tics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2005 Activities Aeronautics and Space Report of the President Fiscal Year 2005 Activities
a Aeronautics

and

Space Report

of the 

President

Fiscal Year

2005

Activities

Fiscal Year 1997 Activities
bAeronautics and Space Report of the President 

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,

2004, through September 30, 2005.
Fiscal Year 2005 Activities

c TABLE OF CONTENTS

National Aeronautics and Space Administration . . . . . . . . 1

Department of Defense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Federal Aviation Administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Department of Commerce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Department of the Interior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Federal Communications Commission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Department of Agriculture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

National Science Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Department of State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Department of Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Smithsonian Institution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

Appendices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

A-1 U.S. Government Spacecraft Record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

A-2 World Record of Space Launches Successful in 

Attaining Earth Orbit or Beyond . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

B Successful Launches to Orbit on U.S. Launch Vehicles 

October 1, 2004–September 30, 2005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

C Human Space Flights 

October 1, 2004–September 30, 2005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

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

in Real Dollars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

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

in Equivalent FY 2005 Dollars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

D-2 Federal Space Activities Budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

D-3 Federal Aeronautics Budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

Acronyms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

d
NASA completed a successful year of milestones and discoveries in 2005 as

the Agency began to implement the Vision for Space Exploration (VSE),

America’s long-term plan for returning astronauts to the Moon and to prepare for

voyages to Mars and other destinations in the solar system. The year included

returning the Space Shuttle to flight, the announcement of plans for America’s

next generation of spacecraft, numerous achievements in aeronautics, and dramatic discoveries in Earth science and space science.

Exploration Systems Mission Directorate

The goal of NASA’s Exploration Program is to conduct a series of human

space expeditions of increasing scope. These expeditions are expected to follow an

evolutionary pathway, starting in low-Earth orbit (LEO) with missions supporting

the International Space Station (ISS) and expanding to encompass the Moon,

Mars, and other destinations. The knowledge, technology, operational experience,

and systems developed during each stage of this program are expected to provide

the foundation for more extensive exploration activities as the Exploration Program

matures. As part of this evolutionary philosophy, the initial steps along this path are

designed to leverage flight-proven technologies and techniques of earlier human

exploration efforts, including the ISS, Space Shuttle, and Apollo programs.

The Exploration Systems Mission Directorate engaged numerous experts in

the public and private sector to perform studies to identify launch vehicle requirements for crew and cargo to support the nation’s Vision for Space Exploration. These

preliminary studies looked at over sixty-three launch vehicle options and assessed

Fiscal Year 2005 Activities

1

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS

AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

NASA
each of the architectures against numerous figures of merit, such as crew safety, mission success, cost, performance, schedule, and extensibility. 

The NASA Administrator, Dr. Michael Griffin, then commissioned an

internal study of the exploration architecture. The Exploration Systems

Architecture Study (ESAS) was staffed by members of ESMD along with other

exploration and technology experts from NASA Centers and Headquarters. The

results of the ESAS included recommendations for exploration mission requirements, technology needs, and schedule. The mission requirements serve as the

basis for the design, development, and production of the exploration

systems necessary to achieve the VSE.

Based on the ESAS recommendations, the NASA Administrator instituted

changes that have impacted the allocation of and plans for ESMD investments.

The research and technology portfolio was reduced, with focus placed upon the

near-term requirements for lunar missions. The acquisition approach for the

Constellation Systems Program was revised to accelerate and more clearly define

the government’s requirements, as well as to increase the proportion of design,

development, and integration work to be performed by the government. In lieu of

industry trade studies and a longer competitive phase for selection of the Crew

Exploration Vehicle (CEV) contractor, NASA has taken the lead in both defining its needs for industry and accelerating the timeframe for down-selection of the

CEV contract. These revisions were made in an effort to address Congressional

and Administration requests for initial CEV capability earlier than 2014 while prioritizing NASA investments to address funding constraints. ESMD modified its

strategy, plans, and organization to implement and achieve the VSE in the years

to come.

Management Approach

Since its inception in January 2004, ESMD has made communication and

active involvement with industry an essential part of its plans for achieving the

nation’s VSE. Through extensive discussions and competitive acquisition opportunities (industry days, draft solicitations, draft requirements, and workshops), the

private sector has provided invaluable contributions. ESMD also engaged industry

and the international community by conducting the forums “Space Exploration

Conference” and “International Workshop on Space Exploration.” These meetings

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 2
included plenary discussions, technical sessions, and informal informational

exchanges between NASA, industry, and the global space exploration community. 

In addition to evolving its strategy and creating an organizational structure

and management team to implement the VSE, ESMD continued to make other

noteworthy accomplishments. The sections below highlight key elements of

ESMD scope, structure, and accomplishments.

Constellation Systems – Scope & Structure:

• The Constellation Systems Program Office, which is responsible for

overall development of Constellation Systems, was moved from

NASA Headquarters (HQ) to Johnson Space Center (JSC). JSC

also manages the CEV, Space Suit Development, Mission Operations

Systems, and Commercial Crew/Cargo projects. Marshall Spaceflight

Center (MSFC) manages the Crew Launch Vehicle (CLV) and

Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle (HLLV), while Kennedy Space Center

(KSC) develops Ground Operations Systems. Glenn Research

Center (GRC) provides risk reduction and advanced technology

development for a new liquid oxygen/methane rocket engine.

Langley Research Center (LaRC) provides an unpressurized cargo

carrier, while Ames Research Center (ARC) provides Thermal

Protection System research. NASA Centers will also have responsibility for overall Systems Engineering and Integration (SE&I). 

