSP. The Parker Solar Probe mission, which will fly closer to the sun than ever 

before, is scheduled to launch on the Delta IV Heavy in FY 2018. LSP also continued to support the certification activities of the SpaceX Falcon 9 “Full Thrust” 

launch vehicle. SpaceX did successfully complete Category 2 certification of the 

Falcon 9 “Full Thrust” in January 2018, which supports the launch of the NASA 

Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission in March 2018. The LSP 

further conducted preliminary activities that would support the eventual certification of the Orbital ATK Antares 230 as well as proposed future launch vehicles 

such as the ULA Vulcan, the Orbital ATK Next Generation Launcher, and the 

Blue Origin New Glenn commercial launch vehicles.

Lastly, LSP participated in SpaceX’s investigation of the on-pad explosion that 

occurred on September 1, 2016, at SLC-40 at CCAFS in Florida during propellant loading of the Falcon 9 Full Thrust launch vehicle variant. The vehicle was 

being prepared for an on-pad engine test when the vehicle explosion occurred. An 

Accident Investigation Team (AIT) was composed of members from SpaceX, the 

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), NASA, the U.S. Air Force, and industry 

experts. The SpaceX investigation has been completed, and corrective actions are 

being implemented. While this accident did not occur in preparation for a NASA 

launch, the Agency wants to understand the incident and any design or procedure 

changes SpaceX elects to make before committing NASA payloads to fly on future 
16Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

Falcon 9 vehicles. LSP was a member of the SpaceX AIT and is also conducting its 

own independent review of the accident.

Advanced Exploration Systems

The Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) Division pioneers new ways to rapidly develop prototype systems, demonstrate key capabilities, and validate operational concepts to reduce the risk and cost of future human exploration missions. 

In FY 2017, the AES Division continued the successful execution of 28 research 

and technology development activities employing over 400 civil servants spread 

across all NASA Centers. The activities are grouped into four domains: Habitation 

Systems, Vehicle Systems, Foundational Technologies, and Robotic Precursors.

Activities in the Habitation Systems domain develop systems to enable the crew 

to live and work safely in deep space, including beyond-Earth-orbit habitats, lifesupport systems, radiation protection, fire safety, and logistics reduction.

AES awarded Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships 

(NextSTEP) contracts to Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Orbital ATK, and Sierra 

Nevada Corporation to develop prototype deep space habitats for ground testing, and to Nanoracks to study concepts for converting an expended upper stage 

into a habitat. Building on the successful deployment of the Bigelow Expandable 

Activity Module (BEAM) on the ISS in 2016, a NextSTEP contract with Bigelow 

Aerospace to also develop a prototype deep space expandable habitat for ground 

testing is pending award. These partnerships require the companies to contribute 

at least 30 percent of their own funding to the efforts.

The Life Support Systems activity launched an Aerosol Sampler to the ISS and 

returned samples for laboratory analysis. This activity completed assembly of the 

Spacecraft Atmosphere Monitor development model that will detect hazardous 

chemicals in the ISS air.

The Radiation Sensors activity launched a Fast Neutron Spectrometer and a 

Miniature Particle Telescope to monitor the ISS radiation environment. This 

activity delivered the Hybrid Electronic Radiation Assessor (HERA) flight unit 

for EM-1.
17National Aeronautics and Space Administration

AES successfully conducted the Saffire-II and Saffire-III fire safety experiments 

on the Cygnus vehicle to investigate the spread of large-scale fires in microgravity. AES completed the Critical Design Review (CDR) for the next three Saffire 

experiments that will monitor combustion products and demonstrate postfire 

cleanup technologies.

The Logistics Reduction activity installed the Radio Frequency Identification 

(RFID)–Enabled Autonomous Logistics Management (REALM-1) hardware on the 

ISS and demonstrated end-to-end data transfer from over 3,000 RFID tags to the 

ground control station. REALM-1 was also used to locate missing items quickly. 

This activity also completed the CDR for the Universal Waste Management 

System, which is a compact toilet that will be flown on the ISS and Orion.

Activities in the Vehicle Systems domain develop systems to enable human and 

robotic exploration vehicles, including advanced in-space propulsion, lander technology, and modular power systems.

AES is developing high-power electric thrusters for the next generation of 

solar electric propulsion systems via three NextSTEP Advanced Propulsion 

activities. Ad Astra Rocket Company is developing the Variable Specific Impulse 

Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR); Aerojet Rocketdyne is developing a nested 

Hall thruster; and MSNW is developing an Electrodeless Lorentz Force plasma 

thruster. In the first year of their three-year contracts, the companies assembled 

their thrusters, upgraded test facilities, and began short-duration tests. The goal is 

to test the 100-kilowatt thrusters in a vacuum chamber for 100 continuous hours 

in 2018.

The Lander Technology activity conducted an open-loop flight test of 

Navigation Doppler Lidar and Lander Vision System on the Masten Space Systems 

lander to demonstrate technologies for autonomous precision landing.

The Lunar Cargo Transportation and Landing by Soft Touchdown (Lunar 

CATALYST) initiative is continuing to provide engineering and test support for 

three companies developing robotic lunar landers: Astrobotic, Moon Express, and 

Masten Space Systems. In addition, NASA issued a joint Request for Information 

from the Science Mission Directorate (SMD) and HEOMD to assess the demand 

for delivering small payloads to the moon using commercial services.
18Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

The Orion Ascent Abort flight test vehicle completed its Preliminary Design 

Review. A mockup of the Orion capsule and an active Launch Abort System will be 

launched on a booster rocket in 2019 to demonstrate boost phase abort capabilities.

Activities in the Foundational Technologies domain enable more efficient 

mission and ground operations and those that allow for more Earth independence, including autonomous mission operations, avionics and software, 

in situ resource utilization, in-space manufacturing, synthetic biology, and 

communication technologies.

The Avionics and Software activity conducted an integrated test of a reference 

avionics architecture that uses three voting computers and time-triggered Ethernet 

to control life support, power, communications, and other subsystems for a deep 

space habitat.

The In-Space Manufacturing activity issued a Broad Agency Announcement 

to solicit proposals for a Multi-Material Fabrication Lab on the ISS. This activity 

completed the CDR for the Refabricator payload that will recycle plastic parts on 

the ISS and produce feedstock for an integral 3D printer.

The Synthetic Biology Applications activity demonstrated that yeast could be 

genetically modified to produce a key bio-nutrient. This activity developed a prototype bio-nutrient packet to supplement the crew’s diet on long missions.

The Disruption Tolerant Networking (DTN) activity conducted interoperability 

tests with the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) in preparation for their 

Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter mission and demonstrated DTN on the 21-meter 

antenna at Morehead State University for communicating with CubeSats.

Activities in the Robotic Precursor domain develop robotic missions and payloads to acquire strategic knowledge on potential destinations for human exploration to inform systems development, including prospecting for lunar volatiles, 

CubeSats launched on EM-1, technology demonstrations on the Mars 2020 mission, and instrument development.

AES continued development of three payloads for the Mars 2020 mission. 

The Critical Design Reviews for the Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization 

Experiment (MOXIE) and the Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA) 

were completed. The Mars Entry, Descent, and Landing Instrumentation-2 

(MEDLI-2) payload completed its Preliminary Design Review. MOXIE will 
19National Aeronautics and Space Administration

demonstrate the production of oxygen from the Mars atmosphere; MEDA is a surface weather station; and MEDLI-2 is a suite of temperature and pressure sensors on 

the Mars 2020 heat shield to validate aerothermal models.

AES plans to launch five CubeSats on EM-1 to fill gaps in our knowledge about 

space environments and the availability of lunar resources. These activities completed their design and safety reviews and began spacecraft integration. BioSentinel 

will investigate the effects of deep space radiation on yeast DNA. Lunar Flashlight 

will search for ice from lunar orbit using lasers to illuminate permanently shadowed 

lunar craters. Near-Earth Asteroid Scout will use a solar sail to fly by an asteroid. 

The Lunar Infrared (LunIR) CubeSat is a NextSTEP partnership with Lockheed 

Martin to fly by the moon and test a new infrared sensor. Lunar IceCube is a 

NextSTEP partnership with Morehead State University to detect water and other 

volatiles from lunar orbit using a broadband infrared spectrometer.

NASA signed an agreement with the KARI for hosting NASA instruments on 

the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter. AES competitively selected the ShadowCam 

instrument from Arizona State University to image ice in permanently shadowed 

lunar craters.

The AES Division is leading the definition of system concepts, requirements, and 

design standards for a Deep Space Gateway (DSG) concept that will be launched 

into lunar orbit around 2023. The DSG may consist of a habitat, a solar electric 

propulsion and power element, logistics capabilities, and an airlock/docking node. 

Orion will dock with the DSG, and a crew of four will stay onboard for 30 days to 

gain experience in living and working in deep space and to test critical life-support 

and logistics management technologies for long missions. In 2029, NASA envisions 

the launch of a Deep Space Transport (DST) vehicle that can be outfitted at the 

DSG in preparation for a yearlong shakedown cruise that simulates a human mission to Mars. The DST may consist of a large Mars transit habitat and a hybrid solar 

electric and chemical propulsion system. After completing the DST shakedown 

cruise, NASA will be ready to send human missions to the vicinity of Mars.

NASA discontinued the Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM) in 2017. Key capabilities such as advanced solar electric propulsion continue to be matured for 

future deep space human and robotic exploration with applicability to the Nation’s 

public- and private-sector space needs.
20Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

Leveraging work on a high-power solar electric propulsion spacecraft begun 

under ARM, NASA issued a Request for Information seeking ideas and readily 

available information from U.S. industry on their current commercial capabilities, concepts and development approaches, and potential for future commercial 

applications that support a cost-effective partnership model for possible use in the 

potential development of a Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) that may become 

part of the Deep Space Gateway (DSG) concept. NASA also released a NextSTEP 

BAA solicitation for industry studies of PPE concepts and potential partnership 

models. These studies are planned for award early in FY 2018.

Space Communications and Navigation

The Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) Program is responsible for 

programmatic oversight and management of NASA’s space communications and 

tracking capabilities. Since the launch of first U.S. satellite (Explorer 1) from Cape 

Canaveral in 1958, these capabilities have been used to provide space communication and navigation (C&N) services to spacecraft and to their rockets. Since 1958, 

the customer base has expanded from NASA missions to a wide range of external 

customers (other U.S. and international government agencies and commercial entities) because mission managers recognized the criticality of a robust C&N system 

for any space mission (e.g., human exploration, robotic spaceflight launches, lowEarth and deep space science, nanosats, and SmallSats). SCaN strives to maintain 

its C&N infrastructure in a robust operational status. SCaN is also upgrading the 

infrastructure in response to the customer requirements and demands and because 

current infrastructure is simply old.

Ongoing operations of NASA’s three space communication networks—the Near 

Earth Network (NEN), the Space Network (SN) Tracking and Data Relay Satellite 

System (TDRSS), and the Deep Space Network (DSN)—continued their longstanding history of exceeding the Agency requirement of 95 percent proficiency 

with at least 99 percent proficiency. Astronauts and spacecraft depend on this reliable uplink and downlink of communications for the delivery of commands and 

essential crew instructions, as well as the retrieval of health and safety information 

and science data, with delivery of the data to individual mission control centers. 
21National Aeronautics and Space Administration

During FY 2017, SCaN networks provided C&N services to 72 missions, including 

services to human spaceflight. The networks also provided launch and early-orbit 

telemetry, tracking, and communication (TT&C) services to 23 expendable launch 

vehicles (ELVs).

SCaN successfully launched the TDRS-M spacecraft on August 18, 2017, to join 

and sustain the TDRSS. TDRS-M is the final planned TDRSS spacecraft with a 

spacecraft mission duration of 15 years. Significant progress was made in the SN 

Ground Sustainment System (SGSS) project in coding, hardware integration, and 

testing. SCaN continued to address the cost and schedule challenges encountered 

in this major ground system upgrade activity. The DSN continued to build two new 

34-meter antennas at the Madrid Deep Space Communications Complex in Spain. 

These are part of the DSN Aperture Enhancement Project designed to meet all 

deep space communication requirements.

SCaN continued to serve as the Agency’s Spectrum Manager, with responsibility 

for representing NASA’s spectrum interests and negotiating on its behalf with the 

White House, Congress, relevant Government agencies and national regulators, 

and interagency partners in the determination of spectrum allocations. As part of 

the State Department–led U.S. delegation, SCaN began coordination on Agenda 

Items on spectrum issues of interest and concern to NASA that will be addressed 

at the World Radiocommunication Conference 2019.

SCaN serves as the Agency lead in coordinating the development of international space communication standards, which enable cross support and interoperability of systems. This translates into hundreds of millions of dollars in savings for 

NASA without reducing services and coverage for space missions. The SCaN Data 

Standard Project remained engaged in the Consultative Committee for Space Data 

Systems (CCSDS), an international organization chartered in 1982, to provide a 

forum for the discussion of common problems in the development and operation 

of space data systems. The CCSDS works closely with the Interagency Operations 

Advisory Group (IOAG) to ensure that standards are developed in advance of 

Agency missions. As NASA’s representative to the IOAG, SCaN engaged in 

key discussions related to interoperability and cross support for future moon and 

Mars missions, mission operations, optical communications, and other key issues. 

The International Space Exploration Coordination Group (ISECG) requested 
22Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

this year that the IOAG serve as the international coordination board for space 

communication–related issues for the ISECG. In FY 2017, SCaN engineers led 

numerous CCSDS working groups in the completion of many new standards and 

made substantial progress leading the optical communications working group to 

charter and develop several new standards for optical communications.

Expanding space communications from the radio frequency to the optical spectrum can increase data rates by an order of magnitude and lower spacecraft burden 

(mass, power, and volume). Decreased burden enables optical communications to be 

applied in SmallSat and nanosat applications as well. SCaN is aggressively pursuing making optical communication an operational capability with initial capability 

from LEO. This fiscal year, SCaN continued building two Optical Ground Stations 

(OGSes)—OGS-1 at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, and OGS-2 in 

Hawaii, the U.S. locations with the least interfering cloud coverage. Through participation in the IOAG and the CCSDS, NASA reached agreement with the Japan 

Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Centre National d’Études Spatiales 

(CNES) on optical communications standards, making interoperability between 

the participating agencies possible.

NASA directed the continuation of the National Space-Based Positioning, 

Navigation, and Timing (PNT) Advisory Board through a renewed charter in 

September 2017, for which SCaN continued in its role as the Executive Director. 

This Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) board includes an august body of 

PNT experts from within industry and the international community that meets 

biannually to provide its recommendations on PNT-related issues to the National 

Space-Based PNT Executive Committee, chaired by the Deputy Directors of 

Defense and Transportation. On behalf of the Agency, SCaN led the national 

effort to develop a Space Service Volume (SSV) capacity for the Global Positioning 

System, which will enable the use of existing GPS signal for beyond-LEO PNT services. Through its efforts with the International Committee on Global Navigation 

Satellite Systems (GNSS) (ICG), all of the other GNSS providers are now developing SSV capacity for their systems, leading to a much greater reliability and 

accuracy for beyond-LEO navigation.
23National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Science Mission Directorate

NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD) uses the unique vantage point of 

space, along with assets in the air and on the ground, to seek new knowledge 

and understanding of Earth, our sun and solar system, and the universe. The 

four SMD research divisions (Earth Science, Heliophysics, Planetary Science, 

and Astrophysics), together with the Joint Agency Satellite Division (JASD) and 

the James Webb Space Telescope (Webb) program office, carry out research that 

contributes critical knowledge and delivers societal benefits for people around the 

globe. Science is interconnected; no important question stands alone. In SMD, 

discoveries in one scientific discipline have a direct route to other areas of study. 

SMD supports strategic investments in technology to enable new scientific discoveries and shares data and research findings, openly and freely, with the public 

to improve science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education 

nationwide. The work done in SMD helps to lay the foundation for the robotic and 

human expeditions of the future. In FY 2017, SMD managed more than 100 space 

missions and maintained high-altitude balloon, sounding rocket, and airborne 

research programs, with more than 10,000 scientists around the globe contributing 

to SMD research.

Earth Science

NASA’s Earth Science Division (ESD) seeks to understand our planet as an interconnected system. This system is made up of diverse components—the atmosphere, 

lithosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, and biosphere—that all work together. Yet it 

is a system that we do not fully understand. The Earth Science program helps to 

develop a scientific understanding of the changes occurring on our planet on a variety of temporal and spatial scales. A key strategic element is sustained simultaneous 

observations to unravel the complexity of the global integrated Earth system. The 

Earth Science program has four major elements: Flight Programs (Earth Systematic 

Missions and Earth System Science Pathfinder) develop satellite missions; Earth 

Science Research advances scientific understanding and identifies the focus areas 

for the next generation of missions; Technology develops new technology and 
24Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

enables the next generation of effective satellite and airborne instruments; and 

Applied Sciences advances the effective use of Earth science measurements and 

scientific understanding by other Federal, state, local, and tribal organizations.

As of September 2017, NASA ESD operated 20 coordinated spaceborne missions, acquiring well-calibrated, global observations with high spatial and high 

temporal resolution. NASA aircraft- and surface-based instruments calibrate, 

complement, and enhance interpretation of satellite measurements. The data from 

these missions, and the products derived from those data, contribute to knowledge 

and capabilities in a wide range of areas including weather, natural disasters, climate, oceans and water management, and agricultural production. Throughout 

FY 2017, NASA’s fleet of Earth science satellites contributed to our understanding 

of Earth and directly benefited the lives of people around the globe.

The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) core satellite gathered rainfall 

data on severe storms in the United States and throughout the world, providing 

data used by forecasters to better understand storm characteristics. Together with 

data from other U.S. and international satellites, NASA generated products that 

provided estimates of the rainfall that occurred during severe events. Data from 

the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument, one of six instruments 

flying onboard NASA’s Aqua satellite, helped improve forecasts by providing 

three-dimensional maps of clouds, air temperature, and water vapor throughout 

the atmosphere’s weather-making layer.

Following Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria in August and September 2017, 

NASA’s disaster team worked closely with the Federal Emergency Management 

Agency (FEMA), the National Guard, and other partners to leverage satellite data 

to support their decision-making and response efforts. Data from the GPM Core 

Observatory helped forecasters understand and track the storms as they developed 

and moved across the United States. NASA partners used GPM data to drive the 

Global Flood Monitoring System, which produced flood forecasts for all three hurricanes. NASA’s Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite provided information about soil moisture relevant to flooding and agricultural impacts. Data 

from synthetic aperture radar instruments on NASA, European Space Agency, 

and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency aircraft and satellites collected highresolution observations of rivers, floodplains, and critical infrastructure even 
25National Aeronautics and Space Administration

through cloudy conditions. NASA was able to use its whole suite of imaging satellites to assist with flood mapping and recovery planning. The NOAA-NASA 

Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership’s (Suomi NPP) night lights product even 

made it possible to locate utility and power outages by identifying areas with a 

reduction in emitted night lights.

New instruments will further increase our understanding of severe weather phenomena. On December 15, 2016, NASA launched the Cyclone Global Navigation 

Satellite System (CYGNSS), a science-driven, eight-SmallSat constellation, 

delivered in a single launch. CYGNSS uses GPS signals reflected by the ocean 

to determine near-surface wind speed over tropical oceans and inside hurricanes. 

Scientists will use the data gathered by CYGNSS to help make improvements in 

hurricane forecasts. On February 19, 2017, the Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) 

and Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE) III instrument were 

launched to the ISS. Data from LIS are helping improve weather forecasting, climate modeling, and air quality studies. SAGE III is monitoring the condition of 

the ozone layer, which covers an area in the stratosphere 10 to 30 miles above 

Earth and protects the planet from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet radiation. On May 

16, 2017, NASA launched the IceCube mission, a bread loaf–sized satellite that 

is demonstrating and validating a new 874-gigahertz submillimeter-wave receiver 

that is helping to advance scientists’ understanding of ice clouds—a key property 

in weather and climate models. Another CubeSat, called Microwave Radiometer 

Technology Acceleration (MiRaTa), launched in November 2017, carrying ultracompact instruments capable of measuring temperature and humidity.

In addition to severe weather, NASA collects data and develops products 

related to a variety of other natural disasters. The Moderate Resolution Imaging 

Spectroradiometer (MODIS), which flies on both the Aqua and Aura satellites and 

the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on Suomi NPP, allowed 

NASA scientists to quickly determine the exact location of wildfires and monitor 

their movement. These data are contributing significantly to the tracking of the 

development of wildfires around the world. MODIS and VIIRS imaging capabilities are also used to track smoke generated by the fires, while its thermal bands 

make it possible to distinguish active burning areas. The MODIS instrument also 

is used in combination with VIIRS to identify areas at risk for drought. Scientists 
26Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

showed that the United States had largely recovered from droughts experienced in 

recent years but that a number of countries in Africa were now at risk of drought 

and potentially famine. Scientists combined GPM rainfall observations with data 

about the ground, including elevation data collected by the Shuttle Topography 

Mission and forest loss data based on Landsat imagery, to develop a new global 

map of landslide susceptibility. They hope to use these data to provide situational 

awareness of landslide hazards to users around the world.

Satellites provide a unique opportunity to understand ice that covers Earth, 

particularly in remote areas, including the Arctic and Antarctic. Scientists used 

Landsat 8, along with ESA’s Copernicus Sentinel 1 satellites, to track a growing 

rift in the Antarctic Larson C ice shelf, watching as a massive iceberg broke away 

in July 2017. The NASA-funded Global Land Ice Velocity Extraction (GoLIVE) 

project used Landsat 8 data to provide a near-real-time view of every large glacier 

and ice sheet on Earth. This new product provides critical information to coastal 

communities that will be most impacted by rising oceans.

NASA’s Oceans Melting Greenland (OMG) project uses measurements taken by 

aircraft and ships to determine the extent to which warm ocean waters are melting glaciers from below. Data from OMG were combined with data from NASA’s 

Operation IceBridge project, which uses aircraft to collect images of Earth’s polar 

ice, to get very accurate measurements of Greenland’s melting glaciers. The mission 

of Operation IceBridge is to bridge the gap between NASA’s Ice, Cloud and Land 

Elevation Satellite (ICESat) missions. The first ICESat mission ended in 2010. 

ICESat-2, which is scheduled for launch in 2018, will use a laser instrument to 

measure the height of Earth’s surfaces globally. In August, the lasers began several 

months of testing to ensure they are ready to operate in the harsh environment 

of space.

Satellites offer the only method to accurately measure solar irradiance, the output of electromagnetic energy from the entire disk of the sun, measured at Earth. 

This energy sustains the entire Earth system, influencing Earth’s surface and air 

temperatures, among many other effects. NASA will continue a nearly 40-year 

record of measuring total solar irradiance with the launch of the Total and Spectral 

Solar Irradiance Sensor (TSIS-1) to the ISS in the first quarter of FY 2018. Closely 

related is Earth’s radiation balance, the difference between the amount of energy 
27National Aeronautics and Space Administration

from the sun that reaches Earth and the amount that is reflected and transmitted 

back into space. The Radiometer Assessment using Vertically Aligned Nanotubes 

(RAVAN) CubeSat, launched in November 2016, is testing new technologies, 

including carbon nanotubes that absorb outbound radiation, never before used on 

an orbiting spacecraft to make this measurement.

NASA missions also make important contributions to studies of the atmosphere. Scientists used observations from NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 

(OCO-2) to develop a new model of carbon behavior in our atmosphere, showing in 

detail the complex patterns in which carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increases, 

decreases, and moves around the globe. Scientists also demonstrated the ability to 

use OCO-2 data to make satellite-based maps of human emissions of carbon dioxide. The maps depict widespread carbon dioxide around major urban areas, as well 

as some smaller pockets of high emissions. OCO-2 data helped scientists conclude 

that impacts of El Niño–related heat and drought in Earth’s tropical regions were 

responsible for the record spike in global carbon dioxide in 2015–16, when Earth 

experienced the largest annual increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration since measurements began in the 1950s.

Airborne missions also contributed to improved understandings of atmospheric 

changes. In January 2017, the Atmospheric Carbon and Transport–America (ACTAmerica) mission returned to the skies over the eastern half of the United States 

to track the movement of atmospheric carbon and methane with the objective 

to better understand the sources and sinks of these greenhouse gases. NASA’s 

Atmospheric Tomography (ATom) mission made a 28-day around-the-world journey beginning in January 2017, carrying more than 20 scientific instruments used 

to measure more than 200 atmospheric gases, including methane and tropospheric 

ozone, as well as poorly understood particulates like black carbon. In May 2017, 

NASA flew an airborne campaign called the Carbon Airborne Flux Experiment 

(CARAFE) in the mid-Atlantic to help scientists better understand the exchange 

of carbon dioxide and methane between Earth and the atmosphere.

Airborne missions contributed to studies of the ocean, as well. NASA’s COral 

Reef Airborne Laboratory (CORAL) took measurements in Hawaii in February 

2017, providing the most extensive and uniform picture to date of coral reef conditions. These measurements will help scientists to steward these fragile ecosystems 
28Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

through environmental changes. NASA’s North Atlantic Aerosols and Marine 

Ecosystems Study (NAAMES) returned to air and sea in August 2017 to research 

the declining, or decelerating, phase of the annual cycle of plankton in the North 

Atlantic. Since plankton form the base of the marine food web and impact the 

productivity of fisheries, understanding this declining phase is important to forecasting the future of these environments.

NASA’s Earth Science Division helps to improve everyday life on Earth, assists 

in predicting and responding to natural disasters, and improves our understanding 

of the fundamental nature of our planet. Below are five highlights from FY 2017.

NASA Measures “Dust on Snow” to Help Manage Colorado River Basin Water Supplies

When the snowpack on mountains in Utah and Colorado melts each spring, 

the water flows into the Colorado River, eventually making its way to some 33 million people across seven western states. For a few of these states, snowfall (and its 

subsequent melt) provides up to 80 percent of the annual precipitation, which is 

ultimately used for drinking, farming, recreation, and power generation. NASA 

worked with local officials to incorporate remote sensing data into melt water 

forecasts. The research showed that using remote sensing data reduced the error 

by about 70 percent in some watersheds. Accurately forecasting the amount of 

meltwater throughout the United States is important. If the actual amount of water 

is less than predicted, reserves in reservoirs will not be sufficient to meet demand; 

conversely, if there is more water than predicted, it can lead to damaging floods.

Satellites Eye Winter Crops

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)–Agricultural 

Research Service, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and the Maryland 

Department of Agriculture used data and imagery collected by satellites to monitor crop performance, to determine how effective the crops are in protecting the 

Chesapeake Bay, and to develop strategies that maximize benefits to growers and 

the environment while minimizing costs. Researchers compared satellite observations with ground-based data collected from collaborating farms to map the performance of winter crops, as well as certain tilling practices that reduce erosion 

and runoff. They have already identified a few management choices that lead to 
29National Aeronautics and Space Administration

more successful crop performance. For instance, planting early—before the first 

frost—maximizes the amount of nitrogen that crops can absorb. Researchers are 

now working with NASA’s DEVELOP program to create new algorithms that will 

make finding and interpreting relevant satellite data faster than ever. DEVELOP is 

a training and development program sponsored by NASA’s Earth Science Applied 

Sciences Program that addresses environmental and public policy issues through 

interdisciplinary research projects that apply the lens of NASA Earth observations 

to community concerns around the globe.

Using NASA Satellite Data to Predict Malaria Outbreaks

In the Amazon Rainforest, few animals are as dangerous to humans as mosquitos that transmit malaria, but containing malaria outbreaks is challenging 

because it is difficult to figure out where people are contracting the disease. To 

tackle this problem, university researchers have turned to data from NASA’s fleet 

of Earth-observing satellites, which are able to track the types of human and environmental events that typically precede an outbreak. With funding from NASA’s 

Earth Science Applied Sciences Program, they are working in partnership with the 

Peruvian government to develop a system that uses satellite and other data to help 

forecast outbreaks at the household level months in advance and prevent them 

from happening.

Minnesota: Land of the Many-Colored Lakes

When organic matter—leaves, roots, or bark—disintegrates in water, it changes 

the color of a river or lake. Researchers from the University of Minnesota mapped 

lake colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) levels using Landsat 8 imagery and 

found that levels varied widely across the state. Analyzing the data, they determined that only a minor amount of CDOM was produced in the lakes themselves; 

most was produced in the watershed and exported into the lake. The researchers 

noted that learning more about CDOM will help them better understand water 

treatment problems. Discerning the amount of colored dissolved organic matter 

that a lake holds is also useful for monitoring how these watersheds may change 

in the future. That becomes especially important as lakes and rivers become more 

important as water sources.
30Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

Connection Found Between Wildfires and Drought

NASA scientists used satellite records from 2001 to 2014—including data from 

NASA’s Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer and the Tropical Rainfall 

Measurement Mission—to analyze the impact of fires on various water cycle indicators, including soil moisture, precipitation, and vegetation greenness. The data 

showed that in years that had more than average burning during the dry season, 

measurements of soil moisture, evaporation and vegetation greenness—all of which 

help to trigger rain—decreased in the following wet season. The results so far show 

only a correlation between fires and water-cycle indicators, but the data gathered 

from the study are now being used to help detect a more direct relationship.

Joint Agency Satellite Division

In addition to its own Earth observation satellites, NASA also develops and 

launches satellites on behalf of NOAA on a reimbursable basis through the Joint 

Agency Satellite Division (JASD). Descriptions of these satellite programs can be 

found in the Department of Commerce chapter of this report.

Heliophysics

Heliophysics is the science of understanding the sun—and how it influences the 

very nature of space, planets, and the entire solar system. Heliophysics studies key 

space phenomena and processes at a vast array of scales from particle movements 

near Earth to explosions on the sun thousands of times bigger than our planet. 

In turn, this research supports situational awareness to better protect astronauts, 

satellites, and robotic missions traveling through the solar system.

The sun produces radiation and magnetic energy that can disrupt planets’ 

atmospheres, our satellites, and even life. It produces a magnetic field that extends 

throughout our solar system and generates a constant stream of solar particles called 

the solar wind. Events on the sun, such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections 

(CMEs), send particles and plasma out into the solar system. All of these effects 

can vary with the sun’s 11-year solar cycle. Studying these elements of the space 

environment helps provide us with the knowledge we need to keep our astronauts 
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and spacecraft safe. Combined with studies of the magnetic and radiation environment near Earth, it can also help us prepare for the effects of space weather on our 

communications systems, satellites, and power grids. Heliophysics also provides us 

with greater insight into the forces that formed and protect the planets in our solar 

system and in other star systems—key information as NASA searches outside our 

solar system for habitable planets.

On August 21, 2017, for the first time in 99 years, a total solar eclipse occurred 

across the entire continental United States. Over a span of almost two hours, 

14 states experienced more than two minutes of darkness in the middle of the day, 

making visible the otherwise hidden solar corona—the sun’s atmosphere. NASA 

Heliophysics played a key role in supporting this event, in terms of both research 

and communications efforts. NASA funded 11 ground-based and aircraft studies, 

including six designed to make critical measurements of the corona. NASA and 

partners also captured observations of the eclipse with 11 spacecraft, three aircraft, 

and more than 50 high-altitude balloons; additionally, astronauts on board the 

International Space Station streamed live video of the event on NASA Television. 

At the midpoint of the live stream, 4.4 million people were watching, making the 

eclipse the most viewed live-streamed event in the Agency’s modern history.

In addition to providing impressive images during the eclipse, NASA’s sunobserving spacecraft made important scientific contributions throughout the year. 

The twin Solar and Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) satellites, which 

celebrated ten years in orbit in October 2016, continued to provide comprehensive 

data that contributed to understanding of how the sun erupts with massive bursts 

of energy and solar material, such as coronal mass ejections and energetic particles. Combined with images from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), 

STEREO data helped to find evidence of Rossby waves on the sun; these waves 

are analogous to the jet stream or gulf stream on Earth and could potentially help 

to develop long-term space weather forecasts. The joint ESA-NASA Solar and 

Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) found the first evidence of gravity waves in 

the sun, suggesting that the solar core is rotating once every week, nearly four 

times faster than the sun’s surface and intermediate layers. NASA’s Interface 

Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) mission transitioned to an extended mission 

phase but continued its study of the sun, collecting data on the temperature and 
32Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

movement of solar material. NASA also continued work on the Parker Solar Probe, 

which will be the first spacecraft to fly directly into the sun’s atmosphere after it 

launches in 2018.

Other spacecraft monitored conditions closer to Earth. The Magnetospheric 

Multiscale (MMS) mission comprises four spacecraft traveling through Earth’s 

magnetic environment. Gathering information on electric and magnetic fields, as 

well as high-energy particles, they have been charting the dynamic space environment around Earth for over two years. What they are discovering is changing how 

we understand the magnetic environment protecting our planet. A key discovery 

MMS revealed was that the abnormal electron motions in the thin layers of electrical current where magnetic reconnection happens allow them to gain additional 

energy and accelerate the reconnection process. Magnetic reconnection happens 

across the universe, from the sun to quasars to nuclear reactors, and MMS’s discoveries in its Earth-space laboratory help scientists understand the phenomenon 

in all locations.

After two years of fruitful scientific discoveries, the MMS constellation’s orbit 

was adjusted as planned in the spring of 2017 to bring it into the long region of the 

magnetosphere trailing behind Earth called the magnetotail. It now passes nearly 

half the distance to the moon on the dark side of Earth. In this region, magnetic 

reconnection is thought to be responsible for the auroras seen above the poles. 

During this phase of the mission, MMS will look at particle and wave interactions 

and study how the region becomes turbulent during solar storms and how the solar 

wind can affect magnetic reconnection.

Many key workhorses of the Heliophysics fleet are also continuing to circle 

Earth. NASA’s five-satellite Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions 

during Substorms (THEMIS) mission has now spent a decade discovering how 

mass and energy move through the near-Earth environment in order to determine 

the physical processes initiating auroras. THEMIS is joined in the near-Earth 

region by NASA’s Van Allen Probes, which study how high-energy particles are 

accelerated and lost from the Van Allen radiation belts.

The Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) mission also recently celebrated 

10 years in orbit. Data from AIM helped scientists to understand how and why noctilucent clouds—clouds high in the atmosphere that seem to glow at night—form 
33National Aeronautics and Space Administration

in Earth’s mesosphere, showing that ice forms around tiny particles that are the 

remnants of meteors burning up in the atmosphere. AIM has now transitioned 

to a new phase of science in which it will study atmospheric gravity waves. Also 

examining the mesosphere, as well as the thermosphere and ionosphere, the 

Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics (TIMED) spacecraft has spent 15 years observing how the upper atmosphere is affected by solar 

and geomagnetic inputs and tracking the rise of carbon dioxide in this region.

NASA’s Heliophysics Division uses a diverse set of spacecraft to study our sun 

and its interactions with Earth, the solar system, and the interstellar medium, 

including space weather. This Heliophysics System Observatory collects a vast 

array of observations to understand the material and energy in space at every 

scale. Heliophysics missions explore places never before visited: right into the sun’s 

corona, through pockets of intense radiation near Earth, and past the planets into 

interstellar space. Together, this body of work provides clear information to understand our neighborhood in space and the star we live with—key information as 

humanity’s domain begins to spread farther and farther into our solar system. Some 

research highlights from FY 2017 are described below.

Scientists Uncover Origins of the Sun’s Swirling Spicules

Spicules are wild jets of solar material that burst from the sun’s surface, erupting 

as fast as 60 miles per second and reaching lengths of 6,000 miles before collapsing. 

As many as ten million of these spicules occur at any given moment, but despite 

their abundance, scientists did not understand how they formed. A NASA-funded 

study used observations from NASA’s IRIS mission and the Swedish one-meter 

Solar Telescope in the Canary Islands to peer into the lower layers of the sun’s 

atmosphere. Using these observations and a computer simulation so detailed it 

took a full year to run on NASA’s Pleiades supercomputer, scientists were able to 

recreate the phenomenon, with simulations matching observations for the first 

time. Scientists discovered that neutral particles were key to the formation of spicules, allowing magnetic fields to move and rise beyond the sun’s surface.
34Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

NASA’s Van Allen Probes Spot Humanmade Barrier Shrouding Earth

Scientists using data from NASA’s Van Allen Probes found that very-lowfrequency (VLF) radio communications interact with particles in space, affecting how and where they move. At times, these interactions can create a barrier 

around Earth against natural high-energy-particle radiation in space. VLF signals 

are transmitted from ground stations to communicate with submarines deep in the 

ocean. While these waves are intended for communications below the surface, they 

also extend out beyond our atmosphere, shrouding Earth in a VLF bubble. The outward extent of the VLF bubble corresponds almost exactly to the inner edge of the 

Van Allen radiation belts, a layer of charged particles held in place by Earth’s magnetic fields. Scientists have suggested that with further study, VLF transmissions 

may serve as a way to remove excess radiation from the near-Earth environment.

NASA Scientists Demonstrate Technique to Improve Particle Warnings That 

Protect Astronauts

Our constantly changing sun sometimes erupts with bursts of light, solar material, or ultra-fast energized particles—collectively, these events contribute to 

space weather. Scientists from NASA and the National Center for Atmospheric 

Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado, have shown that the warning signs of 

one type of space weather event, a coronal mass ejection (CME), can be detected 

tens of minutes earlier than with current forecasting techniques—critical extra 

time that could help protect astronauts in space. The technique requires tracking CMEs using a ground-based coronagraph, an instrument in which a solid disk 

blocks the sun’s bright face. While space-based coronagraphs have many advantages, images are only returned every 20–30 minutes. Ground-based coronagraphs 

can only observe the sun in the day during clear weather, but they can return data 

almost instantly and at a much higher time resolution than satellite instruments. 

Scientists found that ground-based coronagraphs could provide a new tool in space 

weather forecasting which, under favorable conditions, could receive data warning 

of approaching CMEs earlier.
35National Aeronautics and Space Administration

NASA Observations Reshape Basic Plasma Wave Physics

NASA’s MMS mission provided observational proof of a 50-year-old theory and 

reshaped the basic understanding of a type of wave in space known as a kinetic 

Alfvén wave. MMS’s four spacecraft fly in a compact 3D pyramid formation, with 

just four miles between them, closer than ever achieved before and small enough 

to fit between two wave peaks. Having multiple spacecraft allowed the scientists 

to measure precise details about the wave, such as how fast it moved and in what 

direction it traveled. The observations showed that as kinetic Alfvén waves move 

through a plasma, electrons traveling at the right speed get trapped in the weak 

spots of the wave’s magnetic field. The new results also showed a much higher 

rate of trapping than expected, as well as unexpected, small-scale complexities in 

the wave. These findings are also applicable to nuclear fusion techniques, which 

rely on minimizing the existence of such waves inside the equipment to trap 

heat efficiently.

NASA’s Cassini, Voyager Missions Suggest New Picture of Sun’s Interaction with Galaxy

New data from NASA’s Cassini mission, combined with measurements from 

the two Voyager spacecraft and NASA’s Interstellar Boundary Explorer, or IBEX, 

suggest that our sun and planets are surrounded by a giant, rounded system of 

magnetic field from the sun—calling into question the alternate view of the solar 

magnetic fields trailing behind the sun in the shape of a long comet tail. Instead 

of a prolonged, comet-like tail, this rough bubble-shape of the heliosphere is due in 

part to the strong interstellar magnetic field—much stronger than what was antici-

pated in the past. The structure of the heliosphere plays a big role in how particles 

from interstellar space—called cosmic rays—reach the inner solar system, where 

Earth and the other planets are. As we continue to gather data from the edges of 

the heliosphere, these data will help us better understand the interstellar boundary 

that helps shield the Earth environment from harmful cosmic rays.
36Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

Planetary Science

NASA’s Planetary Science Division is engaged in one of the oldest of scientific 

pursuits: the observation and discovery of our solar system’s planetary objects. With 

an exploration strategy based on progressing from flybys, to orbiting, to landing, 

to roving, and finally to returning samples from planetary bodies, NASA helps to 

reveal new knowledge of our solar system’s content, origin, evolution, and potential 

for life elsewhere. NASA’s Planetary Science Division pushes the limits of spacecraft and robotic engineering design and operations and has sent spacecraft from 

the innermost planet of our solar system to the very edge of our sun’s influence.

FY 2017 saw a dramatic end to NASA’s Cassini mission, which was launched 

nearly 20 years ago. In a phase referred to as the Grand Finale, Cassini undertook 

a daring set of orbits that involved repeatedly climbing high above Saturn’s north 

pole and flying just outside its narrow F ring. Cassini probed the water-rich plume 

of the active geysers on the planet’s intriguing moon Enceladus, and then it hopped 

the rings and dove between the planet and innermost ring 22 times before plunging into Saturn’s atmosphere. Scientists will continue to analyze the data from 

the final phase of the mission for some time, but initial findings have produced 

interesting insights, including promising hints about the structure and composition 

of the icy rings and high-resolution images of the rings and Saturn’s atmosphere. 

Observations also revealed that the planet’s magnetic field has no discernible tilt. 

This is a surprising observation and means that the true length of Saturn’s day is 

still unknown.

NASA also released some early science results from NASA’s Juno mission, 

which arrived at Jupiter on July 4, 2016. These findings portray the largest planet 

in our solar system as a complex, gigantic, turbulent world, with Earth-sized polar 

cyclones; plunging storm systems that travel deep into the heart of the gas giant; 

and a mammoth, lumpy magnetic field that may indicate it is generated closer 

to the planet’s surface than previously thought. Early data show swirling, Earthsized storms densely clustered and rubbing together at both poles. They also 

demonstrated that Jupiter’s magnetic field is stronger than models expected. Juno 

is continuing its flybys of Jupiter and has since imaged many features, including 

the Great Red Spot. Meanwhile, NASA’s partnership in a future European Space 
37National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Agency mission to Jupiter and its moons has cleared a key milestone, moving from 

preliminary instrument design to implementation phase. The JUpiter ICy Moons 

Explorer (JUICE) is designed to investigate the emergence of habitable worlds 

around gas giants. JUICE is scheduled to launch in 2022, arriving at Jupiter in 

October 2029.

NASA has continued to make important new discoveries on Mars as well, part 

of an ambitious robotic exploration program that both contributes to science and 

helps lead the way for sending humans to Mars in the 2030s. A comprehensive 

look at the findings from the first three and a half years of NASA’s Curiosity rover 

mission showed that a long-lasting lake on ancient Mars provided stable environmental conditions that differed significantly from one part of the lake to another, 

providing multiple opportunities for different types of microbes to survive, similar 

to many lakes on Earth. In July 2017, Curiosity began a long-anticipated study of 

an iron-bearing ridge on Mount Sharp. A major appeal of the ridge is an iron-oxide 

mineral, hematite, which can form under wet conditions and reveal information 

about ancient environments. Scientists hope to understand the history of hematite 

and surrounding rock layers.

While Curiosity continued to provide new information about the surface, the 

Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft made new discoveries from above. MAVEN detected electrically charged metal atoms (ions) 

high in the Martian atmosphere. This is the first time the permanent presence of 

metal ions has been detected in the ionosphere of a planet other than Earth. The 

spacecraft also made sophisticated measurements that revealed that the rate of 

hydrogen escape—and therefore water loss—from the Martian atmosphere varied 

dramatically, peaking when Mars was at its closest point to the sun and dropping 

when it was farthest away. These measurements help scientists determine the total 

amount of water lost over billions of years. Also circling the Red Planet was the 

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), which completed its 50,000th orbit, providing data that was used to aid in preparations for NASA’s next mission to Mars, 

the Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport 

(InSight) lander. Insight will launch in 2018 and study the planet’s deep interior.

Elsewhere in the solar system, researchers used data from NASA’s Dawn mission 

to show that Ceres, the largest object in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, 
38Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

may have a very weak, transient atmosphere and that this atmosphere appears to 

be related to the behavior of the sun. Data from NASA’s Gravity Recovery and 

Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission, which launched in 2011 and concluded in 

2012, was used in two papers published in the journal Science in October 2016. 

These papers provided insights into the huge impacts that dominated the early 

history of Earth’s Moon and other solid worlds, like Earth, Mars, and the satellites 

of the outer solar system. New analysis of data collected by NASA’s New Horizons 

mission showed evidence of snow and ice features on Pluto that, until now, had 

been seen only on Earth.

After nearly two and a half years of operations, which included a flyby of Pluto 

and distant observations of several Kuiper Belt objects, NASA’s New Horizons 

spacecraft went back into hibernation in April 2017. It will awake again for the 

January 2019 close flyby of a particular Kuiper Belt object known as MU69. Also 

continuing its journey is NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource 

Identification, Security–Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-Rex) mission. OSIRIS-Rex 

launched in 2016 to visit the asteroid Bennu in 2018. In February 2017, OSIRISRex spent two weeks searching for evidence of Earth-Trojan asteroids—asteroids 

trapped in gravity wells that precede or follow Earth—but found none, an interesting finding in itself. In September 2017, OSIRIS-Rex captured an image of Earth 

as it completed its Earth gravity assist maneuver. In addition to providing interesting information, these activities helped the mission team prepare for operations 

at Bennu.

The Planetary Science Division uses spacecraft to visit planets throughout our 

solar system, learning about the solar system’s origins, evolution, and potential to 

host life elsewhere. Five FY 2017 research findings are highlighted below.

NASA Missions Provide New Insights into Ocean Worlds in Our Solar System

Two veteran NASA missions provided new details about icy, ocean-bearing 

moons of Jupiter and Saturn. Cassini scientists announced that hydrogen gas, 

which could potentially provide a chemical energy source for life, appears to be 

pouring into the subsurface ocean of Enceladus from hydrothermal activity on the 

seafloor. With this finding, nearly all of the ingredients for habitability have been 

shown to exist on Enceladus—a small, icy moon a billion miles farther from the 
39National Aeronautics and Space Administration

sun than Earth. In a separate study, Hubble researchers reported observations of 

Europa from 2016 in which a probable plume of material was seen erupting from the 

moon’s surface at the same location where Hubble had seen evidence of a plume in 

2014. Both correspond to the location of an unusually warm region that contains 

features that appear to be cracks in the moon’s icy crust. Researchers speculate 

that, as with Enceladus, this could be evidence of water erupting from the moon’s 

interior. Both investigations are laying the groundwork for NASA’s Europa Clipper 

mission, which is planned for launch in the 2020s.

Jupiter’s Auroras Present a Powerful Mystery

Scientists on NASA’s Juno mission have observed massive amounts of energy 

swirling over Jupiter’s polar regions that contribute to the giant planet’s powerful 

auroras, only not in ways the researchers expected. Scientists observed signatures 

of powerful electric potentials, aligned with Jupiter’s magnetic field, that accelerate electrons toward the Jovian atmosphere at energies of up to 400,000 electronvolts—10 to 30 times higher than seen at Earth. Jupiter has the most powerful 

auroras in the solar system, so the team was not surprised that electric potentials 

play a role in their generation. However, they are observed only sometimes and 

are not the source of the most intense auroras, as they are at Earth. Scientists are 

still working to understand why this may be, but they note that comparing the 

processes at Jupiter and Earth is incredibly valuable in testing our ideas of how 

planetary physics works.

Mars Volcano Went Extinct 50 Million Years Ago

New NASA research based on data from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter 

(MRO) revealed that the giant Martian volcano Arsia Mons produced one new 

lava flow at its summit every one to three million years during the final peak of 

activity. The last volcanic activity there ceased about 50 million years ago, a very 

recent event in geological terms. Researchers estimated the ages of flows by mapping the boundaries of lava flows from each of the volcanic vents and tallying all 

the craters at least 330 feet (100 meters) in diameter. A computer model using these 

two types of observations revealed details about the volcano’s history. A better 

understanding of when volcanic activity on Mars took place is important because 
40Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

it helps researchers understand the Red Planet’s history and interior structure and 

may help us understand changes in volcanism on other planets like Earth.

NASA Orbiter Finds New Evidence of Frost on Moon’s Surface

Data from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) was used to help identify bright areas in craters near the moon’s south pole that are cold enough to have 

frost present on the surface. The icy deposits appear to be patchy and thin, and it is 

possible that they are mixed in with the surface layer of soil, dust, and small rocks 

called the regolith. The researchers say they are not seeing expanses of ice similar 

to a frozen pond or skating rink. Instead, they are seeing signs of surface frost. The 

findings are consistent with analysis in past studies, which also found evidence 

of frost near the moon’s south pole. The moon’s ice could provide resources for 

human exploration, and a better understanding of how it formed might also help 

us improve our understanding of the origins of Earth’s water.

Comet or Asteroid? Hubble Discovers That a Unique Object Is a Binary

NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope helped an international team of astronomers 

find that an unusual object in the asteroid belt—named 2006 VW239/288P—is, 

in fact, two asteroids with comet-like features that are orbiting each other. These 

include a bright halo of material, called a coma, and a long tail of dust. The object 

is the first known binary asteroid that is also classified as a main-belt comet. 

Understanding the origin and evolution of this object may provide new insights 

into the early days of the solar system, for example, helping to understand how 

water came to a bone-dry Earth billions of years ago. Scientists also hope to understand more about how common such systems are in the asteroid belt.

Astrophysics

The Astrophysics Division seeks to understand the universe and our place 

in it. Investigations include the creation and evolution of the universe and the 

formation of planetary systems. Astrophysics includes research on how environments hospitable for life develop and the search for the signature of life on other 

worlds. Astrophysics undertakes these efforts using three Great Observatories—the 
41National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Hubble Space Telescope, the Chandra X-ray Observatory, and the Spitzer Space 

Telescope—as well as an array of other spacecraft with a variety of capabilities. 

The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), an airborne 

observatory for infrared astronomy, also contributes to astrophysics knowledge, as 

do high-altitude balloon missions.