• HQ manages purchases of ISS Crew/Cargo services from

International Partners. NASA transferred ISS Crew/Cargo from the

Space Operations Mission Directorate (SOMD) to the ESMD to

ensure sound resource allocation between International Partner purchases, commercial services, and NASA-developed systems. NASA’s

preferred path to meeting its needs to transport human-related cargo

or crew to and from the ISS is through cost-effective U.S. commercial space transportation service providers. 

Constellation Systems – Accomplishments:

• NASA contracted with two industry teams to complete phase 1 engineering studies for the CEV. These two industry teams (led by

Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin) are vying for the CEV

Fiscal Year 2005 Activities

3
contract. The phased down-select is proceeding as planned, with

selection planned for FY 2006. 

• NASA issued engineering study contracts to two Shuttle contractors

to study evolution of the Shuttle design for the CLV. 

• NASA completed the major CLV acquisition strategies.

• ESMD released a draft solicitation for Commercial Crew/Cargo

transportation services.

Advanced Capabilities – Scope & Structure:

As part of the process of refocusing the Agency’s work to support

the VSE, ESMD significantly restructured the technology programs to

align their content with the new technology priorities for lunar exploration identified by the ESAS. An overview of the changes in scope and

priorities is provided below.

• The focus changed to near-term development of technologies needed

to support the CEV and the CLV, such as a propulsion system that

uses methane and oxygen propellants, and the heat shield that protects the vehicle during atmospheric entry. 

• A majority of the research and development directed to future Mars

missions was deferred. 

• The ESAS reprioritized the human systems research and technology

portfolio required to support the new exploration architecture.

• The Prometheus Nuclear Systems and Technology (PNST) Program

was restructured to support the timely development of the new CEV

and to reflect Agency near-term technology development priorities

for lunar exploration. A decision was made to terminate all advanced

nuclear electric propulsion technology and nuclear reactor power

flight systems efforts, including all Jupiter Icy Moon Orbiter (JIMO)

activities. NASA initiated a research and technology effort focused

on key, high priority, long-lead nuclear systems and technology issues.

• The research and technology development required to support the

VSE, including development of robotic precursor missions for lunar

exploration, resides under the guidance of ESMD’s Advanced

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 4
Capabilities Division. ESMD assigned management of the Advanced

Capability programs and projects to the NASA Centers. 

• The Robotic Lunar Exploration Program (RLEP) was transferred to

ESMD from the Science Mission Directorate (SMD).

• ESMD transferred RLEP management responsibility from GSFC to

ARC. Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) project management

remains at GSFC. MSFC gained management responsibility for the

new RLEP-2 project. NASA LaRC manages the Exploration

Technology Development Program and JSC manages the Human

Research Program. PNST Program management resides with ESMD

Headquarters with participation by GRC and MSFC. 

Advanced Capabilities – Accomplishments:

• ESMD competitively selected the instruments and completed the

Systems Requirements Review (SRR) for the LRO mission, in

addition to establishing the initial requirements for a second

RLEP mission.

• ESMD conducted the first two prize competitions in the Centennial

Challenges Program to demonstrate technologies applicable to space

elevators.

• After completion of a successful review, the Fluids and Combustion

Facility (FCF) was shipped to KSC where it will be flown to the ISS.

• NASA’s Human Research Facility (HRF-2) was flown to the ISS

where it will enhance human research aboard the ISS.

• ESMD continued to engage with private industry in the transfer and

infusion of technology. Through the NASA Centers, the Agency

entered into over eighty-five partnership agreements infusing innovative technology into NASA programs and over 220 licensing

agreements and fifty partnership agreements transferring NASAdeveloped technology to the U.S. industrial sector.

Space Operations Mission Directorate

Since the release of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB)

final report on August 26, 2003, NASA employees and contractors invested

approximately 3.5 million engineering hours of testing, analysis, development, and

Fiscal Year 2005 Activities

5
processing to prepare Discovery for its flight on STS-114. With the goal of eliminating, reducing, controlling, and mitigating potential hazards and risks in all

critical areas of the Space Shuttle system, Shuttle engineers made over 116 individual hardware modifications. All improvements were vetted through a rigorous

and multilayered review process. The Return to Flight Task Group subjected the

fifteen CAIB Return to Flight recommendations to further independent assessment. The Task Group’s findings provided the NASA leadership with an

important alternative opinion throughout the Return to Flight process and during

the STS-114 launch review. NASA’s Implementation Plan for Space Shuttle

Return to Flight and Beyond outlined the path that NASA took to respond to the

Board’s recommendations and safely return the Space Shuttle to flight. The

Implementation Plan was updated periodically to reflect NASA’s continuing

progress and to provide detailed cost estimates of the Return to Flight process.

NASA released the tenth revision to the Implementation Plan on June 3, 2005,

and issued a pre-launch addendum on July 7, 2005.

The launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on July 26, 2005, followed by its safe

return on August 9, 2005, represented important milestones in validating the

improvements made to the Space Shuttle system during Return to Flight—critical

first steps in executing the VSE. STS-114 also put the Space Shuttle and ISS programs in a position to resume ISS assembly flights in 2006. Discovery and its crew

delivered over 15,000 pounds of hardware and supplies to the ISS, conducted three

spacewalks to restore three of the Station’s four Control Moment Gyroscopes and

complete other installation activities outside the ISS, and brought over 7,200

pounds of expended hardware and unneeded supplies back to Earth.

Nevertheless, STS-114 also demonstrated that additional work needs to be

done prior to the launch of the second Return to Flight test mission, STS-121. As

of September 2005, the program had progressed through the normal post-flight disposition procedures for all STS-114 in-flight anomalies. In the case of the external

tank foam loss events, NASA commissioned both program and independent teams

to determine root causes and recommend mitigation activities. As of September

2005, these tasks were proceeding on a schedule that supported the May 2006

launch opportunity for STS-121. 