Observations made by NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope made news in February 

2017, revealing the first known system of seven Earth-size planets around a single 

star. Three of the planets are firmly located in the habitable zone, the area around 

the parent star where a rocky planet is most likely to have liquid water. The discovery set a new record for the greatest number of habitable-zone planets found 

around a single star outside our solar system. All of these seven planets could have 

liquid water—key to life as we know it—under the right atmospheric conditions, 

but the chances are highest with the three in the habitable zone. This exoplanet 

system is called TRAPPIST-1, named for the Transiting Planets and Planetesimals 

Small Telescope (TRAPPIST) in Chile, which was used to discover the first three 

planets in the system.

The Hubble Space Telescope continued to make important observations and fuel 

new discoveries in FY 2017. An observation of a massive disk-shaped galaxy that 

stopped making stars only a few billion years after the Big Bang forced researchers 

to reconsider current understandings of how massive galaxies form and evolve. In 

another study, a deep-sky census assembled from surveys taken by NASA’s Hubble 

Space Telescope and other observatories showed that there are at least ten times 

more galaxies in the observable universe than previously thought.

Astronomers used NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and ESA’s X-ray MultiMirror (XMM)–Newton x-ray observatory to discover an extremely luminous, variable x-ray source located outside the center of its parent galaxy. Researchers believe 

the peculiar object could be a wandering black hole that came from a small galaxy 

falling into a larger one. Another study used all three current Great Observatories, 

along with two other space telescopes, to produce a highly detailed image of the 

Crab Nebula spanning the entire breadth of the electromagnetic spectrum, providing a wealth of new detail about this cosmic object.

Other spacecraft made important new findings, as well. A combined analysis 

of data from NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope and the High Energy 
42Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

Stereoscopic System (HESS), a ground-based observatory in Namibia, suggests that 

the center of our Milky Way Galaxy contains a “trap” that concentrates some of 

the highest-energy cosmic rays, among the fastest particles in the galaxy. NASA’s 

Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope also found a signal at the center of the neighboring Andromeda galaxy that could indicate the presence of the mysterious stuff 

known as dark matter. A team of scientists using observations from NASA’s Swift 

satellite mapped out how and where different wavelengths were produced when a 

star much like the sun wandered too close to the central black hole of its galaxy.

NASA continues to add new spacecraft with new capabilities. On June 3, 2017, 

NASA launched the Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) mission to the International Space Station to study the densest observable objects 

in the universe. NICER is the first NASA mission dedicated to the study of pulsars, rapidly spinning dense stellar corpses that appear to pulse at Earth. The first 

pulsar was discovered just 50 years ago, and scientists still have many questions 

about the interior of these ultra-dense, fast-spinning, powerful magnetic objects. 

In August 2017, NICER was joined on the Space Station by the ISS Cosmic Ray 

Energetics And Mass (ISS-CREAM) experiment, which will examine the cosmic 

rays that constantly shower Earth. NASA has also continued the construction of 

the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), scheduled for launch in March 

2018. TESS will be NASA’s next planet-hunting mission, searching for planets 

orbiting stars outside our solar system, known as exoplanets.

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, which is managed as a separate program 

office, continued to make progress toward a spring 2019 launch. The spacecraft 

underwent rigorous environmental tests, including vibration and acoustic testing 

that simulate the stresses of a rocket launch, and cryogenic testing simulating the 

cold environment of space. Webb is much larger than previous space telescopes; 

its mirror is more than double the diameter of Hubble’s, giving it more than six 

times the collecting area. In addition, Webb will have a significantly larger field 

of view than the cameras on Hubble, covering more than 15 times the area, and 

significantly better spatial resolution than is available with the infrared Spitzer 

Space Telescope. When complete, Webb will be the most powerful space telescope 

ever built and will contribute to the study of an extremely wide range of astrophysical phenomena: the first stars and galaxies that formed; the atmospheres of nearby 
43National Aeronautics and Space Administration

planets outside our solar system, known as exoplanets; and objects within our own 

solar system.

The Astrophysics Division studies the universe, its origin, and its evolution. Five 

research findings from FY 2015 are described below.

Cosmic Lenses Support Findings on Accelerated Universe Expansion

The Hubble constant—the rate at which the universe is expanding—is one of 

the fundamental quantities describing our universe. Astronomers used the Hubble 

Space Telescope and other telescopes in space and on the ground to observe five 

galaxies in order to arrive at an independent measurement of the Hubble constant. 

The new measurement is completely independent of—but in excellent agreement 

with—other measurements of the Hubble constant in the local universe that used 

Cepheid variable stars and supernovae as points of reference. However, these values 

are different from the measurement made by the ESA Planck satellite. While the 

value for the Hubble constant determined by Planck fits with our current understanding of the cosmos, the values obtained by the different groups of astronomers 

for the local universe do not. As these measurements become more precise, scientists believe they may represent actual discrepancies that could possibly point 

toward new physics beyond our current knowledge of the universe.

NASA’s Fermi Discovers the Most Extreme Blazars Yet

NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has identified the farthest gammaray blazars, a type of galaxy whose intense emissions are powered by supersized 

black holes. Light from the most distant object began its journey to us when the 

universe was 1.4 billion years old, or nearly ten percent of its present age. Previously, 

the most distant blazars detected by Fermi emitted their light when the universe 

was about 2.1 billion years old. Scientists are now studying how these huge black 

holes could have formed in such a young universe and what mechanisms triggered 

their rapid development. To do so, researchers plan to continue a deep search for 

additional examples.
44Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

Microlensing Study Suggests Most Common Outer Planets Likely Neptune-Mass

A new statistical study of planets found by a technique called gravitational 

microlensing suggests that Neptune-mass worlds are likely the most common type 

of planet to form in the icy outer realms of planetary systems. Researchers combined data from the Microlensing Observations in Astrophysics (MOA) group and 

the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE) to determine the frequency 

of planets compared to the mass ratio of the planet and star as well as the distances 

between them. The results imply that cold Neptune-mass worlds are likely to be 

the most common types of planets beyond the so-called snow line, the point where 

water remained frozen during planetary formation.

NASA Study Finds Unexpectedly Primitive Atmosphere Around “Warm Neptune”

A study combining observations from NASA’s Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes revealed that the distant planet HAT-P-26b has a primitive atmosphere 

composed almost entirely of hydrogen and helium. Located about 437 light-years 

away, HAT-P-26b orbits a star roughly twice as old as the sun. The analysis is one of 

the most detailed studies to date of a “warm Neptune,” or a planet that is Neptunesized and close to its star. The researchers determined that HAT-P-26b’s atmosphere 

is relatively clear of clouds and has a strong water signature, although the planet is 

not a water world. This is the best measurement of water to date on an exoplanet 

of this size.

NASA Scientists Assist LIGO in Third Gravitational Wave Observation

On January 4, 2017, an international group of researchers, which included 

NASA scientists, used the National Science Foundation’s ground-based twin Laser 

Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) to detect gravitational 

waves. The third detection of gravitational waves by LIGO, this observation represented energy unleased by the collision of black holes more than three billion 

years ago. In the future, astronomers will need both ground-based and space-based 

observatories to take full advantage of the new observational window on the universe offered by gravitational waves. NASA will be partnering with ESA on its 

recently announced Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) mission. LISA is 

a three-spacecraft constellation designed to study gravitational waves.
45National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Cross-Theme Activities

The role of SMD is to enable NASA to achieve its science goals in the context 

of the national science agenda. Often the breakthrough science required to achieve 

these goals relies on significant technological innovation—e.g., instruments or 

platforms with capabilities beyond the current state of the art. SMD’s targeted 

technology investments fill technology gaps, enabling NASA to build the challenging and complex missions that accomplish groundbreaking science. The SMD 

Chief Technologist works with representatives across all four divisions to survey 

and assess technology needs across the whole of SMD.

Through its Science Activation program, 27 SMD awardees infuse NASA science expertise and content into the learning environment more effectively and 

efficiently with learners of all ages. Strengths of the program are 1)  providing 

authentic science-based content and experiences based on identified audience 

needs and refined by rigorous independent evaluation and 2)  leveraging over 

200  partners resident in local communities. Volunteer networks, such as the 

750 Solar System Ambassadors, are heavily utilized across the country. This program provides a return on the public’s investment in NASA by reducing duplication of effort and leveraging resources within and external to NASA.

Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate

NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD) during FY 2017 

made important strides toward enabling the most transformative new era of air 

transportation since the birth of the Jet Age more than a half century ago—an 

epoch that will see pilotless drones safely integrated into the National Airspace 

System; commercial supersonic jets quietly moving people and cargo across the 

country; and the deployment of radical airplane designs that burn less fuel, release 

fewer emissions, and fly more quietly than the most efficient aircraft flying today.

These goals, and the steps NASA will take to realize them, continue to be subject to mid-course corrections as new research results become available; market 

conditions change; and valuable input is received from the Agency’s government, 

industry, and academic partners. In fact, NASA Aeronautics during FY  2017 
46Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

published a new edition of its Strategic Implementation Plan to reflect these constantly moving influences on the ARMD research portfolio. More information is 

available online at https://www.nasa.gov/aeroresearch/strategy.

Of particular note is the progress made toward the New Aviation Horizons initiative, a ten-year plan for conducting transformative aviation research and highlighted by NASA’s return to fielding pioneering experimental aircraft, or X-planes. 

Progress on designing both supersonic and subsonic X-planes was made during 

FY 2017. At the same time, strong interest from nontraditional aviation companies 

inspired rapid progress in the area of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS).

NASA’s aeronautical innovators were up to the challenge during FY 2017, as 

indicated by the following program highlights.

Advanced Air Vehicles Program

NASA and Lockheed Martin during FY 2017 conducted the first high-speed 

wind tunnel tests and completed the preliminary design review for the Quiet 

Supersonic Transport (QueSST), an initial design for the Low Boom Flight 

Demonstrator (LBFD) X-plane. Using a nine percent scale model of QueSST, engineers analyzed the design’s aerodynamics and propulsion systems by measuring lift, 

drag, and side forces on the model at different angles. These tests were designed to 

verify that the aircraft’s shape will separate shock waves associated with supersonic 

flight so they do not coalesce, reducing the annoying sonic booms heard on the 

ground to a much quieter “thump.” The next step is to award a contract to build 

the large-scale, piloted, single-engine LBFD X-plane. More information is available 

online at https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-wind-tunnel-tests-lockheed-martins-x-plane-design-for-a-quieter-supersonic-jet, https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasacompletes-milestone-toward-quieter-supersonic-x-plane, and https://www.nasa.gov/

centers/armstrong/feature/70_years_supersonic_flight.html.

During FY 2017, a series of supersonic test flights demonstrated a technique 

allowing NASA research pilots to physically see their sonic boom footprint on 

a map using a cockpit display. The series, which marked the second phase of the 

Cockpit Interactive Sonic Boom Display Avionics project, or CISBoomDA, continued from the project’s first phase, where only a flight test engineer was able to 
47National Aeronautics and Space Administration

see the display. The cockpit display shows the location of sonic booms relative to 

the aircraft’s trajectory and altitude and is founded on an algorithm developed in 

cooperation with industry to produce similar displays with a more predictive element. This method allows a pilot to better keep the loud percussive sounds from 

disturbing communities on the ground. More information is available online at 

https://www.nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/features/cockpit_display_shows_sonic_boom_

location.html.

Throughout FY 2017, engineers conducted wind tunnel testing of a boundarylayer-ingesting (BLI) inlet-fan combination—the first of its kind ever to be 

tested. This jet engine component, also known as a propulsor, is being examined 

for BLI’s impact on fuel efficiency, and results will be compared with advanced 

engine designs that airlines are now beginning to use. The new design uses 

a stronger fan, and the results of the test will be applied to multiple experimental aircraft designs from NASA and its partners in academia and private 

industry. More information is available online at https://www.nasa.gov/feature/

nasa-runs-first-ever-test-of-new-jet-engine-tech.

NASA during FY 2017 used crash test dummies to help develop new crashworthiness guidelines for future airplane designs. The dummies were part of two realistic drop tests to obtain data on the airplane’s structure and what might happen 

to its human passengers in the event of an accident. Multiple high-speed video 

cameras, placed at various locations, recorded the crash and showed how the fuselage section and its occupants fared. NASA researchers are analyzing the data from 

the cameras and instruments. That information, including any conclusions and 

recommendations, will be shared with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) 

and deliberated within the FAA’s Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee. 

More information is available online at https://www.nasa.gov/feature/langley/

nasa-and-faa-put-dummies-and-baggage-to-the-test-for-airplane-safety.

During FY 2017, NASA researchers worked on developing a test rig for aircraft designed to take off and land like helicopters but fly like planes. A fully 

operational Tiltrotor Test Rig (TTR) underwent functional checkout evaluation for the first time in the world’s largest wind tunnel, the National Full-Scale 

Aerodynamics Complex. The tests demonstrated the efficiency of the rotors, 

helped quantify the relative efficiencies of different configurations, and allowed 
48Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

researchers to look for ways to improve on the concept. The TTR is expected to 

handle rotors of up to 26 feet in diameter while reaching speeds of up to 345 miles 

per hour. More information is available online at https://www.nasa.gov/ames/feature/

unique-tiltrotor-test-rig-to-begin-operational-runs-at-nasa-ames.

Six organizations joined NASA’s Advanced Composites Consortium during 

FY 2017, bringing the total membership to 13. The Consortium, a public-private 

partnership, recently completed breakthrough assessments and identified transformative tools and methods for the future of aviation. Such assessments assist 

U.S. industry in maintaining a competitive advantage in aircraft manufacturing by reducing the time needed to develop and certify composite materials and 

structures. More information is available online at https://www.nasa.gov/feature/

nasas-advanced-composites-consortium-strengthens.

Airspace Operations and Safety Program

Milestones for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) research occurred during 

FY  2017 as researchers flew four unmanned aircraft at Reno-Stead Airport in 

Reno, Nevada, in coordination with the FAA and additional industry partners. 

This series of tests was the first to operate drone flights beyond the visual line 

of sight of human operators. Other firsts included a demonstration of airspace 

access for emergency response drones, combined with notification of other UAS 

operators to clear the area. This test also had the first demonstration of detectand-alert system capabilities, automated flight deviation alert, and dynamic rerouting capability that allows an unmanned, airborne vehicle to request flight plan 

changes. More information is available online at https://www.nasa.gov/feature/ames/

nasa-plans-first-beyond-visual-line-of-sight-drone-demonstration-in-nevada.

Also during FY 2017, NASA and its partners completed the Technology 

Capability Level 2 (TCL2) National Campaign, featuring use of the most recent 

version of its UAS Traffic Management (UTM) technologies with live, remotely 

operated aircraft, or drones, at six FAA sites around the country. The tests 

involved simulating beyond the pilot’s visual line of sight in sparsely populated 

areas while flying a variety of scenarios, including package deliveries, farmland 

surveys, search-and-rescue operations, railway inspections, and video surveillance 
49National Aeronautics and Space Administration

operations. More information is available online at https://www.nasa.gov/aero/

nasa-completes-latest-drone-traffic-management-flight-campaign.

A NASA research team completed testing of the Flight Deck Interval 

Management tool during FY  2017 as part of the Airspace Technology 

Demonstration–1 project. The cockpit-based air traffic management tool is 

designed to automatically provide pilots with more precise spacing information and 

guidance on approaches into busy airports. The FAA, national and international 

government partners, and representatives from industry observed or participated 

in the tests. Analysis confirmed that the tool works as expected. More information 

is available online at https://www.nasa.gov/aero/flight-tests-of-air-traffic-tool-complete.

Integrated Aviation Systems Program

NASA continued its UAS integration work during FY 2017, focusing on maturing UAS collision-detection technology and researching safety standards and technology to support the FAA’s Next Generation Air Transportation System. NASA 

project researchers briefed commissioners from the International Civil Aviation 

Organization and the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics (RTCA). 

The FAA, industry, academia, and other Government agencies also observed the 

ground cockpit response instrumentation of NASA’s remotely piloted Ikhana aircraft during a flight test that demonstrated various intruder-encounter scenarios. 

More information is available online at https://www.nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/

features/flight_tests-could_lead_to_uas_integration.html.

During FY 2017, four private companies were awarded contracts to come up with 

subsonic X-plane configurations that will be quieter, burn less fuel, and release 

fewer emissions than the most efficient aircraft currently flying. Five X-plane concepts were introduced, including aircraft with lightweight composite structures and 

new placement for engines to reduce drag, wings blended with the main hull of 

the fuselage to reduce noise and improve aerodynamic performance, and a trussbraced wing that assists in reducing fuel consumption. NASA has issued a Request 

for Proposal to allow industry to mature the research on these proposed aircraft 

designs and identify ways to reduce costs, technological risks, and time required to 
50Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

complete these concepts. More information is available online at https://www.nasa.

gov/aero/industry-provides-nasa-with-ideas-for-next-x-plane.

During FY 2017, NASA researchers continued to move closer to readying the 

X-57 Maxwell for test flights by developing a simulator specifically created for the 

electric-powered aircraft. The simulator will provide test pilots with a virtual flight 

experience of flying the X-57 Maxwell and allow them to develop reaction times 

and maneuvers in the event of an emergency. The simulator and its subsequent 

tests will be updated as the X-57 design configurations continue to be adjusted for 

actual flight. More information is available online at https://www.nasa.gov/centers/

armstrong/features/X-57_simulator_prepares_pilots.html.

A Fiber Optic Sensing System (FOSS) was incorporated in the X-56 MultiUtility Technology Testbed experimental aircraft during FY 2017. The X-56 is 

tasked with investigating flexible wings to improve safety, efficiency, and ride 

quality. Ultimately, the goal for FOSS is to collect information on how aerodynamic forces affect an aircraft in real time, then incorporate those data directly 

into the aircraft’s control system for improved aerodynamic performance. FOSS is 

also being refined for space launch vehicles to monitor liquid fuel levels, temperatures, and strain on spacecraft. This project is both an Integrated Aviation Systems 

Program and a Transformative Aeronautics Concepts Program production. More 

information is available online at https://www.nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/features/

foss_technology_only_limited_by_imagination.html.

The second series of the Adaptive Compliant Trailing Edge flights, or ACTE II, 

was conducted during FY 2017. ACTE II is a collaboration between NASA and the 

U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory to investigate the benefits of using twistable, 

flexible wing flaps to improve flight efficiency. Milestones included successfully 

demonstrating the aircraft’s ability to fly with a twisted configuration, increasing test speed levels to more accurately represent commercial airliner speeds, and 

confirming the technology can maintain its stability under these conditions. 

Researchers collected data on the effects of drag on the materials and configurations at various speeds, altitudes, and weights. Information gathered also allowed 

the team to analyze changes in fuel burn and efficiency. More information is 

available online at https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-flight-tests-advance-research-offlexible-twistable-wing-flaps-for-improved-aerodynamic.
51National Aeronautics and Space Administration

FY 2017 was the third year NASA researchers worked on the Advanced Data 

Acquisition and Telemetry System, or ADATS, to advance the system for the 

next generation of X-planes. The research included analyzing how ADATS can 

interact with ground operations while using half the bandwidth of traditional 

methods in aircraft network and communication, yet still enable precise data collection. Following extensive ground testing, ADATS was recently integrated into 

a NASA King Air aircraft for a series of three flights. More information online is 

available at https://www.nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/features/adats_super_fast_data_

transmission.html.

Transformative Aeronautics Concepts Program

During FY 2017, NASA selected three multidisciplinary research teams 

from multiple NASA aeronautics centers to prepare solutions that will continue efforts to integrate UAS into the National Airspace System. The studies will explore safe inclusion and certification of autonomous systems through 

the development of learning algorithms that assist in establishing effective 

machine decisions, methods to ensure that UAS aircraft are structurally and 

mechanically fit to fly and protected against damage and hacking, and secure 

networks capable of accommodating a dense network of drones and other aircraft that fly each day using quantum computing and communication technology. More information is available online at https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/

nasa-selects-three-aeronautics-teams-to-explore-ambitious-ideas.

Also during FY 2017, NASA selected five university teams to each receive fiveyear awards to research transformative concepts in aviation as part of the Agency’s 

University Leadership Initiative (ULI). The University of South Carolina; Texas 

A&M Engineering Experiment Station; the University of Tennessee, Knoxville; 

Ohio State University; and Arizona State University were the selected university 

teams. The teams submitted projects that included ideas to improve safety and efficiency of air traffic management in manned and unmanned aircraft, commercial 

supersonic aircraft design, battery and energy storage, and thermal management, 

among other concepts. More information is available online at https://www.nasa.

gov/press-release/university-research-teams-to-study-potential-aeronautical-innovations.
52Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

Space Technology Mission Directorate

The Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) develops and incorporates 

transformative space technologies to enable NASA’s future missions. STMD has 

developed a diverse technology portfolio, creating a pipeline to solve the Nation’s 

most difficult challenges in space. Space technology is an investment in our 

Nation’s high-tech economy, spurring innovation and building partnerships across 

the aerospace sector and beyond.

In FY 2017, STMD made significant progress toward advancing NASA’s current and future deep space exploration missions. Presently, STMD has over 

750 project activities led by more than 400 companies and over 350 activities led 

by more than 100 universities. In addition, STMD is partnered with nine other 

Government agencies or departments as well as four international organizations. 

In FY 2017, STMD evaluated over 3,400 proposals and funded over 750 new selections, amounting to over $225 million in award investments during the fiscal year. 

Below are a few of the notable achievements from the year, including major STMD 

program and project highlights.

Technology Demonstration Missions

Laser Communication Relay Demonstration (LCRD): The LCRD mission 

proposes to revolutionize the way we send and receive data, video, and other information, using lasers to encode and transmit data at rates 10 to 100 times faster than 

today’s fastest radio-frequency systems, with significantly less mass and power. The 

LCRD project continues to meet developmental milestones on its way to a flight 

test in 2019 to demonstrate bidirectional optical communications from geosynchronous orbit, providing critical performance data and operational experience. In 

FY 2017, the project delivered one of two flight modems, both optical assemblies, 

controller electronics, and space switching units to the LCRD payload integration and test group for integration of the flight payload on the LCRD Support 

Assembly. The project is targeting a June 2019 launch readiness date.

Restore-L: The Restore-L mission seeks to launch a robotic spacecraft in 

2020 to refuel a U.S. Government satellite in low-Earth orbit, demonstrating a 
53National Aeronautics and Space Administration

suite of satellite-servicing technologies and potentially enabling the burgeoning 

U.S. satellite-servicing industry. The Restore-L project has completed a System 

Requirements Review (SRR) milestone and has completed Key Decision Point B 

(KDP-B). KDP-B means the proposed mission architecture is credible and responsive 

to program requirements and constraints, including resources, as defined in NASA 

Procedural Requirement 7120.5, “Space Flight Program and Project Management 

Requirements.” It has been working on component-level design, development, 

testing, and evaluation. The spacecraft bus contract has been awarded, and the 

spacecraft bus Preliminary Design Review (PDR) has been completed.

Robotic Refueling Mission 3 (RRM3): The RRM3 project became part of 

the Technology Demonstration Missions portfolio in FY 2017. During the year, 

the project completed design and assembly on multiple tools, dewars, and payload 

mechanisms. Component assembly, integration, and testing are under way and 

will be followed by systems integration and testing prior to delivery for launch. 

The project is readying for payload delivery to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in 

December 2017 for launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 to the International Space Station 

in 2018.

In-Space Robotic Manufacturing and Assembly: The three projects have completed their first year of base contract performance and have begun their respective option periods of performance. Made In Space, Inc., demonstrated additive 

manufacturing in a spacelike vacuum and will demonstrate the assembly of additively manufactured parts in the option period. Orbital ATK, Inc., demonstrated 

assembly and deployment technologies during the base period and will optimize 

component design during the option period. Space Systems Loral demonstrated an 

autonomous end-to-end relocation of a mock reflector on a satellite and will focus 

on a mission concept design during the option period.

Game Changing Development

NICER/SEXTANT: The Station Explorer for X-ray Timing and Navigation 

Technology (SEXTANT) instrument was launched by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket 

into space on June 3. The instrument was installed as part of the Neutron star 

Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) hardware aboard the ISS. In July, 
54Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

SEXTANT calculated its first successful navigation measurement generated in real 

time by the onboard flight software. The goal of the NICER/SEXTANT mission 

will be to investigate pulsars and demonstrate real-time, autonomous spacecraft 

navigation using pulsars as beacons.

Kilopower: In September 2017, The Department of Energy Y-12 National 

Security Complex completed all quality assurance checks and received approval 

for packing and shipping of the Kilopower experiment highly enriched uranium 

(HEU) core to the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS). Following that, the 

Kilopower project team successfully completed a non-nuclear dry run of the experiment assembly and equipment hardware in NASA’s Glenn Research Center hangar 

before shipping it to the NNSS Device Assembly Facility (DAF). Final assembly 

at DAF began October 24 with component critical testing scheduled to begin in 

November 2017 and continue through March 2018.

High Performance Spaceflight Computing: In FY 2017, NASA selected Boeing 

Company in St. Louis for the High Performance Spaceflight Computing Processor 

Chiplet contract for the development of prototype Chiplet devices including packaged parts and bare die, a Chiplet behavioral model, Chiplet Evaluation Boards, 

and System Software. This is a cost-plus-fixed-fee contract with a total contract 

value of $26.6 million, which includes five options to enhance the capability of 

the Chiplet, increasing its processing performance, providing additional interfaces, 

and improving the robustness of the Chiplet packaging. The Chiplet will provide 

game-changing improvements in computing performance, power efficiency, and 

flexibility, which will significantly improve the onboard processing capabilities of 

future NASA and U.S. Air Force space missions.

Bulk Metallic Glass Gears: The Bulk Metallic Glass Gears (BMGG) project 

successfully fabricated and tested a strain wave gear system at room temperature. 

The strain wave flexspline without a circular spline operated for 1 million cycles 

without failure, and a system with the center spline successfully operated for 

300,000 cycles without failure. Cold temperature (100 K) testing of this strain wave 

system at KSC is planned for early FY 2018. Planetary gear components have been 

received at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and are being assembled for cold 

life testing at Kennedy Space Center in FY 2018.
55National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Small Spacecraft Technology Program

The Small Spacecraft Technology Program (SSTP) flight projects made significant accomplishments toward preparing for a planned launch in November 

2017. Delta Flight Readiness reviews were held for the Optical Communications 

and Sensor Demonstration (OCSD) and Integrated Solar Array and Reflectarray 

Antenna (ISARA) projects in preparation for launch on Orbital ATK’s Cygnus 

spacecraft, which launched from Wallops Flight Facility on November 12. The 

primary objective of the OCSD mission is to demonstrate optical communications at a rate of up to 1,000 times the current CubeSat communication capability. The ISARA mission will use radio-frequency Ka-band that will surpass the 

existing baseline CubeSat transmission rate of 9.6 kilobits per second to more 

than 100 megabits per second. ISARA is the first demonstration of an integrated 

Ka-band antenna and solar array.

The program awarded Tyvak NanoSatellites, Inc., a contract for up to five 

Pathfinder Technology Demonstrator (PTD) 6U spacecraft buses. These spacecraft 

will be utilized to demonstrate enabling space technologies that were developed 

through various NASA programs, such as Small Business Innovative Research 

(SBIR) and Tipping Point solicitations. The project has successfully completed 

Systems Requirements Review (SRR), as well as Delta SRR for potential payloads. 

The first mission, known as PTD1, is slated for launch in late 2018.

Small Business Innovative Research and Small Business Technology Transfer

NASA awarded 567 contracts for a total of $172.5 million in FY 2017. Specifically, 

338 SBIR and 61 Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I proposals 

were selected for award to 277 U.S. small businesses to establish the scientific, 

technical, and commercial feasibility of each proposed innovation. In addition, 

133 SBIR and 19 STTR Phase II awards were selected to further expand upon their 

Phase I work. The Civilian Commercialization Readiness Pilot Program (CCRPP) 

awarded 16 contracts in the amount of $9.6 million. Additionally, 38 Phase  II 

Extended/Expanded options were exercised for $10 million, and 48 Phase  III 

awards were made leveraging $7 million in non-SBIR/STTR funding. In FY 2017, 
56Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

the program published an Economic Impact Report on the NASA SBIR/STTR 

program, which indicated a $2.74 return for every dollar spent on awards. 

Highlights from FY 2017 include the following:

• Robust Analytics in Gambrills, Maryland, received a Phase 2X award for 

its air traffic management cost assessment, capable of estimating the cost 

of operating commercial aircraft.

• Through a joint effort funded by NASA and the Department of Defense, 

Vanilla Aircraft in Falls Church, Virginia, designed a record-breaking UAS 

to fly long distances without refueling in extremely cold climates.

Flight Opportunities

In FY  2017, the Flight Opportunities program funded flights on two vertical takeoff/vertical lander flight campaigns, three high-altitude balloon flights, 

and three parabolic campaigns for researchers developing technologies that are 

of interest to NASA and the commercial space industry. The program flew 17 

technology payloads in FY 2017 on 16 flights. One highlight in FY 2017 was the 

addition of small launch vehicle systems, which had two successful flight tests 

using 3D additive manufacturing injectors that do not require assembly. Another 

program success included World View Corporation’s high-altitude balloon flight 

test of a groundbreaking altitude control technology that could enable stationkeeping capabilities for longer stratospheric missions, thereby providing lower-cost 

science missions.

Space Technology Research Grants

Since its inception, Space Technology Research Grants (STRG) has funded 

exciting space technology research via 525 grants at 106 universities across 43 states 

and one U.S. territory. In FY 2017, the program made 13 Early Stage Innovations 

awards, eight Early Career Faculty awards, and 64 NASA Space Technology 

Research Fellowship awards. New this year, STRG selected and awarded STMD’s 

inaugural Space Technology Research Institutes; these multi-university, multidisciplinary institutes will strengthen NASA’s ties to the academic community 
57National Aeronautics and Space Administration

through long-term, sustained investment in research and technology development 

critical to NASA’s future. The Center for Utilization of Biological Engineering in 

Space, led by the University of California, Berkeley, is advancing research into an 

integrated, multi-function, multi-organism, bio-manufacturing system to produce 

fuel, materials, pharmaceuticals, and food in space. The Institute for Ultra-Strong 

Composites by Computational Design, led by Michigan Technological University, 

aims to develop and deploy a carbon nanotube–based, ultra-high-strength, lightweight aerospace structural material within five years.

Centennial Challenges

The Centennial Challenges program conducted six competition events in 

FY  2017 and awarded prize money in each of the competitions, for a total of 

$1,466,024. This represents the highest percentage of available prize money (62 percent) ever awarded. The program also began the formulation of five new challenges 

in FY 2017.

• The Space Robotics Challenge (SRC) awarded a total of $255,000 to the 

Top 20 teams in a qualifying round (February) and a total of $300,000 to 

three winning teams in the final Virtual Competition (June). The goal of 

SRC is to advance autonomous perception and manipulation algorithms 

and software for the Robonaut-5 humanoid robot utilizing a software 

simulator. This competition received the program’s largest team response 

to date, with 405 pre-registrations from 55 countries.

• The third Cube Quest Ground Tournament was awarded in October 

2016, as the top five teams took home a total of $150,000 ($30,000 each). 

The fourth and final Ground Tournament of the Cube Quest Challenge 

was conducted in June 2016. The top three teams won a total of $60,000 

($20,000 each) and a secondary payload slot for their CubeSat on the 

Space Launch System Exploration Mission–1 flight. The purpose of 

the challenge is to design, build, and launch flight-qualified small satellites capable of advanced operations near and beyond the moon. 

Teams will move on to compete in the next phases, the Deep Space and 

Lunar Derbies.

59Department of Defense

Department of De

DOD

Aeronautics Activities

Rotorcraft

The Army continues the process of fleet modernization with divestment of 

OH-58D Kiowa Warrior aircraft from Air Cavalry Squadrons, replacing them with 

AH-64 Apaches, and continued AH-64E Apache fielding to active duty units. 

With its improved engines, increased payload, and enhanced communication and 

navigation equipment, the AH-64E provides a marked increase in performance, 

lethality, and joint interoperability over the older AH-64D Apache Longbow. In 

2017, AH-64E version 4 retrofits began, providing improved targeting, communications, diagnostics, and logistics support. Future improvements to the AH-64E are 

provided by the version 6 upgrade, which will begin fielding in 2019.

The Army has also completed the fielding of the UH-60M Blackhawk helicopters to Contiguous United States (CONUS)–based active-duty units. UH-60M 

fielding continues to Outside of Continental United States (OCONUS) activeduty units and the Army National Guard through FY 2028. With the ongoing 

fielding, the Army continues the development process for the UH-60V. The 

UH-60V will offer comparable performance and lift capabilities to the UH-60M, 

along with a fully digital cockpit, while also providing hard points for hoist attachments in order to become HH-60V MEDVAC aircraft. Furthermore, the UH-60V 

allows the Army to retain the digital rights for software upgrades, providing the 

force with the freedom and flexibility to continue improvements for years to come.
60Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

The Army contracted with Boeing for the CH-47F Block II Chinook. This 

update to the Chinook will make the aircraft relevant and ready through at least 

2060. The new aircraft will converge the design with the Special Operations 

MH-47G, allowing the Army to improve sustainability and target operations and 

sustainment cost drivers.

The U.S. Navy (USN) CH-53K Super Stallion program reached a major milestone as it began low-rate initial production. The first of 194 production aircraft 

is scheduled to be delivered from Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation in FY 2020. With 

nearly three times the external lift capacity of the CH-53E and a mission radius of 

up to 200 nautical miles, the CH-53K has the lift and range to support the future 

Marine Air Ground Task Force.

The VH-92 Presidential Helicopter Replacement Program reached its first 

flight milestone in July 2017. Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation has completed two 

Engineering Development Models that are now supporting flight tests. The program is on track to enter production in FY 2019.

The V-22 Osprey has been in production for several years, with more than 350 

aircraft delivered to the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) and United States Southern 

Command. This tiltrotor aircraft provides unique capabilities to the warfighter, 

combining the flexibility of a helicopter with the speed and range of a fixed-wing 

aircraft. In addition to the wide range of missions that the aircraft can currently 

support, new capabilities continue to be developed, such as the ability to act as 

a tanker for aerial refueling. Other upgrades are being completed to enable the 

aircraft to meet the USN requirements for carrier onboard delivery.

The Navy has delivered 533 of 555 MH-60 helicopters and transitioned 

all Helicopter Sea Combat and Helicopter Maritime Strike squadrons to the 

MH-60R/S. Due to high operational demand and evolving warfighter needs, the 

program has initiated a Structural Life Assessment intended to evaluate requirements for a Structural Life Extension. These efforts will improve mission systems/

sensors, recapitalize current MH-60 investments to pace the threat out to 2040, and 

establish the foundation to rapidly and affordably migrate to the Future Vertical 

Lift platform.
61Department of Defense

Navy Fixed-Wing Aircraft

The transition of P-3C to the P-8A continues to progress, with 67 P-8A aircraft 

delivered to the U.S. Navy and four aircraft delivered to the Royal Australian Air 

Force under a cooperative agreement. The Navy has transitioned seven of 12 fleet 

squadrons with the eighth squadron currently in transition. With over 60 percent 

of the aircraft delivered, the Navy has flown nearly 23,000 sorties and logged over 

123,000 flight hours.

The Department of Defense (DOD) continued progress toward the completion 

of the System Development and Demonstration (SDD) flight testing phase of the 

F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) with a target end date of late calendar year (CY) 

2017/early CY 2018. Naval Air Station (NAS) Lemoore stood up the first U.S. 

Navy F-35 Master Jet Base in January. Also in January, the first F-35Bs from Marine 

Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA)–121 arrived at Marine Corps Air Station 

(MCAS) Iwakuni, beginning the squadron’s permanent basing at the air station. In 

July, for the first time, F-35A and F-35B aircraft belonging to the 33rd Fighter Wing 

and VMFA-221 (respectively) both participated in Red Flag at Nellis Air Force 

Base (AFB), Nevada. Also in July, the F-35 fleet exceeded 100,000 flight hours. In 

October, Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA)–125 conducted additional carrier qualification aboard the USS Carl Vinson, to include testing the current helmet-mounted 

display system. There have been 267 F-35 aircraft delivered to date, with 54 of the 

66 planned for this CY already delivered.

The Marine Corps has delivered 53 of 104 KC-130J aircraft, transitioning four 

active-duty squadrons and one reserve squadron. Harvest Hawk Plus capabilities 

have been incorporated into six of ten aircraft. The program office has initiated 

a prototype installation of Block Upgrade 7.0/8.1 and has completed a prototype 

installation of an interim solution to meet the 2020 mandate for Automatic 

Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast (ADS-B) Out.

Future Vertical Lift

The Joint Multi-Role Tech Demo (JMR-TD) efforts continue to progress in 

support of technology development for the Future Vertical Lift. Over the past 
62Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

12 months, Bell’s V-280 Valor made great strides toward flight testing and will 

conduct its first flight in November 2017. Bell has completed blade production, 

wing proof loading, and construction of all primary aircraft components. Bell engineers finished the assembly of the airframe and are conducting restrained ground 

runs and ground-vibration testing. This is the last step prior to flight test. The 

Sikorsky Boeing (S/B) team’s design, the SB>1 Defiant, has successfully completed 

a 1∕5 scale wind tunnel test, fuselage proof loading, fuselage construction, and the 

building of a fully operational Simulation Lab; they are currently testing their 

engines on test stands. S/B estimates that their first flight will be in mid–FY 2018. 

Both Technology Demonstrator original equipment manufacturers have overcome 

challenges in the manufacturing of new rotor blade technology and continue to 

progress on their respective aircraft designs. Karem and AVX, although not flying 

demonstrators, have produced significant technology advancements in tiltrotor 

technology as well as actuator designs.

Additional efforts within the JMR-TD program include the Mission System 

Architecture Demonstration. This collaborative industry effort to develop an 

open system architecture for future platforms across DOD has completed the 

Architecture Implementation Process Demonstrations (AIPD). AIPD investigated Open Systems Architecture, Model Based System Engineering, and the 

Architecture Centric Virtual Integration Process and produced detailed reports 

on each area of interest. The team is currently gearing up for their culminating 

event, Capstone, which will inform decisions on an Open Systems Approach in 

future programs.

Improved Turbine Engine Program

The Army is developing the Improved Turbine Engine (ITE), a 3,000-shafthorsepower engine, designed to replace the current GE 701D engine that powers 

the AH-64E and UH-60 airframes. In FY 2017, the Army and Joint Staff validated the Capability Development Document in support of a milestone B decision. 

Milestone B is a Milestone Decision Authority (MDA)–led review at the end of the 

Technology Maturation and Risk Reduction (TMRR) Phase. Its purpose is to make 

a recommendation or seek approval to enter the Engineering and Manufacturing 
63Department of Defense

Development (EMD) Phase and is considered the official start of a program. A 

milestone marks the start or finish of a phase and has defined Entrance and Exit 

Criteria. This engine will bring new technologies that increase the engine’s power 

and the overall fuel efficiency. This capability will enable the Army to carry 

required payloads at increased range (Black Hawk missions) and greatly increased 

endurance (Apache missions) while decreasing the need for logistics resupply of 

fuel. The ITE will also reduce the cost of ownership by increasing engine design 

life and overall engine reliability through advanced internal aerodynamics, hybrid 

ceramic bearings, and improved inlet particle separation. The Army is developing 

two competing preliminary engine designs to be completed in 2018.

Other Army Aviation Activities

In FY 2017, the Army continued executing the Aviation Restructure Initiative 

(ARI). The ARI is the Secretary of Defense–approved plan to provide a modernized and ready aviation force while also reducing force structure in response 

to the Budget Control Act of 2011. This plan has seen the final OH-58D Kiowa 

Warriors divested from the Army inventory, the continued transitions of the aviation training fleet at Fort Rucker to the Light Utility Helicopter (LUH-72) Lakota 

aircraft, and the complete transition of both the active and reserve fleet to the 

CH-47F Chinook cargo helicopter. Finally, based on the recommendations from 

the National Commission for the Future of the Army, the Army will retain some 

AH-64Ds within the Army National Guard while increasing the active force structure with an 11th Combat Aviation Brigade. These recommendations will provide 

Combatant Commanders with flexibility through a strategic reserve in the event 

of future conflicts.

The Army has begun the process of assisting the Afghan Air Force with the 

modernization of their rotorcraft fleet, transitioning legacy MI-series helicopters 

to more modern and capable UH-60 variants. This transition has started with the 

first delivery of UH-60s complete and is expected to continue through FY 2022. 

At the conclusion of this modernization process, the Afghan Air Force will possess 

one of the largest rotorcraft fleets in the world, possessing more helicopters than 

either Australia or Canada.
64Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

Finally, to enhance operations in the National Airspace System, the Army 

continues to field Ground Based Sense and Avoid (GBSAA) systems. These 

FAA-approved radar-based systems serve as an alternative compliance method to 

meeting the FAA’s see-and-avoid regulatory requirement. The Army’s first GBSAA 

system was certified for operational use at Fort Hood, Texas, on September 26, 

2016, and in FY 2017, the Army fielded three additional locations (Fort Bragg, 

North Carolina; Fort Campbell, Kentucky; and Fort Riley, Kansas). The Army 

plans to install its final GBSAA systems at Fort Stewart, Georgia, in support of 

MQ-1C Gray Eagle operations by December 2017.

Unmanned Aircraft Systems

The Army continues to modernize the MQ-1C Gray Eagle and RQ-7B Shadow 

UAS in stride with combat operations. The Army fielded its 12th Gray Eagle 

Company in August and received delivery of the first new Extended Range Gray 

Eagle, which extends the endurance of the aircraft by more than 50 percent. The 

Shadow is also undergoing modernization with the fielding of the RQ-7B V2, 

which includes a new Universal Ground Control Station and the upgrading of 

existing data links to modern Ku-band Type 1 National Security Agency encryption. The Army will continue to modernize the Shadow V2 to improve reliability, capability, and Manned-Unmanned Teaming (MUMT) through an engine 

upgrade and an updated mission computer, communications relay, and Mode 5 

Transponder. The Shadow is assigned to the Brigade Combat Teams and Special 

Forces Groups and Combat Aviation Brigades as part of the Apache Helicopter 

Attack Reconnaissance Squadrons under the Army ARI.

The United States Air Force is executing the RQ-4 Global Hawk Program to 

provide continuous, high-altitude, long-endurance, all-weather, day/night, widearea surveillance and reconnaissance capability. The Global Hawk core program 

is in the final portion of the aircraft production and deployment phase, with an 

expected completion in FY 2019. In 2017, the program exceeded 200,000 flight 

hours and shifted focus to planning and executing a series of modernization efforts, 

including new sensor integration, ground segment modification, operational flight 

program updates, and ice protection.
65Department of Defense

The MQ-4C Triton (formerly Broad Area Maritime Surveillance UAS) will 

develop maritime capable UAS systems for operational deployment by providing persistent maritime Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) 

services. Along with the P-8A Poseidon, the Triton UAS is an integral part of 

the Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Force (MPRF) Family of Systems, and 

it will provide combat information to operational and tactical users such as the 

Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG), Carrier Strike Group (CSG), and Joint Forces 

Maritime Component Commander (JFMCC). Developmental testing on the baseline capability was completed in October 2017, and Early Operational Capability 

(EOC) with two air vehicles is planned for 2018. The upgraded multiple intelligence (Multi-Int) capability is on track to support the maritime Intelligence, 

Surveillance, Reconnaissance, and Targeting (ISR&T) transition plan in FY 2020.

The MQ-8 Fire Scout UAS program provides real-time and non-real-time ISR 

data to tactical users without the use of manned aircraft or reliance on limited 

joint theater or national assets. An MQ-8 system is composed of air vehicles, an 

Electro-Optical/Infrared (EO/IR) Laser Designator Range Finder payload (one per 

air vehicle), a Mission Control System (MCS), Tactical Control System software, 

a Tactical Common Data Link, a UAV Common Automatic Recovery System for 

automatic takeoffs and landings, and associated spares and support equipment. The 

MQ-8 launches and recovers vertically and can operate from all suitably equipped 

air capable ships (SEACS). MQ-8 will eventually support Littoral Combat Ship 

(LCS) Surface Warfare (SUW) and Mine Countermeasures (MCM) Mission 

Modules. There are currently 23 MQ-8Bs in service supporting LCS MCM Coastal 

Battlefield Reconnaissance and Analysis (COBRA) Initial Operational Test and 

Evaluation (IOT&E). MQ-8Bs are also deployed aboard LCS-4, with deployment 

work-ups under way aboard LCS-8. MQ-8C deliveries are ongoing, with 30 on contract and 19 delivered to date. MQ-8C IOT&E is currently scheduled to commence 

in the first quarter of FY 2018.

The MQ-25 program rapidly develops an unmanned capability to embark on 

CVNs (aircraft carriers with nuclear propulsion) as part of the Carrier Air Wing 

(CVW) to conduct aerial refueling as a primary mission and provide ISR capability as a secondary mission. MQ-25 extends CVW mission effectiveness range, 

partially mitigates the current Carrier Strike Group organic ISR shortfall, and 
66Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

fills the future CVW-tanker gap, mitigating Strike Fighter shortfall and preserving F/A-18E/F fatigue life. MQ-25 will achieve this mission through the use of a 

carrier-suitable, semi-autonomous Unmanned Air Segment; a Control System and 

Connectivity Segment; and a Carrier. MQ-25 will be integrated aboard Nimitzand Ford-class aircraft carriers with a planned Initial Operational Capability (IOC) 

scheduled for 2028.

The RQ-21A Blackjack provides runway-independent persistent maritime and 

land-based tactical Reconnaissance, Surveillance, and Target Acquisition (RSTA) 

data collection, dissemination, and communications relay capabilities to the 

warfighter. The RQ-21A carries an EO/IR payload with a laser rangefinder and 

IR pointer. For the United States Marine Corps, the RQ-21A Blackjack provides 

Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) and subordinate commands with a dedicated 

ISR system capable of operating from both L-class ships and remote austere locations ashore delivering intelligence products directly to the tactical commander in 

real time. For the Navy, the RQ-21A provides persistent RSTA support for tactical 

maneuver decisions and unit-level force defense/force protection for Navy ships, 

Marine Corps forces ashore, and Navy Special Warfare Units. IOC was declared by 

the Marine Corps in the second quarter of FY 2016, and the program is currently 

in Full Rate Production (FRP).

Airborne Weapons Systems and Missiles

The Army is actively pursuing advanced precision munitions with longer ranges 

to allow our aircraft to operate outside of the threat weapon system effective range. 

These precision munitions will make our aircraft more survivable in a peer/nearpeer threat environment and help solve the Anti-Access, Area Denial challenge 

while operating in an enemy integrated air defense system environment. Army 

Aviation is also developing smaller, more versatile modular missile technology that 

allows a more scalable and tailorable precision munition for soft/mid-range targets. 

Tailoring the munition will allow more affordable precision munitions for our UAS. 

These smaller precision weapons will increase the number of “stowed kills” on the 

UAS, giving commanders much more flexibility in achieving targeting solutions. 
67Department of Defense

Munition target pairing will also allow the Army to improve specific weapons to 

overmatch a given target at a reduced cost.

The previous munitions the Army began fielding and/or furthering technology 

for include the Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM) and the Advanced Precision 

Kill Weapon System (APKWS). In 2017, the Army had multiple successful engagements with the APKWS in operational theaters, validating the capability and 

investments in lighter precision munitions.

JAGM is a multi-mode guidance munition capable of Precision Point (PP) 

and Fire and Forget (F&F) targeting. The combination of F&F and PP targeting capabilities enables improvements in the use of single-mode laser or radar 

air-to-ground missiles in adverse weather and against countermeasures while also 

affording simultaneous engagements on both moving and stationary targets with 

increased lethality.

Navy Strike Weapons

During FY 2017, the Department of the Navy matured its long-range Cruise 

Missile Strategy. Key developmental and sustainment tenets of this strategy 

include support of Tomahawk Land Attack/Block III and Tactical Tomahawk/

Block IV (TACTOM) through their anticipated service lives, integration of 

modernization and obsolescence upgrades to TACTOM during a midlife recertification program (which extends the missile service life an additional 15 years), 

fielding of the Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) as the Offensive AntiSurface Warfare/Increment 1 material solution to meet near- to mid-term antiaccess Anti-Surface Warfare (ASuW) threats, and development of follow-on Next 

Generation Strike Capability (NGSC) weapons to address future threats and targets in time to replace or update legacy weapons while bringing next-generation 

technologies into the Navy’s standoff conventional strike capabilities. NGSC 

includes capabilities for both the air-launched Offensive Anti-Surface Warfare 

(OASuW)/Increment 2 capabilities to counter long-term anti-surface warfare 

threats and a surface and subsurface-launched Next Generation Land Attack 

Weapon (NGLAW) to initially complement, and then replace, legacy land attack 

cruise missile weapon systems.
68Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

In particular, LRASM is pioneering advanced semi-autonomous strike weapon 

capabilities. In FY 2017, LRASM successfully tested all weapon system capability modes in a complex anti-surface warfare environment. LRASM demonstrated 

autonomous behaviors against multiple moving ships, culminating in a direct hit 

on the intended target.

The Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile (AARGM)/Block 1 had formal 

fleet release in the summer of 2017. AARGM is a cooperative development program 

with the Italian Air Force to transform the High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missile 

(HARM) into an affordable, lethal, and flexible time-sensitive strike weapon system for conducting Destruction of Enemy Air Defense missions. AARGM adds 

multispectral targeting capability and targeting geospecificity to its supersonic 

fly-out to destroy sophisticated enemy air defenses and expands upon the HARM 

target set.