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 6
Space Shuttle transition planning activities began soon after the announcement of the VSE. The subject of transition was a major focus of the Integrated

Space Operations Summit in March 2005. The Summit provided a forum for individuals from government, industry, and academia to discuss mission execution and

transition issues within the context of the Space Shuttle’s 2010 retirement date.

As a result of recommendations made at the Summit, NASA established

the position of the Space Shuttle transition manager. The transition manager

gained responsibility for developing the Space Shuttle transition plan and reconciling Space Shuttle transition efforts with existing policies and practices in areas

like dispositioning of Shuttle hardware and infrastructure, workforce transition,

environmental remediation, and knowledge management. 

Throughout 2005, the Space Shuttle program continued to benchmark previous program phase-outs for lessons learned in maintaining safety and mission

assurance through the transition period. The program also convened several technical interchange meetings to prepare for an orderly Space Shuttle transition. The

Associate Administrators for both Space Operations and Exploration Systems provide senior-level Agency leadership of the transition process through the Space

Shuttle Transition Control Board. This group retained responsibility for overseeing the transition of Space Shuttle workforce, infrastructure, hardware,

knowledge, and contracting mechanisms between the current Space Shuttle program and future exploration systems.

In FY 2005, overall ISS systems performance surpassed expectations. The

highlight of the year was the first Space Shuttle visit to the ISS since 2003, bringing

with it science payloads and hardware. By the end of FY 2005, the ISS vehicle was

in its best operational condition since early 2003 and ready for assembly resumption.

The year began with a Station crew exchange. The Expedition 10 crew,

U.S. Commander Leroy Chiao and Russian Flight Engineer Salizhan Sharipov,

replaced Expedition 9 onboard the ISS on October 16, 2004. Chiao and Sharipov

conducted two two-person extravehicular activities (EVA) safely and successfully

without a crewmember inside the Station.

The Expedition 10 crew returned to Earth on April 24, 2005, replaced by

Expedition 11. Russian Commander Sergei Krikalev and U.S. Flight Engineer

John Phillips arrived at the ISS on April 17, 2005. Krikalev and Phillips performed

one EVA. Phillips also participated in the first-ever Congressional hearing with

Fiscal Year 2005 Activities

7
live testimony from orbit on June 14, 2005. Expedition 11 returned to Earth in

October 2005.

Our Russian partners continued to support crew and cargo transportation to

the ISS. In FY 2005, automated Russian Progress vehicles re-supplied the twoperson crew four times, and Russian Soyuz vehicles transported two crews safely

and reliably to and from the Station. This level of cooperation has enabled a continuous crew presence on the ISS. A highlight of Russia’s re-supply was the

delivery and successful activation of a new Elektron oxygen generation system. 

The high point of the year came in August, when Space Shuttle Discovery

visited the Station. The Shuttle transferred more than 15,000 pounds worth of

supplies and hardware to the ISS, including food, water, nitrogen, lithium hydroxide canisters, and scientific equipment. In addition, the Shuttle returned more

than 7,200 pounds worth of expended hardware and unneeded supplies from the

ISS back to Earth. 

Other highlights from Discovery’s mission included the repair and/or

replacement of two of the Station’s four Control Moment Gyroscopes (which provide attitude control for ISS), thereby restoring the Station to its full capability.

The Shuttle crew also installed the External Stowage Platform-2—an external

platform for storing components and assisting astronauts in conducting EVAs from

the ISS—replaced a Global Positioning System (GPS) antenna, reboosted the

orbit of the ISS, and conducted a fly-around and complete photographic survey of

the ISS prior to reentry.

Although the reduced crew size and transport capabilities of the Russian

Progress and Soyuz spacecraft limited planned science activities on the Station,

NASA maximized the research opportunities available through replanning and

rescheduling science activities. Through the end of FY 2005, approximately 246

hours of combined crew time were dedicated to research. 

The arrival of STS-114 enhanced the science capacity on board the Station

by transferring the Human Research Facility-2 (HRF-2) to the U.S. Destiny

module. This facility increased the on-orbit laboratory capabilities for human life

science researchers to study and evaluate the physiological, behavioral, and chemical changes induced by space flight. Three new experiments also flew on

STS-114; furthermore, the Discovery crew deployed another round of an on-going

experiment called Materials on International Space Station Experiment (MISSE)

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 8
and returned two sets of materials that had been outside the ISS as part of this

experiment. STS-114 Discovery also returned the first significant downmass of science data and samples since December 2002. 

The International Partnership successfully met the challenge of continuing

ISS operations while the Space Shuttle was grounded. The Partners met frequently

at the technical and management levels to coordinate efforts to maintain our

common goal of keeping the ISS crewed. The Partnership plans to resume assembly as soon as the Space Shuttle completes its second Return to Flight mission. 

In May 2005, the Administrator directed the Shuttle/Station Configuration

Options Team to evaluate options for completing ISS assembly within the parameters of the VSE. The planned launch manifest included the U.S. elements and

accommodated almost all of the International Partner elements, with the exception of the Russian Science Power Module. The International Partners agreed to

conduct a series of multilateral discussions to assess NASA’s proposed plan in

anticipation of ISS Multilateral Coordination Board and Heads of Agency meetings in early 2006. 

Reliable communications connectivity for space flight programs via the

Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) remained the focus of Space

Communications activities in FY 2005. TDRSS is a constellation of geosynchronous communications satellites and ground support facilities for use by the Space

Shuttle, the ISS, the Hubble Space Telescope, and other low-Earth orbiting spacecraft. When first launched, the TDRS satellites were the largest and most

sophisticated communications satellites ever built. In 2005, the TDRSS supported

science and human space flight missions with a 99+% proficiency.