Using multi-mode seeker and two-way datalink capabilities, the Joint Small 

Diameter Bomb II (SDB II) program provides an adverse weather, day-or-night 

standoff capability against mobile, moving, and fixed targets and enables target 

prosecution while minimizing collateral damage. During FY 2017, SDB II continued Government confidence tests that had multiple program firsts, including conducting a successful test employment against multiple advanced countermeasures 

and hitting targets in a cluttered urban environment.

The Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II continued its high level of reliability and lethality as this weapon has become one of the key weapons in the 

current fight against the Islamic State (known variously as ISIS and ISIL).

Aviation Survivability Equipment

Aviation Survivability Equipment (ASE) is essential to force protection of 

aircraft against emerging advanced threats. In 2017, the Army made a concerted 

effort to modernize the infrastructure for its ASE in order to allow for more rapid 

and responsive fielding of improved threat detection and defensive countermeasures. The Common Missile Warning System (CMWS) continues to provide 

the Army’s fleet with infrared (IR) threat detection with the primary focus on 

Man Portable Air Defense Systems (MANPADS). CMWS employs a range of 
69Department of Defense

expendable countermeasures on all platforms, with the addition of the Advanced 

Threat IR Countermeasure system on CH-47s to defeat incoming MANPADS. 

Army Aviation will begin receiving production systems of the Common Infrared 

Countermeasure in the early 2020s. Army Aviation is also developing requirements for the Advanced Threat Detection System (ATDS) designated as the 

next-generation missile/threat warning system that will significantly increase the 

array of threats that can be detected and defeated with onboard countermeasure capabilities. ATDS is targeted for fielding in FY 2027 and will also provide 

greater situational awareness to aircrews against additional threats such as rocketpropelled grenades, anti-tank guided missiles, and unguided ballistic projectiles 

such as heavy, crew-served machine guns. The Army is also investing in upgraded 

detection and countermeasures to address Radio Frequency (RF) threats. Radar 

Warning Receiver upgrades begin at the end of FY 2018 and continue through 

FY 2022 with the fielding of the Modernized Radar Warning Receiver. Along with 

advances in detection capabilities, the Army is also advancing its threat defeat 

capabilities with the development of a family of Advanced Airborne Expendable 

Countermeasures. Production on an improved counter-RF expendable (chaff) has 

also commenced and is expected to be fielded to force in 2024. Upgraded chaff and 

Electronic Countermeasures fielding will coincide with the improved detection 

initiatives. Essential to the protection of aircraft against emerging threats, Army 

Aviation will pursue science and technology efforts to develop follow-on systems 

that are able to detect and defeat a threat system irrespective of its targeting and 

guidance systems, propulsion means, or warhead type.

Rocket and Missile Propulsion

The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Rocket Lab at Edwards Air Force 

Base, California, completed final load trials of AF-M315E for the NASA Green 

Propellant Infusion Mission (GPIM). This demonstrates the launch team and 

equipment readiness for launch loading operations. AF-M315E was developed by 

the AFRL Rocket Lab to be less toxic than traditional chemical fuels like hydrazine, thus requiring fewer handling restrictions and less special equipment. The 

reduction in handling restrictions and special equipment could shorten launch 
70Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

processing times, resulting in lowered costs. On track for a 2018 launch, GPIM will 

demonstrate the practical capabilities of AF-M315E. The new propellant is 45 percent denser than hydrazine, meaning more of it can be stored in containers of the 

same volume. It has a greater specific impulse (Isp) than hydrazine; this means 

there is approximately a 50 percent increase in spacecraft maneuvering capability for a given volume. AF-M315E also has a lower freezing point than hydrazine, 

requiring less spacecraft power to maintain its temperature. Full-scale boost pump 

component ground testing was completed on the Hydrocarbon Boost Demonstrator 

program. This is the first component on the program to reach this milestone, 

which also validated the use of design tools developed under the Upper Stage 

Engine Technology effort, for the first time, in a liquid-kerosene environment. The 

first two full-scale pre-burners, a major component of the advanced liquid-oxygen/

liquid-kerosene rocket engine, were fabricated. They are scheduled for testing at 

NASA test facilities early in 2018. The Hydrocarbon Boost Demonstrator preburner is being utilized in an Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) 

and NASA thrust chamber combustion stability demonstration project, supporting 

SMC risk-reduction efforts for a new engine to be used in a future space launch 

vehicle. The resulting technologies, designs, and test results are being disseminated 

throughout the industry to enable and support future domestic space launches.

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Gremlins Program

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Gremlins program 

seeks to develop novel air vehicle platforms and capabilities that enable an ability to retrieve and reuse air vehicle assets while airborne. A primary element of 

Gremlins is to demonstrate limited-life, volley-quantity, air-launched recoverable 

unmanned platforms to expand options for conducting distributed air operations. 

A key benefit for this approach is to achieve a lower per-mission cost. In November 

2016, the program reported the successful completion of flight testing the full-scale 

soft capture recovery “bullet” air vehicle outside the turbulent wake of a C-130. 

The full-scale “bullet” flight test validates aerodynamic stability and provides significant risk reduction to the Gremlins recovery approach for an in-flight capture 

and retrieval capability. This event marks a first step toward the Gremlins program 
71Department of Defense

goal of flight demonstrations that employ intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance and other modular, nonkinetic payloads in a robust, responsive, and 

affordable manner.

DARPA Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automation System Program

The focus of the Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automation System (ALIAS) program is to develop a tailorable, drop-in kit that would add high levels of automation 

to existing aircraft, enabling operations with reduced onboard crew. The program 

seeks to reduce operator workload, reduce the training burden, augment mission 

performance, and improve aircraft safety. In February 2017, the program successfully customized and installed ALIAS into a B-737 simulator in just 21 days and 

demonstrated advanced robotics, voice command, and emergency response capabilities of the system. The advanced robotic capabilities encompassed robotic arm 

actuation of existing autopilot, transponder, and flight management system controls and more than 20 individual switches and knobs. The testing included complex cockpit instrument interaction, tactile feedback, and an ALIAS-demonstrated 

ability to read the state of switches and knobs visually. The demonstration also 

highlighted the integrated speech interaction that commanded ALIAS to execute 

and compute new routes and waypoints as the robotic arm changed the autopilotselected heading accordingly. The successful testing validated the high-level automation capability of ALIAS.

Air Force Aeronautics/Aircraft

Low Cost Attritable Aircraft Technologies (LCAAT) is an AFRL effort focused 

on reducing the cost of building an aircraft airframe by more than a factor of 

10. LCAAT will enable a family of limited-function, rapidly produced, low-cost, 

attritable UAVs to augment manned weapon systems to force a cost imposition 

effect on near-peer adversaries. The effort completed a successful Critical Design 

Review in 2017. Flight tests of this low-cost technology will occur in 2018. In 

addition, the concept was employed at a Red Flag exercise garnering enthusiastic 

warfighter response.
72Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

Four F-16s equipped with Automatic Integrated Collision Avoidance System 

(ICAS) technology developed by AFRL flew test missions at Edwards AFB in 

August 2017. This marked the first time that a four-ship Auto ICAS mission has 

been flown. The primary purpose of these missions was to investigate cooperative 

and degraded cooperative performance. Having the F-16s fly head-on in formation 

(two sets of two aircraft flying toward each other) near the ground allows the Air 

Force to test how well Auto ICAS can protect from ground and air collisions in a 

congested environment with few “safe” escape options. This is the next extension 

of the highly successful Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System (AutoGCAS) technology developed and transitioned by AFRL. Videos can be found 

on YouTube of Auto-GCAS saving pilots’ lives (eight pilots saved to date). AFRL 

is exploring several potential transition paths to field Auto ICAS on the F-16 and 

F-35 fleets.

The AFRL Integrated Vehicle Energy Technology (INVENT) effort developed 

adaptive, smart aircraft power systems using model-based design. The effort’s goal 

is to integrate hybrid-electric systems to maximize energy efficiency, minimize 

thermal challenges, and provide power and cooling on demand, based on the duty 

cycles of individual aircraft systems. The effort recently completed all technical 

tasks, including the last two of five subsystem tests and two integrated ground 

demonstrations (IGDs). The testing evaluated the power and thermal architecture concepts, unit technologies, and modeling and simulation development to 

ultimately enable high-power mission systems on next-generation tactical aircraft 

through AFRL’s Megawatt Tactical Aircraft (MWTA) effort. Testing indicated 

that the core architectures are sound, applicable unit hardware components can be 

made available for the integrated designs, and the modeling and simulation tools 

are suitable for further development required under the MWTA effort.

The MWTA effort completed architecture trade studies on both electrical generation and distribution and thermal management that will enable high-power mission systems on next-generation tactical aircraft. These trade studies have identified 

the highest-priority units for the program to build and evaluate. On the electrical 

side, designs of Solid State Electrical Distribution Units (SSEDU) were completed 

and four builds have been initiated with testing planned to be completed in June 

2019. The next electrical hardware to be built will be the combination of generator 
73Department of Defense

with electrical accumulator units or hybrid energy storage modules. On the thermal management side, the highest-risk items are the production of Cold Air From 

Engines (CAFE), which include the air cycle system. The next priority hardware 

will involve the distribution of heat sink across the air vehicle systems.

The Affordable Cruise Missile Engine (ACME) is an AFRL effort focused on 

developing affordable, small turbine engines that can be used on small expendable 

and/or attritable weapons/UAVs. The propulsion system for a weapon can be a very 

large portion of its overall cost, impacting how many weapons can be purchased. 

Many UAVs use commercial off-the-shelf engines, which has encouraged the proliferation of UAVs; however, the increased demand for these UAVs to continue 

to do more, go farther, and last longer cannot be addressed adequately by these 

commercial systems. Through the ACME effort, the Air Force is beginning to 

explore the technologies needed to provide that increased capability in an affordable package. This effort, along with LCAAT, is part of a larger Air Force push to 

explore low-cost, attritable vehicles.

Honeywell and AFRL have begun a technology transition demonstrator 

effort to integrate and mature advanced engine technologies into existing and 

future weapon systems such as the MQ-9 Reaper. Called the TPE331 Improved 

Performance Technology Engine (IPTE), the new advanced technologies will take 

Honeywell’s existing TPE331 turboprop engine, which has supported everything 

from modern-day general aviation aircraft to military unmanned systems, and give 

it 30 percent more power and 15 percent better fuel efficiency while keeping it in 

the same size and package as the existing engine. With the TPE331 IPTE program, 

Honeywell’s next-generation engine will have the performance and capabilities for 

continued use in future military missions while finding success and new applications across the commercial industry, such as upgrading twin-engine turboprop 

aircraft, accelerating performance growth for single-engine platforms, and meeting 

large-load capacity requirements for agricultural aircraft. The design, development, 

and testing of the engine will be completed by 2021.
74Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

Presidential Aircraft Recapitalization

The Air Force awarded a set of contract modifications to Boeing in August 

and September 2017 to purchase two commercial 747-8 aircraft and initiate the 

preliminary design efforts for modification of those aircraft, which will replace the 

two aging VC-25A (Boeing 747-200) Air Force One aircraft. These contract modifications follow a set of awards in 2016 for risk-reduction activities. The Air Force is 

also working with Boeing on a contract modification, referred to as the Engineering 

and Manufacturing Development (EMD) contract modification, which will continue the program through detailed design, aircraft modification, testing, and 

delivery of two Presidential mission-ready aircraft. The program expects to begin 

aircraft modifications in 2019 and reach Initial Operational Capability in 2024.

C-5

The C-5 Reliability Enhancement and Re-engining Program (RERP) is a comprehensive modernization effort to improve C-5 reliability, maintainability, and 

availability. C-5s support NASA by transporting outsized cargo. Upon completion 

of RERP, the Air Force plans to redesignate 49 C-5Bs, one C-5A, and two C-5Cs 

as C-5Ms. C-5Ms, when compared to legacy C-5s, have increased range, payload, 

takeoff thrust, climb performance, and fuel efficiency, as well as an extended service life until at least 2040. All 52 aircraft have been inducted into the program 

as of January 2017, with the final C-5C and five C-5Bs currently undergoing modification in Marietta, Georgia. The last C-5 RERP modification is contractually 

scheduled to be completed in April 2018.

Hypersonics

Building upon initial funding from the Small Business Innovative Research 

(SBIR) program, AFRL awarded a follow-on contract (valued at $11.8 million) to 

finalize the design and conduct the initial flight test of GOLauncher1 (GO1). GO1 

is an air-dropped liquid-propelled rocket designed for routine and affordable hypersonic flight testing of key hypersonic technologies. A wind tunnel test campaign of 
75Department of Defense

GO1 was recently completed using AFRL’s wind tunnels at Wright-Patterson AFB. 

Upcoming testing in December 2017 includes a hot fire test of the GO1 stage at 

AFRL’s Rocket Lab facilities at Edwards AFB and a store separation wind tunnel 

test in Calspan’s transonic tunnel in Buffalo, New York. The first flight test of 

GO1 is scheduled for spring 2019, when it will cruise at Mach 6. Flight testing is 

planned to be based out of Cecil Field near Jacksonville, Florida. GO1 will provide 

much more affordable commercial testing capability available to all parties working on hypersonic technologies and wanting to conduct hypersonic testing. It will 

become a critical test asset to the Nation.

Space

DARPA Orbit Outlook Program

The objective of the Orbit Outlook program is to engage a set of nontraditional 

data providers to automatically provide diverse space observation data that support 

the integrated capabilities of the Space Surveillance Network. The Orbit Outlook 

technology focuses on demonstrating a capability such that data can be validated 

post-collection without a full sensor accreditation process. A key component of the 

Orbit Outlook architecture enables an integrated data repository based on a “world 

model” in which processing algorithms automatically assign quality measurements 

and generate high-level products. This new construct of integrating and fusing 

multiple types of space observations from a wide range of diverse, nontraditional 

sensors has led to transition opportunities for the warfighter. In October 2016, 

plans were formalized to enable Orbit Outlook performers to integrate this capability via operations in the National Space Defense Center (NSDC) tasked with 

the responsibility to improve processes and procedures for ensuring data fusion 

among DOD; the intelligence community; and interagency, allied, and commercial 

space entities. Orbit Outlook is one of many key technologies that will enhance 

U.S. space operations, contribute to operational command and control within 

DOD, and improve the Nation’s ability to protect and defend critical national 

space infrastructures.
76Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

DARPA Space Surveillance Telescope Program

The Space Surveillance Telescope (SST) program incorporates technologies for 

an advanced ground-based optical system for the detection and tracking of faint 

objects in deep space with rapid, wide-area, un-cued search capabilities. The program completed a series of wide-field camera development and testing, algorithmic 

improvements, and procedures necessary to ensure system functionality in a nearsea-level environment less suitable for astrometric operations. In August 2017, an 

official ceremony to transition the SST from DARPA to U.S. Air Force Space 

Command was held at the SST site on Atom Peak at White Sands Missile Range. 

The culmination of the SST activities highlighted the success of the SST program 

and provided the roadmap for future use by the U.S. Air Force and the relocation 

of SST to its future site in Western Australia. This accomplishment represents 

a significant initiative under the Australia-U.S. Space Situational Awareness 

Partnership and will provide an important capability for both Australia and the 

United States.

Nanosats and SmallSats

The Satellite for High Altitude Radar Calibration (SHARC) is a 6U CubeSat 

satellite sponsored for launch by the Space and Missiles Systems Center Advanced 

Systems and Development Directorate Space Test Program. The SHARC mission 

demonstrated the capability of a CubeSat (a type of miniaturized satellite for space 

research) to perform critical calibration of the 120 Tri-Service C-Band radars. 

SHARC provided flight demonstration of three Air Force Research Laboratory 

Space Vehicles Directorate small business technologies: the MMA Designs, LLC, 

High Watts per Kilogram (HaWK) deployable solar array; the Blue Canyon Tech, 

Inc., XACT Attitude Determination and Control System; and the Sierra Nevada 

Corp. pick-and-place touchless-manufacturing-process solar panel. SHARC was 

launched to the International Space Station on April 18, 2017, and deployed from 

the ISS on May 17, 2017; first contact with the satellite occurred within an hour of 

deployment via a path agnostic communications architecture using the Globalstar 

commercial satellite network.
77Department of Defense

The University Nanosat Program (UNP) continued the Nanosat-9 (NS-9) 

effort. Under NS-9, ten U.S. universities are building small satellites and exploring 

SmallSat technologies, including propulsion, small-satellite laser communications, 

advanced radio-frequency communications, and rendezvous and docking, among 

others. Founded in 1999, the UNP was the first federally funded research program 

to fund small-satellite projects at universities. The objective of the UNP is to promote and sustain university research and education focused on small satellites and 

related technologies. The primary outcome of individual projects funded under this 

program has been the design, fabrication, and functional testing of a small satellite. Secondary objectives are to foster research in enabling technologies for small 

satellites and the design of experiments that can be performed by small satellites 

in orbit.

Launch and Range Operations and Spacelift Developments

The Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program continued to successfully place satellites into orbit during FY 2017. United Launch Alliance (ULA) 

continued its record of success, with five National Security Space (NSS) launches 

as of September 30, 2017. A summary of the five EELV NSS launches during 

FY 2017 follows:

(Launch Date, Launch Vehicle Configuration, Payload)

• December 8, 2016, Delta IV (5,4), Wideband Global SATCOM (Satellite 

Communications) (WGS)–08

• January 20, 2017, Atlas V (401), Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) 

Geostationary (GEO) Flight 3

• March 1, 2017, Atlas V (401), National Reconnaissance Office Launch 

(NROL)–79

• March 18, 2017, Delta IV (5,4), WGS-09

• September 24, 2017, Atlas V (541), NROL-42

The 45th Space Wing also successfully launched the U.S. Air Force’s Orbital Test 

Vehicle 5 (OTV-5) payload on a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle on September 7, 

2017, from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A. Approximately eight 

minutes after the launch, SpaceX successfully landed the Falcon 9 first-stage 
78Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

booster on Landing Zone 1 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS). 

SpaceX returned to flight on January 14, 2017, after suffering an anomaly at Launch 

Complex 40 on September 1, 2016, and has successfully launched 13 times this fiscal year, including OTV-5 and NROL-76 on April 30, 2017.

Additionally, Operationally Responsive Space–5 (ORS-5) launched aboard 

a Minotaur IV on August 26, 2017. This was the first launch of a Minotaur IV 

from CCAFS.

The GPS III-3 launch services contract was awarded to SpaceX on March 14, 

2017. This was the second competitive contract award for NSS launch services 

planned for EELV Phase 1A. The third competitively awarded NSS launch service for Space Test Program 3 (STP-3) was awarded to United Launch Alliance on 

June 29, 2017.

The Air Force posted a draft Request for Proposals (RFP) for a Launch Service 

Agreement (LSA) on March 14, 2017. The Air Force intends to competitively 

award up to three LSA Other Transactions Authority (OTA) agreements with 

launch service providers to develop launch system prototypes. These LSAs are the 

key step to transition from the use of non-allied space launch engines, maintain 

assured access to space, and introduce sustainable competition for future EELV 

NSS launch services. The final RFP was released on October 5, 2017.

Range modernization efforts continued in FY 2017 with the following 

accomplishments:

• The Western-Range Modernization of Network (WMN) contract was 

awarded as a small business set-aside to upgrade the Western Range mission communications core, addressing obsolescence issues and improving 

cyber protection. As part of WMN, the contract upgrades the Western 

Range’s communications network from Asynchronous Transfer Mode 

to IPv6.

• Construction continued on a new Range Communications Facility (RCF) 

at the Eastern Range. The purpose of the new building is to relocate communications capabilities from the XY building to a new RCF, resolving 

building degradation, a high risk of flooding, and code noncompliance.
79Department of Defense

Positioning, Navigation, and Timing

The Global Positioning System (GPS) program celebrated its 22nd anniversary 

this year of providing uninterrupted Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) 

data, free of charge, to users worldwide since July 1995. The success of the GPS 

program can be reflected in the total number of GPS receivers produced to date, 

estimated at four billion worldwide. The next block of satellites, GPS III, are nearing completion of development. The first GPS III satellite completed all assembly 

and factory testing in February 2017 and achieved Availability for Launch (AFL) 

status in September 2017. GPS III satellites two through ten are in various stages 

of production. Launch of the first GPS III satellite is projected to occur in 2018.

Satellite Communications

The Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) is a joint-service satellite 

communications system that provides global, survivable, secure, protected, and 

jam-resistant communications for high-priority military ground, sea, and air assets. 

Three on-orbit AEHF satellites augment the existing Milstar constellation, providing protected satellite communications for strategic users. Three additional 

AEHF satellites are currently in production, with the next launch forecast to occur 

in 2018.

The Family of Advanced Beyond-Line-of-Sight Terminals (FAB-T) program 

will field nuclear-event-survivable terminals capable of communicating with the 

Milstar and AEHF satellite constellations using jam-resistant, low-probability-ofintercept, and low-probability-of-detection waveforms. On May 19, 2017, FAB-T 

received Milestone Decision Authority approval to purchase the new Ground Fixed 

Antenna configuration plus additional airborne terminals with antenna modification kits. In total, 42 Low Rate Initial Production terminals are now on contract. 

The first production terminal was delivered and installed on the N404 test aircraft 

at Hanscom AFB in May 2017. The second production terminal, and first of the 

Ground Fixed configuration, was delivered in June 2017. The first flight test with 

a production terminal on the N404 test bed aircraft was conducted in July 2017. 

This test successfully verified the Airborne Command Post Terminal’s ability to 
80Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

1) acquire satellites and maintain a communication link while tracking AEHF and 

Milstar satellites through standard operational aircraft maneuvers and 2) continue 

operations while transitioning between satellites and satellite beams.

The Enhanced Polar System (EPS) program now has two hosted payloads on 

orbit that were launched in FY 2015 and FY 2017. Operational testing is slated for 

FY 2018, along with initial operational capability shortly thereafter. The EPS will 

replace the Interim Polar System to ensure that critical protected communications 

requirements above 65 degrees north latitude are satisfied for joint forces.

The Wideband Global Satellite Communications (SATCOM) (WGS) satellite 

program consists of ten satellites with nine currently on orbit. WGS 10 is scheduled 

to launch in 2018. WGS is the DOD SATCOM constellation with the highest 

capacity and was declared at Full Operational Capability (FOC) with five satellites 

on May 12, 2014. The WGS system provides up to 3.6 gigabits per second (Gbps) 

per satellite (13.7 Gbps worldwide as of April 2016) to support various missions 

of the Unified Combatant Commanders, military services, other DOD agencies, 

and international partners (Australia, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, New 

Zealand, and Luxembourg). The WGS system is composed of space, control, and 

terminal segments. The space segment operates in the X-band and Ka-band with 

flexible connectivity between bands and coverages to support and connect users 

operating worldwide.

Joint Space Operations Center Mission System Increment 2

The Joint Space Operations Center (JSPOC) Mission System (JMS) provides 

real-time, integrated Space Situational Awareness (SSA) to allow informed, rapid 

decision making by the Commander, Joint Functional Component CommandSpace, including the ability to plan, direct, coordinate, and control operations 

of assigned forces. It will allow increased capability, including a User Defined 

Operational Picture (UDOP), a high-accuracy satellite positional database/catalog, 

increased capacity for additional space objects, ability to leverage nontraditional 

sensors/data sources, and automated satellite collision avoidance assessment/prediction services.
81Department of Defense

JMS Increment 2 is the program of record to replace the aging and sustainmentchallenged Space Defense Operations Center, which met its design end of life in 

2002. Increment 2 employs agile elements in a net-centric, service-oriented architecture (SOA) to allow

• capabilities to be incrementally deployed in service packs,

• loosely coupled capabilities/applications to enable integration of the latest 

commercial and Government-developed software and technologies,

• operators to utilize a User Defined Operational Picture via Web start,

• third-party software deployment via a Software Development Kit, and

• the ability to tailor certain content of Service Pack(s) based on warfighter 

requirements and urgent needs.

The JMS Increment 2 Program Service Pack 9 Development Test (DT) was 

completed in July 2017, and fielding is planned for early CY 2018. Service Pack 11 

development is under way.

Enterprise Space Battle Management Command and Control

DOD has a need to improve both its systems’ timeliness and accuracy and its 

processes for managing multiple simultaneous events to better enable commanders 

and decision makers to rapidly command and control (C2) space assets throughout the range of operations. Enterprise Space Battle Management Command 

and Control (ESBMC2) is a command and control software (SW) program. The 

SW will be able to better integrate multiple streams of SSA, Initial delivery of 

Indications and Warning (I&W), and counter-space data to provide decision makers with a clearer picture of the contested space environment. The program is 

specifically designed for the National Space Defense Center and aimed at managing any future space conflicts. ESBMC2 involves multiple lines of effort by Air 

Force Space Command (AFSPC), the Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC), 

the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), and the Air Force Rapid Capabilities 

Office (AFRCO) to quickly provide C2 capabilities across the DOD Enterprise and 

leverage commercial capabilities to the maximum extent possible. The ESBMC2 

program will deliver an automated approach at multiple classification levels to link 

disparate information across geographically separated operations in order to direct 
82Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

forces on operationally relevant timelines. It will provide commanders and decision 

makers with the tools needed to improve timelines and accuracy in commanding 

and controlling space assets simultaneously. A Request for Information (RFI) for 

a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) contract was issued in January 2017 and 

opened in May 2017. Responses have been received and will allow the ESBMC2 

program to start developing initial space BMC2 applications. Multiple RFPs will be 

going out based on RFI responses received. ESBMC2 lines of effort include

• providing the initial National Space Defense Center (NSDC) infrastructure (through 2019);

• spiral 1: initial delivery of I&W and Course of Action (COA) tools to 

the NSDC;

• spiral 2: infrastructure Initial Operational Capability (IOC), I&W, COA, 

sensor tasking using a satellite experiment effort, and multiple operation 

center collaboration; and

• spiral 3: standup of the Space Operations Development Center (SpODC) 

for continued training and experimentation with prototypes, as well as 

improved Spiral 2 tools to meet top requirements.

The Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office will develop enterprise open standards 

using a consortium and will leverage lessons learned. Spiral 4 will demonstrate 

space command and control using proven open, scalable, and interoperable systems. The ESBMC2 program will also develop prototypes to address identified 

capability gaps at space operations centers.

Weather Satellite Follow-on

The Air Force’s Weather Satellite Follow-on (WSF)–Microwave (WSF-M) program contributes to a family of space-based environmental monitoring systems that 

support military operations through remote sensing of weather conditions—such 

as speed and direction of wind at the ocean’s surface and space weather. It also 

provides real-time data for use in weapons system planning and forecast models.

WSF is a two-phased acquisition approach that launches the ORS-6 technology demonstration in 2018 on a Falcon 9 rideshare and accelerates the WSF-M 

Objective System launch to 2022. The ORS-6 technology demonstration will mate 
83Department of Defense

the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Compact Ocean Wind Vector Radiometer 

(COWVR) payload to the ORS Modular Space Vehicle bus. The ORS-6 mission is intended to mature the COWVR technology and will provide residual 

operational capability.

WSF-M is intended to provide a materiel solution that meets Joint Requirements 

Oversight Council (JROC)–validated requirements for three capability gaps: Gap 3 

(Ocean Surface Vector Winds); Gap 8 (Tropical Cyclone Intensity), which requires 

a microwave sensor; and Gap 11 (Low Earth Orbit Energetic Charged Particles), 

which requires an in situ energetic particle sensor. The FY 2017 National Defense 

Authorization Act (NDAA) fenced half of the WSF-M funding and directed 

the Secretary of the Air Force (SECAF) to develop a plan for the Air Force to 

transfer acquisition and funding authority for the weather imagery mission to the 

National Reconnaissance Organization (NRO) in FY 2018. However, the FY 2017 

NDAA also allowed SECAF to waive the limitation and transfer plan if the Under 

Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics (USD/AT&L) 

and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) jointly submitted a report 

to the Congressional Defense Committees stating that the plan to address DOD 

Requirements for Cloud Characterization and Theater Weather Imagery did not 

negatively affect the Combatant Commanders. On June 23, 2017, the USD/AT&L 

submitted the Cloud Characterization and Theater Weather Imagery Plan to the 

Congressional Defense Committee, and the CJCS certified that the plan did not 

negatively affect Combatant Commanders on August 3, 2017. The SECAF subsequently signed a waiver memo on October 3, 2017, documenting that the requirements of the FY 2017 NDAA, Sec. 1614, were met.

Space Based Infrared System

The Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) remains an unblinking eye for ballistic 

missile warning and defense, battlespace awareness, and technical intelligence for 

the United States and its allies. SBIRS satellites and ground systems provide operational capability today and will continue to incrementally deliver additional capability to the warfighter in the future. The Air Force is taking projected threats seriously 

and focusing investments on maturing resilient technology now. An acquisition 
84Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

strategy is under development for a next-generation Overhead Persistent InfraRed 

(OPIR) space segment. The strategy is being discussed in pre-decisional forums 

within the Air Force and seeks to replenish the constellation and address emerging 

resiliency requirements while addressing a rapidly changing threat environment.

This past year, SBIRS Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) 4 (the third SBIRS 

GEO launch) was launched on January 20, 2017. The satellite is fully functional 

and is proceeding with infrared sensor tuning. It entered operations in September 

2017. SBIRS GEO 3 was delivered and entered storage on July 14, 2015, with initial 

launch capability projected for January 18, 2018. The SBIRS GEO 5 and GEO 6 

production contract was awarded on June 24, 2014, using a six-year Efficient Space 

Procurement (ESP) that provided a cost avoidance of $521 million. The SBIRS 

GEO 5 and GEO 6 satellites are in production and are meeting cost and schedule objectives. The Space Vehicle Critical Design Review (CDR) occurred on 

May 2–4, 2017, and the system-level CDR was completed in September 2017.

SBIRS Ground Increment 2 (Block 10) consolidated Defense Support Program 

(DSP), SBIRS Highly Elliptical Orbit (HEO), and SBIRS GEO operations into a 

single site in 2017. Block 10.3 (Integrated Tactical Warning/Attack Assessment 

certification) was delivered in December 2016.

Operationally Responsive Space

ORS was established by Congress to provide assured space power focused on 

the timely satisfaction of Joint Force Commanders’ needs. ORS responds to validated urgent needs, develops an enabler foundation, and provides ORS acquisition. 

On February 25, 2014, ORS selected an SSA payload to meet validated urgent 

needs by addressing rapidly evolving threats. ORS-5 was successfully launched 

on a Minotaur IV from Space Florida’s Space Launch Complex-46 at CCAFS on 

August 26, 2017. The ORS-5 main sensor was uncapped on September 18, 2017, 

and is successfully performing checkout.

On April 22, 2015, the SECAF directed ORS to help fill weather Gap 3 (Ocean 

Surface Vector Winds) and Gap 8 (Tropical Cyclone Intensity). The current WSF 

acquisition strategy proposes launching an ORS technology demonstration, ORS-6, 

in 2018 and the WSF Objective System in 2022. ORS-6 will inform the WSF 
85Department of Defense

Objective System with a potential to provide a 50 percent cost reduction while also 

providing a residual operational capability, meeting a subset of WSF requirements.

ORS-7 is a demonstration of the ORS responsive manufacturing assembly line. It 

will produce two CubeSats for the Coast Guard’s search-and-rescue mission. ORS-7 

will be integrated into the Department of Homeland Security’s Adaptive Spacebased Analytics Project and is planned for a rideshare launch in 2018.

On February 7, 2017, the Department of Defense validated the urgent need 

for an interim capability for weather Gap 1 (cloud characterization) and Gap 2 

(theater weather imagery). The ORS Executive Committee approved developing 

ORS-8 with a planned launch in 2021.

Space Fence

Space Fence provides un-cued surveillance of small objects and satellites primarily in low-Earth orbit (LEO), as well as medium-Earth orbit (MEO) and 

Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) (secondary), to provide spaceflight safety, 

early detection, custody of threats, and awareness to satellite operators in the 

human spaceflight regime. Space Fence will be the most accurate high-capacity 

radar in the Space Surveillance Network (SSN) and will provide extensive updates 

to the space catalogue, increase sensitivity for new object discovery, and deliver 

optimum orbital coverage, including coverage of much lower inclinations of orbiting objects. Space Fence greatly increases the ability to understand the Space 

Domain battlespace and inform warfighter decisions. The increased sensitivity, 

coupled with increased computing capabilities of the Joint Space Operations 

Center Mission System, improves understanding of the space operating environment and associated threats.

The acquisition strategy implements Better Buying Power—cost, capability, and 

design trade studies, prototyping, and risk reduction in the System Development 

and Preliminary Design Review phases. Current efforts are focused on the first 

site and the operations center, which provide system IOC. The installation and 

checkout at the operations center is complete, and the construction of the sensor 

site is near completion. In addition, the radar hardware and software production 

are near completion. Installation and checkout of the radar components are under 
86Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

way at the sensor site. The program is on track to achieve IOC in the first quarter 

of FY 2019.

Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program

The Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP) vehicles 

will operate in the near-GEO regime and provide the United States with an 

operational capability to support U.S. Strategic Command’s Space Surveillance 

Operations as a dedicated space-based SSN sensor. The enhanced maneuverability of GSSAP also allows rendezvous and proximity operations to enable on-orbit 

object characterization and anomaly resolution. Two additional GSSAP space 

vehicles were launched in August 2016.

Counter-Space

The Counter Communications System (CCS) provides expeditionary, deployable, and reversible counter-space effects applicable across the full spectrum of 

conflict. CCS denies adversary satellite communications in an area of conflict 

in ways that include command and control, early warning, and propaganda dissemination. Development was continued in 2017 for the purchase of seven new 

Counter Communications Systems for the Air National Guard. The preplanned 

product improvements, which transition the system to Increment 10.2, are on track 

and progressing well. Three systems have been delivered to date, with remaining 

deliveries scheduled by end-of year FY 2018.

Space Security and Defense Program

The Space Security and Defense Program (SSDP) is a joint DOD and Office of the 

Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) organization, established to function as the 

center of excellence for options and strategies (materiel and non-materiel), leading to 

a more resilient and enduring National Security Space Enterprise. In FY 2017, SSDP 

completed efforts resulting in the delivery and implementation of specific cyber and 

materiel solutions to emergent capability needs. These include the following:
87Department of Defense

• Developing and accessing protection capabilities, architectures, and 

requirements across the NSS enterprise.

• Performing technical analyses, studies, and modeling to inform national, 

DOD, and Intelligence Community (IC) policy for enhancing the U.S. 

space protection posture.

• Designing and developing tools that provide actionable recommendations 

to individual programs for increasing system resiliency and informing 

investment decisions.

• Maturing analytical capability to evaluate resiliency of proposed architectures (both mission-specific and enterprise-wide).

• Developing experiments and exercises to advance space protection 

Tactics, Techniques and Procedures (TTPs), Concept of Operations 

(CONOPS), and SSA C2.

• Prototyping C2 and SSA integration solutions to speed information sharing, streamline operations, and shorten decision timelines.

• Refining Space C2 requirements based on National Space Defense Center 

experiment results, C2 prototypes, and SSA experiments.

Nested Hall Thruster Technology

NASA successfully integrated and demonstrated Nested Hall Thruster (NHT) 

technology originally developed by AFRL. NASA demonstrated a three-channel 

system with power up to 102 kilowatts and thrust up to 5.4 newtons. The work 

leveraged the original AFRL research in two-channel Nested Hall Thrusters, along 

with many of the original university and industry team members. According to 

a recent paper to the 35th International Electric Propulsion Conference, “These 

results demonstrate the capability of Hall thrusters and NHTs for cargo and crew 

transport applications and show that the X3 represents a significant milestone on 

the roadmap to Mars.”1

1 J. Hall, B. Jorns, A. Gallimore, H. Kamhawi, T. Haag, J. Mackey, J. Gilland, and P. Peterson, 

“High-Power Performance of a 100-kW Class Nested Hall Thruster” (paper presented at the 35th 

International Electric Propulsion Conference, Electric Rocket Propulsion Society, Atlanta, GA, 

October 2017), p. 20.
88Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

Space Vehicles

AFRL has multiple efforts in collaboration with NASA. AFRL is working with 

the NASA Safety Center in identifying and evaluating space environment hazards. 

These hazards will be used to assist NASA in developing a monitoring architecture for human spaceflight beyond Earth orbit. The Air Force will also utilize this 

developed architecture to conduct spacecraft resiliency assessments to the natural 

space environment hazards.

AFRL is also conducting research using the NASA Van Allen Probes. The Van 

Allen Probes are studying the Van Allen Radiation Belts that encapsulate Earth. 

These radiation belts’ harsh nature are important to study and understand as they 

affect the lifetime of spacecraft. The increased radiation from geomagnetic storms 

that originate from the sun can cause increased atmospheric drag on and surface 

and internal charging to a spacecraft, shortening the lifetime of the spacecraft. 

AFRL is using the data from the NASA Van Allen Probes to model the Van Allen 

Radiation Belts, providing a more in-depth understanding of the space environment spacecraft will encounter.
89Federal Aviation Administration

Federal Avia

Administra

FAA

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) achieved more milestones in its 

ongoing Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) effort, which is 

transitioning the National Airspace System (NAS) from analog and ground-based 

systems to cutting-edge digital and satellite-enabled technologies. The NextGen 

transformation is fundamentally changing the way we see, navigate, and communicate in the Nation’s skies. NextGen seeks to move away from the current system 

of air traffic control—based on knowing where an aircraft is—to a time-based 

management system that operates on shared knowledge of where an aircraft will 

be at any given point in time along its projected trajectory. Using time to manage 

an aircraft’s future position and altitude, known as Trajectory Based Operations 

(TBO), will increase efficiency and flexibility in the NAS and help achieve the 

NextGen goals of enhanced safety, reduced delays and cancellations, decreased fuel 

burn, and lower aircraft exhaust emissions.

NextGen is essential to protecting aviation’s contributions to U.S. economic 

strength. A healthy aviation industry is vital to the Nation’s fiscal prosperity, as 

civil aviation contributes 10.6 million jobs and $1.6 trillion a year to the U.S. 

economy. Through 2016, NextGen capabilities already deployed have delivered 

$2.7 billion in benefits to airlines and the traveling public.
90Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

Automation

Automation consists of the computer systems that controllers use to manage our 

Nation’s air traffic and are platforms upon which NextGen programs and capabilities are built.

Under the Terminal Automation Modernization and Replacement (TAMR) program, the FAA is replacing the Automated Radar Terminal System in Terminal 

Radar Approach Control (TRACON) facilities with the state-of-the-art Standard 

Terminal Automation Replacement System (STARS). TRACONs guide aircraft 

transitioning to and from high-altitude airspace.

STARS is replacing the automation in our largest TRACONs and is operational 

at the 11 sites that control 80 percent of U.S. traffic. Nine of those TRACONs are 

among the ten busiest air traffic facilities in the world. In 2017, the FAA continued to deploy STARS in large, medium, and small TRACONs. STARS enables 

many NextGen technologies in terminal airspace, such as Automatic Dependent 

Surveillance–Broadcast (ADS-B), the satellite-based successor to radar, and 

the advanced terminal sequencing and spacing function for Time Based Flow 

Management (TBFM).

The TAMR program’s success mirrors the FAA’s achievement in deploying the 

En Route Automation Modernization (ERAM) system to all 20 air route traffic 

control centers in the contiguous United States—a process the FAA completed in 

2015. Like STARS, ERAM enables key NextGen capabilities in the facilities that 

control traffic at cruising altitude, including ADS-B—which is fully integrated—

and Data Communications (Data Comm), which supplements voice communications with digital text-based messages exchanged between controllers and pilots.

Data Comm

The FAA received approval to deploy Data Comm departure clearance services 

at seven more airports after completing installation at 55 airports in 2016, nearly 

two and a half years ahead of schedule. Data Comm is a priority focus area identified by the NextGen Advisory Committee, a Federal advisory group composed of 

executives from across the aviation community.
91Federal Aviation Administration

Using Data Comm, controllers select and send departure clearance instructions 

electronically to the cockpits of equipped aircraft instead of speaking them to 

pilots over the radio. Air carrier flight dispatchers simultaneously receive the same 

information, giving all decision makers a shared awareness for faster reactions to 

changes. Flight crews signal concurrence with the press of a button; instructions 

can then be automatically loaded into the aircraft’s flight management system. 

This process can be repeated as often as necessary from the gate until the aircraft 

is ready for takeoff. By providing an air-to-ground data link, this transformational 

program is a critical component of the FAA’s NextGen vision of TBO.

The FAA continued preparing for the next step of adding en route services. 

Data Comm is expected to save operators more than $10 billion over the 30-year 

life cycle of the program and the FAA about $1 billion in future operating costs.

ADS-B

Aircraft flying in most controlled airspace must be equipped to transmit their 

position using ADS-B by January 1, 2020. The Equip 2020 Government-industry 

working group is striving to eliminate equipage impediments for commercial and 

general aviation operators. As of September 2017, more than 27,000 general aviation aircraft were equipped with properly functioning ADS-B avionics.

ADS-B uses GPS to determine aircraft position more accurately and with faster 

updates than radar. Equipping with ADS-B In is optional, but operators who install 

it experience more benefits. They can see the same traffic picture on their cockpit 

displays as controllers, which increases safety from improved situational awareness. General aviation operators who equip with ADS-B In also can view graphical 

weather and flight information delivered to the cockpit at no further cost.

To ease the equipage decision, the FAA offered in September 2016 a $500 rebate 

to operators of U.S.-registered fixed-wing single-engine piston aircraft that are not 

equipped with Version 2 of ADS-B Out to defray ADS-B equipment and installation costs. More than 6,700 pilots claimed the offer, which ended one year after 

its start.
92Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

Performance Based Navigation

Performance Based Navigation (PBN) uses satellites and onboard equipment 

for navigation procedures that are more precise and accurate than using standard 

avionics and ground-based navigation aids. PBN’s name reflects that the types of 

routes and procedures an aircraft can fly depend on equipment performance level 

and pilot training.

The FAA publishes more than 9,300 PBN departure, arrival, and approach procedures as well as low- and high-altitude PBN routes. These procedures provide precise flight paths across the United States that are much more direct than the legacy 

flight paths they replace, which zigzag over ground-based navigation aids. The 

PBN NAS Navigation Strategy 2016 (available at http://www.faa.gov/nextgen/media/

PBN_NAS_NAV.pdf) outlines the FAA’s plans for moving to a PBN-centric NAS.

PBN’s benefits include the following:

• Increased safety through repeatable and predictable flight paths, when 

accessing airspace near obstacles and terrain, and with vertical guidance 

for more stable approaches.

• Improved airport and airspace access in all weather conditions.

• Reduced delays at airports and in certain congested airspace by using new 

parallel routes, newly enabled ingress/egress points around busy terminal 

areas, and improved flight rerouting capabilities that make better use of 

closely spaced procedures and airspace.

• Improved efficiency through more direct routes, especially at lower 

flight altitudes.

PBN’s Area Navigation (RNAV) and Required Navigation Performance (RNP) 

provide environmental benefits through reduced fuel consumption and emissions. 

For example, since airlines started flying new RNAV approaches into Minneapolis 

in March 2015, they have saved more than 5.8 million gallons of fuel and prevented 

more than 57,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere. In 

Denver, RNP approaches save Southwest, United, and Frontier airlines more than 

100 gallons of fuel per flight.
93Federal Aviation Administration

System Wide Information Management

To function smoothly, the NAS relies on users sharing an increasing amount of 

air traffic management data. System Wide Information Management (SWIM), an 

advanced technology program, turns NAS data into useful information for aviation 

stakeholders. The digital data delivery platform provides the foundation for fully 

implementing many NextGen operational improvements.

Replacing multiple stand-alone computer interfaces that connected point to 

point, SWIM offers a modern, universally recognized data-exchange format interface through a single connection. The format supports collaboration within the 

domestic and international aviation communities, and users gain unprecedented 

access to data products with improved bandwidth and security. SWIM also contributes to the FAA’s goal of TBO using time-based traffic management.

SWIM operates through an enterprise service-oriented architecture (SOA) composed of producers, subscribers, and a registry. Producers—in this case, FAA NAS 

programs—publish data exchanged through the NAS Enterprise Messaging System 

for registered subscribers. Subscribers can access more than 100 SWIM products, 

which are categorized as aeronautical, flight and traffic flow, and weather. The 

FAA and SWIM subscribers—inside and outside the FAA—interact through a 

registry, where subscribers can search specific criteria to find services.

SWIM’s common infrastructure, with connection points at all 20 en route traffic 

control centers and enterprise SOA, is in place. NAS programs, such as the Traffic 

Flow Management System and Integrated Terminal Weather System, connect to 

provide large data sources for subscribers. SWIM also attracts more subscribers 

interested in accessing the data, the number now reaching 150 and continuing 

to grow.

In 2017, SWIM continued to develop enhancements to security, customer 

service, a subscriber-customized data feed, and the SWIM Terminal Data 

Distribution System.
94Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

Decision Support Systems

Air traffic controllers and traffic managers use decision support systems to help 

solve constraints and optimize traffic flow across the NAS. Integrated Departure/

Arrival Capability (IDAC), a component of Time Based Flow Management 

(TBFM), automates departure demand monitoring and departure slot identification at many busy control towers. It coordinates departure times between airports 

and provides situational awareness to controllers so they can select from available 

departure times and plan their operations to meet those times.

Another system progressing is Terminal Flight Data Manager (TFDM). The 

FAA is completing early implementation of portions of TFDM. The FAA installed 

Advanced Electronic Flight Strips (AEFS) hardware in September at Charlotte 

Douglas International Airport in North Carolina to support Airspace Technology 

Demonstration 2 (ATD-2), a NASA-led project to integrate surface, departure, and 

arrival activities. AEFS replaces manual tracking with an electronic flight data 

display so that controllers can stay engaged with traffic at all times.

The ATD-2 team also deployed an Integrated Arrival/Departure/Surface prototype system at the Charlotte air traffic control tower on March 23, 2017. NASA 

demonstrated the ATD-2 system with live data at its lab at the airport.

In TFDM, AEFS and the ATD-2 prototype tools integrate with other new technologies, such as the IDAC. Together with TBFM, they function to coordinate 

schedules between the ramp and tower, terminal, and center control facilities to 

give air traffic managers the tools to better decide how to reduce congestion and 

increase efficiency.

Interagency Collaboration and UAS

Just as NextGen is transforming the NAS, Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) 

are bringing unprecedented new opportunities for business and recreation. Enabled 

by platforms with new technology, the number of UAS pilots in the NAS has 

grown dramatically. The challenge is to ensure that these new aircraft are integrated with manned aircraft without compromising safety to people and property 

on the ground or in the air.
95Federal Aviation Administration

The FAA is working with NASA and other Federal and industry partners to 

safely integrate UAS into the NAS. Since the FAA implemented a new rulemaking to permit small UAS-limited operations in U.S. airspace in August 2016, more 

than 80,000 individual drones have been registered for various commercial and 

Government purposes. In June 2017, the FAA established a new aviation rulemaking committee that will help the agency create standards for remotely identifying and tracking unmanned aircraft during operations. Additionally, the FAA 

published more than 200 facility maps depicting areas and altitudes near airports 

where UAS may operate safely. The publication marked a key first step as the FAA 

and industry work together to automate approvals to operate in a specific airspace.

The introduction of UAS affects existing and future aviation requirements from 

aircraft certification to air traffic management. NASA and the FAA established 

a UAS Traffic Management Research Transition Team to define and develop 

requirements and standards that will be necessary for safe and efficient integration 

of UAS.

Additional information about the FAA Office of NextGen, updates, reports, and 

other documents can be found at https://www.faa.gov/NextGen and on the NextGen 

Update page at https://www.faa.gov/NextGen/Update.

Commercial Space Transportation

In FY 2017, the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST) 

licensed 18 orbital commercial space launches, including five cargo resupply 

missions to the International Space Station and the first launch of RocketLab’s 

Electron launch vehicle, from various locations in the United States and one 

in New Zealand. Additionally, AST issued ten new launch licenses, including a 

Reusable Launch Operator license to Blue Origin for suborbital launches of its 

New Shepard launch vehicle, and six National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)–

related environmental documents. AST’s safety inspectors conducted 480 inspections to ensure launch and reentry operations did not jeopardize public safety.

In FY 2017, the FAA completed a successful investment analysis readiness decision for the Space Data Integrator (SDI) capability, and it executed the SDI proof 

of concept in a mission-following mode during 25 launches and reentries. The FAA 
96Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

is developing an SDI to support launch and reentry operations in a way that will 

allow the FAA to reduce the amount of airspace required to be closed in advance 

of a mission, effectively respond to off-nominal scenarios in a more timely manner, 

and quickly release airspace back to the National Airspace System (NAS) as the 

mission progresses. This technology is a building block for future technologies that 

will allow the FAA to move away from accommodating commercial space operations in the NAS to integrating them with other airspace users.

Additional information about the FAA Office of Commercial Space 

Transportation, regulations, reports, and other documents can be found online at 

https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/.
97Department of Commerce

Department of Co

DOC

During FY 2017, the Department of Commerce (DOC) participated in extensive interagency preparations for the first meeting of the Trump administration’s 

National Space Council, which took place on October 5, 2017. In close cooperation 

with the National Space Council, DOC will advocate for the U.S. commercial 

space industry to ensure the United States remains the leader in space commerce.

On January 10, 2017, DOC and the State Department updated the U.S. export 

control regulations applicable to spacecraft and related articles. The revised rules 

include several notable changes requested by the commercial space industry and 

advocated by DOC, including increasing the aperture thresholds for control of 

remote sensing satellites and components, eliminating controls based on whether 

a spacecraft supports human habitation, redefining several controls based on technical capabilities rather than end use of the spacecraft, removing and replacing 

confusing criteria concerning integrated propulsion and attitude control, adding 

thresholds for the controls on electric propulsion systems, and clarifying various 

ambiguities. The new rules took effect January 15, 2017.

During FY 2017, NOAA continued its efforts to support the development of a 

viable commercial market for satellite-based weather data. In January 2017, the 

NOAA Satellite and Information Service (NESDIS) published the final version 

of its Commercial Space Activities Assessment Process. The document establishes 

a process by which NESDIS will assess and pursue commercial opportunities to 

support NOAA’s space-based observational information requirements. In summer 2017, NOAA held an industry day and collected public comments on a draft 

Request for Proposals for the forthcoming Round 2 of its Commercial Weather 

Data Pilot (CWDP). As a follow-up to the CWDP Round 1 pilot contracts for the 
98Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

procurement and evaluation of radio occultation data, Round 2 extends the work 

of the CWDP to incorporate additional operational-like requirements for a second 

round of radio occultation data procurement and evaluation.

During FY 2017, DOC continued to participate in the national management 

of the Global Positioning System (GPS) as a member of the National Executive 

Committee for Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing, the senior body 

that advises and coordinates Federal agencies on GPS matters. DOC continued to 

host the physical offices of the committee as well as the GPS.gov Web site (https://

www.gps.gov), which it redesigned to improve usability and customer experience.

During FY 2017, DOC participated in various dialogues on satellite navigation 

and space cooperation with other service providers, including Europe and Japan. 

DOC continued to work with the European Commission on a proposed waiver 

of the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) licensing requirement for 

Europe’s Galileo satellite navigation system. In January 2017, the FCC issued a 

public notice and solicited comments on this matter. DOC also participated in a 

series of meetings with the European Union (EU) (led by the State Department) 

to negotiate possible U.S. access to Galileo’s Public Regulated Service (PRS). DOC 

hosted one of these meetings in Washington in January 2017.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

In FY 2017, NOAA’s satellites remained as critical as ever, monitoring the severe 

drought and wildfires in the West; hurricanes along the Gulf and East Coasts, as 

well as in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands; and one of the hottest days on record 

in the American Southwest. Twenty-four-hour global coverage from NOAA’s satellites provides scientists and managers with a continuous stream of information 

used in preparation for events impacting our weather, oceans, and climate. NOAA 

manages and operates four primary types of environmental satellites: geostationary 

environmental satellites, polar-orbiting environmental satellites, ocean altimetry 

satellites, and a deep space satellite for space weather monitoring and forecasting.
99Department of Commerce

NOAA’s Geostationary Satellites

Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) satellites continuously monitor the Western Hemisphere by circling Earth in a geosynchronous orbit 

22,000 miles above the equator, meaning they remain over one position on the 

surface by orbiting at a speed matching that of Earth’s rotation. GOES imagery and 

data help meteorologists with forecasting weather in the short term, tracking severe 

storms, and estimating precipitation for issuing winter storm warnings and spring 

snow-melt advisories. In FY 2017, GOES-15 flew at 135° west longitude and served 

as “GOES-West,” while GOES-13 flew at 75° west and served as “GOES-East.” 

The newest generation of GOES satellite, GOES-16, was successfully launched at 

6:42 p.m. eastern time on November 19, 2016. Declared operational on December 

18, 2017, GOES-16 continues 40 years of GOES coverage, as this satellite is more 

advanced than any other weather satellite of its kind and provides more detailed 

and accurate data for forecasters.

NOAA’s Polar-Orbiting Satellites

NOAA’s primary polar-orbiting environmental satellites, Polar-orbiting 

Operational Environmental Satellites (POES) and Suomi National Polar-orbiting 

Partnership (Suomi NPP), orbit Earth at an altitude of approximately 517 miles, 

passing close to both poles and providing complete views of weather around the 

world. POES provides full global coverage with advanced sensors for weather and 

climate data, collecting information on temperature, atmospheric conditions, wind 

speed, cloud formation, and drought conditions over the entire Earth. All major 

numerical weather prediction (NWP) centers around the world use this information as the basis of nearly every medium-term weather forecast. The Suomi NPP 

satellite remained NOAA’s primary operational polar-orbiting satellite. Suomi NPP 

is a joint NOAA-NASA mission and serves as a bridge between NOAA’s current fleet of polar-orbiting satellites and the upcoming next-generation Joint Polar 

Satellite System (JPSS), which launched in November 2017.

The Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate 

(COSMIC) constellation provides precision radio occultation (RO) soundings to 
100Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

support improved numerical weather prediction model forecasts. The project is 

a partnership between the National Space Organization (NSPO) of Taiwan and 

the United States. Over its lifetime, COSMIC has proven to be an extremely 

cost-effective way to gather an abundance of atmospheric data, including threedimensional profiles of temperature, humidity, and pressure. Due to the success 

of the COSMIC program, the follow-on advanced COSMIC-2/FORMOSAT-7 

mission is being developed between the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) and 

the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States 

(TECRO), for which NOAA is AIT’s designated representative and NSPO is 

TECRO’s designated representative. During 2017, the teams began preparing the 

six COSMIC-2/FORMOSAT-7 satellites for launch into an equatorial orbit as part 

of the U.S. Air Force Space Test Program 2 (STP-2) mission in 2018. The NOAA 

ground system is ready to support data acquisition, and processing the advanced 

technology of COSMIC-2/FORMOSAT-7 is expected to improve forecasts of tropical winds.

NOAA’s Ocean Altimetry Satellite

Jason-3, an international satellite mission jointly led by NOAA, the European 

Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), 

NASA, and the French space agency (Centre National d’Études Spatiales [CNES]), 

is the fourth in a series of U.S.-European satellite altimeter missions designed to 

measure the sea surface height variability of the global ocean. Initially, the satellite 

flew in tandem with its predecessor, Jason-2, 830 miles above Earth’s surface, collecting comparable measurements of sea surface height down to the subcentimeter 

level. Then, in mid-October 2016, Jason-2 was moved so that its ground track now 

“interleaves” with that of Jason-3. The result is a doubling of the Jason satellites’ 

observations of the ocean. Now, with twice the coverage, the Jason mission is providing more accurate coverage of ocean conditions and will improve the intensity 

forecasts during the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season.
101 Department of Commerce

NOAA’s Space Weather Satellites

Launched in February 2015, the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) 

mission is NOAA’s first operational deep space mission. The satellite has become 

America’s primary warning system for solar magnetic storms and solar wind data 

while giving Earth scientists a unique vantage point for studies of the planet’s atmosphere and climate. Without timely and accurate warnings, space weather events, 

like the geomagnetic storms caused by changes in solar wind, have the potential 

to disrupt nearly every major public infrastructure system, including power grids, 

telecommunications, aviation, and GPS. Once fully calibrated and validated, 

DSCOVR succeeded NASA’s Advanced Composition Explorer’s (ACE) role in 

supporting solar wind alerts and warnings from the L1 orbit, the neutral gravity 

point between Earth and the sun approximately one million miles from Earth.

NOAA’s Additional Space-Based Capabilities

NOAA, together with international partners, flew two other types of instruments on some of its satellites. Argos is a data collection and location relay system 

administered under an agreement between NOAA and CNES initiated in 1974. 

CNES provides sensors that collect a wide variety of in situ measurements, including data on atmospheric pressure, sea temperature, ocean-current velocity, animal 

migration patterns, and river water levels. The Search and Rescue Satellite-Aided 

Tracking system (COSPAS-SARSAT) is an international system that uses satellites 

to locate emergency beacons carried by ships, aircraft, or individuals and communicate location information to search-and-rescue authorities. The system has 

rescued over 41,000 people worldwide since 1982. NOAA provides space on its 

polar-orbiting satellites for the French processor and Canadian receiver.

Another capability lies in NOAA’s partnership with the Japan Aerospace 

Exploration Agency (JAXA) on the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 

(AMSR). The AMSR2 on board the JAXA Global Change Observation Mission–

Water (GCOM-W) satellite is a remote sensing instrument for measuring weak 

microwave emission from the surface and the atmosphere of Earth. NOAA provides 

ground data acquisition for GCOM-W in exchange for access to AMSR2 data. 
102Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

From about 700 kilometers above Earth, AMSR2 provides us with highly accurate 

measurements of the intensity of microwave emission and scattering. The antenna 

of AMSR2 rotates once per 1.5 seconds and obtains data over a 1,450-kilometer 

swath. This conical scan mechanism enables AMSR2 to acquire a set of daytime 

and nighttime data with more than 99 percent coverage of Earth every two days.

International Activities

In preparation for operationalization of GOES-16 in the GOES East position, 

NESDIS started the GOES Rebroadcast (GRB) Users Group to aid current users of 

NOAA’s GOES satellite ground receiving stations in the transition to the new generation of ground receiving stations, the GRB stations. The group also promotes 

the use of other ways to receive GOES-16 data, such as GEONETCast Americas.

The GOES-R team has started the GOES-R International Training Working 

Group (GITWG). The purpose of the group is to coordinate and organize trainings 

in North, Central, and South America and the Caribbean on the use of the data 

from the GOES-R series satellites. The group has developed contacts with other 

training partner organizations, a process for reviewing training requests, a calendar of trainings planned by other organizations, and a tentative training schedule 

for 2018.

NOAA continued to expand our collaboration with EUMETSAT with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on January 11, 2017, to receive Sentinel-3A 

data. NOAA contributed to the validation of these datasets by participating on 

the Sentinel-3 Validation Team and leveraging in situ observations from NOAA’s 

Marine Optical BuoY (MOBY) for Sentinel-3 calibration efforts.

NOAA will evaluate commercial data to demonstrate the quality of the data and 

its impact on weather forecast models and to inform NOAA’s process for ingesting, 

evaluating, and utilizing commercial data in the future. Based on the findings of 

recent market research and Federal Acquisition Regulation processes (e.g., Requests 

for Information), NOAA has selected GNSS radio occultation (GNSS-RO) as the 

most suitable data type for the CWDP.
103 Department of Commerce

National Institute of Standards and Technology

In FY 2017, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) continued to provide the aerospace industry, academia, and Federal agencies with 

the research, standards, products, services, and guidance needed to advance the 

President’s aeronautics and space agenda. These wide-ranging NIST outputs are 

grouped into four main categories: 1) measurements to support aerospace manufacturing, 2) measurements to support the aerospace industry and space exploration, 

3) technology developments to support the aerospace industry and space exploration, and 4) calibrations of satellite sensors.

NIST Measurements to Support Aerospace Manufacturing

In FY 2017, NIST used measurement expertise in mass, force, networking, and 

other areas to partner with Boeing, Honeywell Aerospace, Lockheed Martin, 

Northrop Grumman, General Electric Aviation, Rolls-Royce, United Technologies 

Aerospace, Spirit Aerospace, and others in addressing the measurement needs of 

aerospace manufacturing companies. To meet these needs, NIST

• identified technical issues and requirements definitions for industrial 

wireless networking, cybersecurity in manufacturing environments, and 

prognostics for manufacturing systems;

• engaged with the FAA, DOD, and NASA to identify proposed approaches 

for qualification and certification of additive manufacturing materials, 

processes, and parts;

• collaborated with members of the Additive Manufacturing Consortium 

(AMC) and with manufacturers of aerospace components to conduct 

round-robin testing and determine the mechanical properties of parts 

made from Inconel 625 aerospace alloy;

• contributed as expert panel member for 2017 industry workshop 

titled “Realizing Gas Turbine Performance Goals Through Advanced 

Manufacturing” to address the advances, challenges, and certification 

issues associated with additive manufacturing for advanced gas turbines 

used in aircraft, aerospace, and power generation;
104Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

• researched the processing of materials during additive manufacturing to 

enable the attainment of consistent, homogeneous, and optimal properties in additive manufactured parts;

• discussed technology advancements and new standards relevant to aircraft manufacturing and sustainment at the 2017 Aircraft Airworthiness 

and Sustainment (AA&S) Conference; and

• performed measurements to enable new capabilities for collaborative 

robotics.

In the first three quarters of FY 2017, the NIST Manufacturing Extension 

Partnership (MEP) engaged in 167 projects with 110 individual manufacturing 

companies designated with an aerospace North American Industry Classification 

System number (NAICS 3364). The MEP post-project, follow-up survey of aerospace NAICS companies revealed that MEP services resulted in the creation or 

retention of 3,929 aerospace jobs, over $235 million in new and retained sales, over 

$137 million in new investment, and $104 million in cost savings.

NIST Measurements to Support the Aerospace Industry and Space Exploration

In FY 2017, NIST supported the aerospace industry and relevant Government 

agencies across various programs by providing measurements, calibration services, 

and research traceable to international standards, where NIST

• worked with DOD and Boeing to develop calibration methodologies and 

facilities for laser-scanner systems used for the accurate dimensional measurements of aircraft components;

• worked with the U.S. Air Force to modify existing laser tracker documentary standards to include NIST-developed field test procedures to reduce 

the cost of utilizing laser trackers;

• provided air-speed measurement calibrations of anemometers used at airports, on aircraft, and in wind tunnels;

• prepared a new release of the online NIST Atomic Spectra Database, 

used by astrophysicists and astronomers for the calibration of equipment 

searching for exoplanets;
105 Department of Commerce

• utilized the NIST Van de Graaff accelerator with SolAero Technologies 

Corporation to “space qualify” solar cells by irradiating them with the 

equivalent number of electrons that the cells would experience in several 

decades of Earth orbit; NIST and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center 

(GSFC) also used high-energy electron beam radiation to test components destined for the Interstellar Mapping Probe (IMAP), Europa Deep 

Geophysical Explorer (EDGE), and Europa Clipper missions;

• tested the performance of a micro-cryocooler system developed at the Jet 

Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for the Mapping Imaging Spectrometer for 

Europa (MISE) mission in a high-energy radiation environment;

• started a new effort to revise the U.S. Coordinate Measuring Machine 

(CMM) documentary standard to meet the needs of Boeing and other 

large precision component manufacturers; Boeing metrologists have 

requested that NIST revise the current U.S. standard to incorporate testing procedures for larger CMMs, which are becoming more frequently 

utilized in the aerospace industry;

• continued to support NASA in the development of its MaterialsLab 

microgravity materials science program for materials experiments aboard 

the International Space Station; for more information, see https://www.

nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/news/materialslab; and

• presented the NASA-NIST MaterialsLab collaboration to the National 

Academies Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences Boards for 

Aeronautics and Space Studies’ “Midterm Assessment of Implementation 

of the Decadal Survey on Life and Physical Sciences Research at 

NASA” project, April 18, 2017 (see http://www8.nationalacademies.org/cp/

meetingview.aspx?MeetingID=9265&MeetingNo=3).

NIST, members of the aerospace field (Thermacore, Marshall Space Flight 

Center, and the Air Force Academy), and members of academia (the University 

of Tennessee, the University of Missouri, and Michigan Technology University) 

used unique NIST neutron facility resources to perform measurements on several aerospace-related systems, including cryogenic liquid propellants critical for 

understanding long-term microgravity storage of cryogens, and proton-exchange 

membrane fuel cells.
106Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

NIST Technology Developments to Support the Aerospace Industry and 

Space Exploration

In FY 2017, NIST collaborated with NASA and NASA-related entities such as 

GSFC; JPL; the Space Science Laboratory; and Sensor Sciences, LLC, on a diverse 

set of projects for developing detectors used in space applications. To reach project 

goals, NIST

• designed and fabricated nanotextured gallium nitride (GaN) and GaN 

nanowires to serve as photo-cathode films for space-based photodetection;

• created superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) 

optimized for ultraviolet light detection at 370 nanometers;

• generated superconducting transition-edge sensor (TES) polarimeters to 

provide the most-sensitive measurements of cosmic microwave background 

(CMB) polarization to date and for incorporation into the balloon-borne 

instrument SPIDER;

• fabricated NIST-developed Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detectors 

(MKIDs) to measure electromagnetic signals from millimeter waves 

to x-rays and for deployment in the Balloon-borne Large-Aperture 

Submillimeter Telescope–The Next Generation (BLAST-TNG);

• disseminated Superconducting Quantum Interference Devices (SQUIDs) 

and SQUID-based multiplexers to multiple researchers and used the 

related detector expertise to develop magnetic micro-calorimeters; and

• developed precision microchannel plate detectors using novel cross-strip 

anode readouts, relevant for neutron imaging and in x-ray telescopes that 

peer into space.

Also in FY 2017, NIST supported the European Space Agency’s Atomic Clock 

Ensemble in Space (ACES) and Space Optical Clock (SOC) programs by continuing preparations to host a Microwave Link Ground Terminal and participating in 

microwave link time and frequency transfers.

NIST worked with GSFC by using NIST-developed infrared interferometry 

methods to characterize and certify critical imaging parts of NASA’s Wide Field 

Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST), which was designed to investigate the distribution and evolution of dark energy and dark matter in the universe.
107 Department of Commerce

NIST collaborated with the University of Texas at Austin on a NASA-funded 

project to improve the performance of immersed silicon diffraction gratings for a 

new generation of compact satellite-based spectrometers used in the analysis of 

remote stars, interstellar gases, and extrasolar planets.

NIST partnered with the University of Colorado Laboratory for Atmospheric 

and Space Physics (LASP) and NASA to develop and fabricate a Carbon Nanotube Electrical Substitution Radiometer (CNT ESR) for the Compact Solar 

Irradiance Monitor (CSIM) instrument (scheduled for launch in June 2018) and 

the Carbon Absolute Electrical Substitution Radiometer (CAESR) for a future 

CubeSat mission.

NIST collaborated with the Air Force Services Division (SVD) to transfer frequency comb technology from NIST to the Air Force for incorporation into their 

next-generation compact optical clock. NIST also collaborated with the Air Force 

Laboratory and their contractors to transfer the technique of comb-based optical 

time-frequency transfer that could be potentially used in the future to provide 

optical cross-links for the next-generation GPS satellite system.

NIST Calibrations of Satellite Sensors

In FY 2017, NIST continued to provide calibration measurements, services, and 

support for multiple space-related programs. The satellite systems relied on unique 

measurement expertise, where NIST

• provided calibration support for sensors within the satellite missions JPSS 

and GOES-R, with NIST transferring its calibration technology to GSFC 

and LASP;

• utilized the NIST Synchrotron Ultraviolet Radiation Facility (SURF) III 

to support the calibration of the Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) Variability 

Experiment (EVE) aboard NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory; the 

EUV and X-ray Irradiance Sensor (EXIS) for NOAA’s GOES-S, -T, 

and -U satellite missions; and the Miniature X-ray Solar Spectrometer 

(MinXSS) nanosatellite;
108Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

• performed measurements of the amount of light from the moon and sun to 

enable the moon to serve as a calibration source for satellite sensors while 

in Earth orbit;

• calibrated MOBY, which is in turn used in the calibration of satellite sensors for ocean-color measurements, and worked with NOAA to 

improve measurement variability and uncertainty as part of the MOBY 

Refresh effort;

• utilized the NIST-developed Missile Defense Transfer Radiometer 

(MDXR) to perform calibrations for infrared remote sensors used by the 

Missile Defense Agency;

• calibrated optical apertures for the NASA Total and Spectral Solar 

Irradiance Sensor (TSIS), which is used aboard the ISS to measure solar 

power per unit area that reaches Earth; and

• continued to develop versions of the NIST Spectral Irradiance and 

Radiance Responsivity Calibrations using Uniform Sources (SIRCUS) 

facility, which provides tunable, powerful, and uniform irradiance to calibrate satellite sensors, with both GSFC and LASP.

International Trade Administration

Industry and Trade Policy

The Office of Transportation and Machinery (OTM) continues to pursue 

multiple paths to promote exports of products and services that support the Next 

Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). OTM created and published 

an online NextGen Solutions Vendors Guide to help foreign customers identify U.S. companies who can provide products that meet the requirements of 

the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) Aviation System Block 

Upgrade (ASBU) technology roadmaps. The Guide currently is being transferred 

to the Salesforce platform, which will enable a more customer-friendly interface 

and provide end-to-end tracking and communication between vendors, customers, 

and relevant International Trade Administration (ITA) staff.
109 Department of Commerce

OTM participates in the World Air Traffic Management (ATM) Congress in 

Madrid, Spain, and has worked with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), 

industry, and the Air Traffic Control Association (ATCA) to emphasize U.S. 

technical capabilities to the global audience that attends. The Congress represents 

an opportunity to learn about the specific air navigation procurement needs of 

specific countries, to counsel individual companies on NextGen-related prospects 

as well as the Department of Commerce services, and to recruit participants for the 

NextGen Solutions Vendors Guide and potential applicants to the Industry Trade 

Advisory Committee on Aerospace Equipment (ITAC 1). OTM has been working 

with ATCA to more fully engage Commerce resources. To that end, ATCA applied 

for and received trade fair certification for the 2018 World ATM Congress.

Additionally, OTM worked with the FAA, the Transportation Security 

Administration (TSA), and the State Department in preparation for the 39th 

ICAO Assembly in September 2016, providing the ITA perspective on aviation 

safety, aviation security, air-navigation policy and procurement, and the economics 

of air transportation. ICAO had formally endorsed the ASBU roadmaps at the previous Assembly. OTM also supported the visit by Fang Liu, the Director General of 

ICAO, to meet with Assistant Secretary Jadotte and promote ICAO’s No Country 

Left Behind initiative.

OTM also participated in the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems 

International (AUVSI) XPONENTIAL 2017 Conference to engage with 

Government, academic, and industry stakeholders within the UAS community, 

to learn more about the projected market for UAS, to hear about the latest roadmaps for the technology, and to recruit participants for the ITAC 1. Specifically, 

OTM cultivated contacts with various state business development offices at 

XPONENTIAL 2017, with particular emphasis on the regions represented in the 

FAA’s six UAS test sites. Moreover, OTM visited the FAA UAS test sites in New 

York and Texas to evaluate both sites in terms of export potential of the local 

industry as well as the attractiveness of the regions for foreign investors. As well, 

OTM organized a UAS industry roundtable in November 2016 to inform stakeholders of Commerce equities in UAS (such as participation in the interagency 

UAS Executive Committee) and provide a forum for industry to discuss challenges 

the UAS sector currently faces.
110Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

OTM continued to implement a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with 

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) to share data and aerospace information and to promote the competitiveness, sustainability, and innovation of the 

U.S. aerospace manufacturing industry. The MOA includes an addendum detailing 

a virtual research partnership program in which ERAU-Worldwide students will 

research topics suggested by ITA.

Throughout the year, OTM organized and led four meetings of ITAC  1. 

The committee provides advice to the Secretary of Commerce and U.S. Trade 

Representative on aerospace-related trade policy issues.

ITA continues to support the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on issues 

relating to the enforcement of U.S. rights under the World Trade Organization 

concerning trade in civil aircraft. In particular, OTM provided support in the 

ongoing U.S.-EU trade dispute over subsidies to manufacturers of large civil aircraft, providing industry expertise in areas relating to changes in the market and 

actions of the major stakeholders.

ITA’s OTM and Office of Finance and Insurance Industries (OFII) continued 

to participate in the Group on the Sector Understanding on Export Credits for 

Civil Aircraft (the “Aircraft Sector Understanding” or ASU) at the Organization 

for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The governments of almost 

all countries with major aircraft manufacturers are signatories to the ASU, an 

annex to the OECD Arrangement on Officially Supported Export Credits, which 

establishes rules for export credit agencies. The OECD rules aim to ensure that 

Government-provided export financing is not a competitive factor in civil-aircraft 

sales competitions. Industry feedback and available data on the usage of the latest version of the ASU, which was finalized in 2011, suggest that the agreement 

is working as intended, although financing levels declined significantly due to 

unrelated disruptions in both U.S. and European export credit support for aircraft 

exports. As a member of the U.S. delegation, ITA helped ensure that the interests 

of industry were addressed as the 2011 ASU was negotiated and continues to monitor implementation. ITA also provided advice on the importance of Export-Import 

(Ex-Im) Bank programs to the aerospace industry and its supply chain.

ITA and NOAA continued their active participation in the implementation of the current National Space Policies, which include industrial base and 
111 Department of Commerce

competitiveness issues. ITA’s OTM actively participated in the implementation of 

several actions that were identified in the June 2010 National Space Policy, which 

revised and updated several aspects of the previous policies. In order to ensure that 

commercial interests continue to be adequately addressed, OTM and NOAA continued to ensure that all of the policies’ implementation actions will improve U.S. 

industry’s competitiveness, stimulate the American economy, increase exports, and 

create U.S. jobs.

NOAA, ITA, and the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) supported the 

inaugural meeting and activities of the reconstituted National Space Council. 

Secretary Wilbur Ross participated in the meeting.

OTM continues to represent commercial remote sensing satellite industry interests within the Remote Sensing Interagency Working Group (RSIWG), led by the 

State Department. The RSIWG coordinates policy for the export of commercial 

remote sensing satellite systems and negotiates government-to-government agreements that address the safeguarding of those systems’ technology. The RSIWG 

consulted with several foreign countries on satellite cooperation and met with 

industry representatives to understand the impact on related businesses.

ITA continued to play an important role in promoting U.S. aerospace trade 

interests as the industry faced mounting competition from abroad. ITA participated 

in and organized trade events and provided advocacy to support U.S. companies 

in international aerospace competitions, including commercial sales for aircraft, 

helicopters, airport construction, communications, remote sensing satellites, commercial projects, and air traffic management projects.

In June 2017, ITA organized and supported the Commerce Department’s participation in the Paris Air Show and arranged senior-level meetings for the Assistant 

Secretary for Industry and Analysis with foreign government and industry officials 

as well as U.S. industry executives. ITA/OTM met with numerous U.S. and foreign 

government and industry officials to discuss ongoing policy issues impacting the 

competitiveness of U.S. industry.
112Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

Industry and Trade Promotion

ITA’s Global Aerospace & Defense Team recorded approximately 547 Written 

Impact Narratives (WINs) in FY 2017. A WIN is a new organizational metric that 

showcases ITA’s contribution to a company’s success. These include ITA- and particularly Commercial Service (CS) personnel–impacted deals with small- and mediumsized companies, as well as larger corporations such as Bell Helicopter, Boeing, 

General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, and United Technologies Corporation.

The Global Team held over 1,541 counseling sessions with U.S. aerospace companies, helping them to resolve international trade issues, identify new export 

markets, and develop strategies for entering those markets.

The Global Team participated in over 35 domestic and international aerospace 

trade events at which team members supported U.S. industry with one-on-one 

counseling sessions, arranged individualized business-to-business meetings with 

international business partners, and provided additional export counseling services. ITA trade show support generated hundreds of trade leads for participating 

companies, allowing them to enter or expand their exports to international markets. These international trade events included the Avalon Air Show, the Paris Air 

Show, the International Defense Exhibition (IDEX), the Aircraft Interior Show, 

and the Japan Air Show, among others.

Bureau of Industry and Security

BIS continued to support the U.S. Munitions List/Commerce Control List 

efforts as they relate to spacecraft. During this fiscal year, BIS worked with industry and the interagency Space Working Group on identifying changes to the 

current regulations on spacecraft and related items. Updates to the regulations 

covering controls on certain remote sensing satellites, integrated propulsion, and 

plasma thrusters became final in January 2017. These updates were several years 

in the making and are greatly appreciated by industry. In particular, the changes 

to add certain remote sensing satellites and satellite thrusters to the regulations 

helped level the playing field for U.S. industry to compete with foreign industry 

in remote sensing. BIS also participated in the Transportation Technical Advisory 

Committee discussions, which include aerospace-related topics.
113 Department of the Interior

Department of the

DOI

Remotely sensed data and derived information contribute significantly to 

mission-critical work across the Department of the Interior (DOI). This DOI section highlights a sample of DOI remote sensing applications and illustrates a range 

of technology, platforms, and specialized sensors employed.

U.S. Geological Survey

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is both a user and a provider of remotely 

sensed data. The USGS manages the Landsat satellite series and a Web-enabled 

archive of global Landsat imagery dating back to 1972. Landsat represents the 

world’s longest continuously acquired collection of space-based moderate-resolution 

land remote sensing data, and the entire archive became available for download 

at no charge in December 2008. The USGS also distributes aerial photography 

through the National Map and archives and distributes historical aerial photography, light detection and ranging (lidar) data, declassified imagery, hyperspectral 

imagery, data collected by Unmanned Aircraft Systems, and imagery from a variety of Government, foreign, and commercial satellites. These data are used for a 

wide variety of applications, such as mineral resource development; monitoring 

the health of U.S. and global ecosystems; land-use change; emergency response; 

and assessments of natural hazards such as fires, hurricanes, earthquakes, droughts, 

and floods.
114Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

3D Elevation Program Status

On behalf of the broad partner and user community, the USGS is managing the 

3D Elevation Program (3DEP) with the goal to complete nationwide coverage of light 

detection and ranging (lidar) data in CONUS and the territories and Interferometric 

Synthetic Aperture Radar (IfSAR) data in Alaska by 2023. Investments in the 

program continue to grow under the leadership of the interagency 3DEP Executive 

Forum and Working Group, which respectively coordinate the strategic direction 

and operational implementation of the program through the participation of 16 

Federal agencies. At the end of FY 2017, 37 percent of the Nation had 3DEP-quality 

data available or in work. 3DEP is based on the National Enhanced Elevation 

Assessment to provide a return on investment of 5:1 and to conservatively provide 

new benefits of $690 million per year with the potential to generate $13 billion per 

year in new benefits through applications that span the economy. 3DEP data support 

a broad range of nationally significant applications, including flood risk management, infrastructure construction and management, critical minerals exploration, 

landslides and other hazards mitigation and response, and more.

This map shows the 3D Elevation Program’s FY 2017 Partnerships.
115 Department of the Interior

Alaska Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar Elevation Data Status

The USGS is leading efforts to coordinate with other Federal agency partners 

and the state of Alaska to acquire new Alaska elevation data statewide using remote 

sensing techniques. Under its Geospatial Products and Services Contract (GPSC), 

the USGS is contracting with vendors to acquire five-meter-resolution elevation 

data using IfSAR sensors flown on aircraft. Deliveries include a Digital Terrain 

Model (DTM) representing the bare earth, a Digital Surface Model (DSM) representing the tops of vegetation and structures, and an orthorectified radar intensity 

image (ORI). The new data are replacing decades-old 60-meter-resolution elevation 

data that have known vertical and horizontal errors. By the end of 2017, 92 percent 

of statewide IfSAR coverage was available or in work. Some of the Alaska IfSAR 

coverage, specifically over the National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska (NPRA), was 

collected under slightly different specifications prior to the current effort, which 

began in 2010. The USGS hopes to complete IfSAR collection by 2020, including 

an update of the legacy NPRA data. IfSAR data are being used in a wide variety of 

mapping, resource management, and human safety applications. A recent literature 

search discovered dozens of scientific journal articles that cite the use of the new 

data. The new elevation data also serve as a foundational layer for new USGS US 

Topo digital topographic maps that are being generated statewide for Alaska as the 

new elevation data become available. These Alaska mapping efforts are coordinated through the Alaska Mapping Executive Committee (AMEC), an executive 

body cochaired by the Department of the Interior and the Department of Defense. 

AMEC members represent a large number of Federal agencies and the state. Alaska 

IfSAR elevation data can be downloaded through the USGS National Map data 

download service at https://viewer.nationalmap.gov/basic/.

Automated Identification and Mapping of Minerals and Vegetation

An algorithm for the automated analysis of multispectral remote sensing data 

acquired by the Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) sensor has been developed that can efficiently identify surface occurrences of iron sulfate minerals. The 

algorithm combines thresholded band ratio results into displayed mineral and 
116Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

vegetation groups using Boolean algebra. New analysis logic has been implemented 

to exploit the coastal aerosol band in Landsat 8 OLI data and identify concentrations of iron sulfate minerals that may indicate the presence of near-surface pyrite 

that can be a potential nonpoint source of acid rock drainage. Using this technique in areas adjacent to and down gradient of known sources of pyrite produced 

maps of zoned iron sulfate minerals that show high correlation with occurrences 

of jarosite-bearing mineral assemblages mapped using airborne imaging spectrometer data and supporting field verification surveys. Mapping the occurrence of 

iron sulfate minerals (after pyrite) in exposed hydrothermally altered rocks can 

provide an important indicator of the genetic environment of the alteration and 

associated mineral deposit type, particularly for advanced argillic alteration. Highly 

pyritic exposures of quartz-sericite-pyrite (QSP, or phyllic) alteration can be readily 

identified and differentiated from argillically altered rocks that are low in pyrite. 

The automated analysis methodology will be published in a USGS Scientific 

Investigations Report and is being employed to rapidly and cost-effectively generate maps of large regions of the United States in support of USGS mineral resource 

and mineral-environmental assessments.

The maps generated from the analysis of Landsat 8 data are most effective 

when used in conjunction with mineral maps derived from Advanced Spaceborne 

Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) data analysis in which 

diagnostic minerals associated with several types of hydrothermal alteration can be 

identified. ASTER-derived maps of surface minerals and green vegetation covering 

the western United States were published recently in a USGS Data Release: https://

doi.org/10.5066/F7CR5RK7.

Barrier Island Habitat Mapping

Barrier islands are dynamic environments due to their position at the land-sea 

interface. Storms, waves, tides, currents, and relative sea-level rise are powerful 

forces that shape barrier island geomorphology and habitats (for example, beach, 

dune, marsh, and forest). Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the Deep Water Horizon 

oil spill in 2010 are two major events that have impacted habitats and natural 

resources on Dauphin Island, Alabama. The latter event prompted a collaborative 
117 Department of the Interior

project funded by the National Fish and Wildlife Federation that involves efforts by 

the state of Alabama, the USGS, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to evaluate the feasibility of various restoration alternatives and how specific alternatives 

might increase the resiliency and sustainability of Dauphin Island (http://www.nfwf.

org/gulf/Documents/al-dauphin-assessment-14.pdf).

This habitat map for the western two-thirds of Dauphin Island, Alabama, is from 2015.

In order to understand the feasibility and sustainability of various restoration 

scenarios, it is important to understand current conditions on Dauphin Island. To 

accomplish this, researchers at the USGS Wetland and Aquatic Research Center 

produced a detailed map of barrier island habitats on Dauphin Island by using 

object-based image analyses trained with a suite of environmental variables. These 

include tide data, topography, surface elevation, 1-foot aerial imagery, road data, 

salinity data, and lidar data that incorporate elevation uncertainty by using Monte 

Carlo simulation to estimate probability surfaces for intertidal areas and areas above 

extreme storm water levels. As part of this effort, we also conducted a survey of 

land-cover types, vegetation community, and elevations from mid-November 2015 

to mid-December 2015 along randomly placed transects at seven sites throughout 
118Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

the eastern half of the island. These products provide baseline data regarding the 

ecological and general geomorphological attributes of the area, which can be compared with observations from other dates for tracking changes over time. For more 

information, visit https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/ofr20171083.

California’s Water-Use Future Based on Scenarios of Land-Use Change

California’s water-use future is fraught with uncertainty, given growing demand 

and highly variable interannual water supplies. A broad suite of spatially explicit 

future land-use scenarios and their associated county-level water-use demand projected out to 2062 will be modeled using a state-and-transition simulation modeling 

approach. Scenarios have been developed by sampling from a 20-year record of 

historical (1992–2012) aerial photography data to generate low/high change scenarios for urbanization and agriculture as well as “lowest of the low” and “highest of 

the high” anthropogenic use. Current results indicate the greatest increased water 

demand in the highest-of-the-high land-use scenario at 9.4 billion cubic meters 

(Bm3), high agricultural expansion (+4.6 Bm3), and high urbanization (+2.1 Bm3) 

scenarios. Decreased water demand was projected in the lowest-of-the-low scenario 

(–8.3 Bm3) and decreased 0.8 Bm3 in the low-agriculture scenario. Results show 

that agricultural land-use decisions will likely drive future water demand more 

than increasing municipal and industrial uses, yet improved efficiencies across all 

sectors could lead to potential water use savings. Results provide water managers 

with information on diverging land-use and water-use futures, based on historical, observed land-change trends and water-use histories. For more information, 

see https://geography.wr.usgs.gov/LUCC/mediterranean_california_land_change_and_

water_use_projections.php.
119 Department of the Interior

Top panels: Mapped land-use projections (expressed as probabilities of conversion) for Mediterranean 

California for expansion of urban (left) and agricultural (right) areas are modeled for 2012–62 using 

40 Monte Carlo iterations for each of the following land-use scenarios: 1) Business As Usual (BAU), 

2) High Agriculture (HA), 3) Highest of the High (HH), 4) High Urban (HU), 5) Low Agriculture 

(LA), 6) Lowest of the Low (LL), and 7) Low Urban (LU). Mapped values represent a cumulative 

transition probability across all scenarios. Bottom panel: Projected change in land-use-related water 

demand is expressed in billions of cubic meters (Bm3) for each scenario, with variability across the 40 

Monte Carlo simulations shown in gray for the BAU scenario.
120Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

Global 30-Meter Cropland Extent Map for 2015

Climate variability and ballooning populations are putting unprecedented 

pressure on agricultural croplands and their water use, which are vital for ensuring global food and water security in the 21st century. In this context, there is 

a need to produce consistent and accurate global food security support-analysis 

data (GFSAD) at fine spatial resolution that are generated routinely (e.g., every 

year). Hence, the overarching goal of this project was to produce GFSAD models, 

maps, and monitoring tools using machine learning algorithms (MLAs) on cloud 

computing platforms with the ability to handle multi-sensor remotely sensed big 

data, leading to a comprehensive set of cropland, crop water-use, crop productivity, and crop water productivity products that ensure food security for all people 

globally. The outcome resulted in the first global 30-meter cropland extent product 

(https://croplands.org/app/map) derived using Landsat 8 16-day time-series data for 

the nominal year 2015. Overall accuracies in about 100 segments of the world 

were consistently higher than 90 percent, with producer’s accuracies typically 

higher than 85 percent and user’s accuracies typically higher than 80 percent. The 

study estimated global net cropland area (GNCA) of 1.872 billion hectares (about 

12.6 percent of Earth’s land area). Four countries—India, the United States, China, 

and Russia—together had 35 percent of GNCA. The methods described in this 

study produced 30-meter derived cropland areas for each country of the world as 

well as for subnational regions such as provinces, districts, and counties and were 

compared with the national agricultural statistics compiled by the United Nations 

Food and Agriculture Organization (UN FAO) and others. For more information, 

visit https://croplands.org/app/map.

Hyperspectral Microscopy of Harmful Algal Blooms

Cyanobacterial blooms in eutrophic inland waters are a worldwide concern. 

Simple and fast detection methods would greatly aid water managers in issuing 

proper warnings for harmful algae. Blooms are exacerbated by high nutrient inputs 

and warmer waters, and they have been appearing with increasing frequency in 

water bodies used for drinking water supply or recreation, a problem that will 
121 Department of the Interior

likely worsen as the climate warms. Cyanobacterial blooms are a nuisance for their 

unsightly surface scums and the production of taste-and-odor compounds, and 

some strains of cyanobacteria produce toxins that are hazardous to human and 

animal health. Remote sensing has been used to detect cyanobacterial blooms, 

but few studies have distinguished between genera of cyanobacteria. Because some 

genera are more likely to be toxic than others, this is a useful distinction. In this 

study, hyperspectral imaging reflectance microscopy was used to examine cyanobacteria from Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, at high spatial and spectral resolution 

to determine if two genera found commonly in the lake, Aphanizomenon flos-aquae

and Microcystis sp., can be separated spectrally. Of the analytical methods applied, 

a spectral shape algorithm applied to the derivative was found to be most successful 

in classifying genera in microscope scenes. For more information, visit https://egsc.

usgs.gov/PDS_HSImicro.html.

National Land Cover Database Design Completed

The USGS, working in partnership with the Federal interagency MultiResolution Land Characteristics (MRLC) Consortium, is developing the National 

Land Cover Database (NLCD) 2016. NLCD serves as the definitive Landsat-based, 

30-meter-pixel-resolution land-cover database for the Nation. NLCD 2016 will 

feature new products of labeled land-cover and fractional-cover products of urban 

imperviousness, tree canopy, shrub canopy, grass canopy, and bare ground. In addition, previous NLCD labeled land-cover releases from 2001, 2006, and 2011 will be 

reharmonized with NLCD 2016 to ensure that all products are spatially coherent 

and consistent among all four epochs for accurate capture of land-cover change 

across time. NLCD 2016 will represent the most accurate and detailed NLCD products ever delivered. NLCD data are being used in a wide variety of applications, 

including hazard mitigation, resource management, and human safety applications. 

A recent literature search discovered hundreds of scientific journal articles that 

cite the use of the previous NLCD data.

For more information on NLCD and to download NLCD data, including shrub 

and grassland products, visit http://www.mrlc.gov/.
122Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

Monitoring Changes to Crater Glacier at Mount St. Helens

The USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory utilizes oblique and vertical aerial 

photography to monitor topographic changes at the Mount St. Helens volcano. 

Annual photogrammetry surveys are conducted to create high-resolution (0.5–

1-meter) digital elevation models (DEMs) to monitor and measure changes within 

the crater that include setting and slumping of the 2004–08 lava dome, erosion of 

the crater walls, and advancement and volume change of Crater Glacier. Lava that 

erupted during the 2004–08 eruption severely deformed Crater Glacier, splitting 

it in two and pushing each arm northward until they joined again on the north 

side of the 1980–86 lava dome. Following the eruption, the glacier has continued 

to advance north each year. The glacier continues to gain volume, although at a 

decreasing rate from previous years. Elevation increase is most prominent in the 

south and at the toe of the glacier in the north. Elevation loss (thinning) and deep 

crevassing is most prominent in the glacier arms.

This image shows Crater Glacier elevation change from 2015 to 

2016 measured by differencing high-resolution DEMs created with 

photogrammetry.
123 Department of the Interior

Rapid Estimation of Snowpack Water Content

Record high precipitation over the winter of 2016–17 across the central and 

northern Sierra Nevada of California and Nevada resulted in flooding across the 

region. Silver Lake, a 3-square-kilometer lake surrounded by industrial and residential development in Reno, Nevada, began to experience a substantial rise in water 

level in March, requiring a rapid response from the Reno emergency management 

services. In late March, the USGS collaborated with the city of Reno and Washoe 

County emergency management services to produce a rapid assessment of stored 

snow water equivalent and potential runoff for the Lemmon Creek drainage above 

Silver Lake. The Lemmon Creek drainage was ungauged and uninstrumented, 

and no high-resolution snow-free DEM was available for use in a lidar-differencing 

approach for estimation of snow-cover height. Wind redistribution of snow cover 

and differences in incoming solar radiation resulted in variations in snow depth of 

up to 5 meters over short distances, complicating efforts to conduct a traditional 

snow survey to estimate stored snow water equivalent. On March 28, teams conducted a specialized snow survey optimized for estimation of snow depth using 

Landsat-derived mean annual snow-cover duration for 1984–2015 from the Landsat 

Snow Covered Area Science Data Product. Mean annual snow-cover duration calculated using Landsat data showed a strong correlation with measured snow depth, 

allowing spatially distributed snow depth to be estimated using the combination 

of measured snow depth values and mean annual snow-cover duration. Modeled 

snow depth was converted to snow water equivalent using density observations 

from the field and then constrained to pixels where snow cover was mapped from 

a WorldView-2 image acquired within 24 hours of the snow survey. The spatially 

distributed model of stored snow water equivalent was then used to provide an 

estimate of the anticipated rise in lake level for Silver Lake, allowing the city and 

county to take precautionary measures to prevent the lake from spilling over into 

structures adjacent to the lake. For more information, visit https://nevada.usgs.gov/

water/Flood2017/lemmonvalley.html.
124Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

Remote Sensing Support for DOI Burn Area Emergency Response Teams

Since 2003, the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) 

Center and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Remote Sensing Applications Center 

(RSAC) have jointly provided satellite-derived burn severity mapping products to 

meet the requirements of DOI and USFS Burn Area Emergency Response (BAER) 

teams. BAER teams are mandated to quickly (within two weeks) evaluate the 

effects of wildland fires and develop mitigation plans to safeguard valuable natural resources, protect human life and property, and promote landscape recovery. 

Derived from Landsat images, the soil burn severity map is a major resource used by 

the BAER teams to develop postfire hazard-mitigation prescriptions. Additionally, 

burn severity maps are provided to USGS Landslide Hazards staff to support ongoing debris flow modeling and prediction analyses associated with wildland fires.

The USGS EROS rapidly processes Landsat and other satellite imagery, enabling 

the timely generation of map products for large wildland fires on DOI-managed 

lands, generally less than two days after fire containment. These map products 

allow the BAER teams to better understand the patterns of burn severity and make 

more precise mitigation recommendations. Since 2003 and through the 2016 fire 

season, the USGS and USFS have mapped 1,759 wildfires representing 48.8 million burned acres in support of BAER and local DOI and USFS land managers.

In 2017, wildland fire activity on DOI-managed lands is expected to be extensive. By early June, the USGS EROS had responded to seven DOI requests for burn 

area mapping support, including the large 152,515-acre West Mims fire located in 

the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge (Georgia/

Florida). For more information, visit http://eros.usgs.gov/landscape-dynamics/

fire-science.

Tracking Land Subsidence

Multiple agencies in the San Diego area have the responsibility to effectively 

manage the water supply in this arid, urban, densely populated, coastal basin in 

Southern California. Recently, five additional groundwater production wells were 

constructed to increase the water supply; the new wells are scheduled to begin 
125 Department of the Interior

pumping in 2017. California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014 

(SGMA) provides a framework to comprehensively measure and manage groundwater. SGMA empowers local agencies to assess hydrologic conditions that can cause 

“undesirable results,” which include land subsidence resulting from compaction of 

unconsolidated aquifer systems caused by groundwater extraction. Therefore, as 

part of the overall water-management strategy, changes in land-surface elevation 

need to be regularly monitored to assess whether and where land subsidence may 

be occurring.

Shown are production wells, GPS and leveling survey locations, and an interferogram spanning 

June 1, 1998, to June 5, 2000, of the San Diego area, California. This interferogram indicates that 

about 35 millimeters of subsidence occurred near two previously existing production well clusters. 

Interferograms were used to help design terrestrial-based subsidence monitoring networks to track 

subsidence in the greater San Diego area.

The USGS, in cooperation with the city of San Diego and the Sweetwater 

Authority, designed GPS and leveling networks using existing and newly constructed benchmarks to measure land-surface elevation changes at regional and 

local scales that may occur as a result of groundwater production. As part of a 

suite of considerations, satellite-based Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar 

(IfSAR) measurements showing deformation caused by previously existing production wells were used to help guide the network design. A static GPS survey of 
126Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

14 benchmarks was combined with a first-order leveling survey of 20 benchmarks 

to obtain high-precision elevations to serve as baseline conditions for which to 

compare results of future surveys. The surveys will be augmented with IfSAR methods to provide spatially detailed maps of changes in land-surface elevations before 

and after the newly constructed wells begin producing groundwater, and to guide 

spatial and temporal logistics of future GPS and leveling surveys. This information will be useful to San Diego and the Sweetwater Authority in complying with 

SGMA while expanding water supplies. For more information, see https://ca.water.

usgs.gov/sandiego/.

Users, Uses, and Value of Landsat Imagery

Social scientists at the USGS Social and Economic Analysis (SEA) Branch 

of the Fort Collins Science Center in Colorado are leading a long-term study to 

help assess the uses and value of Landsat imagery. A series of surveys provides 

longitudinal data on how the users and uses of the imagery are changing over 

time in response to changes in the provision of the imagery. This analysis allows 

economists to explore the value and benefits of the imagery to a community of 

users. Multiple case studies focusing on the use and benefits of Landsat imagery 

in water, agriculture, forestry, and private-sector technological applications have 

been completed. These case studies provide context and depth, which complement 

the more quantitative survey data. In 2017, a report containing case studies on 

the use of Landsat in agriculture was published (https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/

ofr20171034). A Landsat user survey was also developed to assess current and future 

requirements, which will be used in the development of future Landsat satellites.

Wolf Movements and Pack Spacing in the High Arctic

The USGS is now partnering with Utah State University (USU) and the 

Department of the Environment in Nunavut (DEN) to investigate wolves’ (Canis 

lupus) movements and spacing in the high Arctic. This follows the USGS fiveyear study (summers 1986–2010) of the behavior of wolves habituated to humans 

on Ellesmere Island in northern Canada. Biologists from USU and DEN have 
127 Department of the Interior

been putting GPS collars on wolves on Ellesmere to study movements and spacing 

behavior year-round. The data are sent via satellite to Web sites used by all three 

agencies. Data have been obtained on wolf packs of up to 20 animals, and based 

on clusters of locations indicating lack of movement for one to two days, summer 

investigation of those sites have yielded information about prey killed, most often 

musk oxen (Ovibos muschatus). Some dispersal and other unusual travels of over 

250 kilometers have been observed, and information about wolf movements during 

the long period of 24-hour darkness over winter has been documented. These data 

are useful to agencies for understanding the habitats that wolves and their prey use, 

including their movements and their behavior in areas where coal and mineral 

exploration is being considered or is being carried out.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), in concert with its international, 

Federal, tribal, state, local, and nongovernmental organization partners, uses a 

large number of remote sensing technologies to find optimal solutions to monitor 

and manage fish and wildlife populations, habitats, waters, wetlands, and landscapes. The FWS utilizes acoustic geographic positioning systems and radio telemetry sensors on fish and wildlife for time and location information tied to a variety 

of remote sensing image products, such as aerial and satellite optical imagery, as 

well as thermal, radar, sonar, and lidar imagery. This time and geospatial system of 

imagery and location is used to map habitats, find invasive plants, determine flight 

paths of birds and bats, conduct fish and wildlife inventories, watch over refuge 

lands, and monitor trust species.