An Agencywide Space Communications Architecture Working Group

(SCAWG) established a NASA space communications architecture to meet the

needs of NASA’s future exploration and science missions. The SCAWG put in

place several preliminary architectures and continued to develop a communications technology roadmap as a basis for future investment in space

communications technology initiatives.

Senior NASA Spectrum Management personnel remained actively

involved in implementing the recommendations from the Task Force regarding

the Presidential initiative to bring the United States Spectrum Management

activities into the 21st Century. NASA submitted its portion of the National

Fiscal Year 2005 Activities

9
Spectrum Long Range Forecast as required by these recommendations. NASA

made a concerted effort to ensure efficient use of its spectrum requirements for all

missions and programs, while also associating these uses with Capital Planning

efforts to ascertain the cost of using spectrum. NASA continued to prepare for the

next World Radiocommunications Conference 2007 by actively participating in

all international activities and forums.

The Space Operations Mission Directorate Launch Services Program successfully managed the launches of five missions on expendable launch vehicles in

FY 2005. The Swift spacecraft, Deep Impact spacecraft, and Mars Reconnaissance

Orbiter spacecraft were launched from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station,

Florida, and the Demonstration of Autonomous Rendezvous Technology

(DART) spacecraft and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

(NOAA-N) spacecraft were launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base,

California. Swift began documenting gamma ray bursts as part of an effort to

enable scientists to explain the origins and nature of these bursts. Deep Impact

delivered a probe that slammed into the nucleus of comet Tempel 1, releasing an

immense cloud of fine powdery material. 

DART was to establish autonomous rendezvous capabilities for the U.S.

space program, however, after a successful rendezvous, acquisition of the target

spacecraft, and approach to within approximately 300 feet, DART placed itself in

the retirement phase before completing all planned proximity operations, ending

the mission prematurely. NOAA-N was another of the continuing series of polar

orbiting weather satellites. For all of these missions, NASA competitively procured launch services from domestic commercial companies.

Science Mission Directorate

January 2005 started with the launch of Deep Impact, beginning its 268

million miles journey to the vicinity of comet Tempel 1. Composed of primitive

debris from the solar system’s distant and coldest regions that formed 4.5 billion

years ago, comets hold clues about the formation and evolution of the solar

system. Deep Impact, a NASA Discovery Mission, was the first space mission to

probe beneath the surface of a comet and reveal the secrets of its interior. On July

3, 2005, the spacecraft deployed an impactor that was destroyed by the nucleus of

comet Tempel the following day. This deep space July 4th fireworks display took

10Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 
place at the velocity of about 23,000 miles per hour, and was witnessed by over

80 million Internet users. Before, during, and after the demise of this 820–pound

impactor, a flyby spacecraft watched the approximately four-mile wide comet

nucleus from nearby, collecting the most up-close personal data and images of a

comet in the history of space exploration. 

NASA airborne and orbiting science instruments yielded data that helped

Federal authorities and the general public gain better insight into the devastating

2005 hurricane season. Observations of ocean surface winds made with the

Agency’s unique technologies, such as the SeaWinds instrument on ADEOS II

and the Tropical Rainfall Monitoring Mission (TRMM) satellite, allowed scientists to see rainfall inside the storms and their eyewalls and to measure each storm’s

strength. Observations from a suite of satellites and aircraft, such as the LandSat

satellite and the MODIS instrument on NASA’s Terra satellite, were used to create

before-and-after images of New Orleans’s post-Hurricane Katrina flooding and

provide post-storm views of damage from land-falling hurricanes. 

NASA’s new Hurricane Resource Web page brought NASA Earth Science

to the general public this year and highlighted the huge array of the Agency’s hurricane research. It became a resource for the global media on the latest NASA

research, satellite imagery, hurricane updates, videos, and animations. 

NASA and NOAA scientists at the Joint Center for Satellite Data

Assimilation in Camp Springs, Maryland, came up with procedures to improve

forecasting accuracy. Working with experimental data from the Atmospheric

Infrared Sounder instrument on NASA’s Aqua satellite, they found that incorporating the instrument’s data into numerical weather prediction models improved

the accuracy range of experimental six-day Northern Hemisphere weather forecasts by up to six hours.

Combining research efforts with National Snow and Ice Data Center in

Colorado, NASA used satellite data from the Geoscience Laser Altimeter System

(GLAS) instrument on ICESAT (Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite) to

confirm that the amount of sea ice floating in the Arctic is less than in previous

years, a finding consistent with the Arctic’s warmer temperature. Each September,

the amount of sea ice floating in the Arctic Ocean is typically at its lowest amount

for the entire year. Since 2002, the amount of sea ice has been 20 percent less than

the average recorded amount between 1979 and 2000.

Fiscal Year 2005 Activities

11
Despite near-record levels of chemical ozone destruction in the Arctic

during the 2004–2005 winter, observations from NASA’s Aura spacecraft allowed

scientists to differentiate between chemical ozone destruction and the ozone level

changes caused by air motions that vary dramatically from year to year. Analysis

from Aura’s Microwave Limb Sounder indicated Arctic chemical ozone destruction during the 2004–2005 winter peaked at near 50 percent in some regions of the

stratosphere—a region of Earth’s atmosphere that begins about 8 to 12 kilometers

(5 to 7 miles) above Earth’s poles. This was the second highest level ever recorded,

behind the 60 percent level estimated for the 1999–2000 winter. Data from

another instrument on Aura, the Ozone Monitoring Instrument, found that the

total amount of ozone over the Arctic in March 2005 was similar to other years

when much less chemical ozone destruction had occurred. NASA’s Polar Aura

Validation Experiment independently confirmed the data obtained by Aura. In

January and February 2005, NASA’s DC-8 flying laboratory flew underneath Aura

as the spacecraft passed over the polar vortex. The experiment used ten instruments to measure temperatures, aerosols, ozone, nitric acid, and other gases. 