Aerial Migratory Bird Surveys Using Integrated Thermal/Visible 

Camera Imagery

Wildlife management agencies in North America have a long history of using 

aircraft to monitor population abundance of ducks, geese, swans, and other 

migratory birds. While low-level, ocular surveys have been very successful and 

cost-efficient, they subject agency personnel to substantial risk. Ocular surveys, 
128Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

involving multiple air crews and observers, must include methods to minimize or 

estimate important biases such as detection, misclassification, flock-size estimation, and sample area determination. The integration of airborne remote sensing 

as a primary data collection tool is of interest as a means of enhancing crew safety 

and reducing or standardizing survey biases. In 2016, FWS Region 3 partnered 

with a diverse team from Federal, university, and nongovernmental organizations 

to begin determining whether low-level ocular surveys of long-tailed ducks in Lake 

Michigan could be replaced with a photo survey alternative. A camera and direct 

georeferencing system consisting of an 80-megapixel metric grade aerial visible 

camera with a 70-millimeter lens, a mid-wave (three to five micrometers) cryocooled InSb thermal camera with a 50-millimeter lens, and an Applanix Inertial 

Navigation System was mounted in an FWS Region 3 Partenavia aircraft and used 

to conduct photo surveys at a variety of altitudes ranging from 61 to 600 meters 

above the water surface. Images were selected based on quality, annotated based 

on content (species, age, and sex of waterfowl, along with behavior), and used to 

train a deep Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) and a baseline (off-the-shelf) 

machine vision algorithm to recognize birds in four categories.

Results were extremely promising: the imagery collected was of high quality, 

making it easy to annotate many birds into the sex and behavior categories that 

the algorithms needed to recognize. Both the baseline machine vision and the 

CNN algorithms were successful at identifying most categories of long-tailed 

ducks, especially birds sitting on the water (81 percent and 89 percent identified, 

respectively). The CNN deep learning approach was more successful at identifying 

birds overall (63 percent versus 40 percent), especially in flight (55 percent versus 

1 percent). With the advances in airborne remote sensing technology and the rapid 

development in the field of artificial intelligence, the operational use of photo 

documentation and deep learning object recognition methods to survey pelagic 

waterbirds in systems as large as the Great Lakes is within reach.

This thermal and visible long-tailed duck imagery was collected during an 

experimental aerial pelagic survey of Lake Michigan in 2016. The top photos 

are mosaicked images with a close-up of visible and thermal signatures. The 

lower photos are a close-up of test images annotated with long-tailed duck sex/

behavior categories.
129 Department of the Interior

Alternative Fuel Models to Estimate Fire Behavior Patterns

Wildland fires are an important natural disturbance in semidesert grasslands, but 

they can pose a threat to natural resource values and private property. Predicting 

the spread and intensity of fires allows for the prioritization of areas to mitigate 

fuels and reduce fire hazard. Fire behavior models for grasslands fundamentally 

depend on topography, fire weather, and presumed fuel-bed conditions. National 

fuel model data products are available through Landscape Fire and Resource 

Management Planning Tools (LANDFIRE). LANDFIRE fuel models for the 

semidesert grasslands in Arizona typically assume low flammability of desert grasslands because of low to moderate fuel loads and connectivity. However, invasive 

plant dominance and increased fuel load on more productive sites suggest that 

alternative fuel models or adjustments are needed to accurately estimate grassland 

fire behavior over large landscapes. For this study, FWS scientists compared fire 

behavior model outputs developed from a conventional LANDFIRE standard fuel 

model with custom-derived fuel models developed from extensive vegetation plots, 

fine-fuel data, and high-resolution satellite data in Buenos Aires National Wildlife 

Refuge (BANWR) in southern Arizona.

To develop a custom fuel model, ground-based surveys were conducted to collect 

plant species composition, structure, and herbaceous plant biomass (fine fuels) for 

446 20-meter × 50-meter vegetation plots between 2012 and 2015. These data were 

coupled with seasonal WorldView-3 imagery (2015) and Landsat 8 imagery (2014, 

2015) from September (peak green) and November (senesced/dormant vegetation) in Random Forest (RF) and regression tree classifications to develop inputs 

needed for fuel models, including a plant life-form–based land cover map; fine 

fuels biomass (kilograms per hectare); and percent tree, woody, herbaceous, and 

bare-ground cover. Finally, the custom fuel model was created using the derived 

geospatial products in a multiple-criteria evaluation, which assigns fire characteristics to a specific fuel type as part of the 40 Scott and Burgan Fire Behavior Fuel 

Model types.

Researchers developed a comparison of fire risk using LANDFIRE 2014 fuel 

models and the derived 2015 custom fuel model for 20 random ignitions throughout the refuge. The custom-derived 2015 model predicts a more continuous fuel bed 
130Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

with higher biomass leading to a much higher risk of fire spread and hazard with 

1,766 hectares burning versus 61 hectares (p<.001). Fuel intensity was also higher 

using the 2015 custom fuel model. After a comparison of predicted fire intensity 

to fire severity classes for six fires occurring on the refuge in the last ten years, the 

magnitude of severity of burn for the custom-derived 2015 fuel model more closely 

matched what is detected in the normalized burn ratio of prefire and postfire imagery. Fire behavior estimated from custom-derived models also better represented 

conventional knowledge of fire activity on the refuge during 90th percentile fire 

weather conditions. Wildfires commonly burn between several hundred to a few 

thousand hectares during May and July each year. This indicates that the FWS 

custom model provides a more accurate estimate for semidesert fuel types and can 

be used by fire managers to more strategically target fuel reduction efforts to help 

mitigate hazardous conditions.

Improving Models of Animal Density Using Land-Surface Phenology and 

Cluster Data

Models of animal density commonly use coarse land-cover categories 

that homogenize vegetation attributes, thereby limiting specificity of results. 

Alternatively, models including land-surface phenology (LSP) metrics derived 

from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) imagery capture 

continuous data describing plant growth and senescence. LSP metrics may better 

discriminate between the vegetation conditions influencing species habitat and 

distribution. Additionally, applications modeling animal density often use clusters 

(i.e., groups of individuals) but omit differences in cluster sizes. Ignoring how cluster 

size varies with landscape characteristics risks misrepresenting the spatial distribution of a species’s density.

Using lesser prairie-chickens (LEPC; Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) as an example, 

FWS researchers integrated the spatial distributions of cluster density and cluster 

size with LSP metrics to better predict their density in Texas. The team modeled 

LEPC cluster density using hierarchical distance sampling and cluster size with 

zero-truncated generalized linear modeling. Variables included land-cover categories, LSP metrics, human infrastructure, and topography. Models incorporating 
131 Department of the Interior

LSP metrics received the most support and identified conservation areas that 

land-cover models missed in the northern portion of the Texas Panhandle. Cluster 

density correlated with LSP metrics, road density, oil and gas well density, topography, and grassland-to-shrubland ratio. Cluster size correlated with topography 

and LSP metrics. Omitting the spatial distribution of cluster size underestimated 

LEPC density.

This approach generates geospatial predictions for prioritizing LEPC protection 

and habitat restoration and evaluating impacts from development or phenological change. This study demonstrates the utility of integrating LSP metrics, cluster 

density, and cluster size for predicting species density across large and heterogeneous landscapes, and the results have been accepted for publication in the journal 

Remote Sensing of Environment.

Water Dynamics at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge

The Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, located west of Brigham City, Utah, 

where the Bear River terminates into the Great Salt Lake, is a critically important feeding, resting, and breeding area for many species of migratory water birds. 

Established by Congress in 1928 to help conserve and protect the once vast, productive marshes on the Bear River delta, the refuge today faces many challenges, 

including excess nutrients and sedimentation, invasive plants, and altered hydrology. Refuge staff members are currently drafting a habitat management plan that 

will provide management direction into the future.

To support ongoing planning efforts, understanding past hydrologic characteristics and patterns (i.e., when water is present on the landscape and how it is 

managed) is important, especially on a deltaic system such as Bear River. To better 

understand past water management, FWS scientists used the long-term Landsat 

archive to search for appropriate images that document the extent of water in 

spring (early to mid-May) and summer (August) for the 26-year time period 1990 

through 2016. While usable Landsat 5 data existed back to 1984, the refuge was 

completely submerged from 1984 to 1988, when the Great Salt Lake reached record 

levels before receding to more normal elevations. (Note: 2012 was not included due 

to lack of suitable Landsat 7 images during the time periods of interest.)
132Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

Images were located using the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) LandsatLook 

Viewer Web application. Upon review, suitable images were downloaded and areas 

of open water were extracted using band-specific criteria within ArcMap software. 

Individual raster grids by year showing areas of open water were combined into one 

composite image for spring and summer showing water availability. Various map 

products and summary statistics were compiled to help refuge staff better visualize 

which areas within the refuge (and surrounding landscape) are consistently wet 

(or dry) over this time period. Water frequency is one component of hydrology 

being correlated with measures of wetland productivity and use by water birds. In 

addition, water frequency data are also being used to understand ecological drivers 

directly related to the extent and spread of invasive plants (principally Phragmites 

australis) on the refuge. By understanding these relationships, refuge staff members 

are better positioned to make informed decisions now and into the future.

Waterfowl and Shorebird Habitat on Agricultural Lands

The western U.S. Gulf of Mexico coast provides important habitat for migrating 

waterfowl and shorebirds. The Gulf Coast Joint Venture (GCJV) uses bioenergetic models (i.e., models that incorporate species-specific population objectives, 

temporal residency, energy demand of birds, and foraging values of habitats) to 

translate fall-winter waterfowl population targets and summer-fall shorebird population targets into habitat objectives for this important region. These objectives are 

expected to represent landscape conditions needed to support desired population 

levels. GCJV scientists, in collaboration with geographers at the USGS Wetland 

and Aquatic Research Center, use remote sensing to conduct annual periodic 

assessments of waterfowl and shorebird habitat on flooded agricultural lands and 

moist-soil impoundments within the GCJV region. The assessments are conducted 

several times per year during important migration periods for each of these two bird 

guilds. Spectral indices derived from Landsat imagery, including the land-surface 

water index, the modified normalized water index, the enhanced normalized difference vegetation index, and the normalized difference built-up index, are used to 

classify bird habitats.
133 Department of the Interior

Assessments have been conducted for 2005 to the present and are used to help 

determine if regional habitat objectives are being met, while also providing insights 

into inter-annual and intra-annual variation in habitat. In addition, these data are 

used to assist with planning and assessment of conservation delivery practices. For 

example, the GCJV uses waterfowl habitat assessments to measure the contribution of the Texas Prairie Wetlands Project, a partnership that works with private 

landowners to restore, enhance, and create shallow-water wetlands, to the overall 

regional waterfowl habitat abundance.

National Park Service

The National Park Service (NPS) has a substantial investment and long history 

in using aerial and spaceborne remote sensing and GPS technologies. The NPS 

Inventory and Monitoring Program conducts baseline inventories for more than 

270 parks across the Nation. Remote sensing data are a critical source of information regarding geology, soils, vegetation, and infrastructure. Aerial photography 

and satellite imagery have been utilized to compile vegetation maps; a monumental task given that the agency has responsibility for over 30 million acres. These 

data are particularly critical for NPS activities in Alaska because of its remote and 

vast expanses of public land and the fact that the Arctic is warming rapidly in 

response to climate change. The NPS takes advantage of the free Landsat archive 

to quantify decadal changes in glacier ice cover and document land-cover change 

in national park units. NPS has been the DOI sponsoring agency to map all 

large wildland and prescribed fires as part of the DOI Monitoring Trends in Burn 

Severity project, using the Landsat archive. GPS supports field data collection, 

navigation, and search-and-rescue operations conducted by the agency.

Detecting Snow Wetness and Icing

Snow wetness and icing can affect ecosystem processes at multiple spatial and 

temporal scales including hydrology, carbon cycling, wildlife movement, and 

human transportation. Snow wetness occurs when the cold content of part or all 

of the snowpack is less than the positive energy fluxes from radiative, sensible, or 
134Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

latent heat transfer. Icing events normally occur daily in the spring and summer 

and less predictably following wintertime rain on snow or warm weather. In the 

future, the frequency and extent of wet snow followed by icing events is predicted 

to increase, particularly in the high latitudes, due to the effects of amplified temperatures on rain-to-snow transition gradients.

Snowmelt and icing processes result in marked changes to snowpack processes, 

such as snowmelt, surface albedo, and energy balance. Changes in the surface 

structure of the snowpack are visible using optical remote sensing, and changes 

in the relative content and distribution of water, air, and ice in the snowpack are 

detectable using passive microwave remote sensing. This project aims to develop 

products showing the spatial and temporal distribution of snow wetness and icing 

events using satellite data products derived from both optical and passive microwave satellite records.

The southwestern and south-central regions of Alaska show the greatest occurrence of rain on snow 

events for the 2005 water year (October 1, 2004–September 30, 2005).

To detect snow wetness and icing, NPS researchers used brightness temperature measurements derived from vertical and horizontal polarizations at 19 and 

37 gigahertz from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR-E and 
135 Department of the Interior

AMSR-E 2) passive microwave satellites, which are downscaled to 6 kilometers. 

Unlike optical measurements, passive microwave retrievals are not susceptible to 

cloud cover or the polar darkness of high-latitude winters and can produce daily 

measurements of snow properties. Combining these products with finer-resolution 

optical snow-cover data will provide a more complete picture of snow processes in 

Alaska and may allow us to address important management questions regarding 

wildlife mortality and regional transportation.

Forest Structure Patterns Across Crater Lake National Park from Lidar Data

In 2010, a team of researchers at the University of Washington worked with the 

NPS to analyze the canopy structure across Crater Lake National Park using lidar 

data. The data were used to identify individual trees, and the results were classified 

into openings (no canopy cover greater than two meters) and clumps of trees in the 

height ranges of 2–8, 8–16, 16–32, and greater than 32 meters. These strata were 

further used to identify and map canopy structural classes across the park, and the 

distribution of these classes was compared with patterns of climate and topography.

The results show that stands are most complex in terms of the number of openings, tree clumps, and tree cluster peaks when the area in openings is approximately 20–40 percent. Stands were least complex when openings were less than 

ten percent or greater than 50 percent of the area. None of the structure classes 

were uniquely associated with any particular forest zone. Conversely, all forest zones 

had mixtures of structure classes, with one to three structure classes typically dominant. The lower and more mesic zones (mesic low, mesic mid, and Sierra Mixed) 

were dominated by the tall structure classes (11, 12 in the figure) with significant 

proportions of their area in the mid-height class (21).

Forest zones that represent harsher climate extremes (subalpine, lodgepole pine, 

ponderosa pine, and East Cascades Mixed) were dominated by mixtures of the mid 

to shorter height and more open structure classes (31, 32, 41, 42, 51 in the figure). 

Only the mesic high forest zone included substantial area across a wide range of 

structure classes, which may represent its large area that includes a wider range of 

ecotones than the other forest zones. Monitoring these stands allows for a better 

understanding of how climate impacts forest community structure at Crater Lake.
136Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

Historic American Buildings Survey Documentation of Historic Kantishna 

Roadhouse at Denali National Park

In spring 2017, Denali National Park consulted with the Alaska Regional Office 

(AKRO) to develop a project for the documentation of the aging Kantishna 

Roadhouse, a building located near the end of the Denali Park Road in Denali 

National Park. The goal of the project was to obtain measurements using a terrestrial laser scanner in order to facilitate the production of Historic American 

Buildings Survey (HABS) drawings that capture the existing condition of the 

structure. The Kantishna Roadhouse is considered eligible as a contributing structure to the Old Eureka/Kantishna Historic District.

High-definition laser scanning was conducted on the interior and exterior of 

the two-story log structure, which measures approximately 26 by 22 feet. Weather 

reports of inbound snowfall resulted in compressing available field time to one day. 

The speed of the terrestrial laser scanner (a Trimble TX8) allowed for one surveyor 

to acquire 16 scan positions, utilizing a combination of spherical and paper targets 

to facilitate registration.

Structural deficiencies due to deteriorating wall logs and a settling foundation 

are visible to the naked eye when on-site, but larger trends become visible in the 

processed point cloud dataset. The section shows the general slope of the building to the west (left) and the resulting failure in some structural members. Using 

different classification and visualization tools, the point cloud can be cleaned and 

cropped to isolate specific areas of interest, such as the deflection in the floor, or 

severity of deterioration for individual logs.

A set of architectural line drawings will be produced from the dataset and sent to 

the Library of Congress for inclusion in the HABS/Historic American Engineering 

Record (HAER)/Historic American Landscapes Survey (HALS) Collection of 

the Prints and Photographs Division. These collections document achievements 

in architecture, engineering, and landscape design in the United States and its 

territories through a comprehensive range of building types, engineering technologies, and landscapes. The collection can be found at https://www.loc.gov/collections/

historic-american-buildings-landscapes-and-engineering-records/. Preserving and 

documenting the Kantishna Roadhouse as a noteworthy structure of the Eureka/
137 Department of the Interior

Kantishna Historic District will offer historic insight for Denali National Park long 

after the building is gone.

Shown above are (clockwise from left) a longitudinal section through point cloud with an overlay of 

the line drawing, point cloud isolating the ground floor and its deflection using a colorized elevation 

ramp, and point cloud showing the west elevation of the Kantishna Roadhouse.

Monitoring Permafrost Thaw Slumps

The NPS Arctic Inventory and Monitoring Network (ARCN) is using 

35-millimeter aerial photography to monitor the growth of permafrost thaw 

slumps in the five national parks of northern Alaska. These slumps can grow for a 

decade or longer and shed large amounts of sediment into nearby rivers and lakes. 

ARCN scientists have obtained overlapping, oblique, and vertical digital aerial 

photographs of 15 slumps taken from a helicopter or fixed-wing aircraft between 

2008 and 2016. Each slump is represented by between four and seven photographs 

captured on an annual basis. These photographs were analyzed with structurefrom-motion software to produce digital elevation models and orthophotographs of 

the slumps. Between 2013 and 2016, ARCN researchers obtained accurate camera 

coordinates that allowed georeferencing of the digital models. These coordinates 

help to analyze slump growth metrics, such as rates of scarp migration, subsidence, volume loss in relation to weather, and slump morphology. Comparison of 3D 
138Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

models between years has revealed subsidence of nearly 20 meters and long-term 

scarp retreat rates of up to 30 meters per year on some slumps. For more information, see http://science.nature.nps.gov/im/units/arcn/vitalsign.cfm?vsid=9.

The upper row shows orthophotographs of a slump on the Noatak River in northern Alaska (latitude 

67.957°, longitude 161.085°) from four different years. The lower row shows elevation change maps 

between the photograph dates.

Bureau of Land Management

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) requires field-based measurements 

to support management decisions covering vast expanses of land. By integrating 

remote sensing into the BLM’s Assessment, Inventory, and Monitoring strategy, 

field-based monitoring data are leveraged to generate information and maps that 

would otherwise be too expensive to produce. The BLM is developing a core set of 

integrated and scalable remote sensing tools that will provide an integrated, quantitative monitoring approach to efficiently and effectively document the impacts 

from authorized and unauthorized disturbance and land-treatment activities at 

local and regional scales.

Dam Breach Monitoring

The BLM National Operations Center (NOC) has partnered with the BLM 

Arizona State Office and the Safford Field Office to document and measure the 
139 Department of the Interior

impacts of the HX Dam failure, which occurred in June 2014. This is a multi-year 

effort, which has comprised the use of both Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) 

and spaceborne imaging systems. Original efforts focused on the use of UAS and 

WorldView imaging systems for the identification of structural impacts and environmental effects following the earthen dam’s failure. Sentinel-2, WorldView-1, and 

WorldView-3 imagery was employed to detect increased structural damage to the 

dam and sediment flow due to heavy rainfall in late 2016. These images were also 

used to monitor subsequent dam-breach remediation efforts on the ground. This 

project has demonstrated the value and importance of leveraging multitemporal 

imagery for resource monitoring and management.

The graphics shown here identify imagery acquired at different periods over the HX Dam. Figures 

A and B are WorldView-2 and -3 high-resolution multispectral imagery collected prior to and after 

the original dam failure, in 2014 and 2015, respectively. Figure C is WorldView-1 panchromatic 

imagery acquired in June 2016, following additional structural damages due to flooding. Figure D is 

WorldView-3 high-resolution multispectral imagery acquired in November 2016, during dam-breach 

remediation efforts.

Indian Sunset Mine Verification Pilot

The BLM NOC regularly assists field offices with photogrammetric and remote 

sensing projects involving UAS in a variety of natural-resource management applications. The NOC is currently providing subject matter expertise to the Royal 

Gorge Field Office (RGFO) in Cañon City, Colorado, as part of an ongoing pilot 
140Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

project leveraging the use of multi-scale remotely sensed data for mine production verification (PV). The current PV model is labor-intensive, includes extensive 

field work, and is cost-prohibitive, which results in a less-than-optimal number of 

mine operations being verified. Working in conjunction with the NOC, the RGFO 

purchased high-resolution imagery of the Indian Sunset Mine site near Westcliffe, 

Colorado, from Leptron Unmanned Aircraft Services, LLC. The imagery captured 

the mine site areas of interest undergoing mineral extraction, as well as the product 

piles of aggregate material to be verified. NOC personnel then applied a rigorous 

photogrammetric workflow to measure both the volume of material removed from 

the site and the volume of the product piles. PV monitoring using UAS provides 

comparable results to ground-based surveys, saving time and money.

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation

The Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) uses Landsat data to help monitor consumptive water use throughout the western United States. BOR analysts use Landsat 

imagery to map irrigated crops for estimating water demand and to monitor interstate and interbasin water compact compliance. The BOR is also involved in the 

ecological restoration of a number of rivers in the West. Lidar data, multispectral 

aerial imagery, and sonar data are used to generate maps of topography, vegetation, 

and river channel bathymetry, which guide restoration activities.

Estimates of Evapotranspiration and Evaporation

The Colorado River is the principal source of water for agriculture and riparian 

vegetation in Arizona, southern California, and southern Nevada. To account for 

water use by each state or individual and to verify lands fallowed for conservation programs and other water management needs, the BOR routinely monitors 

more than 3.5 million acres of agriculture and riparian vegetation along the Lower 

Colorado River, from Hoover Dam south to the international border with Mexico. 

Multispectral satellite and aerial images are analyzed in combination with other 

spatial data in a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) environment to generate 

information regarding crop and riparian types, acreages, and water-use estimates. 
141 Department of the Interior

The BOR completed a major update to the riparian vegetation database utilizing high-resolution multispectral National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) 

imagery and an object-oriented-based classification scheme resulting in revised 

vegetation types and crown closure.

These data and information assist the BOR in meeting its U.S. Supreme Court 

mandate to provide detailed and accurate records of diversions, return flows, and 

consumptive use estimates of water diverted from the mainstream of the Lower 

Colorado River. This program is an example of implementing remote sensing–

based methodologies to routinely meet the BOR’s water management needs. For 

more information, visit http://www.usbr.gov/lc/region/g4000/wtracct.html.

Hydraulic Modeling for Dam Safety and Emergency Management Applications

The BOR uses lidar and other remote sensing–based elevation data as a basis 

for hydraulic modeling of dam failure and operational release flood flows. This 

work involves the implementation of both one-dimensional and two-dimensional 

hydraulic models and relies heavily on an interfacing with Esri’s ArcGIS software. 

Hydraulic modeling employs the use of the Danish Hydraulic Institute’s MIKE 

models. Applications of this technology include emergency management and dam 

safety risk analysis.

The graphic shows potential flooding modeled in an urbanized area due to 

uncontrolled dam releases. The two-dimensional hydraulic modeling is based on 

lidar terrain data obtained from the local municipality via a cost-sharing program, 

which substantially reduces data acquisition costs. Flood flows are presented in a 

raster format that depicts maximum flooding intensity represented as the product 

of maximum depth and velocity (DV).
142Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

This image shows flooding in an urbanized area due to uncontrolled dam releases.
143 Federal Communications Commission

Federal Communicat

Commission

FCC

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) formulates rules to facilitate the provision of commercial satellite services in the United States. It also 

issues licenses for the deployment and operation of all nongovernmental U.S. 

satellites. Internationally, the FCC coordinates satellite radio-frequency usage 

with other countries. The FCC’s activities in FY 2017 related primarily to commercial communications satellites and Earth observation satellites, as well as 

experimental satellites.

The FCC took a number of significant actions in rulemaking proceedings in 

FY  2017. Several of these actions related to nongeostationary satellite systems 

designed for communications in the fixed-satellite service, including in some cases 

to provide broadband Internet access. On September 26, 2017, the FCC modified 

the rules applicable to these systems. Among the major changes are the following:

• Modifying the FCC’s frequency allocations in the Ka-band to allow additional commercial fixed-satellite service operations.

• Adopting technical limits for nongeostationary satellite systems to enable 

the sharing of radio frequencies with terrestrial stations and geostationary 

satellite systems.

• Revising rules that apply to the sharing of spectrum among nongeostationary satellite systems.

• Modifying FCC rules to reduce the percentage of total satellites in a system that must be constructed, launched, and deployed within a specific 

number of years.
144Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

• Eliminating international coverage requirements for nongeostationary 

fixed-satellite service systems to allow for more flexibility in the design of 

satellite systems.

On April 21, 2017, the FCC adopted rules to limit radio-frequency interference 

into the 17/24-gigahertz Broadcasting Satellite Service, which can provide video 

and other services to consumers. On May 19, 2017, the FCC proposed to update 

the rules applicable to earth stations in motion (ESIMS), which are earth stations located aboard ships, aircraft, and vehicles. Under the proposal, additional 

frequency bands would be made available for use by these types of earth stations.

The FCC acted in FY 2017 to facilitate the development of new communication services:

• On December 22, 2016, the FCC adopted rule changes that would 

allow GlobalStar, Inc., to operate a low-power, terrestrial-based network using the radio-frequency spectrum licensed to it for mobile 

satellite service in the 2.4-gigahertz frequency range. The FCC subsequently modified Globalstar’s licenses to allow implementation of the 

terrestrial network.

• On January 18, 2017, the FCC authorized Higher Ground LLC to operate terminals embedded in smartphones, which will communicate with 

several geostationary satellites. These terminals are designed to provide 

consumer-based text messaging and other communications and to operate 

in the C-band.

• On June 22, 2017, the Commission issued a ruling outlining the conditions under which WorldVu Satellites Limited (doing business as 

OneWeb) can obtain a license for earth stations in the United States 

for use with its nongeostationary satellite system, which will operate 

under the authority of the United Kingdom. The system will consist 

of up to 720 satellites, operating at an approximate altitude of 1,200 

kilometers and utilizing frequencies in the Ku- and Ka-bands. This large 

constellation of nongeostationary satellites is designed to provide highspeed broadband connectivity across the United States and throughout 

the world.
145 Federal Communications Commission

In FY 2017, the FCC authorized a number of commercial communication satellite deployments and operations. These authorizations included the following:

• October 5, 2016: To Intelsat License LLC, to construct, deploy, and operate a C- and Ku-band satellite to be located at the longitude 34.5° west 

orbit location.

• December 7, 2016: To SES Americom, Inc., to construct, deploy, and 

operate a Ku- and Ka-band satellite to be located at the longitude 104.95° 

west orbit location. The portion of the satellite operating in the C-band 

was authorized separately and will operate under the authority of the 

United Kingdom (Gibraltar).

• June 8, 2017: To Intelsat License LLC, to construct, deploy, and operate 

a C-, Ku-, and Ka-band satellite to be located at the longitude 18° west 

orbit location.

During FY 2017, the FCC granted authority to Spire Global, Inc., and Terra 

Bella Technologies Inc. to deploy and operate nongeostationary small satellites in 

low-Earth orbit, primarily for remote sensing activities. Specifically:

• October 14, 2016: To Spire Global, Inc., for up to 28 satellites to be 

deployed at orbital altitudes at or below 650 kilometers.

• April 7, 2017: To Spire Global, Inc., for an additional four satellites to be 

deployed at orbital altitudes at or below 500 kilometers.

• May 18, 2017: To Spire Global, Inc., for an additional 24 satellites to be 

deployed at orbital altitudes at or below 600 kilometers.

• June 28, 2017: To Terra Bella Technologies Inc., for up to six satellites to be deployed at orbital altitudes between 400 kilometers and 

630 kilometers.

• July 13, 2017: To Spire Global, Inc., for an additional 72 satellites to be 

deployed at orbital altitudes at or below 600 kilometers.

In addition to these commercial operations, the FCC continued to grant applications for experimental operations by nongovernmental small satellites. Many of the 

experimental grants by the FCC for small-satellite operations were to universities 

and institutions conducting research and developing new spacecraft technologies. 

The satellites’ missions included testing new equipment, including spacecraft propulsion technologies, for use on satellites, as well as measuring the orbital debris 
146Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

environment, observing space weather and taking atmospheric measurements, 

demonstrating communications, and developing CubeSat positioning capabilities. 

Other experimental licenses granted in FY 2017 included grants to test prototype 

telecommunications satellites and a grant to Iridium Satellite LLC for testing of 

mobile earth terminals for the global maritime distress and safety service.

The FCC granted a number of license modifications and Special Temporary 

Authorizations for satellite networks. Many involved routine testing or redeployment of satellites within a multi-satellite system. Several of these actions, however, 

warrant particular mention:

• October 25, 2016: The FCC granted special temporary authority to 

Spaceflight, Inc., to communicate for 12 hours or less with a nongeostationary spacecraft deployer known as SHERPA. The grant was revised 

and reissued on December 7, 2016, to reflect changes in the planned 

operations. The mission was subsequently cancelled.

• April 25, 2017: The FCC granted special temporary authority to 

EchoStar Satellite Operating Corporation for 30 days for its EchoStar 8 

satellite to operate outside of its previously assigned longitude 77° west 

orbital location due to a satellite anomaly.

• April 27, 2017: The FCC granted special temporary authority to EchoStar 

Satellite Operating Corporation for 30 days to move its EchoStar 8 satellite to a disposal orbit.

• June 19, 2017: The FCC granted special temporary authority to SES 

Americom, Inc., for 30 days for its AMC-9 space station to operate outside 

of its previously assigned longitude 83° west orbital location due to a satellite anomaly. The FCC extended this grant of special temporary authority 

on July 20, 2017; August 23, 2017; and September 20, 2017.

• June 22, 2017: The FCC granted special temporary authority to RBC 

Signals LLC for 60 days for its earth station located in Deadhorse, Alaska, 

to communicate with the Red Diamond, Green Diamond, and Blue 

Diamond small nongeostationary satellites operating under the authority 

of the United Kingdom. On September 11, 2017, the FCC extended this 

grant of special temporary authority for 180 days.
147 Federal Communications Commission

The FCC also added non-U.S.-licensed space stations to its permitted list to 

allow these space stations to provide domestic and international satellite service to 

U.S. earth stations that have routine technical parameters.

• December 7, 2016: The FCC added SES Satellites (Gibraltar) Ltd.’s 

planned SES-11 satellite to the permitted list, operating under the 

authority of the United Kingdom (Gibraltar) and using the C-band at 

the longitude 104.95° west orbit location. This satellite will also operate 

in the Ku- and Ka-bands under the United States license granted to SES 

Americom, Inc., on the same date.

• February 9, 2017: The FCC added SES DTH do Brasil Ltda’s planned 

SES-14 satellite to the permitted list, operating under the authority of the 

Netherlands and Brazil and using the C- and Ku-bands at the longitude 

47.5° west orbit location.

• April 6, 2017: The FCC added HISPASAT, S.A.’s planned HISPASAT 

30W-6 satellite to the permitted list, operating under the authority of Spain and using the C- and Ku-bands at the longitude 30° west 

orbit location.

• April 25, 2017: The FCC added ABS Global, Ltd.’s ABS-3A satellite to the permitted list, operating under the authority of the Russian 

Federation/Intersputnik and Papua New Guinea and using the C- and 

Ku-bands at the longitude 3° west orbit location.

In addition, the FCC took action on the following requests for non-U.S.-licensed 

space stations to provide service in the United States on a nonroutine basis:

• October 5, 2016: The FCC granted the application of ViaSat, Inc., to 

access the United States market using its planned VIASAT-79W satellite, operating under the authority of the United Kingdom and using the 

Ka-band at the longitude 79° west orbit location.

• October 5, 2016: The FCC granted the application of ViaSat, Inc., to 

access the United States market using its planned VIASAT-133W satellite, operating under the authority of the United Kingdom and using the 

Ka-band at the longitude 132.9° west orbit location. ViaSat, Inc., subsequently declined that grant at the deadline for submitting a required 

performance bond.
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• October 5, 2016: The FCC granted the application of Spectrum Five 

LLC to access the United States market using its planned BSSNET2A111W satellite, operating under the authority of the Netherlands in the 

17/24-gigahertz Broadcasting Satellite Service at the longitude 110.9° west 

orbit location. Spectrum Five LLC subsequently declined that grant at the 

extended deadline for submitting a required performance bond.

• October 5, 2016: The FCC granted the application of Spectrum Five 

LLC to access the United States market using its planned BSSNET2A115W satellite, operating under the authority of the Netherlands in the 

17/24-gigahertz Broadcasting Satellite Service at the longitude 115° west 

orbit location. Spectrum Five LLC subsequently declined that grant at the 

extended deadline for submitting a required performance bond.

• October 25, 2016: The FCC granted the application of ViaSat, Inc., to 

access the United States market using its planned VIASAT-109W satellite, operating under the authority of the United Kingdom and using the 

Ka-band at the longitude 109.1° west orbit location.

• December 14, 2016: The FCC granted the request of SES Satellites 

(Gibraltar) Ltd. for a modification of its grant of market access to the 

United States using its planned SES-15 satellite, to add operations in the 

L-band at the longitude 129.15° west orbit location. SES-15’s operations in 

the L-band will provide support to the Federal Aviation Administration’s 

Wide Area Augmentation System for air navigation.

• March 2, 2017: The FCC granted the application of Spectrum Five 

LLC to access the United States market using its planned BSSNET2A95W satellite, operating under the authority of the Netherlands in the 

17/24-gigahertz Broadcasting Satellite Service at the longitude 95.15° west 

orbit location. Spectrum Five LLC subsequently declined that grant at the 

deadline for submitting a required performance bond.

• July 6, 2017: The FCC granted the application of ViaSat, Inc., to access 

the United States market using its planned VIASAT-RDBS2 satellite, 

operating under the authority of the Netherlands in the 17/24-gigahertz 

Broadcasting Satellite Service at the longitude 110.9° west orbit location. 
149 Federal Communications Commission

ViaSat, Inc., subsequently declined that grant at the deadline for submitting a required performance bond.

• July 6, 2017: The FCC granted the application of ViaSat, Inc., to access 

the United States market using its planned VIASAT-RDBS1 satellite, 

operating under the authority of the Netherlands in the 17/24-gigahertz 

Broadcasting Satellite Service at the longitude 115° west orbit location. 

ViaSat, Inc., subsequently declined that grant at the deadline for submitting a required performance bond.

• July 13, 2017: The FCC granted the application of Spectrum Five 

LLC to access the United States market using its planned BSSNET2A95W satellite, operating under the authority of the Netherlands in the 

17/24-gigahertz Broadcasting Satellite Service at the longitude 95.15° west 

orbit location. Spectrum Five LLC again subsequently declined that grant 

at the deadline for submitting a required performance bond.

• September 7, 2017: The FCC granted the request of SES DTH do Brasil 

Ltda for a modification to its grant of market access to the United States 

to include data transmissions from the NASA-commissioned Global-Scale 

Observations of the Limb and Disk instrument that will conduct imaging 

of Earth’s atmosphere from the planned SES-14 satellite at the longitude 

47.5° west orbit location.

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USDA

Agencies within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) utilize a diverse 

set of remote sensing and related technology to support their missions, ranging 

from ground-based data collection validated with GPS to global crop assessments 

using medium-resolution satellite imagery. Specifications in USDA image acquisition contracts, including the National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP), 

continued to result in heavy reliance on piloted aircraft–based imagery collection.

Farm Service Agency

The Farm Service Agency (FSA) administers farm commodity, credit, conservation, disaster, and loan programs as laid out by Congress through a network 

of Federal, state, and county offices. Land-based information has always played a 

fundamental role in daily operations and administration of those programs. FSA’s 

core geospatial dataset, the Common Land Unit (CLU), is a dynamically updated, 

nationally consistent digital dataset representing farm and field boundaries. This 

dataset is integrated with nongeospatial data in a common enterprise system. FSA 

uses geospatial data, including the CLU, to record producer-reported crop plantings 

and to support conservation-, commodity-, and agriculture-based lending programs.

Using FSA’s public-facing application, FSAfarm+, producers had Web access to 

their stored FSA data, such as the CLU data, related farm data, and other producer information, associated with their operations. Other producer information 

would include address, contact information, and participation demographics. This 
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functionality allowed producers to view, export, and print maps and farm records 

data from their home through a public-facing Web portal. It also provided the 

opportunity for producers to electronically export their farm CLU field boundaries 

and share them with other agencies or crop insurance companies and other third 

parties that offer assistance with precision agriculture-related activities.

FSA administers a number of disaster recovery programs, including Emergency 

Loan and Emergency Conservation Programs. Remotely sensed data, such as 

Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), Advanced Wide Field 

Sensor (AWiFS), and other high-resolution aerial and satellite imagery collected 

as a result of interagency coordination, are examples of imagery sources used as 

assessment tools to help oversee these programs.

FSA continued to manage NAIP, the largest aerial acquisition program in the 

civilian part of the Federal Government and a primary source of imagery for the 

USDA. The program leverages partnership funds from other Federal entities to 

acquire imagery during the growing season over the contiguous United States. In 

2017, NAIP acquired over 1.7 million square miles of four-band (natural-color and 

near-infrared) imagery in 26 states at a cost of $16.3 million. Data from 24 states 

were acquired at 1-meter resolution, and data from two states were acquired with 

a partner “buy-up option” at 60-centimeter resolution. In addition to distributing 

the most up-to-date NAIP imagery, FSA also hosted a large imagery archive that 

was accessible to Federal agencies and the public through the USDA Geospatial 

Data Gateway.

FSA has acquired imagery for agricultural purposes since the late 1930s. To 

more effectively maintain this historical archive, FSA began a historical scanning 

project in 2013. The project has six operators using 13 DSW700 photogrammetric 

long-roll film scanners. At the end of FY 2017, the agency had digitally scanned 

almost two million historical images.

Foreign Agriculture Service

The Foreign Agricultural Service’s (FAS) Office of Global Analysis (FAS/OGA) 

serves as a major source of objective and reliable global agricultural production 

information to the USDA’s monthly World Agricultural Supply and Demand 
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Estimates (WASDE) report, the primary source of the USDA’s global commodity outlook. The monthly WASDE report provides public access to information 

affecting world food security and is crucial to decisions affecting U.S. agriculture, 

trade policy, and food aid. FAS/OGA uses satellite imagery at regional, national, 

and subnational scales to operationally monitor and analyze monthly changes in 

global crop production. FAS archives and displays global monthly crop production, 

supply, and distribution (PSD) data from the USDA’s WASDE report on the FAS 

PSD Online Web site (http://apps.fas.usda.gov/psdonline/psdhome.aspx).

Over this past year, the International Production Assessment Division (IPAD) 

operated the remote sensing program at FAS/OGA. IPAD is an operational user of 

remotely sensed imagery and processed multiple U.S. and international sources of 

global imagery and satellite-derived weather information. Landsat 7 and Landsat 8 

served as the primary satellites used by FAS/OGA/IPAD for mapping crop area and 

crop type for numerous countries worldwide, whereas NASA’s MODIS sensor, on 

board the Aqua and Terra satellites, is used by IPAD to monitor crop conditions and 

relative crop yields. The USDA-NASA Global Agricultural Monitoring (GLAM) 

Web system displayed and archived historical MODIS-Terra (i.e., 2000–present) 

and MODIS-Aqua (i.e., 2002–present) imagery, and the GLAM Web interface easily allowed public users to analyze and compare current crop conditions with past 

years’ crop conditions (http://glam1.gsfc.nasa.gov/). FAS plans to utilize the Visible 

Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) as a bridge to Earth Observing System 

(EOS) MODIS. FAS worked on processes to supplement Landsat imagery with 

Sentinel-2 imagery.

FAS/OGA also maintained several public global agricultural datasets by processing, archiving, and displaying on the Web a variety of satellite imagery products. 

The FAS/OGA Crop Explorer Web system allows the user to monitor, analyze, and 

display rainfall, temperature, soil moisture, and vegetation conditions by utilizing 

satellite imagery from NASA’s Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM), NOAA’s 

Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellites (POES), ESA’s Proba-V, and 

satellite-derived weather information from the U.S. Air Force’s 557th Weather 

Wing. In addition, the Global Reservoir and Lake Monitor (G-REALM) monitored 

and displayed reservoir and lake water heights by utilizing satellite radar altimeter 
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data from NASA’s Ocean Topography Experiment (TOPEX)/Poseidon, Jason-1, and 

Jason-2 satellites. For more information, see https://ipad.fas.usda.gov/cropexplorer/.

FAS/OGA is part of the early adopter program for Soil Moisture Active Passive 

(SMAP). FAS/OGA hopes to enhance the USDA’s global crop production monitoring system using SMAP soil moisture products. As an operational user, FAS 

relies on the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and NASA researchers to provide the process to ingest SMAP products and (hopefully) future products that will 

combine radar imagery with the SMAP passive radiometer.

FAS/OGA managed the USDA’s Satellite Imagery Archive (SIA) program and 

displayed all moderate-resolution satellite imagery archived via SIA’s Archive 

Explorer (AE). In 2000, the USDA’s Remote Sensing Coordinating Committee 

(RSCC) established the SIA program, which is chaired by the USDA’s Remote 

Sensing Advisor. During 2017, the USDA/FAS purchased satellite imagery with 

22-meter spatial resolution from the Deimos-1 and UK-DMC2 satellites and 

archived it via SIA’s AE. The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service 

used the Deimos-1 and UK-DMC2 satellite imagery covering the lower 48 U.S. 

states to map crop type for the 2017 United States crop season and to monitor crop 

damage caused by natural disasters such as drought, fires, diseases, or insects. FAS/

OGA/SIA provided funding to USGS/EROS to process Indian Space Research 

Organisation (ISRO) AWiFS and LIS imagery. The ISRO imagery is now available for operational use through the USGS’s EarthExplorer Web site, https://

earthexplorer.usgs.gov/.

Forest Service

As the primary forestry agency of the United States and the largest agency in 

the USDA, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) continues to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the Nation’s forests and grasslands. This work encompasses 

partnerships with states, tribes, and other Federal agencies to address forestry and 

natural resource issues; administration and management of 154 national forests and 

20 national grasslands collectively known as National Forest System (NFS) lands, 

totaling 193 million acres; and assistance to private land owners and state, tribal, 
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and community forestry agencies in the stewardship of approximately 500 million 

acres of non-Federal forest lands.

In FY 2017, the USFS collaborated with NASA, NOAA, the USGS, and other 

agencies to apply operational satellite and airborne imagery and the most advanced 

remote sensing and geospatial technologies. Specific accomplishments included 

the following:

• Collected comprehensive EOS, MODIS, and Suomi NPP VIIRS directbroadcast data and Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) data via 

the USGS’s Earth Resources Observation Systems (EROS) for the United 

States and Canada. Provided operational processing and dissemination of 

near-real-time fire mapping and geospatial data products to fire managers and the general public, including all science-sanctioned fire-detection 

algorithms for MODIS (1 kilometer), VIIRS (750 meters and 375 meters) 

and Landsat (30 meters). (https://fsapps.nwcg.gov/afm/)

• Continued activities with NASA Goddard Space Flight Center’s Direct 

Readout Laboratory under a USFS-NASA interagency agreement to test 

and operationally implement direct-readout technologies, including land, 

atmospheric, and ocean science processing algorithms for EOS and Suomi 

NPP sensors, to support evolving resource management and operational 

information needs. (https://fsapps.nwcg.gov/directreadout/)

• Continued operational processing and analysis of MODIS and Landsat 

imagery for systematic detection of damage and changing health conditions in Federal, state, and private forested lands throughout the continental United States. Monitoring data products provide early warning 

information to Forest Health Protection staff about forest areas potentially 

affected by pests/pathogens and support targeted monitoring and suppression activities. Also initiated efforts to leverage operational VIIRS imagery for comprehensive forest monitoring and ensure future continuity with 

current MODIS-based monitoring approaches. (http://foresthealth.fs.usda.

gov/portal/Flex/FDM?dL=0)

• Utilized MODIS imagery to conduct coarse-level forest damage assessments for large geographic areas of the continental United States and 

Puerto Rico in the immediate aftermath of several 2017 hurricane events 
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(Harvey, Irma, and Maria). This strategic information supports the agency 

in targeting areas for fuels management activities and/or areas where 

higher-resolution forest damage assessments are required.

• Continued to maintain and distribute 250-meter forest attribute data 

surfaces derived from MODIS imagery and other geospatial predictor 

data using nearest neighbor imputation methods. (http://data.fs.usda.gov/

geodata/rastergateway/forest_type/index.php)

• Continued to maintain and distribute 250-meter forest carbon estimates 

derived from MODIS imagery and other geospatial predictor data using 

nearest neighbor imputation methods. (http://data.fs.usda.gov/geodata/

rastergateway/biomass/index.php)

• Continued coordination with NASA Ames Research Center to upgrade 

Autonomous Modular Sensor (AMS) electronics and sensor components 

and further develop the AMS firmware and software for onboard processing system capabilities and user interface to support operational integration flights on USFS aircraft. Initiated an interagency agreement with 

NASA Ames to support continued work toward the goal of having AMS 

at an operational readiness status in CY 2018.

• Continued coordination with NASA Goddard Space Flight Center on 

testing and evaluation of the Multi-Angle Implementation of Atmospheric 

Correction (MAIAC) for MODIS and other MODIS and VIIRS scienceprocessing algorithms to support low-latency land and atmospheric remote 

sensing applications.

• Operationally applied Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM) and 

Landsat 8 OLI imagery to respond to 142 requests to map the location, 

extent, and severity of large wildfires amounting to more than 2.1 million acres in FY 2017. These rapid-response products support postfire 

emergency stabilization/hazard-mitigation activities conducted by Forest 

Service Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) teams. (http://www.

fs.fed.us/eng/rsac/baer)

• Operationally applied Landsat 7 ETM and Landsat 8 OLI imagery to 

respond to map and estimate postfire basal area loss and canopy cover loss 

for 147 large wildfires totaling nearly 2.1 million acres in FY 2017. These 
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products support forest restoration planning management activities and 

efficient use of resources to support those activities. (http://www.fs.fed.us/

postfirevegcondition)

• Continued to operationally apply Landsat 4/5 Thematic Mapper (TM), 

Landsat 7 ETM and Landsat 8 OLI imagery to inventory, map, and characterize historical large fires to assess the effectiveness of national fire 

management policies as part of the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity 

(MTBS) project. MTBS mapping activities through FY 2017 include the 

completion of 20,340 historical fires (about 155 million burned acres) 

spanning 1984 to 2015. (http://www.mtbs.gov)

• Coordinated with the University of Maryland, NASA, and the USGS 

under the auspices of a NASA Research Opportunities in Space and 

Earth Sciences (ROSES) A35 Wildfires Project to execute a Landsat 8 

active fire detection algorithm, refine as needed, and provide output products to support USFS operational fire support activities.

• Continued technology transfer activities between the USFS and Ames 

Research Center regarding Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) and 

related technologies under the auspices of the NASA-USFS Wildfire 

Research Applications Partnership and a USFS-NASA interagency agreement. (http://geo.arc.nasa.gov/sge/WRAP/index.html). Effort also includes 

transfer and implementation of relevant NASA-developed technologies 

to support manned and unmanned airborne remote sensing activities in 

the USFS.

• Used imagery from Landsat 5 TM and from Landsat 8 OLI and NAIP to 

initiate, complete, and update mid-level vegetation-mapping products for 

national forest lands and adjacent land areas throughout the country.

• After successful completion of Tree Canopy Cover (TCC) data in FY 2016 

for the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the 

U.S. Virgin Islands using imagery from Landsat 5 and Landsat 8 OLI 

and NAIP as part of the Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics (MRLC) 

Consortium National Land Cover Database (NLCD) 2011, initiated production on NLCD TCC 2016.
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• Leveraged the Landsat TM/ETM/OLI time-series stacks, together with 

NAIP imagery and plot data, to detect, map, and monitor forest landcover change from the mid-1980s to the present in the watersheds of the 

Great Lakes. Remote sensing analysts conducted activities using cloud 

remote sensing processing/analysis technologies and automated changedetection capabilities within the Google Earth Engine.

• Used Landsat TM/ETM/OLI and NAIP imagery in conjunction with 

other core geospatial datasets to conduct ecological and soil-type mapping on NFS lands in the northeast and western United States, which 

the USFS, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and other 

agencies apply to resource management, planning, and decision making. 

(http://www.fs.fed.us/eng/rsac/programs/teui/about.html)

• Continued progression toward a comprehensive and consistent land-cover/

land-use monitoring system, the Landscape Change Monitoring System 

(LCMS), for the continental United States. LCMS utilizes Landsat TM/

ETM/OLI time-series stacks to detect and monitor land-cover/land-use 

change from the mid-1980s to the present across all administrative ownerships. This effort is being conducted in collaboration with several Federal 

and academic partners. (http://larse.forestry.oregonstate.edu/lcms-landscapechange-monitoring-system and http://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/?p=10868)

• Continued to develop and refine standards and practices for integrating 

light detection and ranging (lidar) into forest and resource management 

(e.g., defining acquisition specifications, assessing data quality, conducting analysis/modeling procedures for forest parameters, etc.). Continued 

to expand USFS involvement in the USGS 3D Elevation Program to 

ensure consistent acquisition specifications and to minimize redundant collections by partnering with other state and Federal entities on 

data acquisitions.