Toni Scarmato, a high school teacher from Italy, discovered the Solar and

Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft’s 999th and 1,000th comet in

August 2005 when two comets appeared in the same SOHO image. The SOHO

spacecraft is a joint effort between NASA and the European Space Agency. In the

history of astronomy, it has accounted for approximately one-half of all comet discoveries with computed orbits. SOHO successfully completed its primary mission

in April 1998, but it continued to provide useful information through FY 2005. 

NASA’s Mars Exploration Rovers struggled with rocky slopes and loose sand

this year, yet managed to reach new sites for reading the environmental history

recorded in Martian rocks. In August 2005, Spirit arrived at the summit crest of a

range of hills that had appeared on the distant horizon from the rover’s original

landing site. The composition and structure of rock outcrops on these hills told of

explosive events—eruptions, impacts, or both—and alteration by water. Spirit

then headed downhill to reach layered deposits to the south. Opportunity made

southward progress all year toward a crater deeper than the ones where the rover

had previously encountered evidence that water once soaked the ground and

flowed across its surface. Opportunity’s journey was punctuated by an examination

of the spacecraft’s own jettisoned heat shield and several weeks of digging itself out

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

12
of the sand. Late in 2005 and nearly twenty-three months into what had been

planned as three-month missions, each rover had completed a full Martian year of

exploring Mars. 

In the ninth year of its extended mission around Mars, NASA’s Mars Global

Surveyor orbited over the Mars Exploration Rovers. It’s observations included

tracks made on the lunar surface by falling boulders in the last two years. In addition, the Surveyor’s visualizations of new impact craters formed since the 1970s

suggested changes need to be made to earlier age-estimating models. For three

Mars summers in a row, deposits of frozen carbon dioxide near the planet’s south

pole have shrunk from the previous year, suggesting a climate change may be in

progress. Mars years are nearly twice as long as Earth years. The orbiter’s longevity

has enabled monitoring of year-to-year patterns on Mars, such as seasonal dust

storms and changes in the polar caps. Beyond its own investigations, the orbiter

has provided support for other Mars missions, such as landing-site evaluations,

atmospheric monitoring, communication relay, and imaging of hardware on the

surface.

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) took off from Cape Canaveral

Air Force Station, Florida, on August 12, 2005, aboard the first Atlas V launch

vehicle used for an interplanetary mission. The spacecraft was designed to scrutinize the physical features of Mars in unprecedented detail from the top of the

atmosphere to underground layering. NASA expects the Orbiter to reveal the history and distribution of Martian water and to return more data than all previous

missions combined. The MRO is expected to also support future Mars missions by

characterizing possible landing sites and providing a high-data-rate communication relay.

The Cassini-Huygens mission began the year with the dramatic release and

descent of the European Space Agency (ESA) Huygens probe through the murky

atmosphere of Saturn’s largest moon, Titan. Cassini and the probe discovered that

the moon is remarkably Earth-like, complete with evidence of methane rain, erosion, stream-like drainage channels, dry lake beds, volcanism, and very few craters.

After delivering the Huygens probe to Titan, Cassini began a whirlwind tour of

Saturn’s icy moons with over one dozen targeted flybys. The spacecraft returned

breathtaking views of these icy worlds. In the midst of this multi-moon tour,

Fiscal Year 2005 Activities

13
Cassini discovered that the moon Enceladus has an atmosphere, and that it

appears to be contributing particles to Saturn’s massive E-ring.

Astronomers partly funded by NASA discovered a planet-sized body larger

than Pluto in the outlying regions of the solar system. Whether the new object,

called 2003UB313, will be determined to be the tenth planet in our solar system

is currently being decided by the International Astronomical Union. Using the

Samuel Oschin Telescope at Palomar Observatory near San Diego, Mike Brown

and his colleagues from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena,

California, discovered the putative planet.

Using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope to view Pluto, astronomers discovered that it may have three moons rather than only one. If confirmed, the

discovery of the two additional moons could offer insights into the nature and evolution of the Pluto system, the Kuiper Belt Objects with satellite systems, and the

early Kuiper Belt—a vast region of icy, rocky bodies beyond Neptune’s orbit.

NASA also enlisted the Hubble Space Telescope’s unique capabilities in

support of future human exploration to the Moon. Hubble’s resolution and sensitivity to ultraviolet light allowed it to begin searching for the presence of

important minerals that may be critical for the establishment of a sustained human

presence on the Moon. Preliminary assessment of the new class of science observations suggested new patterns in the prevalence of titanium and iron oxides, both

of which are sources of oxygen—an essential ingredient for human exploration.

Pointing the versatile LEO space telescope to deep space, scientists using

Hubble identified the source of a mysterious blue light surrounding a super-massive black hole in our neighboring Andromeda Galaxy (M31) —a strange light

that had puzzled astronomers for more than a decade. Scientists concluded that

the blue light is coming from a disk of hot, young stars whipping around the black

hole in much the same way as planets in our solar system revolve around the Sun.

These new observations by the Hubble’s Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) revealed

that the blue light consists of more than 400 stars that formed in a burst of activity about 200 million years ago. These stars are tightly packed in a disk only a

light-year across and nested inside a ring of older, redder stars previously observed

by the Hubble.