Use of Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Signals from Space

• The Forest Service utilizes signals broadcast from the GPS constellation of satellites to provide Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) 
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services that support the Forest Service mission “To sustain the health, 

diversity, and productivity of the Nation’s forests and grasslands to meet 

the needs of present and future generations.” The Forest Service actively 

supports the National Coordination Office for Positioning, Navigation 

and Timing, which provides interagency coordination, consensus development, and issue resolution in support of the GPS system.

Elevation Data

• The Forest Service participates in the USGS 3D Elevation Program 

(3DEP) to acquire high-quality 3D elevation data. (https://nationalmap.

gov/3DEP/)

• Elevation data are essential to a broad range of applications, including 

design, implementation, and management of natural resources conservation practices; engineering; forest resources management; wildlife and 

habitat management; determination of highly erodible lands; flood risk 

management; resource assessment; water supply and quality; and other 

business uses.

National Agriculture Imagery Program

• The Forest Service is a cost-share partner in the National Agriculture 

Imagery Program (NAIP). NAIP collects orthoimagery during peak vegetation periods throughout the United States. NAIP has been supported 

by the Forest Service and other cost-share partners since the program’s 

inception in 2003. NAIP orthoimagery is used extensively within the 

Forest Service for a variety of business needs. NAIP is collected on a twoto three-year cycle for the Contiguous United States (CONUS).

National Agricultural Statistics Service

The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) used remote sensing data 

to construct and sample area frames for agricultural statistical surveys, to estimate 
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crop area and yield, and to provide geospatial data products for decision support for 

assessing the flooding from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma; NASS also continued 

contributing to a NASA science grant on a flood disaster–based crop loss assessment system. Additionally, NASS published papers describing the development of 

crop-specific area frame stratifications based on geospatial crop frequency and cultivation data layers, using a mobile mapping instrument to modernize field survey 

data collection and cost reduction–leveraging geospatial technologies, as well as 

the impact of pixel buffering on ground reference data for land-cover classification.

NASS used Landsat imagery, digital NAIP orthophoto quadrangles, and other 

remotely sensed inputs for the contiguous United States and Puerto Rico to select 

the yearly area-based samples for the June Agricultural Survey and the 2017 Census 

of Agriculture Survey. In addition, NASS is currently updating a new area-based 

sampling frame for Texas.

NASS continued to utilize a new geospatial Cropland Data Layer (CDL)–based 

automated stratification method for area-sampling frame operations, resulting in 

nine updated state area frames built at reduced cost with improved objectivity and 

efficiency, as well as a 29 percent improvement in accuracy. The CDL data are used 

as the basis for the objective stratification of NASS area frame primary sampling 

units rather than visual interpretation of aerial photography or satellite data.

The remote sensing acreage estimation program used Disaster Monitoring 

Constellation (DMC), Landsat 8, Sentinel-2, and Resourcesat-2 imagery to produce crop acreage estimates for crops at the state and county levels during the 

2017 crop year. Acreage estimates were created for all market-sensitive crops and 

states. NASS’s Agricultural Statistics Board (ASB) was able to utilize the remote 

sensing acreage indications as independent input for setting the official estimates 

for its monthly Crop Production Reports. Analysts derived remote sensing–based 

acreage indications from the CDL. The primary satellite imagery inputs were from 

the Foreign Agricultural Service’s Satellite Imagery Archive, which provided 

growing-season coverage with DMC imagery through a cooperative partnership 

while utilizing growing-season Landsat 8 imagery. In addition, NASS distributed 

the CDL for 48 states to stakeholders for the previous 2016 crop season via the 

USDA Geospatial Data Gateway and the CropScape data visualization portal at 

https://nassgeodata.gmu.edu/CropScape.
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Geospatial decision-support products were provided for rapid-response assessments of flooding and potential crop losses following Hurricanes Harvey and 

Irma. The products included crop and pasture land inundated areas, estimated 

precipitation totals, CDL crop area maps, and wind swaths or surface winds overlaid onto crop areas identified from the CDL product in Texas, Louisiana, and 

Florida. A synthetic aperture radar satellite named Sentinel-1 was used to provide 

a see-through-the-clouds opportunity for the first time to capture real-time storm 

inundation over crop and pasture lands, providing flooding assessments and sharing critical data for both USDA and FEMA usage.

NASS utilized NASA MODIS Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) 

and Land Surface Temperature (LST) products for modeling corn and soybean 

yield indications over the 12 largest production states. Updated yield estimates were 

delivered operationally to the ASB as an independent indication for setting official 

August, September, and October yield estimates by state, district, and county.

NASS is developing a Decision Support System called AgroClimate in collaboration with researchers from the University of Florida and the University of 

Nebraska to improve yield forecasts using crop indicators obtained during critical stages of the crop’s growing season. A study is being conducted that focuses 

on the evaluation of the potential use of satellite data, crop simulation models, 

and/or mathematical models to develop critical crop indicators. Research objectives include 1)  the determination of corn and soybean phenological critical 

stages; 2) how critical stages can be predicted or identified using remote sensing, 

mathematical models (i.e., crop simulation models), and/or a combination of these 

techniques; 3) how to retrieve and relate information about soil moisture, spectral reflectance, and other available products during critical stages; and 4) how to 

develop metrics at critical stages or critical crop indicators to improve corn and 

soybean yield forecasts.

The Web-based national vegetation condition geospatial portal VegScape 

(https://nassgeodata.gmu.edu/VegScape) continued to deliver timely crop condition 

vegetation indices based on MODIS daily, weekly, and biweekly products throughout the growing season. VegScape showed crop condition/vegetation greenness and 

drought anomaly assessments. NASS continued monitoring the ongoing California 
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drought, providing monthly growing-season CDL-based fallowed land estimates for 

California water resource stakeholders.

NASS is continuing to collaborate with George Mason University, the USDA 

Risk Management Agency, and the University of Colorado in developing a remote 

sensing–based flood disaster crop loss assessment system from a NASA research 

grant titled “A Remote-Sensing-Based Flood Crop Loss Assessment Service System 

(RF-CLASS) for Supporting USDA Crop Statistics and Insurance Decision 

Making.” The proposed system will provide the capability of flood disaster crop 

acreage loss and crop yield loss assessments using NASA remote sensing data and 

science results.

Natural Resources Conservation Service

NRCS helps America’s farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners conserve the 

Nation’s soil, water, air, and other natural resources. To fulfill this mission, NRCS 

assesses, acquires, develops, interprets, analyzes, and delivers natural-resource data 

and information to enable knowledge-based natural-resource planning and decision making at all landscape levels. Various types of geospatial systems, data, and 

information are crucial to the successful delivery of NRCS services.

Orthoimagery, elevation data, and Global Positioning Systems are essential 

geospatial data integrated into NRCS program applications, service centers, 

state offices, and national centers. Since the 1930s, NRCS (formerly the Soil 

Conservation Service) has used aerial photography and orthoimagery for conservation and soil survey purposes. Today, NRCS offices use geospatial data on a daily 

basis to support conservation programs.

NRCS coordinates acquisitions of orthoimagery and digital elevation data with 

other Federal and state agencies through interagency committees like the National 

Digital Orthoimagery Program (NDOP) and the National Digital Elevation 

Program (NDEP). Participation in NDOP and NDEP assists NRCS in maximizing 

geospatial investments and avoiding duplication of acquisitions for orthoimagery 

and digital elevation datasets.
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Aerial Imagery

The Rural Development Act of 1972, Section 302, directed the Secretary of 

Agriculture to put in place a land inventory and monitoring program that would, 

among other things, study and survey damage from soil erosion and sedimentation; 

floodplain identification and use; land-use change; and potential environmental 

damages resulting from the misuse of soil, water, and related natural resources. 

This program, which became the National Resources Inventory (NRI), results in 

the publication of a land inventory report at not less than five-year intervals on 

the condition of the Nation’s soil, water, and related natural resources. In FY 2017, 

NRCS used the USDA Small Area Aerial Photography Contract to acquire highresolution aerial photography (4-inch ground-resolving distance) and scans of over 

70,714 confidential statistical sites used to collect natural-resource data for the 

annual NRI program in CONUS. The NRCS also contracted for aerial photography over 472 NRI sites in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands and 346 sites in 

Hawaii. NRCS continues to use natural-color negative film for these collections. 

Despite the known advantages of direct digital imagery, film continues to be the 

least costly method to acquire imagery for the NRI. The scanned film imagery is 

georeferenced and interpreted at one of NRCS’s three Remote Sensing Labs. The 

resulting data are sent to the Center for Survey Statistics and Methodology at Iowa 

State University for statistical analysis. For more information, see https://www.nrcs.

usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/technical/nra/nri/.

Through the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP), NRCS 

holds title or enforcement rights to over 17,500 easements, providing protection 

to more than 3.4 million acres nationally. Annual monitoring of these easements 

is critical to ensuring that the objectives of each easement program are being met 

on the enrolled lands. Additionally, NRCS is required to report the condition of 

its easements as part of its annual financial accountability reporting. The NRCS 

uses high-resolution imagery to assist in the monitoring activities. In FY  2017, 

NRCS used the USDA Small Area Aerial Photography Contract to acquire imagery and monitor restoration efforts on each property enrolled. The collection was 

divided into 1) 24,679 high-resolution natural-color negative film aerial photos and 

2) 582,161 acres of direct digital, 15-centimeter-resolution, four-band, orthorectified 
164Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

imagery in Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, New 

Hampshire, Virginia, and West Virginia. For more information, see https://www.

nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/programs/easements/.

The NRCS is a cost-share partner in the National Agriculture Imagery Program 

(NAIP). NAIP collects orthoimagery during peak vegetation periods throughout 

the United States. NAIP has been supported by NRCS since the program’s inception in 2003. NAIP orthoimagery is used extensively within NRCS. NAIP orthoimagery is delivered to NRCS at a one-meter or higher ground resolution and with 

four multispectral bands (Natural Color and Color Infrared [CIR]). NRCS makes 

use of NAIP in many programs, such as the Web Soil Survey (https://websoilsurvey.

sc.egov.usda.gov/App/HomePage.htm) and Conservation Planning (https://www.nrcs.

usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/technical/cp/), and it makes the data available for download in the USDA Geospatial Data Gateway (https://gdg.sc.egov.usda.

gov/). NAIP is collected on a two- to three-year cycle for CONUS. NAIP collects 

data from all areas of the United States, including agricultural land, public lands 

(Federal, state, and local) and urban areas.

Satellite Imagery

NRCS provides assistance in all 50 states and the U.S. territories, including 

Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, 

American Samoa, and Pacific island trusts. Acquisition of imagery in non-CONUS 

areas is challenging because of remoteness and weather. NRCS uses satellite imagery from the DigitalGlobe EnhancedView Web Hosting Service (https://evwhs.

digitalglobe.com) and purchases imagery from commercial sources for areas such as 

these and over restricted airspace. DigitalGlobe imagery is also used for pre- and 

post-event disaster response and in cases were other imagery is outdated.

Elevation

NRCS has national requirements for high-quality elevation data, and the agency 

has a national strategy to acquire, integrate, and deliver high-quality digital elevation data that meets the agency’s geospatial requirements. High-quality digital 
165

U.S. Department of Agricultu

elevation data support the agency’s business activities by improving employee 

effectiveness and efficiency in providing assistance to our customers.

This image shows custom contours and first-return raster elevation data from lidar over NAIP imagery 

in Madison County, Nebraska. (Source: USDA NRCS and USDA FSA)

NRCS participates in the USGS 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) to acquire highquality 3D elevation data. For more information, visit https://nationalmap.gov/3DEP/.

Elevation data are essential to a broad range of applications, including design, 

implementation, and management of natural resources conservation practices; 

agriculture; precision farming; engineering; forest resources management; wildlife 

and habitat management; determination of highly erodible lands; flood risk management; resource assessment; water supply and quality; and other business uses.

Use of Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Signals from Space

NRCS utilizes signals broadcast from the GPS constellation of satellites to provide Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) services that support the NRCS 

mission of “Helping People Help the Land.”

Employees of NRCS, located in over 2,000 Field Service Centers across the country, performed the following activities while using GPS PNT services in FY 2017:

• NRCS technical specialists and contractors used GPS as an aid for collection of NRI information in 49 states on over 3,500 sample sites. Global 
166Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

Positioning System 

receivers were used to 

navigate across varying landscape types to 

locate the sample sites. 

Accurate navigation to 

sample sites was essential 

for statistically valid data 

collection. Results of 

the data collection were 

analyzed and archived 

pending production of 

information products 

such as “Invasive Plant Species on Pasturelands” (https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/

Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/nrcseprd1303413.pdf, November 2016) and 

“NRI Rangeland Resource Assessment” (https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/

portal/nrcs/detail/national/landuse/rangepasture/range/?cid=stelprdb1068409, 

June 2014).

A team of NRCS employees collects data along a transect tape. GPS was used to navigate to the origin of the 

sample site. (Source: Courtesy of USDA NRCS)

• Iowa NRCS technical specialists used GPS to collect monitoring information for easements enrolled in the ACEP. The ACEP provides financial 

and technical assistance to help conserve agricultural lands and wetlands 

and their related benefits. Iowa NRCS employees visited 1,561 easements 

Waterfowl land at an NRCS agricultural easement. (Source: Courtesy of 

USDA NRCS)
167

U.S. Department of Agricultu

in FY 2017. Periodic on-ground monitoring was used to assess performance 

of the easements and to ensure that the easements conformed to the terms 

of easement contracts. Contract surveyors used survey-grade GPS equipment to establish boundaries of new agricultural easements.

• NRCS soil scientists used GPS to routinely navigate to soil sampling sites 

to conduct follow-up investigation and to provide soil survey technical 

services to farm and ranch operators.

• The NRCS Water and Climate Center utilized GPS to map locations of 

instrumentation and provide timing to telemetry signals. Coordination 

and delivery of data from 

869 Snow Survey Telemetry 

(SNOTEL) and 219 Soil 

Climate (SCANS) stations 

require nanosecond precision that timing signals from 

GPS provide. The Water 

Climate Center also utilized 

the NOAA Geostationary 

Operational Environmental 

Satellite (GOES) network to 

provide telemetry services for 

remote monitoring sites. Pictured is a typical SNOTEL monitoring station. (Source: Courtesy of USDA NRCS)

• A core NRCS activity, conservation planning, utilizes GPS to mark the positions of resource concerns. 

Conservation planners transfer resource concern position information 

from GPS receivers to a USDA Enterprise Geographic Information System 

(GIS) application called Conservation Planning Toolkit. Planners use the 

Toolkit to prepare conservation and alternative plan maps that are used 

by farm and ranch owner/operators to choose conservation practices that 

address the identified resource concerns. In FY 2017, NRCS conservation 

planners prepared over 95,000 plans, with GPS providing positional data 

about resource concerns in most of the plans. NRCS planners also used 

GPS to verify measurements for contract cost-sharing payments.
168Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

• NRCS engineers utilized GPS to perform detailed topographic surveys of 

farms to support conservation planning. Additional GPS surveying was 

performed to design and layout conservation practices that managed or 

controlled the flow of water across the landscape. Many NRCS contractors utilized GPS through all phases of conservation practice and structural construction projects.

• NRCS Remote Sensing Labs utilized thousands of photo images 

acquired by private aerial contractors for NRI and ACEP monitoring. 

The aerial contractors utilized GPS for flight path navigation and initial registration of the photos that were used in agency GIS and remote 

sensing applications.

• The Texas NRCS state office prepared an application that utilized an 

employee’s smartphone and GPS to mark and comment on Hurricane 

Harvey damage. Texas NRCS employees located areas with damage, obtained a GPS position of the location, and entered notations 

regarding the scope and effect of the damage. Each location was 

uploaded to a real-time Web map for analysis in the Texas NRCS State 

Office. For more information, see “NRCS Develops New Web App to 

Expedite Agency Response to Harvey” (https://www.usda.gov/media/

blog/2017/09/20/nrcs-develops-new-web-app-expedite-agency-response-harvey, 

September 20, 2017).

These images show a damaged grain storage facility and a cow crossing a flooded 

field. (Source: Courtesy of USDA NRCS)
169

U.S. Department of Agricultu

Risk Management Agency

The USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA), created in 1996, serves 

America’s agricultural producers through effective, market-based risk management tools to strengthen the economic stability of agricultural producers and rural 

communities. RMA manages the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) to 

provide innovative crop insurance products to America’s farmers and ranchers. 

Geospatial systems and data, including space-based remote sensing systems, have 

played a fundamental role in RMA’s program delivery, particularly in program compliance and oversight.

RMA uses remote sensing data, such as Landsat, DMC, MODIS, and highresolution aerial and satellite imagery. These data are often collected as a result of 

USDA interagency coordination. RMA often partners with scientists and researchers to develop products to meet agency business needs, including Oregon State 

University’s PRISM Climate Group, George Mason University and USDA NASS 

on developing an agricultural flood-loss estimation system, and Tarleton State 

University’s Center for Agribusiness Excellence (CAE) on integrating MODIS data 

for enhancing program integrity models.

RMA staff are active participants in Science Teams, such as the USGS-NASA 

Landsat Science Team and the USDA Soil Moisture Working Group that focuses 

on the use of data from the NASA SMAP mission. As an operational user of 

remote sensing products, RMA’s participation in these work groups provides insight 

to scientists in developing applications that benefit crop insurance delivery and 

oversight, as well as farmers and ranchers across America.

171 National Science Foundation

National Sc

Foundati

NSF

The National Science Foundation (NSF) continued to serve as the lead Federal 

agency for the support of ground-based astronomy and space science. Through the 

divisions of Astronomical Sciences, Physics, Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences, 

and Polar Programs, the NSF sponsored a broad base of observational, theoretical, 

and laboratory research aimed at understanding the states of matter and physical 

processes in the universe. Areas of research ranged from the most distant reaches 

of the universe and the earliest moments of its existence to nearby stars and planets—including our own sun and planetary system—as well as Earth’s atmosphere 

and space environment.

Division of Astronomical Sciences

The Division of Astronomical Sciences (AST) within the Mathematics and 

Physical Sciences (MPS) Directorate supported the development of advanced 

technologies and instrumentation for astronomical sciences, in addition to providing core support for the optical and radio observatories with state-of-the-art 

instrumentation and observing capabilities accessible to the community on the 

basis of scientific merit. The NSF’s national astronomical facilities included the 

National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), the Arecibo Observatory (AO), 

the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO), and the National Solar 

Observatory (NSO). The NSF also served as the executive agency for the Gemini 

Observatory—an international partnership operating optical/infrared telescopes 
172Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres—providing the United States’ 

share of support for the program.

During FY 2017, AST, in partnership with the European Union, Canada, Japan, 

the Republic of Korea, and Taiwan, continued science operations of the Atacama 

Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA), an interferometric array located 

near San Pedro de Atacama, Chile. ALMA received over 1,600 observing proposals, the most for any observatory on the ground or in space. New capabilities offered 

to the community included simultaneous observations with arrays of 12-meter- and 

seven-meter-diameter antennas, observations with antenna separations of up to 

16 kilometers, and observations at a frequency of 183 gigahertz. ALMA continues 

to provide unique insights across a broad range of topics, including planets and 

planet formation, proto-stellar and debris disks, low- and high-mass star formation, stellar evolution, normal galaxies, galactic centers, and galaxy formation 

and evolution.

Construction of the NSF’s Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST) continued 

through FY 2017. DKIST is the result of a collaboration of scientists from more 

than 20 institutions representing a broad segment of the U.S. solar physics community, and it had previously earned the strong recommendation of the National 

Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences. When completed in 2020, 

DKIST will be the world’s flagship ground-based telescope designed specifically for 

the study of solar magnetic fields on scales as small as 30 kilometers. The baseline 

cost for the DKIST project is $344.13 million. The project is approximately 78 percent complete and is both on budget and on schedule. Construction is currently 

focused on the telescope mount assembly (TMA), which consists of the Coudé 

rotator platform and the telescope mount itself. The Coudé rotator was completed 

in FY 2017 and has undergone site acceptance testing (SAT). The telescope mount 

is nearly completed and will begin SAT in FY 2018.

The National Solar Observatory (NSO) is the lead organization for construction 

of DKIST. NSO will also operate the facility under a ten-year cooperative agreement. Funding for DKIST operations is in the fourth year of a five-year ramp to a 

steady-state level of approximately $16.5 million per year by FY 2019. NSO is currently building a new Data Center at its headquarters in Boulder, Colorado. This 

Data Center will process the 10–12 terabytes of data per day expected from DKIST.
173 National Science Foundation

The importance of the potential impacts of space weather on the Nation’s 

critical infrastructure has raised the level of awareness of space weather within 

the Federal Government. Personnel from MPS-AST, along with colleagues from 

the Directorate for Geosciences’ Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences 

(GEO-AGS), participated in the National Science and Technology Council’s 

(NSTC) Space Weather Operations, Research, and Mitigation (SWORM) multiagency task force. The NSTC tasked SWORM with developing a National Space 

Weather Strategy (NSWS) and an associated National Space Weather Action 

Plan (NSWAP). In October 2016, the President signed an executive order to 

coordinate and spur space weather preparedness, thus continuing the activities 

of the SWORM task force. This increased level of awareness of space weather 

has resulted in focused attention concerning the data products provided by NSO’s 

Global Oscillations Network Group (GONG) facility. GONG provides detailed 

synoptic solar data crucial to operational space weather forecasting. In FY 2016, 

the NSF received a one-time increase of $2.5 million to refurbish GONG and 

make it operationally robust. Refurbishment activities for GONG continued 

through FY 2017. Operations of the GONG facility are jointly funded through a 

five-year Interagency Agreement between the NSF and the National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration.

Construction of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) project continued 

in FY 2017, with realized risks remaining well within the originally assigned cost 

and schedule contingencies. With construction nearly halfway over, there has been 

a major replan of the work required for the data management system and some use 

of schedule contingency for weather-related and complexity-related delays, but “first 

light” is on schedule for 2020. After two years of commissioning to tune all of the 

complex interrelated operating systems, full science observing will start on October 

1, 2022. In LSST’s planned ten-year prime mission, imaging the entire accessible 

sky many hundreds of times, the multicolor survey will populate a science-ready 

database of unprecedented size, enabling breakthrough research in dark energy and 

dark matter, in galactic structure, and in solar system astronomy. The relentless, 

repeated observations will also open up the time domain and revolutionize the 

study of transient events. The Federal partners, the NSF and the Department of 

Energy (DOE), expect this survey to generate 30–40 terabytes of data every night, 
174Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

night after night, throughout its operational life. DOE is funding the camera in a 

project led by the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. The NSF is funding the 

telescope, building, site, network and software pipelining, and data management 

systems that allow specialized access separately for research and for education and 

public outreach. Private, non-Federal funding provided long-lead-time items and 

technology development essential for mitigating early risks. The NSF and DOE 

will support installation and commissioning together. Operations support has been 

requested from both agencies and will be augmented by negotiated non-Federal and 

international contributions.

In FY 2017, AST’s Mid-Scale Innovations Program (MSIP) supported nine programs, with five-year project costs in the range of $3–10 million. They include the 

Cosmic Large Angular Scale Survey (CLASS), a pair of telescopes being built at 

5,200 meters (17,000 feet) on Cerro Toco near the ALMA site on the Atacama 

Plateau in Chile, designed to measure so-called “B-mode” polarization of the 

cosmic microwave background (CMB, the radiation at microwave wavelengths 

that is a remnant of the Big Bang); TolTech, a 3,000-pixel millimeter-wavelength 

camera for observing our galaxy and distant dusty galaxies, to be installed on the 

Large Millimeter Telescope in Mexico; the Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Array 

(HERA), for construction of 240 14-meter-diameter low-frequency radio telescopes 

in the Karoo Desert of South Africa, to observe the 21-centimeter emission signal 

of neutral hydrogen from the Epoch of Reionization in the early universe; and the 

Subaru Measurement of Images and Redshifts (SuMIRE), a camera and observing program developed by Princeton for use on the Japanese telescope Subaru on 

Mauna Kea in Hawaii to conduct a very deep optical survey of distant galaxies.

Other MSIP programs in FY 2017 included the Zwicky Transient Facility 

(ZTF), a telescope/camera combination at Mount Palomar in California dedicated 

to high-cadence optical surveys and a pathfinder for the LSST; the Atacama 

Cosmology Telescope (ACT), a six-meter-diameter millimeter-wave telescope; 

and POLARBEAR, a 3.5-meter-diameter millimeter telescope. The last two are 

both, like CLASS, sited on Cerro Toco and are designed to measure minute variations in the intensity and polarization of the CMB. POLARBEAR is funded in 

partnership with the Simons Foundation. Also ongoing is an award for the Event 

Horizon Telescope (EHT), designed to measure, at extremely high resolution, radio 
175 National Science Foundation

emissions originating from the near environs of the black hole at the center of 

the Milky Way. The EHT had an observing run in FY 2017 that included ALMA, 

which substantially increases the sensitivity of the experiment.

MSIP also provided the U.S. astronomical community with observing time at 

the Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy (CHARA) optical interferometer on Mount Wilson in California and at the Las Cumbres Observatory, a 

network of 18 optical telescopes at eight sites around the world working together 

as a single instrument.

Division of Physics

The Division of Physics (PHY) continued to operate its Laser Interferometer 

Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO), which in FY 2017 announced the third 

and fourth gravitational wave detections from merging black holes. The fourth 

detection was the first to be made using both the two LIGO observatories, in 

Hanford, Washington, and Livingston, Louisiana, plus the VIRGO observatory 

in Santo Stefano a Macerata, Cascina, Italy. VIRGO is a collaboration among six 

European countries; the two countries mainly responsible for the construction of 

the facility are Italy and France. The characteristic signal of a merging black hole 

system was seen simultaneously at all three sites.

Complementing LIGO, the Division of Physics, in partnership with AST, 

continued its funding of a Physics Frontiers Center for the study of gravitational 

radiation, called the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational 

Waves (NANOGrav). NANOGrav uses large radio telescopes to study the arriving 

clocklike signals from over 50 rapidly spinning pulsars to search for deviations in 

the timing that could indicate the passage of a single gravitational wave through 

our galaxy or the presence of a stochastic background of many gravitational 

wave sources throughout the universe. A typical source of gravitational waves for 

NANOGrav would be a black hole pair with millions of times the mass of the sun, 

in contrast to LIGO’s tens of times, and the wave itself would have a period of 

several years.

For a description of the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, partially supported by 

PHY, see the Office of Polar Programs section below.
176Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences

During FY 2017, the Space Weather Operations, Research, and Mitigation 

(SWORM) subcommittee began its formal work as a new subcommittee of the 

Committee on Environment, Natural Resources, and Sustainability (CENRS) of 

the President’s National Science and Technology Council (NSTC). The Space 

Weather Action plan, managed by the SWORM subcommittee, encourages the 

NSF to support fundamental research linked to societal needs for space weather 

information and to work with other agencies specifically “to develop models, observation systems, technologies, and approaches that inform and enhance national 

preparedness for the effects of space weather events.” The NSF is fulfilling this 

through its science programs in the Directorate for Geosciences (GEO), the 

Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS), and the Directorate 

of Geosciences program Prediction and Resilience against Extreme Events 

(PREEVENTS). Additional support comes through the NSF’s multi-directorate 

Critical Resilient Interdependent Infrastructure Systems and Processes (CRISP) 

program and through interagency collaborations such as the joint sponsoring of 

the Community Coordinated Modeling Center located at NASA’s Goddard Space 

Flight Center and the NSF-DOE plasma partnership.

The NSF, through GEO and MPS participation, remained active in SWORM 

activities. In the past year, the Space Weather Benchmark document received public comment and was reviewed and approved by the subcommittee and is under 

review by the NSTC. The next phase of the benchmarks is now under way. NSF/

AGS has a leading role in this phase, which is centered on garnering worldwide 

community guidance on the necessary science to improve the initial benchmarks. 

NSF/AGS is also leading an action (Goal 5.5.1) to identify space weather research 

priorities. The second phase of this effort, in which scientific community input will 

be obtained, is now under way. The NSF was also active in Goal 6—International 

Collaboration—through the funding of the highly successful International Space 

Weather Initiative Workshop, which was held at Boston College in August 2017; it 

had over 150 participants from 50 countries.

The Geospace Section (GS) within AGS supported a wide variety of research 

programs in space science in FY 2017. These included the funding of advanced 
177 National Science Foundation

radar systems to study the ionosphere and magnetosphere, ground-based optical equipment to study the aurora and airglow, partial support to ground-based 

solar telescopes and instruments, and a wide-ranging portfolio of basic research 

in space physics. Major GS-funded activities in FY 2017 included the Geospace 

Facilities (GF) program; the Space Weather Research (SWR) program; the 

Coupling, Energetics, and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions (CEDAR) program; 

the Geospace Environment Modeling (GEM) program; and the Solar, Heliosphere, 

and INterplanetary Environment (SHINE) program. As part of the PREEVENTS 

program, two awards were made, with approximately $4 million in funding that 

included support for the development of space weather models capable of handling 

extreme space weather events.

The NSF funded approximately $2.5 million in awards to support activities during the Great American Eclipse, which took place on August 21, 2017. It crossed 

the contiguous United States with totality visible in 14 states, creating a unique 

opportunity for instruments to be tested and measurements to be made. The NSF 

supported studies on the effects of the eclipse on Earth’s upper atmosphere and the 

first-ever infrared measurements of the lower solar corona from an aircraft.

The Geospace Section runs the Faculty Development in Space Sciences (FDSS) 

Program to ensure the health and vitality of solar and space sciences within university teaching faculties; it offers five-year awards for the creation of new tenuretrack faculty positions within the intellectual disciplines that compose the space 

sciences. In FY 2017, the GS continued to support the hires resulting from the most 

recent competition.

In FY 2017, the GS continued to support its program for CubeSat-based smallsatellite science missions for geospace and atmospheric research and education. 

During FY 2017, two projects continued to operate successfully in space and 

one new mission was launched. The analysis of high-quality observations from 

many of the previous missions continued to deliver scientific findings and results 

throughout FY 2017. Development efforts also continued on another six projects for 

future CubeSat launches that will add new capabilities and breadth to the overall 

CubeSat program.

In FY 2017, the GS continued to support the satellite-based Active 

Magnetosphere and Planetary Electrodynamics Response Experiment (AMPERE), 
178Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

which is now in its second implementation phase, AMPERE-II. AMPERE utilized 

the 66 networked satellites of the existing Iridium constellation to create a new 

facility for collecting geomagnetic field data. The AMPERE facility continued to 

provide the first-ever global observations of the electric currents that link Earth’s 

magnetosphere and ionosphere and the first-ever continuous global observations 

for tracking geomagnetic storm-time dynamics. Geomagnetic storms occur when 

charged particles emitted by solar eruptions interact with Earth’s magnetosphere. 

Such storms can cause major disruptions of power and communications systems 

on the ground. During FY 2017, the data collection for AMPERE continued, and 

the addition of new data and software updates to the AMPERE data server facility 

made the data freely available to researchers.

Research facilities remained as the key component of GS efforts. The Geospace 

Facilities program in FY 2017 continued to enable basic research on the structure 

and dynamics of Earth’s upper atmosphere. In particular, the CEDAR and GEM 

programs conducted research efforts utilizing these facilities. Throughout FY 2017, 

observations made by the Advanced Modular Incoherent-Scatter Radar (AMISR) 

at Poker Flat, Alaska, examined the ionospheric effects of auroral particle precipitation in three dimensions. These observations provided a wealth of data particularly useful to researchers interested in validating space weather models. A second 

AMISR system has been operating at Resolute Bay in Nunavut, Canada, since 

2009. AMISR is ideally situated to observe the properties of the ionosphere in the 

polar cap, a region that is characterized by high ionospheric variability that often 

causes disruption of important navigation and communication systems.

The GS solar physics community was supported by a Major Research 

Instrumentation award to the Mees Solar Telescope in Hawaii. This award is to 

develop instrumentation for measuring the magnetic field of the sun and is synergistic with AST’s DKIST project (described above).

In FY 2017, the AGS’s Atmosphere Section (AS) continued to support the 

Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate 

(COSMIC). The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) 

and its collaborator, Taiwan’s National Space Organization, designed and built 

the COSMIC six-satellite constellation, which launched on April 14, 2006, with 

the support and assistance of the U.S. Air Force’s Space Test Program. Shortly 
179 National Science Foundation

thereafter, data became available from the three payloads: the special space-based 

GPS radio occultation (RO) receivers, the so-called Tiny Ionosphere Photometers, 

and the Tri-Band Beacons. These data have been provided freely to the world 

scientific community.

COSMIC radio occultation data have been assimilated at many operational 

weather prediction centers, including the U.S. National Centers for Environmental 

Prediction (NCEP), the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts 

(ECMWF), Météo France, the United Kingdom’s Met Office, the Meteorological 

Service of Canada, Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau, and others. All of these 

centers have reported that RO data had a significant positive impact on numerical 

weather forecasts. In ionospheric studies, COSMIC RO data accelerated the development of physical models for space weather prediction by providing dense, accurate, 

and global electron-density measurements used for model testing and initialization, 

including the response of the global ionosphere to the impact of solar storms.

During FY 2017, the number of COSMIC satellites still reporting (beyond the 

expected three-year lifespan) dropped from four to one and produced between 250 

and 700 occultations per day. The reduction in COSMIC coverage has been somewhat mitigated through the use of missions of opportunity including the Korean 

Kompsat5 satellite, and UCAR is working with NOAA to obtain these data in 

near-real time. Approximately 90 percent of real-time processed COSMIC data are 

available for the users and operational weather forecasting centers within three 

hours. COSMIC supported more than 1,100 registered users from 52 countries. In 

collaboration with UCAR’s Unidata, COSMIC soundings have been provided in 

real time to support the university community. UCAR also reprocessed data to provide consistent records for the duration of the mission and produced post-processed 

and reprocessed data from several GPS radio occultation (GPSRO) missions of 

opportunity. The NSF and NASA are jointly funding the COSMIC mission for the 

duration of its expected lifespan.

The NSF continued to collaborate with NOAA, USAF, Taiwan, and UCAR to 

ensure the success of the follow-on COSMIC-2 mission. COSMIC-2 now consists 

of a six-satellite constellation to be launched into low-inclination orbits to provide 

dense coverage of the tropics (a second polar constellation was planned but has 

now been cancelled).
180Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

Office of Polar Programs

For FY 2017, the primary activities of the Office of Polar Programs (OPP) in 

ground-based space science and astronomy included continued full-scale observations at the U.S. Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station with the 10-meter 

off-axis radio South Pole Telescope (SPT); the battery of five small-aperture 

(25-centimeter) telescopes called the Small Polarimeter Upgrade for Degree 

Angular Scale Interferometer (SPUD) array; and another, stand-alone Background 

Imaging of Cosmic Extragalactic Polarization (BICEP3) telescope—a wide-field 

cryogenic refractor with a 55-centimeter aperture and fast optics that achieves 

an order of magnitude increase in throughput. The High Elevation Antarctic 

Terahertz (HEAT) robotic telescope, deployed since 2011 at the highest point 

of the Eastern Antarctic Plateau (Ridge A), has completed successful operation 

through 2017; it will be removed and shipped back to the home institution in 

January 2018. Scientific data collected through the lifetime of this project have 

been analyzed for publication, and all observational data will be shared with the 

scientific community.

The SPT continued observations with the new, third-generation receiver 

SPT-3G, which has wide-field optics to measure the CMB polarization at high 

sensitivity. Both the SPT and BICEP research groups are currently focusing on 

measurements of the CMB polarization anisotropy. They target measurements of 

the B-mode polarization where primordial gravitational waves have their imprint, 

as well as on the B-mode signal caused by the gravitational lensing of the intrinsic 

CMB’s E-mode polarization signal. Polarization measurements on smaller angular 

scales measured with the SPT are being used to increase the precision of the CMBlensing determination of projected mass maps of the sky.

The ongoing cosmological research with the SPT program consists of three 

parts: 1) scientific analysis and public release of data products from the completed 

SPT-SZE (a large survey for galaxy clusters detected by the Sunyaev-Zel’dovich 

Effect) and the SPTpol (CMB polarization) surveys; 2) ongoing observations with 

SPT-3G, including the data analysis and public release of data products; and 3) after 

data taking is complete, a final year for analysis and full survey data release. The 

SPT-3G camera has three observing bands (centered at 95, 150, and 220 gigahertz) 
181 National Science Foundation

and represents a fundamental step forward in CMB polarization measurements. 

Recent SPT results from measurements of degree-scale anisotropies in the CMB 

have spectacularly confirmed predictions of the Hot Big Bang cosmological model 

and made precise measurements of many cosmological parameters.

Recent scientific results from the BICEP Collaboration include deep multifrequency (95-, 150-, and 220-gigahertz) maps of degree-scale B-mode polarization 

that measure gravitational lensing and foregrounds to unprecedented precision. 

This project also produced the deepest-ever maps of CMB polarization, now at 

four different frequencies, or colors, of light: 95-, 150-, 220-, and 230-gigahertz. A 

new receiver was deployed and has started making maps at 270 gigahertz as well; 

these higher frequencies are particularly valuable for separating galactic dust from 

CMB polarization signals. The constraints that BICEP telescopes have produced 

on primordial gravitational waves continue to improve, leading the way in probing 

models of inflation that operate near grand-unified theory (GUT) energy scales. 

In the past year, the BICEP group published the most sensitive constraints yet on 

cosmological variation in the speed of light for left- and right-handed photons, 

which would be visible as subtle rotations of CMB polarization.

The IceCube Neutrino Observatory (ICNO, jointly operated at the South Pole 

by the NSF’s Office of Polar Programs and Division of Physics) has now collected 

data for almost seven years of operation from a complete array of 86 strings of optical photodetectors deployed in the ice under the South Pole Station in Antarctica 

at depths between 1.4 and 2.4 kilometers. The ICNO Collaboration, upon analyzing more than a million neutrino-induced events and hundreds of billions of 

cosmic-ray muons, has detected through FY 2017 more than 130 high-energy cosmic neutrinos.

The ICNO has produced the world’s best limit on the flux of cosmogenic neutrinos, which places very strong constraints on the sources of ultra-high-energy cosmic 

rays. The petaelectronvolt (PeV) neutrinos observed by IceCube have a thousand 

times the energy of the highest-energy neutrinos produced with Earthbound accelerators and a billion times the energy of the neutrinos detected from supernova 

SN1987 in the Large Magellanic Cloud, the only neutrinos that had been detected 

on Earth from outside the solar system prior to IceCube’s breakthrough. However, 
182Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

the most surprising property of these cosmic neutrinos is their large flux rather 

than their high energy or their origination outside our galaxy.

The ICNO’s DeepCore subdetector extends measurements of the neutrino flux 

from 100 teraelectronvolts (TeV) down to below 10 gigaelectronvolts (GeV). At 

these energies, DeepCore observes atmospheric neutrino oscillations and performs 

searches for sterile neutrinos with a precision compatible with and comparable to 

those of the dedicated oscillation experiments, such as Main Injector Neutrino 

Oscillation Search (MINOS), T2K, or Super-Kamiokande. In FY 2017, the IceCube 

Collaboration presented a new measurement of the neutrino oscillation parameters 

that, for the first time, is competitive with the best measurements to date by the 

T2K neutrino experiment. Understanding neutrino oscillations at higher energies 

tests systematic uncertainties and also places constraints on different new physics 

models in the neutrino sector. These are the first “pixels” of the first picture of the 

distant neutrino universe, an example of how IceCube is opening doors to a new 

era in particle astrophysics.

The NSF’s Office of Polar Programs also supports NASA’s Long Duration 

Balloon Program in the Antarctic. McMurdo Station provides the necessary logistics for astrophysics payload assembly and final testing and then helps launch the 

balloons and support payload recovery after the flights in various regions of the 

Antarctic continent.
183 Department of State

Department o

DOS

The Department of State (DOS) carries out diplomatic and public diplomacy 

efforts to strengthen understanding of, and support for, U.S. national space policies 

and programs and to encourage the foreign use of U.S. space capabilities, systems, 

and services. State supports U.S. civil space activities through the negotiation of 

bilateral and multilateral agreements with partner countries and leads U.S. participation in numerous international space and technological activities and international organizations.

In FY 2017, State’s Office of Space and Advanced Technology within the Bureau 

of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs (OES/SAT) continued its long-standing efforts to lead the U.S. delegation to the United Nations 

Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) and supported its 

Legal Subcommittee (LSC) and Scientific and Technical Subcommittee (STSC). 

State also continued to lead the participation of both U.S. Government and 

private-industry participation in the Working Group on Long-Term Sustainability 

of Outer Space Activities (LTS) and continued its contribution to the developing 

of the seven thematic priorities and agenda for the 50th anniversary of the first 

United Nations Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space 

(UNISPACE+50) planned for 2018. Additionally, DOS continued co-leading an 

action team to develop a plan of activities to be approved in 2018, highlighting the 

importance of international cooperation in global space exploration efforts.

DOS continued to promote space weather as an important foreign policy topic 

across the U.S. Government and in our discussions with foreign partners, noting the potential for global impacts from an extreme event. OES/SAT actively 

participated in the National Science and Technology Council’s Space Weather 
184Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

Operations, Research, and Mitigation (SWORM) subcommittee and cochaired 

the working group tasked with coordinating international issues and activities. 

State further included space weather as an agenda item for bilateral space policy 

dialogues with the European Union, China, Korea, Japan, and Thailand.

Under the auspices of COPUOS, DOS, NASA, and NOAA represented the 

United States at the UN Expert Group on Space Weather meeting held in Vienna 

on April 27 and 28. The Expert Group is addressing UNISPACE+50 Thematic 

Priority IV on developing an international framework for space weather services. 

At this meeting, the group reviewed LTS guidelines specific to space weather, with 

a focus on mapping each guideline to ongoing/planned activities by member states, 

intergovernmental organizations, and nongovernmental organizations.

Outcomes from this meeting fed into the “United Nations/United States 

Workshop on the International Space Weather Initiative” held in Boston from 

July 31 to August 4. State worked with NASA, NOAA, and the UN Office of 

Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) to organize a high-level session during the first 

1.5 days focused on developing an international framework for space weather. OES/

SAT spoke on our efforts to raise awareness for space weather through diplomatic 

outreach in Washington and among our international partners. UNOOSA considers the workshop, and particularly the high-level session, as one of their “Flagship 

Events” in the lead-up to the UNISPACE+50 Conference.

As part of our diplomatic outreach, OES/SAT co-organized a second “Space 

Weather as a Global Challenge” event on May 18, 2017 (see https://www.state.

gov/e/oes/sat/space_weather/). Hosted by the Embassy of Italy in Washington, DC, 

the event highlighted the importance of addressing the threat of space weather 

and provided updates on progress made toward implementing the U.S. National 

Space Weather Strategy and Action Plan and advances in addressing the threat of 

space weather made in Italy, Europe, and beyond. The dialogue was opened with 

welcoming remarks from H. E. Armando Varricchio, Ambassador of Italy to the 

United States of America; Professor Roberto Battiston, President of the Italian 

Space Agency; and Dr. Jonathan Margolis, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for 

Science, Space, and Health at the U.S. Department of State. The agenda and subsequent roundtable discussions included representatives of government, research, 
185 Department of State

and private-sector organizations from the United States, Italy, Germany, Japan, 

and Russia.

DOS hosted the fourth meeting of the U.S.-Japan Comprehensive Dialogue on 

Space on May 16, 2017, to continue the strong and shared commitment of two of 

the world’s most advanced spacefaring nations to enhance further bilateral space 

cooperation and to cooperate closely with the international community toward 

ensuring the continuous, safe, and stable use of outer space for current and future 

generations. The meeting was cochaired by representatives from the Executive 

Office of the President’s National Security Council and Office of Science and 

Technology Policy (OSTP) for the United States and by representatives from the 

Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Space Policy Secretariat, Cabinet 

Office, for Japan. The Department of State serves as the U.S. Executive Secretariat 

for the Comprehensive Dialogue. State also hosted and chaired the Seventh U.S.-

Japan Civil Space Dialogue and the 11th U.S.-Japan GPS Cooperation Plenary 

Meeting on May 15, 2017. Outcomes from all three meetings were released as a 

Media Note (see https://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2017/05/270946.htm).

The Department of State and NASA continued to work with Japan, the 

European Union, and other planning countries in preparation for the Second 

International Space Exploration Forum (ISEF2), to be held in Tokyo, Japan, on 

March 3, 2018. ISEF2 is an important step in defining an ambitious vision for the 

next phase of human expansion beyond low-Earth orbit, involving commercial and 

international partners and including a return to the moon for long-term exploration and utilization, as well as missions to Mars and beyond.

OES/SAT recently led State Department participation in producing the 

National Near-Earth Object (NEO) Preparedness Strategy (NNPS), which outlines how the U.S. Government would respond to a threat of a “killer asteroid” on 

a potential collision course with Earth. The office engages at COPUOS via the 

International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN), which serves as a clearinghouse 

for the receipt, acknowledgment, and processing of NEO observations worldwide, 

having registered upward of 20 million observations from 39 countries. The office 

also engages at the Space Mission Planning Advisory Group (SMPAG), which 

helps coordinate an international response to a NEO threat through the exchange 

of information, the development of options for collaborative research and space 
186Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

mission opportunities, and mitigation planning activities. OES/SAT supported the 

development of these international advisory bodies and is also engaged in promoting international communication plans and protocols to assist governments in 

the analysis of impact consequences and in the planning of mitigation responses 

at COPUOS.

In November 2016, State led the U.S. delegation to the 11th meeting of the 

International Committee on GNSS (ICG) in Sochi, Russia. This meeting brought 

together approximately 200 experts and government officials representing more 

than 15 countries and organizations to discuss GNSS service provision and use in a 

multilateral forum. The four working groups of the ICG include 1) Systems Signals 

and Services; 2) Enhancement of GNSS Services Performance; 3)  Information 

Dissemination and Capacity Building; and 4) Reference Frames, Timing, and 

Applications. All four working groups met and developed nine new recommendations that were adopted by the full ICG, with a focus on improving GNSS compatibility and interoperability as well as improving outreach to the user community.

Working-level discussions with the EU on GNSS also continued in FY 2017 

through working groups formed by the 2004 U.S.-EU GPS-Galileo Cooperation 

Agreement, administered for the U.S. by OES/SAT. The working group on nextgeneration GNSS applications, including aviation applications, met in October 

2016 and April 2017. Three new subgroups have been established under this 

working group: 1) Service Evolution, 2) Resiliency, and 3) Service Provision 

Coordination. The working group on trade and civil applications also met in 

December 2016. The United States has also begun discussions with the EU on 

possible cooperation on the Galileo encrypted Public Regulated Service, with an 

emphasis on increased resiliency.

OES/SAT continued to lead productive bilateral meetings in FY  2017 with 

China, noting that the Subgroup on Compatibility and Interoperability met in El 

Segundo, California, in June 2017 to discuss GNSS signals with respect to compatibility and interoperability between GPS and BeiDou. Another informal bilateral 

meeting took place in September 2017 in Portland, Oregon, on the margins of the 

U.S. Institute of Navigation’s GNSS+ 2016 Conference.

In October 2016, State hosted a delegation from China for the Second Bilateral 

U.S.-China Civil Space Dialogue, highlighting the importance of transparent, safe, 
187 Department of State

and responsible exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes by China 

and all spacefaring nations. The agenda included discussions related to Earth and 

space science cooperation and space exploration, as well as a follow-up on the 

spaceflight safety discussions that took place in the Expert Workshop on Satellite 

Collision Avoidance and Orbital Debris Mitigation that was held in June 2016.

In September 2017, OES/SAT also led the United States in a Civil Space 

Dialogue with the Government of Thailand. The discussions focused on the 

two nations’ respective space policies and diplomatic activities, as well as important space applications such as Earth observation, GNSS, and civil Maritime 

Domain Awareness.

In the area of Earth observations, DOS promoted international cooperation 

through both bilateral and multilateral processes.

Our noteworthy bilateral collaboration with the European Union is focused on 

their Copernicus program. Thanks to the October 16, 2015, U.S.-EU Cooperation 

Arrangement on Copernicus Earth Observation Data, the United States continues 

to access data and information from the European constellation of Sentinel satellites. During the busy 2017 Atlantic hurricane season (the first time that three 

Category 4 hurricanes have made landfall in the United States and its territories 

in one season), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and FEMA accessed 

timely inundation maps derived from Europe’s Synthetic Aperture Radar satellites, 

including Sentinel 1a and 1b, as well as CosmoSkyMed. The U.S.-EU partnership is guided through a mechanism known as the Copernicus Coordination 

Group (CCG), with participation on the U.S. side from the Department of State, 

NASA, DOC/NOAA, and DOI/USGS, and on the European side by the European 

Commission, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the European Organisation 

for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT).

The two primary multilateral organizations of direct relevance to Earth observation cooperation are the Group on Earth Observation (GEO) and its space 

element, the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS). OES/SAT participated in the U.S.-hosted 14th Plenary Session of GEO in Washington, DC, 

as well as the 31st CEOS Plenary meeting in Rapid City, South Dakota, October 

18–19, 2017. The United States is a founding member of both organizations. GEO 

today has more than 105 member governments, while CEOS has more than 60 
188Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

member space agencies operating over 150 Earth-observing satellites. Continued 

active U.S. engagement in both groups reaffirms its commitment to international 

collaboration and promotion of U.S. science and technology leadership in space, as 

called for in the National Space Policy.

After many years of negotiation, the Department welcomed the Framework 

Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the 

Government of the Republic of Korea for Cooperation in Aeronautics and the 

Exploration and Use of Airspace and Outer Space for Civil and Peaceful Purposes, 

signed at Seoul on April 27, 2016, entering into force on November 3, 2016.
189 Department of Energy

Department of 

DOE

The Department of Energy (DOE) participates in the national effort to further 

U.S. interests in space. Organizations within DOE that provide this capability 

are the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Office of Defense 

Programs; the NNSA Office of Safety, Infrastructure, and Operations; the NNSA 

Office of Counterterrorism and Counterproliferation; the NNSA Office of Defense 

Nuclear Nonproliferation Research and Development (DNN R&D); the DOE 

Office of Science (SC); and the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE).

National Nuclear Security Administration

The NNSA and NASA have established and maintain a strong, collaborative, 

scientific, and operational partnership. NNSA’s engagements in support of NASA’s 

mission are summarized below.

NNSA Office of Defense Programs

Planetary Defense: NNSA has participated in the Detecting and Mitigating 

the Impact of Earth-bound Near-Earth objects (DAMIEN) initiative, which has 

developed a National Strategy and Action Plan for the mitigation and emergency 

response preparedness planning from the threat of Near-Earth Objects (NEO). 

The DAMIEN initiative is cochaired by the White House Office of Science and 

Technology Policy (OSTP) and NASA. In addition to the DAMIEN initiative, 

there is an interagency agreement between NNSA and NASA in place for analyzing asteroids and planetary defense scenarios. NASA provides expertise in the 
190Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

characterization of Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHA), and NNSA provides 

the analysis of options for the most effective ways to mitigate the risk that they 

pose to our planet. This NNSA-NASA interagency agreement provides the 

analysis that satisfies actions associated with two strategic goals of the DAMIEN 

National Strategy by

• characterizing the PHA target sets, defining mission requirements, and 

identifying capability gaps;

• examining the effects of either a kinetic impactor and/or a nuclear detonation, either at the surface or at a standoff distance from a model asteroid, 

using simulation from petascale computers at the National Laboratories;

• defining additional development and system engineering requirements 

addressing technical gaps such as arming, fusing, and firing of a deflection device;

• participating in Planetary Defense tabletop exercises and technical interchange meetings; and

• advising on risk-assessment analysis and the effectiveness of mitigation 

approaches.

Strategic Partnership Projects: NNSA supports Strategic Partnership Projects, 

funded by NASA, with the following capabilities:

• Providing metrology support with calibration on standards and measuring test equipment supporting metrology areas at NASA White Sands 

Test Facility.

• Monitoring satellite visible-light sensor data for bolide occurrences worldwide and generate reports detailing bolide parameters.

• Modeling asteroid entry, airburst, and surface impact effects.

• Enabling joint exploration of sounding rocket technologies at NASA’s 

test ranges.

Radioisotope Power System Production for NASA: Radioisotope Power 

Systems (RPSs) from Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) have powered 

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, New Horizons spacecraft, and Mars Science Laboratory. 

LANL will produce fuel clads to provide enough energy to power the MARS 

2020 mission and three additional Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric 

Generators (MMRTGs) for a possible 2025 mission.
191 Department of Energy

NNSA Office of Safety, Infrastructure, and Operations

Small Fission Power Systems: NASA employs NNSA assets to develop and test 

a prototypic reactor and power system to enable NASA to execute a deep space 

exploration mission. A technology demonstration, referred to as Kilowatt Reactor 

Using Stirling TechnologY (KRUSTY), provides expertise from LANL, the Y-12 

National Security Complex, and the Nevada National Security Site to build and 

test a full-scale flight-prototypic nuclear reactor by the end of 2018. This partnership will help determine whether the reactor design is suitable for flight development. NNSA will retain the fissile material, which will be available to perform a 

variety of radiation test object experiments and to complete planned nuclear data 

measurements for nuclear criticality safety benchmarking purposes.

NNSA Office of Counterterrorism and Counterproliferation

Major Radiological Space (MRS) Launch: NNSA employs Office of 

Counterterrorism and Counterproliferation assets to support the preparation for 

and execution of the MRS launch at Kennedy Space Center (KSC).

• During the preparation phase, NASA employs NNSA assets to conduct 

training, drills, and exercises with the state, tribal, and local emergency management organizations and agencies to validate the ability 

to manage the consequences of a launch anomaly that may result in an 

uncontrolled release of radiological materials into the atmosphere and 

surrounding environment.

• During the execution phase, NASA stages NNSA personnel and equipment in the vicinity of the launch site to be prepared to respond immediately in the unlikely event of a launch anomaly. NNSA personnel would 

be assigned to the KSC Radiation Control Center (RADCC) to provide 

real-time data assessment and coordinate with the NNSA Consequence 

Management Home Team should an NNSA-led Federal Radiological 

Monitoring and Assessment Center (FRMAC) be established following 

a launch anomaly.
192Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

NASA’s Environmental Continuous Air Monitors: NASA has agreed to loan 

their Environmental Continuous Air Monitors (ECAMS) to NNSA for use in 

support of NNSA’s nuclear incident response mission when those devices are not 

being used for mission launch support. These devices are being upgraded to provide 

real-time associated data telemetry systems and will be interoperable with NNSA’s 

existing data telemetry capability.

Ocean Wave Monitoring: NNSA has provided aviation and technical support to NASA JPL’s Doppler Scatterometer (DopplerScatt) Instrument Incubator 

Project (IIP) to monitor ocean wave currents pursuant to an interagency agreement 

between NNSA and the NASA Earth Science Technology Office located at GSFC.

NNSA Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation

NNSA builds the Nation’s operational sensors to monitor the entire planet from 

space in order to detect and report surface, atmospheric, or space nuclear detonations. NNSA provides much of the Nation’s capability to detect, report, locate, 

and identify nuclear explosions using orbiting satellites. NNSA develops, builds, 

and delivers these satellite payloads to meet interagency performance and schedule 

commitments and provides launch and on-orbit operational support for the current 

generation of the U.S. Nuclear Detonation Detection System (USNDS).

Since the 1960s, beginning with the Vela satellite program, NNSA and its 

predecessors have provided the underlying science and technology capability for 

space-based detection of foreign nuclear weapon detonations to meet Test Ban 

Treaty monitoring needs. This fiscal year, NNSA continued full-scale production 

and delivery of sensor payloads as needed to meet national security requirements. 

To ensure that the technologies and capabilities developed for the program support 

stakeholder needs, NNSA actively engaged in intergovernmental working groups 

to reduce duplication of effort, refine user requirements, and improve the quality of 

relevant technologies across funding agencies.

The NNSA weapons laboratories—specifically Los Alamos National Laboratory 

(LANL), Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), and Lawrence Livermore National 

Laboratory (LLNL)—supply the science, technology, and engineering required 

for USNDS. LANL and SNL lead the production of sensor-laden payloads, and 
193 Department of Energy

LLNL contributes to the end-to-end modeling of USNDS. These laboratories 

have a unique and comprehensive understanding of nuclear weapons, as well as 

the observables associated with nuclear detonations and the propagation of signals 

to sensors. Moreover, these laboratories have extensive capabilities in the design, 

construction, calibration, deployment, and operation of satellite-based instruments, 

along with detailed modeling and analysis. To support continuous global monitoring, the operations communities routinely receive analysis, insights, and computer 

codes based on this research.

Two payload suites built at the NNSA laboratories accomplish the nuclear detonation reporting mission: the Global Burst Detector (GBD) and the Space and 

Atmospheric Burst Reporting System (SABRS). The GBD is hosted on all GPS 

satellites, and SABRS is carried on satellite hosts in geosynchronous orbit. In order 

to maintain a vital capability to design and implement these systems, NNSA supported demonstration-validation payloads both to explore new technologies and 

new sensing modalities and to increase the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) for 

parts that might be used in future payload designs.

DOE Office of Science

In FY 2017, the Office of Science (SC) supported several activities that contribute to a broad range of space interests. These activities included SC fundamental 

research that is of mutual interest to the NASA mission, NASA researchers, SC 

program offices, and SC-sponsored scientists; collaborative research efforts with 

NASA; and the operation of SC scientific facilities that are available to NASA and 

the broader scientific community for space-related research.

SC supports frontier plasma science research that contributes to SC-NASA 

mutual interests in the knowledge of heliospheric and astrophysical systems. 

Some of the research supported by SC’s Office of Fusion Energy Sciences (FES) 

enables the development of a comprehensive understanding of heliospheric and 

astrophysical magnetized plasma processes, including magnetic reconnection, 

particle energization, and turbulent cascade processes in the solar corona and 

Earth’s magnetosphere; magneto rotational instability in generating turbulence in 

accretion disks; and dynamo processes creating planetary/galactic magnetic field 
194Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

structures. Specific examples of FES-supported activities in FY 2017 include 1) the 

Large Plasma Device (LAPD) at the Basic Plasma Science Facility (BaPSF) at the 

University of California, Los Angeles, which enables controlled studies of Alfven 

waves that carry energy and momentum from the sun to Earth and throughout 

the universe; 2) the Magnetic Reconnection Experiment (MRX) at the Princeton 

Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), which permits laboratory studies of magnetic 

reconnection and particle energization processes in the solar corona and Earth’s 

magnetosphere; 3) the Big Red Plasma Ball (BRB) and Madison Symmetric Torus 

(MST) experiments at the Wisconsin Plasma Physics Laboratory (WiPPL) at the 

University of Wisconsin, Madison, which allow comprehensive experiments, isolating the key effects of magnetic reconnection, dynamo, turbulence, and particle 

energization processes with high fidelity; 4) the Max-Planck-Princeton Center for 

Plasma Physics, established in 2012 in partnership with the Max Planck Society 

in Germany, which specifically explores the application of plasma science to solar 

and astrophysical problems and their connections to fusion science; and (5) the 

DIII-D Frontier Science campaign initiated in 2017 to conduct basic plasma science 

experiments as well as space plasma–relevant experiments, including Whistler 

wave interactions with collisionless electrons, as well as flux rope structures in 

magnetic reconnection on the DIII-D National Fusion Facility at General Atomics 

in San Diego, which is the largest magnetic fusion facility in the United States.

In addition, FES sponsored unmagnetized plasma research, such as the properties of plasmas created by hypervelocity impacts, and the properties of warm dense 

matter similar to that found in planetary cores. In 2015, FES sponsored a series 

of community research opportunities workshops to identify compelling scientific 

challenges at the frontiers of plasma physics, with workshop reports delivered in 

2016. Attention was paid to opportunities in the next decade. Plasma science 

governing space weather, an area of broad mutual interest to NASA and FES, 

and laboratory-based FES intermediate-scale plasma science facilities, providing 

reconnection data to complement the NASA Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) 

mission, were highlighted. Furthering the study of laboratory plasmas for growing 

our understanding of astrophysical plasma phenomena was also a focus.

SC also funds the development of experimental techniques and instrumentation for use on NASA space missions to study fundamental physics and investigate 
195 Department of Energy

high-priority national science objectives. Examples of these efforts include the 

Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) and the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope 

(FGST). The AMS is a particle physics experiment supported by DOE and international partners, who designed and built the AMS-02 detector and associated 

systems. Launched on Space Shuttle Endeavour on the Space Transportation 

System (STS) mission STS-134 in May 2011 and mounted on the International 

Space Station (ISS), AMS searches for various types of unusual matter in the 

cosmos through its exquisite accuracy in the measurement of cosmic rays. AMS 

science goals include a search for evidence of dark matter and cosmic domains of 

antimatter, as well as for novel features in cosmic-ray spectra. A Memorandum of 

Understanding (MOU) signed between DOE and NASA defined NASA’s responsibilities to include provision of power, data handling, and other services on the ISS, 

while DOE’s responsibilities include experimental operations and data analysis. 

Currently, more than 100 billion cosmic-ray events have been collected. Recent 

results include the ratio of the antiproton-to-proton flux, with the ratio’s rigidity 

not explained by current models. The Large Area Telescope (LAT), the primary 

instrument on NASA’s FGST, is a particle physics detector in space to study the 

gamma-ray sky for high-energy acceleration mechanisms generated by supermassive 

black holes and supernovae and to search for dark matter. It does a complete survey 

of the entire sky in high-energy gamma rays every three hours and enables searches 

for transient phenomena over a wide range of timescales. SC managed the LAT 

fabrication and now operates the LAT Instrument Science Operations Center. In 

2017, the FGST/LAT collaboration published results, showing that the gamma-ray 

emission of the M-31 (Andromeda) Galaxy is concentrated with its center. Results 

are expected in 2018 on limits on the evaporation of primordial black holes and on 

the source of the high-energy gamma-ray excess in the inner Milky Way.

SC also made crucial contributions to the European Space Agency–NASA 

Planck Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) mission. Planck measures the 

CMB, which allows studies of the inflationary epoch in the early universe, as 

well as dark energy, dark matter, and neutrino properties. A Memorandum of 

Agreement (MOA) signed by NASA and DOE provided dedicated DOE National 

Energy Research Supercomputing Center (NERSC) computing resources for the 

Planck mission.
196Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

SC and NASA also engaged in many collaborative research efforts in the areas 

of atmospheric science and terrestrial ecology. In FY 2017, SC’s Atmospheric 

Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility activity supported the 

Land-Atmosphere Feedback Experiment (LAFE), a collaboration between DOE, 

NASA, NOAA, and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. 

The experiment deployed several state-of-the-art scanning lidar and remote sensing 

systems to Oklahoma to collect a dataset for studying feedback processes between 

the land surface and the atmosphere. ARM also supported special scanning strategies of the Scanning ARM Cloud Radar at its Oliktok Point, Alaska, site during 

overpasses of the NASA CloudSat satellite. Availability of matched ARM and 

CloudSat radar profiles will allow for intercomparisons and validation activities 

that could lead to improved remote sensing results from both ground-based and 

satellite cloud radars. ARM also collaborated with NASA on studies of biomass 

burning aerosol in the Southern Atlantic. ARM’s mobile facility was deployed to 

Ascension Island to take ground-based remote sensing measurements of cloud and 

aerosol properties, while a NASA aircraft took in situ measurements of cloud and 

aerosol properties in the region during a related campaign. Finally, ARM continues 

to support efforts to validate spaceborne satellite instruments. 

ARM provided support for ground-based measurements of carbon dioxide in 

Oklahoma as part of the Total Column Carbon Observing Network (TCCON); 

these measurements are being used to validate NASA’s Orbiting Carbon 

Observatory-2 (OCO-2) satellite. SC’s ARM activity also included support for the 

launch of dedicated radiosonde observations during satellite overpasses at three 

sites (Southern Great Plains, Oklahoma; Graciosa Island, Azores; and Barrow, 

Alaska) to obtain profiles of temperature and moisture for the validation of algorithms for the Cross-track Infrared Sounder and Advanced Technology Microwave 

Sounder on NASA’s Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership satellite and future 

Joint Polar Satellite System satellites.

The Terrestrial Ecosystem Science (TES) manages the Next Generation 

Ecosystem Experiment (NGEE)–Arctic and is working with the NASA ArcticBoreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE) study to couple real-time ground-based 

and airborne-based measurements of soil moisture, temperature, carbon dioxide 

(CO2), and methane (CH4) flux over Barrow and Council, Alaska. An MOA to 
197 Department of Energy

leverage the complementary expertise between these two activities has been developed which provides generation of high-resolution lidar and elevation data products, as well as including representatives on each project’s science team to provide 

coordination of data and modeling efforts. NASA Goddard’s Lidar, Hyperspectral 

and Thermal (G-LiHT) airborne imager is being used to characterize tropical forest 

dynamics across a range of edaphic, climatic, and land-use gradients in Puerto Rico 

to support SC’s NGEE-Tropics activity. The AmeriFlux Network, supported by 

SC’s TES activity, is collaborating with NASA’s ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal 

Radiometer Experiment on Space Station (ECOSTRESS) by providing real-time 

ground validations and joint data products. Through interagency agreements, SC’s 

Atmospheric System Research (ASR) activity also supported collaboration with 

NASA scientists on studies using ARM and NASA observations to investigate 

aerosol and cloud processes and their role in Earth’s energy balance.

SC has been working with NASA in a couple of areas to help support NASA’s 

mission interests in radiation effects and astrophysics. In addition, the office provides user facilities for the scientific community, including particle accelerators and 

ion beams for biological and electronic systems radiation studies, as well as nuclear 

astrophysics. The NASA Space Radiation Laboratory (NSRL), a leading facility 

for radiobiology studies in the United States, was established at DOE’s Brookhaven 

National Laboratory (BNL) to study the radiobiological effects of using beams of 

heavy ions (extracted from BNL’s Booster accelerator), which are also produced 

to deliver into SC’s Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) facility. An upgrade 

mutually beneficial to both NSRL and RHIC, and jointly funded by NASA and 

DOE, was the construction of an Electron Beam Ion Source (EBIS). The EBIS at 

BNL significantly expanded the range of ion species available for both radiological 

effects research and fundamental nuclear science, advancing the NASA and SC 

missions. Electronics space-radiation effects testing, which is necessary for mission assurance, occurs at several DOE accelerator facilities, including BNL and 

the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s 88-inch cyclotron. SC also supports 

fundamental research on nuclear reactions of astrophysical interest, contributing to 

SC-NASA mutual interests in the knowledge of stellar evolution and the composition of interstellar space.
198Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

DOE Office of Nuclear Energy

The Office of Nuclear Energy supports NASA’s planetary science and human 

exploration programs by maintaining capabilities to develop, produce, and deliver 

radioisotope power systems (RPSs) for space mission applications. The RPS capabilities are funded by NASA and managed by NE. NE and its predecessors have 

provided RPSs that have safely enabled deep space exploration and national security missions for over five decades. The RPSs convert the heat from the natural 

radioactive decay of plutonium (Pu)-238 into electricity. RPSs reliably operate for 

decades under the harsh conditions encountered in deep space or on the surfaces 

of other planets.

In FY 2017, NE continued its support for Mars 2020, the next RPS-powered 

mission scheduled for launch in July 2020. This support included fuel processing at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and preparation of analyses 

and assessment to support launch certification activities. The Idaho National 

Laboratory continues preparations to assemble graphite impact shells with fueled 

clads received from LANL to support Mars 2020. They are also proceeding to train 

and qualify personnel and initiating formal readiness activities to support launch 

activities at Kennedy Space Center.

With NASA funding support, NE continued to invest in RPS capabilities and 

associated infrastructure to ensure availability for future missions. NE supported 

NASA through technical expertise, procurement coordination, and planning as 

they continued to investigate advances in both thermoelectric and dynamic powerconversion technologies that could result in more efficient and capable RPSs for 

their long-term exploration goals. 

NE also continued working with NASA to increase domestic Pu-238 production 

to ensure that supplies are available for future missions. The Oak Ridge National 

Laboratory (ORNL) completed building and irradiating targets for tests to demonstrate production of new Pu-238. ORNL completed processing the third set of 

irradiated targets containing newly generated Pu-238. Chemical processing took 

place within heavily shielded hot cell facilities at ORNL. The efforts yielded about 

250 grams of new plutonium oxide for use in heat sources. The newly produced 

domestic Pu-238 material was blended with existing inventory and was inserted 
199 Department of Energy

into the fuel inventory for the Mars 2020 mission to demonstrate the Pu-238 pro-

duction cycle. ORNL also purchased new equipment designed to automate the 

target fabrication process and begin to scale up the processes to produce 1.5 kilo-

grams per year.

Additionally, NE and DOE national laboratories provided technical support to 

NASA for fission technologies, specifically Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP) 

system development. In FY 2017, technical advice and support regarding nuclear 

design alternatives were provided.

201 Smithsonian Institution

Smithsonian Insti

The Smithsonian Institution continued to contribute to national aerospace 

goals through a variety of activities in FY 2017. The Smithsonian Astrophysical 

Observatory (SAO) and the Harvard College Observatory jointly form the 

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. 

Through this organization, more than 300 scientists engage in a broad program 

of research in astronomy, astrophysics, Earth and space sciences, and science 

education during the year. The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum 

(NASM) and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) in 

Washington, DC, also contributed to reaching national aerospace goals through 

research and education activities.

The most widely reported news story for SAO in FY 2017, published in Nature 

Astronomy, was the discovery of a supermassive black hole that has ripped apart 

a star and has been gorging on the remains for almost a decade—more than ten 

times longer than any other observed episode of stellar death by a black hole. 

SAO astronomers made this discovery in a relatively small galaxy using NASA’s 

Chandra X-ray Observatory along with two other astronomical satellites. SAO 

controls science and flight operations for the Chandra X-ray Center from its location in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Among other popular CfA news stories was the 

discovery of an Earth-sized exoplanet in its habitable zone, which was featured in 

the New York Times.

The Chandra X-ray Observatory (a NASA “Great Observatory”) is an orbiting telescope designed for precision x-ray astronomy for which SAO played a key 

design and development role. SAO also runs the Operations Control Center in 

Cambridge. Chandra, with its unrivaled ability to obtain high-resolution x-ray 

images, plays a pivotal role in the exploration of the universe, enabling astronomers 
202Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

to investigate phenomena as diverse as comets, black holes, supernova remnants, 

galaxy clusters, dark matter, and dark energy. Chandra operates at high efficiency, 

carrying out observations for teams from all over the world with a high productivity 

rate; the teams average about 450 publications per year. In 2017, Chandra discoveries included obtaining the most sensitive image yet of the seeds of supermassive 

black holes in the distant universe only a few billion years after the Big Bang, 

discovering a mysterious flash of x-rays from what may have been a gamma-ray 

burst in a distant galaxy, finding a star orbiting a black hole every 30 minutes, and 

revealing that stars like the sun experience an unexpectedly sharp drop in their 

x-ray emission after their youth, with dramatic consequences for their planets.

NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, now in its 14th year of operation and more 

than 235,000 kilometers away from Earth, has continued to produce exciting new 

views of the universe at infrared wavelengths. Spitzer is the fourth and final space 

telescope in NASA’s Great Observatory series. Spitzer’s Infrared Array Camera 

(IRAC) was developed at SAO (with Giovanni Fazio as Principal Investigator) 

and was constructed at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. The IRAC camera 

has been the only instrument operating since Spitzer ran out of cryogens in May 

2009. In 2017, IRAC discoveries included the remarkable star TRAPPIST-1 with 

seven planets orbiting it, a new iceball planet with the mass of Earth that was 

discovered when its gravity (acting as a lens) reimaged a distant star, and a massive 

star that died and was reborn as a black hole. SAO scientists using Spitzer recently 

completed a Near-Earth Object (NEO) Survey on over 1,000 objects, resulting in 

estimations of their sizes and reflectivities (albedos). SAO astronomers used Spitzer 

to study the cloud layers on the exoplanet WASP-43b, measure the massive dustrich shell of a supernova remnant, study the stupendous jet—it is almost half a 

million light-years long—in a distant quasar, and observe the coma of a comet that 

shows evidence of processed organic material.

The Solar Dynamics Observatory provides better-than-HD-quality images of the 

sun’s surface and outer atmosphere, measuring physical conditions that help determine the “space weather” around Earth. SAO is a major partner in the Atmospheric 

Imaging Assembly (AIA)—a group of four telescopes that photograph the sun in 

ten different wavelength bands, or colors, once every 12 seconds, producing the 

most spectacular images ever recorded of the active surface of the sun.
203 Smithsonian Institution

NASA’s Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) satellite offers a unique 

view of the sun’s mysterious chromosphere and transition regions. SAO built the 

telescope feed and has an active role in IRIS operations, calibration, and science. 

IRIS is providing information on particle acceleration in hot coronal loops, providing better understanding of the physical processes in solar flares. During 2017, SAO 

scientists continued their involvement in other solar satellites, including Hinode 

and the Deep Space Climate Observer, as well as development activities of new 

solar probe instruments, including the Solar Wind Electrons Alphas and Protons 

(SWEAP) Faraday Cup experiment on the Solar Probe Plus mission (which will fly 

to within ten solar radii of the sun) and the Hi-C II and Marshall Grazing Incidence 

X-ray Spectrograph (MaGIXS) rockets (which will observe the solar corona while 

pushing the limits of spatial resolution and x-ray spectral coverage, respectively).

SAO took advantage of the 2017 total solar eclipse with a unique project, the 

Airborne Infrared Spectrometer (AIR-Spec) for Solar Eclipse Observations. Flying 

with a team of SAO astronomers, this Gulfstream aircraft flew at 50,000 feet over 

Kentucky during totality to take detailed measurements of the sun’s outer atmosphere, the corona, at infrared wavelengths.

FY 2017 marked continued progress for the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT), 

on which the SAO is a team leader. The GMT is a facility for optical and infrared 

observations that will combine seven huge mirrors to create the world’s largest 

telescope. It will address key questions in cosmology, astrophysics, and the study 

of planets outside our solar system. Three of the seven eight-meter-diameter mirror 

segments have now been fabricated, and one has been polished and prepared for 

shipment to the site in Chile. Meanwhile construction at the site is under way; 

work on essential infrastructure—roads, power, water, sanitation, communications, 

and a worker’s residence—is complete.

The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) is a developing facility that unites telescopes around the world to study the event horizon of the supermassive black hole 

at the center of the Milky Way. In 2017, the EHT team used the Submillimeter 

Array (SMA, jointly built and operated by the Smithsonian Astrophysical 

Observatory and the Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics), 

together with eight other facilities around the world, to examine the black hole 

and activity going on around it. SAO scientists also combined SMA observations 
204Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

of flaring of the black hole (produced as the black hole accretes material) with 

simultaneous measurements taken by the Chandra and Spitzer space telescopes. 

In separate research, SAO scientists used the SMA to study for the first time the 

large region of our galaxy to probe an unexpected outburst in a newly forming star, 

thought to be due to accretion, and to analyze the structures of galaxies in the very 

early universe.

The Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring Pollution (TEMPO) mission made 

excellent progress in 2017 and is nearing completion of the instrument construction, with launch scheduled in 2019. The mission will study the constituents of 

the atmosphere in more detail and precision than ever before, compiling a new 

dataset of atmospheric chemistry as measured from space. TEMPO will be the first 

space-based instrument to monitor major air pollutants across the North American 

continent every daylight hour at high spatial resolution.

NASA selected SAO’s Arcus mission to compete in a final down-select for the 

next Medium-Class Explorer (MIDEX) mission. Arcus is a high-resolution x-ray 

grating spectrometer telescope mission. SAO is a team member of a second competing MIDEX selection: SPHEREx, a telescope that will conduct four all-sky 

infrared spectral surveys of the sky.

The SAO Eclipse Soundscapes project used sound to bring the 2017 total eclipse 

experience to the blind and visually impaired community. With audio descriptions 

of the eclipse delivered in real time and an interactive “Rumble Map,” it allowed 

users to hear and feel the physical qualities of the eclipse, bringing this astronomical event to a larger, more diverse audience. Eclipse Soundscapes partnered with 

the National Park Service, Brigham Young University, and citizen scientists. 

The SAO Eclipse App was a free mobile app that calculated a user’s view of the 

eclipse with an interactive map, providing a virtual view in an eclipse simulator, 

as well as a live NASA stream of the eclipse as it traveled across the continental 

United States. At the same time, users learned about solar research at the SAO. 

The MicroObservatory is a robotic network of telescopes operated by the CfA 

for research and public outreach purposes. During the eclipse, MicroObservatory 

facilities in Massachusetts and Arizona observed the eclipse from above and 

below the path of totality. Science education specialists engaged users by creating 
205 Smithsonian Institution

eclipse animations and calculating the distance of the moon by comparing the two 

image sets.

SAO continued its popular monthly Observatory Night lectures and observing sessions. Begun by observatory director Harlow Shapley in 1930, these public 

nights offer the local community an opportunity to learn about the latest advances 

in astronomy and to view the moon, stars, and planets through a variety of telescopes. Observatory Night talks also reach worldwide audiences via YouTube.

“The Dynamic Sun,” an exhibit conceived, designed, and built by SAO researchers, features a giant seven- by six-foot video wall intended to create a visceral 

impact and show visitors how an ever-changing sun affects Earth. The “Dynamic 

Sun” at NASM in Washington, DC, continues to be seen by millions of visitors 

each year.

In FY 2017, NASM continued to educate and inspire the public through exhibits, research, and education programs, including discovery stations, lecture series, 

family educational events, publications, STEM Webcasts, and intern training. 

NASM was a center of activity for the historic August 21 solar eclipse, providing 

free eclipse glasses and safe solar telescope viewing, as well as a variety of educational activities. The eclipse was also broadcast live online from NASM’s Phoebe 

Waterman Haas Public Observatory.

In September, NASM’s “STEM in 30” program presented a live downlink from 

the International Space Station (ISS). Astronaut Randy Bresnik spoke with students at the museum, and the live broadcast was viewed in classrooms across the 

country. This event is part of a larger NASA-NASM collaboration that provides 

educational materials for teachers.

The exhibition “Artist Soldiers: Artistic Expression in the First World War” 

marked the 100th anniversary of the U.S. entry into World War I. This moving 

exhibition presents works of individual soldiers immersed in war. At the museum’s 

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, the exhibition “Clouds in a Bag: The Evelyn Way 

Kendall Ballooning and Early Aviation Collection” showcased artifacts and art 

from the time when humans first took to the skies in balloons. Also on display 

at the Udvar-Hazy Center was the suit worn by Alan Eustace when he broke the 

world record for the highest-altitude free-fall jump, skydiving from 135,890 feet.
206Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

Museum staff worked in 2017 to prepare the Apollo 11 Command Module 

Columbia for a four-city tour that began in October. Columbia will tour as part of 

the exhibition “Destination Moon: The Apollo 11 Mission.” A 3D interactive unit 

created using high-resolution digital scans will allow visitors to explore this iconic 

symbol of the Space Age inside and out.

Staff members in NASM’s Center for Earth and Planetary Studies (CEPS) continued to participate on the science teams of several spacecraft missions. Dr. John 

Grant is a Participating Scientist for the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission 

that is currently operating on Mars. He is a Chair of the MER Science Operations 

Working Group, and in that capacity he leads day-to-day science planning for 

the Opportunity rover. In addition, he is Cochair of the Mars 2020 Landing Site 

Steering Committee. CEPS staff are also on the science teams for the Mars Science 

Laboratory (MSL), the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere 

Sounding (MARSIS) instrument on Mars Express, both the High Resolution 

Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) and Shallow Subsurface Radar (SHARAD) 

instruments on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), the radar sounder on 

ESA’s JUICE, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), MESSENGER, and the 

Europa Mission. CEPS continued its active research program in planetary and terrestrial geology and geophysics with research on such topics as comparative planetology; Martian fluvial, aeolian, impact, and volcanic features; tectonic studies of 

Mercury and Enceladus; and radar studies of the moon, Mercury, Venus, and Mars.

The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History continued, through the 

Department of Mineral Sciences and the Offices of Education and Exhibits, its 

mission of education, research, and curation related to space exploration.

Approximately one million people per year visit the Moon, Meteorites and Solar 

System Gallery of the Geology, Gems and Meteorites Hall, where they can see one 

of the finest displays of meteorites anywhere in the world, ranging from presolar 

diamonds separated from the Allende meteorite; to the carbonate-bearing Allan 

Hills 84001 meteorite, which spurred the debate about past microbial life on Mars; 

to impactites, including a square-meter section of the K-T boundary layer (the K-T 

marks the point between the Cretaceous and Tertiary periods).

The collections of the Division of Meteorites continue to grow, including 

through the acquisition of a portion of the “Black Beauty” meteorite shower that 
207 Smithsonian Institution

samples ancient regolith on Mars. Notably, the Smithsonian’s partnership with 

the NSF and NASA in the U.S. Antarctic Meteorite Program surpassed 25,000 

individual meteorites collected in Antarctica, including samples from Mars, the 

moon, and numerous poorly known asteroids. Provided free of charge to qualified 

scientists, these samples help scientists address fundamental questions about the 

origin and evolution of our solar system.

Scientists in the Department of Mineral Sciences remain engaged in the study 

of meteorites and asteroids to unravel their origin in the early solar nebula, their 

evolution on asteroids, the differentiation of asteroids in the early history of the 

solar system, and the geologic evolution of Mars. NMNH scientists remain actively 

engaged in spacecraft missions, with Tim McCoy serving as Co-Investigator on 

the OSIRIS-REx mission and Psyche missions and having just completed working 

on the MESSENGER mission. OSIRIS-REx will visit asteroid Bennu and return 

samples to Earth for study. McCoy is leading efforts to map the geology of the 

asteroid and will study the mineralogy and origin of the samples when they return 

to Earth in 2023. He will lead efforts to exhibit a sample of Bennu at NMNH. The 

Psyche mission, which was selected as one of the newest Discovery missions this 

year, will visit the asteroid of the same name, which is a 200-kilometer-diameter 

asteroid thought to be composed of metallic iron, akin to our own metallic core. 

McCoy will lead efforts to study the role of oxidation and reduction in the formation of this asteroid. Dr. Catherine Corrigan is a Co-Investigator on a proposal for 

NASA’s latest call for missions in the New Frontiers Program, where she joins a 

team proposing to return material from the surface of a comet.

Public outreach beyond the exhibit continues to be a focus of our efforts, 

with numerous “Scientist Is In” presentations in the Q?rius learning center at 

NMNH and outreach efforts beyond the National Mall, including digital outreach through NMNH’s Web site and Dr. Corrigan’s appearance on the NPR 

podcast Undiscovered.

Appendices

209

Appendices
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

210

Appendix A-1

U.S. Government Spacecraft R

(Includes spacecraft from cooperating countries launched by U.S. launch vehicles.)

Calendar 

Year

Earth Orbita Earth Escape

Success Failure Success Failure

1957 0 1 0 0

1958 5 8 0 4

1959 9 9 1 2

1960 16 12 1 2

1961 35 12 0 2

1962 55 12 4 1

1963 62 11 0 0

1964 69 8 4 0

1965 93 7 4 1

1966 94 12 7 1b

1967 78 4 10 0

1968 61 15 3 0

1969 58 1 8 1

1970 36 1 3 0

1971 45 2 8 1

1972 33 2 8 0

1973 23 2 3 0

1974 27 2 1 0

1975 30 4 4 0

1976 33 0 1 0

1977 27 2 2 0

1978 34 2 7 0

1979 18 0 0 0

1980 16 4 0 0

1981 20 1 0 0

1982 21 0 0 0

1983 31 0 0 0

1984 35 3 0 0

1985 37 1 0 0

1986 11 4 0 0

1987 9 1 0 0

1988 16 1 0 0

Calendar 

Year

Earth Orbita Earth Escape

Success Failure Success Failure

1989 24 0 2 0

1990 40 0 1 0

1991 32c 0 0 0

1992 26c 0 1 0

1993 28c 1 1 0

1994 31c 1 1 0

1995 24c, d 2 1 0

1996 30 1 3 0

1997 22e 0 1 0

1998 23 0 2 0

1999 35 4 2 0

2000 31f 0 0 0

2001 23 0 3 0

2002 18 0 0 1b

2003 28c, f 0 2 0

2004 8c 0 1 0

2005 10 0 2 0

2006 20d 0 2 0

2007 16 2 2 0

2008 22f 0 0 0

2009 24f 1 0 0

2010 15 0 0 0

2011 16 1 3 0

2012 13 0 0 0

2013 18 0 1 0

2014 22 1 0 0

2015 12 1 1 0

2016 27 3 2 0

2017* 20 1 0 0

* (through September 30, 2017)

TOTAL 1,795 163 113 16

a. The criterion of success or failure used is attainment of Earth orbit or Earth escape rather than judgment of mission success. “Escape” flights 

include all that were intended to go to at least an altitude equal to lunar distance from Earth.

b. This Earth-escape failure did attain Earth orbit and, therefore, is included in the Earth-orbit success totals.

c. This excludes commercial satellites. It counts separately spacecraft launched by the same launch vehicle.

d. This counts various sets of microsatellites as a single payload. 

e. This includes the Small Spacecraft Technology Initiative (SSTI) Lewis spacecraft that began spinning out of control shortly after it achieved Earth orbit.

f. This includes American spacecraft not launched in the United States.
Appendices

211

Appendix A-2

World Record of Space Launches S

in Attaining Earth Orbit or 

(Enumerates launches rather than spacecraft; some launches orbited multiple spacecraft.)a

Calendar 

Year

United

Statesb

USSR/

CIS Francec Italyc Japan

People’s 

Republic

of China Australia

United

Kingdomc

European 

Space

Agency India Israel Iran

North

Korea

South

Korea

1957 2

1958 5 1

1959 10 3

1960 16 3

1961 29 6

1962 52 20

1963 38 17

1964 57 30

1965 63 48 1

1966 73 44 1

1967 57 66 2 1 1

1968 45 74

1969 40 70

1970 28 81 2 1 1 1

1971 30 83 1 2 2 1 1

1972 30 74 1 1

1973 23 86

1974 22 81 2 1

1975 27 89 3 1 2 3

1976 26 99 1 2

1977 24 98 2

1978 32 88 3 1

1979 16 87 2 1

1980 13 89 2 1

1981 18 98 3 1 2 1

1982 18 101 1 1

1983 22 98 3 1 2 1

1984 22 97 3 3 4

1985 17 98 2 1 3

1986 6 91 2 2 2

1987 8 95 3 2 2

1988 12 90 2 4 7

1989 17 74 2 7 1

1990 27 75 3 5 5 1

1991 20 62 2 1 9 1

1992 31 55 2 3 7 2

1993 24 45 1 1 7

1994 26 49 2 5 6 2

1995 27 33 1 2 12 1

1996 32 25 1 3 10 1

1997 37 28 2 6 12 1

1998 34 24 2 6 11

1999 32 26 4 10 1

2000 30 34 5 12

2001 23 23 1 1 8 2

2002 18 23 3 4 11 1 1

2003 26 21 2 6 4 2

2004 19 22 8 3 1

2005 16 26 2 5 5 1

2006 15 16 5 3 5

2007 25 33 3 13 8 3 1

2008d 19 26 1 11 7 3

2009 25 29 3 4 9 4 1

2010 15 30 2 15 6 1 1

2011 17 33 3 18 7 3 1

2012 13 27 2 19 10 2 1 1

2013e 19 29 3 14 7 3 1

2014e 22 31 4 16 10 4 1

2015 13 16 3 9 8 4 1

2016 29 25 5 32 14 8 1 1

2017* 20 13 4 8 9 5

*(through September 30, 2017)

TOTAL 1,550 3,060 10 8 100 250 1 1 262 58 8 4 2 1

a. This includes commercial expendable launches and launches of the Space Shuttle as well as launches to useless orbit.

b. Launches from U.S.-Russia joint platform included in U.S. totals.

c. Since 1979, all launches for ESA member countries have been joint and are listed under ESA.

d. Since 2008, the ESA statistics include the Soyuz launches from Guiana Space Centre.

e. The data published in the FY 2014 report reflect incorrect totals and have been adjusted.
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

212

Appendix B

Successful Launches to Orbit on U.S.

October 1, 2016–September 30, 2017

Launch Date

Spacecraft Name

COSPAR* Designation

Launch Vehicle Mission Objectives

Apogee and

Perigee (km),

Period (min),

Inclination to Equator (°) Remarks

October 17, 2016

Cygnus CRS OA-5

2016-062A

Antares 230

International Space Station ISS Cargo Resupply

November 11, 2016

WorldView 4

2016-067A

Atlas 5-401

Earth observation 504

496

94.61

51.64

Operated by DigitalGlobe

November 19, 2016

GOES-R

2016-071A

Atlas 5-541

Earth observation 35,792

35,782

1,436.1

0.0

U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

meteorological satellite

Also called GOES 16

December 7, 2016

WGS 8 (USA 272)

2016-075A

Delta 4M+5,4

Military/Communications N/A Department of Defense

December 15, 2016

CYGNSS

2016-078A-H

Pegasus XL

Earth observation 536

513

95.1

35.0

Weather satellite developed and operated by the 

Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), University of 

Michigan, and NASA's Science Mission Directorate

Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS)

Constellation of eight microsatellite observatories

December 18, 2016

Echostar 19/Jupiter 2

2016-079A

Atlas 5-431

Communications 35,793

35,781

1,436.1

0.0

Broadband internet satellite operated by Hughes Network 

Systems

January 14, 2017

Iridium Next 1-10

2017-003D A-H, JK

Falcon 9 v1.2

Communications 780

776

100.4

86.4

Operated by Iridium Communications, Inc.

Ten satellites

January 21, 2017

SBIRS GEO 3/ US-273

2017-004A

Atlas 5-401

Military/Communications N/A U.S. Air Force

February 19, 2017

Dragon/CRS-10

2017-009A

Falcon 9 v1.2

International Space Station ISS Cargo resupply 

March 1, 2017

NROL 79/USA 274

2017-011B

Atlas 5-401

Surveillance/Military N/A U.S. National Reconnaissance Office

Also known as Naval Ocean Surveillance System 

(NOSS) 3

March 16, 2017

Echostar 23

2017-014A

Falcon 9 v1.2

Communications 35,796

35,778

1,436.1

0.0

Television broadcast satellite operated by Hughes 

Network Systems

March 19, 2017

WGS 9

2017-016A

Delta 4M+5,4

Military/Communications N/A U.S. Air Force

March 30, 2017

SES 10

2017-017A

Falcon 9 v1.2

Communications 35,798

35,775

1,436.1

0.01

Designed and built by Airbus Defence and Space for 

SES S.A.

* U.N. Committee on Space Research
Appendices

213

Launch Date

Spacecraft Name

COSPAR* Designation

Launch Vehicle Mission Objectives

Apogee and

Perigee (km),

Period (min),

Inclination to Equator (°) Remarks

April 18, 2017

Dragon/Cygnus OA-7

2017-019A

Atlas 5-401

International Space Station ISS Cargo resupply

May 1, 2017

NROL 76

2017-022A

Falcon 9 v1.2

Surveillance/Military N/A U.S. National Reconnaissance Office

May 15, 2017

Inmarsat 5 F4

2017-025A

Falcon 9 v1.2

Communications 35,602

35,595

1,426.49

0.04

Operated by Inmarsat, PLC, for mobile satellite broadband support

June 3, 2017

Dragon 6/CRS-11

2017-030A

Falcon 9 v1.2

International Space Station ISS Cargo resupply

June 23, 2017

BulgariaSat 1 

2017-038A

Falcon 9 v1.2

Communications 35,798

35,776

1,436.1

0.0

Operated by Bulsatcom

June 25, 2017

Iridium Next 11-20

2017-039A-H, JK

Falcon 9 v1.2

Communications 627

606

97.03

85.61

Operated by Iridium Communications, Inc.

Ten satellites

July 5, 2017

Intelsat 35e

2017-041A

Falcon 9 v1.2

Communications 35,797

35,778

1,436.1

0.02

Designed and built by Boeing for Intelsat, S.A.

August 14, 2017

CRS-12

2017-045A

Falcon 9 v1.2

International Space Station ISS Cargo resupply

Last of 12 resupply missions under Commercial Resupply 

Services contract

August 18, 2017

TDRS-M

2017-047A

Atlas 5-401

Communications 35,821

35,751

1,436.1

6.9

Tracking and Data Relay Satellite M (TDRS-M), part of 

NASA’s Space Network

Also called TDRS-13

August 24, 2017

Formosat 5

2017-049A

Falcon 9 v1.2

Earth observation 729.9

716.6

99.25

98.3

Earth remote sensing satellite that was built and operated 

by the National Space Organisation of the Republic of 

China (Taiwan)

August 26, 2017

ORS 5

2017-050A

Minotaur 4

Surveillance/Military N/A Also called Sensorsat, used by U.S. Air Force for space 

situational awareness (SSA) or space surveillance—monitoring other satellites in orbit

September 7, 2017

OTV-5

2017-052A

Falcon 9 v1.2

Military N/A X-37B mission carrying the Air Force Research 

Laboratory (AFRL) Advanced Structurally Embedded 

Thermal Spreader (ASETS-11) to test experimental 

electronics and oscillating heat pipes

September 24, 2017

NROL 42 (USA 278)

2017-056A

Atlas 5-541

Surveillance/Military N/A U.S. National Reconnaissance Office

Appendix B (cont.)

Successful Launches to Orbit on U.S.

October 1, 2016–September 30, 2017
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

214

Appendix C

Human Spacef

October 1, 2016–September 30, 2017

Spacecraft Launch Date Crew

Flight Time 

(d:h:min) Highlights

Soyuz MS-02

(Expedition 49)

October 19, 2016 Shane Kimbrough

Andrei Borisenko

Sergey Ryzhikov

173:03:16 Orbital ATK's Cygnus CRS OA-05 docked to the ISS on 

October 23, 2016

Soyuz MS-03

(Expedition 50)

November 17, 2016 Oleg Novitsky

Thomas Pesquet

Peggy Whitson

196:17:49 Peggy Whitson set NASA record for cumulative time in 

space: 665 days

Installed adapter plates for six new lithium-ion batteries

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s HTV-6 docked to the 

ISS on December 13, 2016

SpaceX CRS-10 docked to the ISS on February 23, 2017

Soyuz MS-04

(Expedition 51)

April 20, 2017 Fyodor Yurchikhin

Jack Fischer

135:18:08 Crew conducted 200th ISS spacewalk on May 12, 2017

Orbital ATK's CRS-7 docked to the ISS on April 22, 2017

Installed a protective shield on the Pressurized Mating 

Adapter-3

SpaceX CRS-11 docked to the ISS on June 5, 2017

Soyuz MS-05

(Expedition 52)

July 28, 2017 Sergei Ryazanski

Randy Bresnik

Paolo Nespoli

N/A Manually deployed five nanosatellites

SpaceX CRS-12 docked to the ISS on August 16, 2017

Soyuz MS-06

(Expedition 53)

September 12, 2017 Alexander Misurkin

Mark Vande Hei

Joseph Acaba

N/A Replaced a Latching End Effector (LEE) on the Station’s 

robotic arm, Canadarm2

Installed a camera system on the LEE
Appendices

215

Appendix D-1A

Space Activities of the U.S. Governm

HISTORICAL TABLE OF BUDGET AUTHORITY

(in millions of real-year dollars)

FY

NASA 

Total

NASA 

Space DODa Otherb DOEc DOC DOI USDA NSFd DOT Total Space

1959 331 261 490 34 34 785

1960 524 462 561 43 43 1,066

1961 964 926 814 68 68 1,808

1962 1,825 1,797 1,298 199 148 51 3,294

1963 3,673 3,626 1,550 257 214 43 5,433

1964 5,100 5,016 1,599 213 210 3 6,828

1965 5,250 5,138 1,574 241 229 12 6,953

1966 5,175 5,065 1,689 214 187 27 6,968

1967 4,966 4,830 1,664 213 184 29 6,707

1968 4,587 4,430 1,922 174 145 28 0.2 1 6,526

1969 3,991 3,822 2,013 170 118 20 0.2 1 31 6,005

1970 3,746 3,547 1,678 141 103 8 1 1 28 5,366

1971 3,311 3,101 1,512 162 95 27 2 1 37 4,775

1972 3,307 3,071 1,407 133 55 31 6 2 39 4,611

1973 3,406 3,093 1,623 147 54 40 10 2 41 4,863

1974 3,037 2,759 1,766 158 42 60 9 3 44 4,683

1975 3,229 2,915 1,892 158 30 64 8 2 54 4,965

1976 3,550 3,225 1,983 168 23 72 10 4 59 5,376

TQ* 932 849 460 43 5 22 3 1 12 1,352

1977 3,818 3,440 2,412 194 22 91 10 6 65 6,046

1978 4,060 3,623 2,738 226 34 103 10 8 71 6,587

1979 4,596 4,030 3,036 248 59 98 10 8 73 7,314

1980 5,240 4,680 3,848 231 40 93 12 14 72 8,759

1981 5,518 4,992 4,828 234 41 87 12 16 78 10,054

1982 6,044 5,528 6,679 313 61 145 12 15 80 12,520

1983 6,875 6,328 9,019 327 39 178 5 20 85 15,674

1984 7,458 6,858 10,195 395 34 236 3 19 103 17,448

1985 7,573 6,925 12,768 584 34 423 2 15 110 20,277

1986 7,807 7,165 14,126 477 35 309 2 23 108 21,768

1987 10,923 9,809 16,287 466 48 278 8 19 112 1 26,562

1988 9,062 8,322 17,679 741 241 352 14 18 115 1 26,742

1989 10,969 10,097 17,906 560 97 301 17 21 121 3 28,563

1990 12,324 11,460 15,616 506 79 243 31 25 124 4 27,582

1991 14,016 13,046 14,181 772 251 251 29 26 211 4 27,999

1992 14,317 13,199 15,023 798 223 327 34 29 181 4 29,020

1993 14,310 13,064 14,106 731 165 324 33 25 180 4 27,901

1994 14,570 13,022 13,166 632 74 312 31 31 179 5 26,820

1995 13,854 12,543 10,644 759 60 352 31 32 278 6 23,946

1996 13,884 12,569 11,514 828 46 472 36 37 231 6 24,911

1997 13,709 12,457 11,727 789 35 448 42 39 219 6 24,973

1998 13,648 12,321 12,359 839 103 435 43 39 213 6 25,519

1999 13,653 12,459 13,203 982 105 575 59 37 200 6 26,644

2000 13,601 12,521 12,941 1,056 164 575 60 44 207 6 26,518

2001 14,230 13,304 14,326 1,062 145 577 60 36 232 12 28,692

2002 14,868 13,871 15,740 1,180 166 644 64 28 266 12 30,791

2003 15,364 14,360 19,388 1,305 191 649 74 42 337 12 35,053

2004 15,379 14,322 19,115 1,464 209 745 71 61 366 12 34,901

2005 16,198 15,234 19,690 1,551 229 807 70 73 360 12 36,475

2006 16,623 15,765 22,114 1,647 245 860 82 84 364 12 39,526

2007 16,285 15,568 22,418 1,680 200 912 87 65 404 12 39,666

2008 17,117 16,502 24,795 1,698 195 862 90 59 479 13 42,995

2009 17,775 17,275 26,528 1,868 200 1,078 64 27 485 14 45,671

2010 18,725 18,228 26,463 2,057 203 1,261 67 27 484 15 46,748

2011 18,432 17,898 27,234 2,186 229 1,444 66 20 412 15 47,318

2012 17,773 17,203 26,677 2,580 199 1,876 76 7 406 16 46,460

2013 17,395 16,865 10,818 2,578 185 1,865 84 20 409 15 30,261

2014 17,647 17,081 10,400 2,839 174 2,087 82 19 461 16 30,320

2015 18,010 17,359 10,325 3,010 182 2,223 83 19 485 18 30,694

2016 19,285 18,645 6,967 3,159 178 2,346 87 19 508 22 28,771

2017 19,653 18,993 10,316 2,995 172 2,214 85 20 480 24 32,304

a. DOD reported that improvements to the estimating methodology resulted in a change in estimated budget authority and outlays starting in FY 2013.

b. The Other column is the total of the non-NASA and non-DOD budget authority figures that appear in the succeeding columns. The total is 

sometimes different from the sum of the individual figures because of rounding. The Total Space column does not include the NASA Total 

column because the latter includes budget authority for aeronautics as well as space. For the years 1989–97, this Other column also includes small 

figures for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as well as $2.1 billion for the replacement of Space Shuttle Challenger in 1987.

c. DOE has recalculated its space expenditures since 1998.

d. The NSF has recalculated its space expenditures since 1980, making them significantly higher than reported in previous years.