In late May, NASA announced that the Voyager 1 spacecraft, having traveled 8.7 billion miles from the Sun, had crossed outside the termination shock and

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

14
Fiscal Year 2005 Activities

15 at last entered the heliosheath—the vast, turbulent expanse where the solar wind

is much slower, thicker and hotter than the supersonic solar wind closer to the Sun. 

Through the unprecedented coordination of observations from several

ground-based telescopes and NASA’s Swift and other satellites, scientists solved

the 35-year-old mystery of the origin of powerful, split-second flashes of light

known as short Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs)—the most powerful explosions the

universe has seen since the Big Bang. These flashes occur approximately once per

day and are brief, but intense, flashes of gamma radiation that last only a few milliseconds. Two recently detected bursts were featured in four papers in an October

issue of Nature magazine. During Swift’s two-year nominal mission, scientists

anticipate retrieving data for approximately two hundred GRB’s, yielding information about the GRB’s origin while also providing insight into the activities of

the early universe.

NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope captured for the first time the light from

two known planets orbiting stars other than our Sun. Prior to this discovery, all

observations of confirmed extrasolar planets were indirect. However, in this case,

Spitzer picked up the heat radiation, or infrared glow, from Jupiter-sized planets.

Spitzer’s findings marked the beginning of a new age of planetary science in which

scientists can measure and compare extrasolar planets directly.

Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate

It is possible to fly without motors, but not without knowledge and skill,"

said Wilbur Wright, American inventor and aviator, more than 100 years ago. In

FY 2005, the aeronautics professionals at NASA continued to demonstrate their

knowledge and skill by completing, or taking to the next level, a wide range of

research efforts in aviation safety and security, aviation operations and systems,

and revolutionary new vehicle capabilities. The year produced a long list of

accomplishments in technology, especially those demonstrating NASA’s ability to

productively partner with industry, academia, and other government agencies.

The year took off at record-breaking speed in November 2004 with the

third flight of the X-43A research vehicle. The flight was the last and fastest of

three unpiloted tests in NASA’s Hyper-X Program, whose purpose was to explore

an alternative to rocket power for space access vehicles. The X-43A’s air-breathing

scramjet engine has no moving parts, instead compressing the air passing through
it to ignite the fuel. Reaching Mach 10—nearly 7,000 miles per hour—the

November flight, which flew at 110,000 feet, broke an earlier record set during a

March 2004 flight, and was later officially recognized by Guinness World Records

as the newest world speed record by a jet-powered aircraft. Ultimately, the true

prize to be gained is the new technology that will allow aircraft to reach supersonic

speeds while retaining subsonic maneuverability.

In a related note, one month after that flight, NASA retired the B-52B

“mother ship” launch aircraft that had carried the X-43A while mated to its Pegasus

booster rocket for all its test flights. After nearly a half-century of carry-and-drop

work assignments for numerous advanced flight research vehicles, the B-52B was

retired during a ceremony at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC).

FY 2005 also witnessed the last flights of NASA’s Pathfinder-Plus, a solarelectric flying wing aircraft that was built in the 1990s to facilitate research of

long-duration, high-altitude flight. The last short series of flights conducted in late

summer provided improved capability to predict the performance of this class of

flexible wing vehicles. 

“It works! . . . we’ve proven the AAW concept,” said Larry Myers, project

manager for NASA’s Active Aeroelastic Wing (AAW) project. In March 2005,

second phase flight-testing of a modified F/A-18A fitted with flexible wings proved

the concept that warping an aircraft’s wing will improve its turning ability. The

idea actually dates back to the Wright brothers, who used cables attached to the

wingtips of their 1903 flyer to twist the wing and turn the airplane. More than 100

years later, NASA used software in the aircraft’s flight control computer to react

accurately to the flexible wings’ movements during twisting maneuvers at various

speeds and altitudes. NASA expects the results from these tests to be used to

develop faster, more capable military aircraft, as well as high altitude, longendurance, and uninhabited aerial vehicles, large transport aircraft, and

high-speed, long-range aircraft. 

After last fiscal year’s agreement between NASA and the Federal

Aviation Administration (FAA) to reach certain performance metrics related to

operating uninhabited aerial vehicles (UAV) in the National airspace, NASA

embarked on a series of UAV demonstration flights with Agency partners,

including the FAA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Flights included the testing of UAVs’ ability to react to obstacles (the “flocking”

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

16
17 effect); to capture Earth science data to fill in critical data gaps for weather, water,

climate, and ecosystem monitoring; and to use thermal lifts to prolong flight and

save fuel while making observations, such as forest fire monitoring, traffic control,

and search and rescue.

In support of NASA’s objective to increase capacity and mobility within the

National airspace, the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD) conducted integrated flight experiments demonstrating the feasibility of the four

Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) project operating capabilities:

higher volume operations, en-route integration, lower landing minima, and singlepilot performance. SATS partners—the FAA, and the members of the National

Consortium for Aviation Mobility—demonstrated those capabilities at a three-day

public event in June 2005 at a regional airport in Virginia. The event, "SATS

2005: A Transformation of Air Travel," also represented the culmination of the

five-year SATS project. Private-sector SATS partners sought certification on at

least 22 products. 

Flying an aircraft safely calls for an incredible degree of awareness of the

environment in and around the aircraft, as well as in-flight and on the ground. The

technology accomplishments in aviation safety and security at NASA revolve

around improving that situational awareness in order to prevent accidents and to

keep aircraft, crew, cargo, and passengers safe. In support of the ARMD objective

to reduce the aviation fatal accident rate by 50 percent over the FY 1991-96 average, a number of these technologies reached a readiness level that allowed them to

be tested during experimental flights and often through unique public/industry

partnerships.

During FY 2005, NASA took a number of aviation safety technologies—

many eagerly anticipated by commercial and general aviation industries, air

transportation controllers and managers, and meteorologists—to their next level

of development. These are as follows: 

• NASA’s Synthetic Vision Systems (SVS) project moved from small aircraft

testing in FY 2004 to testing aboard a Boeing 757 in FY 2005. The SVS generates a computer-based, sensor-derived electronic picture that shows pilots

what is outside the cockpit regardless of visibility limited by darkness or poor

weather. Because of stellar testing results, SVS project partner Chelton

Flight Systems developed the system for the commercial aviation
market. SVS now flies in hundreds of small planes across the United

States and abroad, in addition to receiving numerous certifications in

FY 2005 from small aircraft manufacturers for use in their aircraft. It was

used aboard the Virgin Atlantic Global Flyer during its record-breaking

non-stop flight around the world in late winter 2005.

• The Tropospheric Airborne Meteorological Data Report (TAMDAR)

sensor measures a variety of weather factors and transmits them to a

ground data center that processes the data for forecasters, pilots, and

other aviation personnel. Operational testing of TAMDAR took place

daily since January 2005 through the Great Lakes Fleet Experiment—a

partnership between NASA and Mesaba Airlines of Minneapolis.

Mesaba’s 63 commuter aircraft generated over 25,000 TAMDAR observations daily.

• The Turbulence Auto-PIREP System (TAPS) was tested on more than

80 Delta Airlines passenger jets. TAPS takes over when pilots are too

busy, automatically broadcasting turbulence encounter reports to other

planes and monitors on the ground. 

In support of a National airspace that can accommodate more aircraft,

NASA, along with the FAA and industry partners, developed the Multi-Center

Traffic Management Advisor (McTMA). The software is driven by a powerful trajectory synthesis engine that converts radar data, flight plans, and weather

information into highly accurate forecasts of air traffic congestion. Tests at the

Philadelphia International Airport in November 2004, and at a number of Air

Route Traffic Control Centers, brought McTMA closer to full operation. An earlier version of this tool, Traffic Management Advisor, has been in use since 2002

at several major hubs. According to the FAA, TMA is estimated to have saved airspace users more than $180 million and reduced delays by more than 72,000 hours.

NASA also delivered the multi-volume results of a comprehensive data collection project supporting proposed operational changes in the Wake Vortex

Avoidance guidelines. Wake turbulence is a major contributing factor to increased

terminal delays and reduced terminal capacity. Defining a new acceptable level of

wake vortex encounter would positively impact air transportation capacity. Results

from the data collection efforts were vetted to the wake vortex community and

then released to the public in June 2005.

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

18
Fiscal Year 2005 Activities

19 NASA continued research on using modern communication network technologies to improve the National Airspace System’s communications, navigation,

and surveillance infrastructure. Draft roadmaps and benefits assessments will provide a blueprint for technological improvements to total system performance, as

well as performance on the ground at airports and in the air over oceans.

In support of reducing aircraft emissions, NASA completed key studies on

advanced fuel cell and hybrid systems that would support the use of solar-powered

vehicles in science missions. In addition, a low-drag slotted wing concept at flightdesign conditions was tested.

Testing of engine combustion technology that would reduce nitrous oxide emissions moved from last year’s preliminary design stage to a series of full-annular rig tests

of combustor configurations compatible with large commercial aircraft. NASA

achieved a 67 percent reduction of emissions, just short of the target 70 percent reduction. Lowering aircraft emissions helps to reduce smog and to lower atmospheric ozone.

NASA’s Quiet Aircraft Technology project installed more than 50 microphones and other sensor arrays aboard a Boeing 757 to isolate sources of noise that

irritate crew and passengers as part of it’s effort to reduce aviation noise 10 decibels by

2009. NASA also studied different propulsion technologies that would support development of a small, quiet supersonic vehicle that flies over land—a supersonic business

jet. Along with the propulsion activities, NASA completed 10 test flights that produced 45 low sonic booms. The impact of sonic boom noise would need to be mitigated

before aircraft could ever fly at supersonic speeds over land. 

In support of efforts to improve the security of the National airspace, NASA

implemented interactions and formal research agreements with the Transportation

Security Administration, the Federal Air Marshall service, and the Department of

Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate. With those partners, NASA

developed the Security Incidents Reporting System (SIRS), an anonymous incident

reporting system that utilizes a limited immunity security structure. SIRS collects

reports of real-world security incidents that personnel may never have reported

through conventional channels. NASA also analyzed threat assessments and developed a concept for surveillance of protected areas.

FY 2005’s string of productive partnerships continued as NASA, working

with the Department of Defense and industry, completed studies of three different

types of heavy-lift Vertical Take-Off and Landing rotorcraft configurations. The
studies are designed to provide strategic input to future decisions on commercial/military vehicles that operate independently of runways. NASA also conducted tests

jointly with the Navy to determine whether planned upgrades to E-2C carrier-based

aircraft would negatively impact gross weight and resulting performance.

FY 2005 saw the completion of two NASA research endeavors that have

operated for nearly 10 years. The Advanced Air Transportation Technologies project—established in 1996 to develop technology that improved the capacity of

transportation aircraft at and between major airports—ended in February 2005.

Set up in 1997 to address the need for preventing actions that would cause damage,

harm, or loss of life, the Aviation Safety & Security Program completed its work

in November 2005. 

Industry and educators often look to NASA for education materials on aviation safety, science, history, and careers. NASA released a free, online de-icing

training course for pilots in FY 2005 as part of the Agency’s goal to reduce the rate

of aircraft accidents. Developed by an international team led by NASA researchers,

the self-guided course provides pilots with general ground icing knowledge. 