* Transition Quarter
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

216

Appendix D-1B

Space Activities of the U.S. Governm

HISTORICAL TABLE OF BUDGET AUTHORITY

(in millions of inflation-adjusted FY 2017 dollars)

FY

Inflation 

Factors

NASA 

Total

NASA 

Space DODa Otherb DOEc DOC DOI USDA NSFd DOT Total Space

1959 6.591 2,181 1,720 3,229 224 224 5,174

1960 6.500 3,406 3,003 3,646 279 279 6,929

1961 6.411 6,181 5,937 5,219 436 436 11,592

1962 6.347 11,583 11,405 8,238 1,263 939 324 20,906

1963 6.269 23,027 22,732 9,717 1,611 1,342 270 34,061

1964 6.194 31,588 31,068 9,904 1,319 1,301 19 42,291

1965 6.087 31,958 31,276 9,581 1,467 1,394 73 42,324

1966 5.959 30,837 30,182 10,065 1,275 1,114 161 41,522

1967 5.782 28,715 27,929 9,622 1,232 1,064 168 38,782

1968 5.591 25,646 24,768 10,746 974 811 157 1 6 36,487

1969 5.345 21,333 20,430 10,760 911 631 107 1 5 167 32,101

1970 5.072 19,000 17,991 8,511 715 522 41 5 5 142 27,217

1971 4.828 15,984 14,971 7,299 782 459 130 10 5 178 23,052

1972 4.609 15,243 14,155 6,485 615 254 143 28 9 182 21,256

1973 4.417 15,044 13,661 7,169 651 239 177 44 9 183 21,481

1974 4.125 12,529 11,382 7,285 652 173 248 37 12 182 19,320

1975 3.738 12,071 10,897 7,073 590 112 239 30 7 201 18,560

1976 3.496 12,410 11,274 6,932 588 80 252 35 14 207 18,795

TQ* 3.394 3,163 2,882 1,561 146 17 75 10 3 41 4,589

1977 3.261 12,451 11,218 7,866 631 72 297 33 20 210 19,715

1978 3.056 12,407 11,072 8,367 691 104 315 31 24 217 20,129

1979 2.828 12,999 11,398 8,587 701 167 277 28 23 206 20,686

1980 2.602 13,634 12,177 10,012 601 104 242 31 36 188 22,791

1981 2.370 13,077 11,830 11,442 555 97 206 28 38 186 23,827

1982 2.218 13,403 12,258 14,811 693 135 322 27 33 177 27,763

1983 2.124 14,604 13,442 19,159 695 83 378 11 42 181 33,296

1984 2.052 15,303 14,072 20,919 810 70 484 6 39 211 35,800

1985 1.986 15,040 13,753 25,357 1,159 68 840 4 30 218 40,269

1986 1.942 15,159 13,912 27,428 926 68 600 4 45 209 42,266

1987 1.899 20,746 18,630 30,934 885 91 528 15 36 212 2 50,449

1988 1.840 16,671 15,310 32,524 1,363 443 648 26 33 212 2 49,197

1989 1.769 19,407 17,864 31,680 991 172 533 30 37 214 5 50,535

1990 1.708 21,044 19,569 26,665 863 135 415 53 43 211 7 47,097

1991 1.649 23,114 21,514 23,386 1,273 414 414 48 43 348 7 46,173

1992 1.610 23,046 21,246 24,182 1,284 359 526 55 47 291 6 46,712

1993 1.572 22,500 20,541 22,179 1,149 259 509 52 39 283 6 43,869

1994 1.539 22,420 20,038 20,259 973 114 480 48 48 276 8 41,270

1995 1.507 20,875 18,900 16,038 1,143 90 530 47 48 419 9 36,081

1996 1.479 20,537 18,592 17,032 1,224 68 698 53 55 341 9 36,848

1997 1.454 19,927 18,107 17,046 1,148 51 651 61 57 319 9 36,301

1998 1.436 19,597 17,691 17,746 1,205 148 625 62 56 307 9 36,642

1999 1.418 19,358 17,665 18,720 1,392 149 815 84 52 284 9 37,778

2000 1.389 18,891 17,391 17,975 1,466 228 799 83 61 287 8 36,832

2001 1.357 19,303 18,047 19,433 1,441 197 783 81 49 315 16 38,921

2002 1.335 19,847 18,516 21,011 1,575 222 860 85 37 355 16 41,103

2003 1.310 20,125 18,810 25,396 1,709 250 850 97 55 441 16 45,915

2004 1.278 19,658 18,307 24,433 1,871 267 952 91 78 468 15 44,611

2005 1.239 20,074 18,879 24,402 1,922 284 1,000 87 90 446 15 45,203

2006 1.200 19,952 18,922 26,542 1,977 294 1,032 98 101 437 14 47,441

2007 1.169 19,029 18,192 26,196 1,963 234 1,066 102 76 472 14 46,351

2008 1.145 19,595 18,891 28,384 1,944 223 987 103 68 548 15 49,219

2009 1.132 20,114 19,548 30,019 2,114 226 1,220 72 30 549 16 51,681

2010 1.122 21,004 20,447 29,684 2,307 228 1,415 75 30 543 17 52,438

2011 1.099 20,264 19,677 29,941 2,403 252 1,588 73 21 453 16 52,020

2012 1.080 19,189 18,574 28,802 2,785 215 2,025 82 7 438 17 50,161

2013 1.062 18,469 17,906 10,818 2,737 196 1,980 89 21 434 16 32,129

2014 1.043 17,647 17,081 10,400 2,839 174 2,087 82 19 461 16 31,613

2015 1.031 18,010 17,359 10,325 3,010 182 2,223 83 19 485 18 30,694

2016 1.018 19,285 18,645 6,967 3,159 178 2,346 87 19 508 22 28,771

2017 1.000 19,653 18,993 10,316 2,995 172 2,214 85 20 480 24 32,304

a. DOD reported that improvements to the estimating methodology resulted in a change in estimated budget authority and outlays starting in FY 2013.

b. The Other column is the total of the non-NASA and non-DOD budget authority figures that appear in the succeeding columns. The total is 

sometimes different from the sum of the individual figures because of rounding. The Total Space column does not include the NASA Total 

column because the latter includes budget authority for aeronautics as well as space. For the years 1989–97, this Other column also includes small 

figures for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as well as $2.1 billion for the replacement of Space Shuttle Challenger in 1987.

c. DOE has recalculated its space expenditures since 1998.

d. The NSF has recalculated its space expenditures since 1980, making them significantly higher than reported in previous years.

* Transition Quarter
Appendices

217

Appendix D-2

Federal Space Activities

(in millions of dollars by fiscal year)

Federal 

Agencies

Budget Authority Budget Outlays

2015

actual

2016

actual 

2017

actual

2018

est.

2015

 actual

2016

 actual

2017

 actual

2018

 est.

NASA1 17,359 18,645 18,993.3 18,468.2 17,697.4 18,225 18,074 18,820

DOD2, 3 10,325 9,655 10,136 11,390 10,854 10,300 10,400 10,500

DOE4 182 178 172 169 198 180 173 170

DOC5 2,223.1 2,346 2,214 1,833 1,300.3 2,053 1,938 1,833

DOI6 82.2 71.2 85.4 83.6 82 71.1 85 83.5

USDA7 18.9 18.5 20.1 14.3 17.3 17.1 18.4 14.1

DOT 17.6 21.8 24.2 26.3 17.6 21.8 24.2 26.3

NSF8 485.2 507.5 480.1 483.9 444.6 382.6 352.7 459.1

1. The FY 2018 estimate is based on the prior year’s Outlays versus Budget Authority. FY 2018 Enacted Funding Levels were not available at the time 

this report was requested. The FY 2018 Budget Authority Estimate is based on the 2018 President’s Budget Request.

2. Does not include DOD or Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) intelligence programs. DOD FY 2015, FY 2016, and FY 2017 

figures for Budget Authority and Outlays are estimated at the time of preparing this report. Improvements to the estimating methodology resulted 

in a change in estimated Budget Authority and Outlays starting in FY 2013.

3. At the time of preparing this report, DOD submitted estimates as billions of dollars, so the figures are rounded to the nearest hundred million.

4. In prior years, the High Energy Physics program also reported Ground- and Underground-Based Astrophysics Projects. These projects and the 

associated funding are no longer included, starting in the FY 2009 report.

5. The Budget Outlays columns reflect dollars “costed” in a fiscal year specific to that same fiscal year’s appropriated dollars.

6. The numbers for FY 2015 Actual and Outlays are estimates for both satellite and aerial funding.

7. At the time of preparing this report, the USDA submitted FY 2017 estimates, not actuals.

8. “Actual” = actual obligations.
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

218

Appendix D-3

Federal Aeronautics Activities

(in millions of dollars by fiscal year)

Federal 

Agencies

Budget Authority Budget Outlays

2015

actual

2016

actual 

2017

actual

2018

est.

2015

 actual

2016

 actual

2017

 actual

2018

 est.

NASA1 651 640 660 624 578.3 609 629 622

USDA2, 3 26.7 37.3 38.6 44.2 32.6 36.6 70.7 30.1

DOD4, 5 50,800 50,550 53,440 49,900 32,422 33,351 33,213 32,630

DOI6 25 30.4 35 34.7 25.2 29.5 35.1 26.3

DOT 2,741.8 3,004.9 3,014.9 2,995.1 2,761.1 2,733.9 2,674.9 3,105.9

1. The FY 2018 estimate is based on the prior year’s Outlays versus Budget Authority.

2. At the time of preparing this report, the USDA submitted estimates, not actuals.

3. FY 2017 is the first time the National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is reporting state expenditures for this report. FY 2017 Outlays 

represent national lidar initiatives, where NRCS spent $3 million and state offices spent another $33 million.

4. DOD FY 2015, FY 2016, and FY 2017 figures for Budget Authority and Outlays are estimated at the time of preparing this report. Improvements to 

the estimating methodology resulted in a change in estimated Budget Authority and Outlays starting in FY 2013.

5. At the time of preparing this report, DOD submitted estimates as billions of dollars, so the figures are rounded to the nearest hundred million.

6. The numbers for FY 2015 Actual and Outlays are estimates for both satellite and aerial funding.
Appendices

219

Appendix E-1

Executive Order 13803 of June 30, 2

Reviving the National Space Council

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of 

America, and in order to provide a coordinated process for developing and monitoring the implementation of national space policy and strategy, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. Purpose. The National Space Council (Council) was established by Title V of Public Law 100-

685 and Executive Order 12675 of April 20, 1989 (Establishing the National Space Council). The Council 

was tasked with advising and assisting the President regarding national space policy and strategy. The 

Council was never formally disestablished, but it effectively ceased operation in 1993. This order revives 

the Council and provides additional details regarding its duties and responsibilities.

Sec. 2. Revival and Composition of the National Space Council.

(a) The Council is hereby revived and shall resume operations.

(b) The Council shall be composed of the following members:

(i) The Vice President, who shall be Chair of the Council;

(ii) The Secretary of State;

(iii) The Secretary of Defense;

(iv) The Secretary of Commerce;

(v) The Secretary of Transportation;

(vi) The Secretary of Homeland Security;

(vii) The Director of National Intelligence;

(viii) The Director of the Office of Management and Budget;

(ix) The Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs;

(x) The Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration;

(xi) The Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy;

(xii) The Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism;

(xiii) The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and

(xiv) The heads of other executive departments and agencies (agencies) and other senior officials 

within the Executive Office of the President, as determined by the Chair.

Sec. 3. Functions of the Council.

(a) The Council shall advise and assist the President regarding national space policy and strategy, and 

perform such other duties as the President may, from time to time, prescribe.

(b) In particular, the Council is directed to:

(i) review United States Government space policy, including long-range goals, and develop a strategy 

for national space activities;

(ii) develop recommendations for the President on space policy and space-related issues;

(iii) monitor and coordinate implementation of the objectives of the President’s national space policy 

and strategy;

(iv) foster close coordination, cooperation, and technology and information exchange among the civil, 

national security, and commercial space sectors;
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

220 (v) advise on participation in international space activities conducted by the United States 

Government; and

(vi) facilitate the resolution of differences concerning major space and space-related policy matters.

(c) The Council shall meet at least annually.

(d) The revival and operation of the Council shall not interfere with the existing lines of authority in or 

responsibilities of any agencies.

(e) The Council shall have a staff, headed by a civilian Executive Secretary appointed by the President.

Sec. 4. Responsibilities of the Chair.

(a) The Chair shall serve as the President’s principal advisor on national space policy and strategy.

(b) The Chair shall, in consultation with the members of the Council, establish procedures for the 

Council and establish the agenda for Council activities.

(c) The Chair shall report to the President quarterly on the Council’s activities and recommendations. 

The Chair shall advise the Council, as appropriate, regarding the President’s directions with respect to 

the Council’s activities and national space policy and strategy.

(d) The Chair may recommend to the President candidates for the position of Executive Secretary.

(e) The Chair, or upon the Chair’s direction, the Executive Secretary, may invite the heads of other 

agencies, other senior officials in the Executive Office of the President, or other Federal employees to 

participate in Council meetings.

(f) The Chair shall authorize the establishment of committees of the Council, including an executive 

committee, and of working groups, composed of senior designees of the Council members and of other 

Federal officials invited to participate in Council meetings, as he deems necessary or appropriate for the 

efficient conduct of Council functions.

Sec. 5. National Space Policy and Strategy Planning Process.

(a) Each agency represented on the Council shall provide such information to the Chair regarding its 

current and planned space activities as the Chair shall request.

(b) The head of each agency that conducts space-related activities shall, to the extent permitted by law, 

conform such activities to the President’s national space policy and strategy.

(c) On space policy and strategy matters relating primarily to national security, the Council shall coordinate with the National Security Council (NSC) to create policies and procedures for the Council that 

respect the responsibilities and authorities of the NSC under existing law.

Sec. 6. Users’ Advisory Group.

(a) The Council shall convene a Users’ Advisory Group (Group) pursuant to Public Law 101-611, section 

121, composed of non-Federal representatives of industries and other persons involved in aeronautical 

and space activities.

(b) Members of the Group shall serve without any compensation for their work for the Group. Members of 

the Group, while engaged in the work of the Group, may be allowed travel expenses, including per diem 

in lieu of subsistence, to the extent permitted by law for persons serving intermittently in Government 

service (5 U.S.C. 5701-5707), consistent with the availability of funds.
Appendices

221 (c) The Group shall report directly to the Council and shall provide advice or work product solely to 

the Council.

Sec. 7. Administrative Provisions.

(a) To aid in the performance of the functions of the Council:

(i) The Office of Administration in the Executive Office of the President shall provide the Council 

with administrative support on a reimbursable basis; and

(ii) Legal advice to the Council itself with respect to its work and functions shall be provided exclusively by the Office of the Counsel to the President.

(b) To the extent practicable and permitted by law, including the Economy Act, and within existing 

appropriations, agencies serving on the Council and interagency councils and committees that affect 

space policy or strategy shall make resources, including, but not limited to, personnel, office support, and 

printing, available to the Council as reasonably requested by the Chair or, upon the Chair’s direction, 

the Executive Secretary.

(c) Agencies shall cooperate with the Council and provide such information and advice to the Council 

as it may reasonably request, to the extent permitted by law.

Sec. 8. Report.

Within 1 year of the date of this order, and annually thereafter, the Council shall submit a report to the 

President setting forth its assessment of, and recommendations for, the space policy and strategy of the 

United States Government.

Sec. 9. General Provisions.

(a) This order supersedes Executive Order 12675 of April 20, 1989 (Establishing the National Space 

Council). To the extent this order is inconsistent with any provision of any earlier Executive Order or 

Presidential Memorandum, this order shall control.

(b) If any provision of this order or the application of such provision is held to be invalid, the remainder 

of this order and other dissimilar applications of such provision shall not be affected.

(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, 

enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

(d) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, 

administrative, or legislative proposals. 

(e) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of 

appropriations.

Donald J. Trump

The White House,

June 30, 2017
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

222

Appendix E-2

Remarks by the President Signing an Execu

on the National Space 

Roosevelt Room

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, very much. You don’t mind if I do that? Get rid of it. (Laughter.)

Thank you very much to our great Vice President and also for the fantastic job that Mike has 

been doing.

The future of American space leadership—we’re going to lead again. It’s been a long time. It’s over 

25 years, and we’re opening up, and we are going to be leading again like we’ve never led before.

We’re a nation of pioneers, and the next great American frontier is space. And we never completed—

we started, but we never completed. We stopped. But now we start again. And we have tremendous 

spirit, and we’re going to have tremendous spirit from the private sector—maybe in particular from 

the private sector.

I’d like to extend a special welcome to an American hero who’ve I’ve known actually for a long 

time, Buzz Aldrin, who is with us today. (Applause.) Known him a long time. Thank you also to 

Astronauts Benjamin Drew and David Wolf and former NASA Flight Director Gene Kranz for being 

with us and for working with us on exactly what we’re doing today. Thank you all very much. We 

appreciate it. Thank you, thank you, thank you. (Applause.)

We’re also joined by our great Secretary of Commerce, Wilbur Ross, who spent the morning negotiating trade deals with South Korea. And as you know, that trade deal is coming due, and it actually 

came due a couple of weeks ago. And I think we’re going to make a good deal, right?

SECRETARY ROSS: We’ve made some progress.

THE PRESIDENT: I think so. That’s what the word is. And good for both countries.

Also distinguished members of Congress are with us, and leaders of several of America’s great aerospace companies.

Today, we’re taking a crucial step to secure America’s future in space by reviving the National Space 

Council after it was—has been dormant almost 25 years if you can believe it.

During the campaign, Vice President Pence promised that our administration—because Mike is very 

much into space—would revive the National Space Council, and with this executive order, we’re 

keeping that promise. Feel very strongly about it. I’ve felt strongly about it for a long time. I used to 

say before doing what I did—I used to say, what happened? Why aren’t we moving forward?

Today’s announcement sends a clear signal to the world that we are restoring America’s proud legacy 

of leadership in space.

Our Vice President cares very deeply about space policy, and for good reason—space exploration is 

not only essential to our character as a nation, but also our economy and our great nation’s security.

Our travels beyond the Earth propel scientific discoveries that improve our lives in countless ways 

here, right here, at home: powering vast new industry, spurring incredible new technology, and providing the space security we need to protect the American people. And security is going to be a very 

big factor with respect to space and space exploration. At some point in the future, we’re going to 

look back and say how did we do it without space?
Appendices

223 The Vice President will serve as the council’s chair. Several representatives of my administration will 

join him including the Secretaries of State, Defense, Commerce, Transportation, and Homeland 

Security; the Chairman of the great—I’ll tell you, he’s doing a fantastic job, always working, always 

fighting, and winning—winning big against ISIS, that I can tell you, seeing what’s happening 

there—the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the National Security Advisor, NASA, and the 

Director of National Intelligence.

The council will also draw the expertise of other White House offices as well as insights from scientists, innovators, and business leaders from across the country. Many business leaders that want to be 

a big part of this. I think the privatization of certain aspects is going to play a very crucial role, don’t 

you think? They are truly into it. This coordination will be accomplished through an advisory group 

that is being convened by today’s executive order, which I’ll be signing in a minute.

The National Space Council will be a central hub guiding space policy within the administration. 

And I will draw on it for advice and information and recommendations for action. And the Vice 

President, myself, and a few others are going to pick some private people to be on the board. I will say 

that’s not easy because everybody wants to be on this board. People that you wouldn’t have believed 

loved what we’re doing so much they want to—some of the most successful people in the world want 

to be on this board.

The human soul yearns for discovery. By unlocking the mysteries of the universe, we unlock truths 

within ourselves. That’s true. Our journey into space will not only make us stronger and more prosperous, but will unite us behind grand ambitions and bring us all closer together. Wouldn’t that be 

nice? Can you believe that space is going to do that? I thought politics would do that. (Laughter.) 

Well, we’ll have to rely on space instead.

Every launch into the skies is another step forward toward a future where our differences seem small 

against the vast expanse of our common humanity. Sometimes you have to view things from a distance in order to see the real truth. It is America’s destiny to be at the forefront of humanity’s eternal 

quest for knowledge and to be the leader amongst nations on our adventure into the great unknown. 

And I could say the great and very beautiful unknown. Nothing more beautiful.

With the actions we are launching today, America will think big once again. Important words: 

Think big. We haven’t been thinking so big for a long time, but we’re thinking big again as a county. 

We will inspire millions of children to carry on this proud tradition of American space leadership—

and they’re excited—and to never stop wondering, hoping, and dreaming about what lies beyond 

the stars.

So, I just want to tell you that we are now going to sign an executive order, and this is going to launch 

a whole new chapter for our great country. And people are very excited about it and I can tell you, 

I’m very excited about it. Thank you all very much. (Applause.)

(The order is signed.)

COLONEL ALDRIN: Infinity and beyond. (Laughter.)

THE PRESIDENT: This is infinity here. It could be infinity. We don’t really don’t know. But it could be. 

It has to be something—but it could be infinity, right?

Okay. (Applause.)

END

225 Acronyms Acron

3DEP 3D Elevation Program

A

AA&S Aircraft Airworthiness and Sustainment

AARGM Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile

ABEDRR Advanced Booster Engineering Demonstration and/or Risk Reduction

ABoVE Arctic-Boreal Vulnerability Experiment

ACE Advanced Composition Explorer

ACEP Agricultural Conservation Easement Program

ACES Atomic Clock Ensemble in Space

ACME Affordable Cruise Missile Engine

ACS Altitude Combustion Stand

ACT Atacama Cosmology Telescope

ACT-America Atmospheric Carbon and Transport–America

ACTE Adaptive Compliant Trailing Edge

ADATS Advanced Data Acquisition and Telemetry System

ADS-B Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast

AE Archive Explorer

AEFS Advanced Electronic Flight Strips

AEHF Advanced Extremely High Frequency

AES Advanced Exploration Systems

AFB Air Force Base

AFL Availability for Launch

AFRCO Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office

AFRL Air Force Research Laboratory

AFSPC Air Force Space Command

AGS Atmospheric and Geospace Science Division

AIA Atmospheric Imaging Assembly

AIM Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere

AIPD Architecture Implementation Process Demonstrations

AIRS Atmospheric Infrared Sounder

AIR-SPEC Airborne Infrared Spectrometer

AIT Accident Investigation Team; American Institute in Taiwan

AKRO Alaska Regional Office

ALIAS Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automation System

ALMA Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array

AMC Additive Manufacturing Consortium

AMEC Alaska Mapping Executive Committee

AMISR Advanced Modular Incoherent-Scatter Radar

AMPERE Active Magnetosphere and Planetary Electrodynamics Response Experiment

AMS Autonomous Modular Sensor; Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer

AMSR Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer

AO Arecibo Observatory

APKWS Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System

AR Aerojet Rocketdyne

ARCN Arctic Inventory and Monitoring Network

ARI Aviation Restructure Initiative

ARM Asteroid Redirect Mission; Atmospheric Radiation Measurement
226Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

ARMD Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate

ARS Agricultural Research Service

AS Atmosphere Section

ASB Agricultural Statistics Board

ASBU Aviation System Block Upgrade

ASE Aviation Survivability Equipment

ASETS Advanced Structurally Embedded Thermal Spreader

ASR Atmospheric System Research

AST Division of Astronomical Sciences; Office of Commercial Space Transportation

ASTER Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer

ASU Group on the Sector Understanding on Export Credits for Civil Aircraft (the “Aircraft Sector 

Understanding”)

ASuW Anti-Surface Warfare

ATCA Air Traffic Control Association

ATD-2 Airspace Technology Demonstration 2

ATDS Advanced Threat Detection System

ATM Air Traffic Management

ATom Atmospheric Tomography

Auto-GCAS Autonomous Ground Collision Avoidance System

AUVSI Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International

AVIRIS Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer

AVIRIS-NG Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer–Next Generation

AWiFS Advanced Wide Field Sensor

B

BAA Broad Agency Announcement

BAER Burn Area Emergency Response

BANWR Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge

BaPSF Basic Plasma Science Facility

BAU Business As Usual

BEAM Bigelow Expandable Activity Module

BECCAL Bose-Einstein Condensate Cold Atom Laboratory

BICEP3 Background Imaging of Cosmic Extragalactic Polarization

BIS Bureau of Industry and Security

BLAST-TNG Balloon-borne Large-Aperture Submillimeter Telescope–The Next Generation

BLI boundary-layer-ingesting

BLM Bureau of Land Management

Bm3 billion cubic meters

BMC2 Battle Management Command and Control

BMGG Bulk Metallic Glass Gears

BNL Brookhaven National Laboratory

BOR Bureau of Reclamation

BPS Biological and Physical Sciences

BRB Big Red Plasma Ball

C

C&N communication and navigation

C2 command and control

CAE Center for Agribusiness Excellence

CAESR Carbon Absolute Electrical Substitution Radiometer

CAFE Cold Air From Engines

CAL Cold Atom Laboratory

CARAFE Carbon Airborne Flux Experiment
227 Acronyms

CASIS Center for the Advancement of Science in Space

CCAFS Cape Canaveral Air Force Station

CCG Copernicus Coordination Group

CCP Commercial Crew Program

CCRPP Civilian Commercialization Readiness Pilot Program

CCS Counter Communications System

CCSC Collaborations for Commercial Space Capabilities

CCSDS Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems

CDL Cropland Data Layer

CDOM colored dissolved organic matter

CDR Critical Design Review

CEDAR Coupling, Energetics, and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions

CENRS Committee on Environment, Natural Resources, and Sustainability

CEOS Committee on Earth Observation Satellites

CEPS Center for Earth and Planetary Studies

CfA Center for Astrophysics

CHARA Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy

CIR Color Infrared

CISBoomDA Cockpit Interactive Sonic Boom Display Avionics

CJCS Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

CLASS Cosmic Large Angular Scale Survey

CLU Common Land Unit

CM Crew Module

CMA Crew Module Adapter

CMB cosmic microwave background

CME coronal mass ejection

CMM Coordinate Measuring Machine

CMWS Common Missile Warning System

CNES Centre National d’Études Spatiales

CNN Convolutional Neural Network

CNT ESR Carbon Nano-tube Electrical Substitution Radiometer

COA Course of Action

COBRA Coastal Battlefield Reconnaissance and Analysis

CONOPS Concept of Operations

CONUS Contiguous United States

COPUOS Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space

CORAL COral Reef Airborne Laboratory

COSMIC Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate

COSPAR U.N. Committee on Space Research

COSPAS-SARSAT Search and Rescue Satellite-Aided Tracking

COWVR Compact Ocean Wind Vector Radiometer

CRISP Critical Resilient Interdependent Infrastructure Systems and Processes

CRS Commercial Resupply Services

CS Commercial Service

CSG Carrier Strike Group

CSIM Compact Solar Irradiance Monitor

CSJWG Civil Space Joint Working Group

CSLI CubeSat Launch Initiative

CST Crew Space Transportation

CT-2 Crawler-Transporter 2

CVN aircraft carrier with nuclear propulsion

CVW Carrier Air Wing

CWDP Commercial Weather Data Pilot

CY calendar year

CYGNSS Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System
228Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

D

DAF Device Assembly Facility

DAMIEN Detecting and Mitigating the Impact of Earth-bound Near-Earth objects

DARPA Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

Data Comm Data Communications

DEM digital elevation model

DEN Department of the Environment in Nunavut

DHS Department of Homeland Security

DKIST Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope

DLR German Space Agency

DMC Disaster Monitoring Constellation

DNN R&D Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation Research and Development

DOC Department of Commerce

DOD Department of Defense

DOE Department of Energy

DOI Department of the Interior

DopplerScat Doppler Scatterometer

DOS Department of State

DSCOVR Deep Space Climate Observatory

DSG Deep Space Gateway

DSM Digital Surface Model

DSN Deep Space Network

DSP Defense Support Program

DST Deep Space Transport

DT Development Test

DTM Digital Terrain Model

DTN Disruption Tolerant Networking

DV depth and velocity

E

EBIS

ECAMS

ECLSS

ECMWF

ECOSTRESS

EDGE

EELV

EHT

ELV

EM-1

EM-2

EMD

EOC

EO/IR

EOS

EPS

ERAM

ERAU

EROS

ESA

ESBMC2

ESD

ESG

Electron Beam Ion Source

Environmental Continuous Air Monitors

Environmental Control and Life Support System

European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts

ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station

Europa Deep Geophysical Explorer

Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle

Event Horizon Telescope

expendable launch vehicle

Exploration Mission–1

Exploration Mission–2

Engineering and Manufacturing Development

Early Operational Capability

Electro-Optical/Infrared

Earth Observing System

Enhanced Polar System

En Route Automation Modernization

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Earth Resources Observation and Science

European Space Agency

Enterprise Space Battle Management Command and Control

Earth Science Division; Exploration Systems Development

Expeditionary Strike Group
229 Acronyms

ESIMS earth stations in motion

ESM ESA Service Module

ESP Efficient Space Procurement

ETM Enhanced Thematic Mapper

EU European Union

EUMETSAT European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites

EUV Extreme Ultraviolet

EVA extravehicular activity

EVE Extreme Ultraviolet Variability Experiment

Ex-Im Export-Import

EXIS EUV and X-ray Irradiance Sensor

F

F&F Fire and Forget

FAA Federal Aviation Administration

FAB-T Family of Advanced Beyond-Line-of-Sight Terminals

FACA Federal Advisory Committee Act

FAS Foreign Agricultural Service

FAS/OGA Foreign Agricultural Service Office of Global Analysis

FCC Federal Communication Commission

FCIC Federal Crop Insurance Corporation

FDSS Faculty Development in Space Sciences

FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency

FES Office of Fusion Energy Sciences

FGST Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope

FOC Full Operational Capability

FOSS Fiber Optic Sensing System

FRMAC Federal Radiological Monitoring and Assessment Center

FRP Full Rate Production

FSA Farm Service Agency

FWS Fish and Wildlife Service

FY fiscal year

G

GaN gallium nitride

GBD Global Burst Detector

Gbps gigabits per second

GBSAA Ground Based Sense and Avoid

GCJV Gulf Coast Joint Venture

GCOM-W Global Change Observation Mission–Water

GEM Geospace Environment Modeling

GEO Geostationary; Geosynchronous Earth Orbit; Group on Earth Observation

GEO-AGS Directorate for Geosciences’ Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences

GeV gigaelectronvolt

GF Geospace Facilities

GFSAD global food security support-analysis data

GIS Geographic Information Systems

GITWG GOES-R International Training Working Group

GLAM Global Agricultural Monitoring

G-LiHT Goddard’s Lidar, Hyperspectral and Thermal

GMT Giant Magellan Telescope

GNCA global net cropland area

GNSS Global Navigation Satellite Systems
230Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

GNSS-RO GNSS radio occultation

GO1 GOLauncher1

GOES Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite

GOES-R Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite R

GoLIVE Global Land Ice Velocity Extraction

GONG Global Oscillations Network Group

GPIM Green Propellant Infusion Mission

GPM Global Precipitation Measurement

GPS Global Positioning System

GPSC Geospatial Products and Services Contract

GPSRO GPS radio occultation

GRAIL Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory

GRB GOES Rebroadcast

G-REALM Global Reservoir and Lake Monitor

GS Geospace Section

GSDO Ground Systems Development and Operations

GSFC Goddard Space Flight Center

GSSAP Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program

GUT grand-unified theory

H

HA High Agriculture

HABS Historic American Buildings Survey

HAER Historic American Engineering Record

HALS Historic American Landscapes Survey

HARM High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missile

HaWK High Watts per Kilogram

HEAT High Elevation Antarctic Terahertz

HEO Highly Elliptical Orbit

HERA Hybrid Electronic Radiation Assessor; Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Array

HESS High Energy Stereoscopic System

HEU highly enriched uranium

HH Highest of the High

HiRISE High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment

HRP Human Research Program

HTV H-II Transfer Vehicle

HU High Urban

HULK2 Hybrid Ultimate Lifting Kit 2

I

I&W Initial delivery of Indications and Warning

IAWN International Asteroid Warning Network

IBEX Interstellar Boundary Explorer

IC Intelligence Community

ICAO International Civil Aviation Organization

ICAS Auto Integrated Collision Avoidance System

ICESat Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite

ICG International Committee on Global Navigation Satellite Systems

ICNO IceCube Neutrino Observatory

ICPS Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage

IDAC Integrated Departure/Arrival Capability

IDEX International Defense Exhibition

IfSAR Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar
231 Acronyms

IGD integrated ground demonstration

IIP Instrument Incubator Project

IMAP Interstellar Mapping Probe

InSight Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport

INVENT Integrated Vehicle Energy Technology

IOAG Interagency Operations Advisory Group

IOC Initial Operational Capability

IOT&E Initial Operational Test and Evaluation

IPAD International Production Assessment Division

IPTE Improved Performance Technology Engine

IR infrared

IRAC Infrared Array Camera

IRIS Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph

ISARA Integrated Solar Array and Reflectarray Antenna

ISECG International Space Exploration Coordination Group

ISEF Second International Space Exploration Forum

ISIL, ISIS Islamic State

Isp specific impulse

ISR Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance

ISR&T Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance, and Targeting

ISRO Indian Space Research Organisation

ISS International Space Station

ISS-CREAM ISS Cosmic Ray Energetics and Mass

ITA International Trade Administration

ITAC 1 Industry Trade Advisory Committee on Aerospace Equipment

ITE Improved Turbine Engine

J

JAGM Joint Air-to-Ground Missile

JASD Joint Agency Satellite Division

JAXA Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency

JFMCC Joint Forces Maritime Component Commander

JMR-TD Joint Multi-Role Tech Demo

JMS Joint Space Operations Center Mission System

JPL Jet Propulsion Laboratory

JPSS Joint Polar Satellite System

JPSS-2 Joint Polar Satellite System 2

JROC Joint Requirements Oversight Council

JSF Joint Strike Fighter

JSPOC Joint Space Operations Center

JUICE JUpiter ICy Moons Explorer

K

KARI Korea Aerospace Research Institute

KDP Key Decision Point

KRUSTY Kilowatt Reactor Using Stirling TechnologY

KSC Kennedy Space Center

L

LA Low Agriculture

LAE Launch Abort Engine

LAFE Land Atmosphere Feedback Experiment
232Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

LANDFIRE Landscape Fire and Resource Management Planning Tools

LANL Los Alamos National Laboratory

LAPD Large Plasma Device

LASP Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics

LAT Large Area Telescope

LBFD Low Boom Flight Demonstrator

LCAAT Low Cost Attritable Aircraft Technologies

LCMS Landscape Change Monitoring System

LCRD Laser Communication Relay Demonstration

LCS Littoral Combat Ship

LEE Latching End Effector

LEO low-Earth orbit

LEPC lesser prairie-chicken

lidar light detection and ranging

LIGO Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory

LIS Lightning Imaging Sensor

LISA Laser Interferometer Space Antenna

LL Lowest of the Low

LLNL Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

LOX liquid oxygen

LRASM Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile

LRO Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

LSA Launch Service Agreement

LSC Legal Subcommittee

LSP Launch Services Program; land-surface phenology

LSST Large Synoptic Survey Telescope

LST Land Surface Temperature

LTS Working Group on Long-Term Sustainability of Outer Space Activities

LU Low Urban

Lunar CATALYST Lunar Cargo Transportation and Landing by Soft Touchdown

LunIR Lunar Infrared

LVSA Launch Vehicle Stage Adapter

M

M31 Andromeda Galaxy

MAF Michoud Assembly Facility

MaGIXS Marshall Grazing Incidence X-ray Spectrograph

MAIAC Multi-Angle Implementation of Atmospheric Correction

MANPADS Man Portable Air Defense Systems

MARSIS Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding

MAVEN Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution

MCAS Marine Corps Air Station

MCM Mine Countermeasures

MCS Mission Control System

MDA Missile Defense Agency; Milestone Decision Authority

MDXR Missile Defense Transfer Radiometer

MEDA Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer

MEDLI-2 Mars Entry, Descent, and Landing Instrumentation-2

MEF Marine Expeditionary Force

MEO medium-Earth orbit

MEP Manufacturing Extension Partnership

MER Mars Exploration Rover

MIDEX Medium-Class Explorer

MINOS Main Injector Neutrino Oscillation Search
233 Acronyms

MinXSS Miniature X-ray Solar Spectrometer

MiRaTa Microwave Radiometer Technology Acceleration

MISE Mapping Imaging Spectrometer for Europa

MKID Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detector

MLA machine learning algorithm

MMRTG Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator

MMS Magnetospheric Multiscale

MOA Microlensing Observations in Astrophysics; Memorandum of Agreement

MOBY Marine Optical BuoY

MODIS Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer

MOU Memorandum of Understanding

MOXIE Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment

MPPF Multi-Payload Processing Facility

MPRF Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Force

MPS Directorate for Mathematics and Physical Sciences

MRLC Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics

MRO Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

MRS Major Radiological Space

MRX Magnetic Reconnection Experiment

MSFC Marshall Space Flight Center

MSIP Mid-Scale Innovations Program

MSL Mars Science Laboratory

MST Madison Symmetric Torus

MTBS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity

Multi-Int multiple intelligence

MUMT Manned-Unmanned Teaming

MUSES Multi-User System for Earth Sensing

MWTA Megawatt Tactical Aircraft

N

NAAMES North Atlantic Aerosols and Marine Ecosystems Study

NAICS North American Industry Classification System

NAIP National Agriculture Imagery Program

NANOGrav North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves

NAS Naval Air Station; National Airspace System

NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration

NASM National Air and Space Museum

NASS National Agricultural Statistics Service

NCAR National Center for Atmospheric Research

NCEP National Centers for Environmental Prediction

NDAA National Defense Authorization Act

NDEP National Digital Elevation Program

NDOP National Digital Orthoimagery Program

NDVI Normalized Difference Vegetation Index

NE Office of Nuclear Energy

NEN Near Earth Network

NEO Near-Earth Object

NEPA National Environmental Policy Act

NERSC National Energy Research Supercomputing Center

NESDIS NOAA Satellite and Information Service

NextGen Next Generation Air Transportation System

NextSTEP Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships

NFS National Forest System

NGEE Next Generation Ecosystem Experiment
234Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

NGLAW Next Generation Land Attack Weapon

NGSC Next Generation Strike Capability

NHT Nested Hall Thruster

NICER Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer

NISAR NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar

NIST National Institute of Standards and Technology

NLCD National Land Cover Database

NMNH National Museum of Natural History

NNPS National NEO Preparedness Strategy

NNSA National Nuclear Security Administration

NNSS Nevada National Security Site

NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NOAO National Optical Astronomy Observatory

NOC National Operations Center

NOSS Naval Ocean Surveillance System

NPRA National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska

NPS National Park Service

NRAO National Radio Astronomy Observatory

NRCS Natural Resources Conservation Service

NRI National Resources Inventory

NRO National Reconnaissance Organization

NROL National Reconnaissance Office Launch

NS-9 Nanosat-9

NSBRI National Space Biomedical Research Institute

NSDC National Space Defense Center

NSF National Science Foundation

NSO National Solar Observatory

NSPO National Space Organization

NSRL NASA Space Radiation Laboratory

NSS National Security Space

NSTC National Science and Technology Council

NSWAP National Space Weather Action Plan

NSWS National Space Weather Strategy

NTP Nuclear Thermal Propulsion

NWP numerical weather prediction

O

OASuW Offensive Anti-Surface Warfare

OCO-2 Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2

OCONUS Outside of Continental United States

OCSD Optical Communications and Sensor Demonstration

ODNI Office of the Director of National Intelligence

OECD Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

OES/SAT Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs/Office of Space and 

Advanced Technology

OFII Office of Finance and Insurance Industries

OGLE Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment

OGS Optical Ground Station

OLI Operational Land Imager

OMAC Orbital Maneuvering Attitude Control

OMG Oceans Melting Greenland

OOSA Office of Outer Space Affairs

OPIR Overhead Persistent InfraRed

OPP Office of Polar Programs
235 Acronyms

ORI orthorectified radar intensity image

ORNL Oak Ridge National Laboratory

ORS Operationally Responsive Space

OSA Orion Stage Adapter

OSIRIS-Rex Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security–Regolith Explorer

OTA Other Transactions Authority

OTM Office of Transportation and Machinery

OTV-5 Orbital Test Vehicle 5

P

PBN Performance Based Navigation

PBS Plum Brook Station

PD/NSC-25 Presidential Directive/National Security Council-25

PDR Preliminary Design Review

PESEP Professional Engineer and Scientist Exchange Program

PeV petaelectronvolt

PHA Potentially Hazardous Asteroid

PHY Division of Physics

PMA Pressurized Mating Adapter

PNT Positioning, Navigation, and Timing

POES Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellites

PP Precision Point

PPE Power and Propulsion Element

PPPL Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory

PREEVENTS Prediction and Resilience against Extreme Events

PRS Public Regulated Service

PSD production, supply, and distribution

PTD Pathfinder Technology Demonstrator

Pu plutonium

PV production verification

Q

QSP quartz-sericite-pyrite

QueSST Quiet Supersonic Transport

R

R&D research and development

RADCC Radiation Control Center

RAVAN Radiometer Assessment using Vertically Aligned Nanotubes

RCF Range Communications Facility

RCS Reaction Control System

REALM-1 Radio Frequency Identification–Enabled Autonomous Logistics Management

RERP Reliability Enhancement and Re-engining Program

RF Radio Frequency; Random Forest

RF-CLASS Remote-Sensing-Based Flood Crop Loss Assessment Service System

RFI Request for Information

RFID Radio Frequency Identification

RFP Request for Proposals

RGFO Royal Gorge Field Office

RHIC Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider

RMA Risk Management Agency

RNAV Area Navigation
236Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

RNP Required Navigation Performance

RO radio occultation

ROSA Roll Out Solar Array

ROSES Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences

Rp refined propellant

RPS Radioisotope Power System

RPT Rocket Propulsion Test

RRM3 Robotic Refueling Mission 3

RSAC Remote Sensing Applications Center

RSCC Remote Sensing Coordinating Committee

RSIWG Remote Sensing Interagency Working Group

RSP radioisotope power system

RSTA Reconnaissance, Surveillance, and Target Acquisition

RTCA Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics

S

SABRS Space and Atmospheric Burst Reporting System

SAGE Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment

SAO Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory

SAT site acceptance testing

SATCOM Satellite Communications

S/B Sikorsky Boeing

SBIR Small Business Innovative Research

SBIRS Space Based Infrared System

SC Office of Science

SCaN Space Communications and Navigation

SCANS Soil Climate

SDB II Small Diameter Bomb II

SDD System Development and Demonstration

SDI Space Data Integrator

SDO Solar Dynamics Observatory

SEA Social and Economic Analysis

SEACS suitably equipped air capable ships

SECAF Secretary of the Air Force

SEXTANT Station Explorer for X-ray Timing and Navigation Technology

SGMA Sustainable Groundwater Management Act

SGSS SN Ground Sustainment System

SHARAD Shallow Subsurface Radar

SHARC Satellite for High Altitude Radar Calibration

SHINE Solar, Heliosphere, and INterplanetary Environment

SIA Satellite Imagery Archive

SIRCUS Spectral Irradiance and Radiance Responsivity Calibrations using Uniform Sources

SLC Space Launch Complex

SLPSRAD Space Life and Physical Sciences Research and Applications Division

SLS Space Launch System

SM Service Module

SMA Submillimeter Array

SMAP Soil Moisture Active Passive

SMC Space and Missile Systems Center

SMD Science Mission Directorate

SMPAG Space Mission Planning Advisory Group

SN Space Network

SNL Sandia National Laboratories

SNOTEL Snow Survey Telemetry
237 Acronyms

SNSPD superconducting nanowire single-photon detector

SOA service-oriented architecture

SOC Space Optical Clock

SOFIA Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy

SOHO Solar and Heliospheric Observatory

SpaceX Space Exploration Technologies

SpODC Space Operations Development Center

SPT South Pole Telescope

SPT-3G South Pole Telescope third generation

SPTpol South Pole Telescope CMB polarization

SPT-SZE South Pole Telescope–Sunyaev-Zel’dovich Effect

SPUD Small Polarimeter Upgrade for Degree Angular Scale Interferometer

SQUID Superconducting Quantum Interference Device

SRC Space Robotics Challenge

SRR System Requirements Review

SSA Space Situational Awareness

SSC Stennis Space Center

SSDP Space Security and Defense Program

SSEDU Solid State Electrical Distribution Units

SSN Space Surveillance Network

SST Space Surveillance Telescope

SSTI Small Spacecraft Technology Initiative

SSTP Small Spacecraft Technology Program

SSV Space Service Volume

STA Structural Test Article

STARS Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System

STE structural test equipment

STEM science, technology, engineering, and mathematics

STEREO Solar and Terrestrial Relations Observatory

STMD Space Technology Mission Directorate

STP Space Test Program

STP-H5 Space Test Program Houston 5

STRG Space Technology Research Grants

STS Space Transportation System

STSC Scientific and Technical Subcommittee

STTR Small Business Technology Transfer

SuMIRE Subaru Measurement of Images and Redshifts

Suomi NPP Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership

SURF Synchrotron Ultraviolet Radiation Facility

SUW Surface Warfare

SVD Services Division

SW software

SWEAP Solar Wind Electrons Alphas and Protons

SWIM System Wide Information Management

SWORM Space Weather Operations, Research, and Mitigation

SWOT Surface Water and Ocean Topography

SWR Space Weather Research

SwRI Southwest Research Institute T

TACTOM Tactical Tomahawk/Block IV

TAMR Terminal Automation Modernization and Replacement

TBFM Time Based Flow Management

TBO Trajectory Based Operations
238Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2017 Activities

TCC Tree Canopy Cover

TCCON Total Column Carbon Observing Network

TCL2 Technology Capability Level 2

TDRS-M Tracking and Data Relay Satellite M

TDRSS Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System

TECRO Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States

TEMPO Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring Pollution

TES transition-edge sensor; Terrestrial Ecosystem Science

TESS Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite

TeV teraelectronvolt

TFDM Terminal Flight Data Manager

THEMIS Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms

TIMED Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics

TM Thematic Mapper

TMA telescope mount assembly

TMRR Technology Maturation and Risk Reduction

TOPEX Ocean Topography Experiment

TRACON Terminal Radar Approach Control

TRAPPIST Transiting Planets and Planetesimals Small Telescope

TRI Translational Research Institute

TRL Technology Readiness Level

TS Test Stand

TSA Transportation Security Administration

TSIS Total and Spectral Solar Irradiance Sensor

TT&C telemetry, tracking, and communication

TTPs Tactics, Techniques and Procedures

TTR Tiltrotor Test Rig

U

UAS Unmanned Aerial Systems; Unmanned Aircraft Systems

UCAR University Corporation for Atmospheric Research

UDOP User Defined Operational Picture

ULA United Launch Alliance

ULI University Leadership Initiative

ULS United Launch Services

UN FAO United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization

UNISPACE+50 United Nations Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space

UNP University Nanosat Program

USAF U.S. Air Force

USD/AT&L Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics

USDA U.S. Department of Agriculture

USFS U.S. Forest Service

USGS U.S. Geological Survey

USMC U.S. Marine Corps

USN U.S. Navy

USNDS U.S. Nuclear Detonation Detection System

USU Utah State University

UTM UAS Traffic Management

V

VAB Vehicle Assembly Building

VAC Vertical Assembly Center

VASIMR Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket
239 Acronyms

VCLS Venture Class Launch Services

VFA Strike Fighter Squadron

VIIRS Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite

VLF very-low-frequency

VMFA Marine Fighter Attack Squadron W

WASDE World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates

Webb James Webb Space Telescope

WFIRST Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope

WGS Wideband Global SATCOM

WIN Written Impact Narrative

WiPPL Wisconsin Plasma Physics Laboratory

WMN Western-Range Modernization of Network

WSF Weather Satellite Follow-on

WSF-M WSF-Microwave

WSTF White Sands Test Facility X

XMM X-ray Multi-Mirror

X-planes experimental aircraft Z

ZTF Zwicky Transient Facility

NP-2018-03-2504-HQ