After several years of development, NASA premiered the online interactive education product, Fly By MathTM, for students and teachers in grades 5–9 as

part of NASA’s Smart SkiesTM program. Smart Skies teaches youth how aviation

professionals manage and direct air traffic using distance, rate of speed, and time

relationship calculations.

Of the 300 Small Business Innovation Research Phase I grants awarded by

NASA in FY 2005, 43 of them were awarded by the Aeronautics Research Mission

Directorate to businesses in 15 states. These businesses are expected to develop

technologies in response to specific NASA mission-driven needs, including

improved aviation safety, aircraft health management and analysis, breakthrough

technologies for noise reduction, new propulsion technologies, and technologies

to support next-generation air traffic management systems.

Finally, NASA continued its leadership role in the Joint Planning and

Development Office (JPDO). The multi-agency JPDO vision and roadmap for the

Next Generation Air Transportation System (NGATS) is expected to provide a

foundation for our future Airspace research plans.

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

20
During FY 2005, the Department of Defense (DOD) engaged in a wide

variety of aerospace activities, from Science and Technology (S&T) efforts to

full space system deployment and operations. The S&T efforts involved developing new technologies to enhance the warfighter’s capabilities. The DOD

conducted testing of these new technologies, often in coordination with NASA,

to prove the concepts in a space environment and reduce the risks associated

with incorporating them into full systems. The full system activities focused on

continuing space-based missile warning systems, preparing for the next generation Global Positioning System constellation, developing new military

communication systems, and partnering with NASA and the Department of

Commerce (DOC) on the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental

Satellite System (NPOESS). The Air Force (USAF) continued its success with

the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program while preparing to

retire the Titan legacy launch vehicles.

In August 2005, the DOD Executive Agent for Space, Dr. Ronald Sega, and

NASA Administrator Michael Griffin signed an agreement coordinating the

space transportation strategy presented by NASA to support the Vision for Space

Exploration. This agreement, in accord with National Security Policy Directive

40, outlines a strategy that separates human-rated space exploration systems from

unmanned launch vehicles. Under the terms of the agreement, NASA will initiate development of a Crew Launch Vehicle and a super-heavy lift vehicle from

shuttle-derived components. NASA has also agreed to use EELV to the maximum

extent possible both for launches of robotic civil and science missions and for

International Space Station cargo re-supply missions. The agreement, furtherFiscal Year 2005 Activities

21

DEPARTMENT OF

DEFENSE

DOD
more, commits the DOD and NASA to continued cooperation on the development of spaceflight technologies. This agreement serves the national interest by

maintaining reliable and affordable access to space as well as both liquid and solid

propulsion industrial bases.

DOD S&T programs touch on almost every facet of space technologies. For

example, the USAF and NASA participated in a university nanosatellite program

designed to improve performance and cost-effectiveness beyond that provided by

current large satellite systems. The universities conducted creative, low-cost space

experiments that explored the military and commercial usefulness of small satellites in areas such as formation flying, enhanced communications, miniaturized

sensors, attitude control, and maneuvering. The USAF collaborated with various

teams to develop a deployment structure, secure a launch, and provide advanced

satellite hardware such as high-efficiency solar cells and micro-propulsion units.

NASA Goddard demonstrated formation flying technologies and provided design

and safety related guidance, as well as advanced crosslink communication, navigation hardware, and flight control algorithms. 

The USAF continued to improve space sensor technologies, including

the development of L-Band all-weather radar and hyperspectral and hypertemporal imaging. Space structures technologies were developed to support

deployable large aperture arrays. Radiation hardening technologies were

researched and tested, allowing for more robust components and further

addressing critical electronic technology, commercial processor development,

and manufacturing issues. Radiation Belt Remediation efforts focused on

quickly cleaning up the effects of a high altitude nuclear detonation, which will

preserve our space capabilities should we suffer, in Secretary Rumsfeld’s words,

“a space Pearl Harbor.” The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) built and

operated the XSS-11 satellite, which is in the process of demonstrating an onboard autonomous rendezvous and circumnavigation capability specifically

designed to identify U.S. Resident Space Objects. Under the Integrated High

Payoff Rocket Propulsion Technology (IHPRPT) Program, the DOD and

NASA continued the Integrated Powerhead Demonstration tests, developed

smaller more efficient spacecraft propulsion systems, improved upper stage

engine development tools, and developed new rocket fuels and components.

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

22
The DOD also pursued advanced technology development, testing some of

these technologies through the MISSE. 

The DOD Space Test Program (STP), Rocket Systems Launch Program

(RSLP), and Research and Development Space and Missile Operations (RDSMO)

assisted space lift missions by integrating payloads, supporting launches of both

EELV and NASA Space Shuttles, and facilitating or directing operations to

include efforts on the ISS. RDSMO provided launch and booster telemetry support and remote telemetry relay for the NASA Swift and Deep Impact programs,

as well as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the

Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) programs. Space lift

efforts included the rapid integration of NanoSat-2 and its subsequent launch on

the EELV Heavy Lift Demonstration on 21 December 2004. The AFRL XSS-11

spacecraft was launched successfully on a Minotaur I Launch Vehicle in 11 April

2005, while a second Minotaur I launched STP-R1 in support of the Defense

Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Additionally, RSLP completed

the Preliminary Design Review of its Minotaur IV launch vehicle. RSLP continued efforts to provide access to lower cost, responsive small commercial space

launch vehicles. For the Space Shuttle Return to Flight mission (July–August

2005), STP managed crew training, the on-orbit retrieval of MISSE 1 & 2, and the

deployment of MISSE-5. At this time, RDSMO performed around-the-clock operations that allowed the USAF Satellite Control Network to conduct tracking and

data acquisition. 

In September 2005, the second advanced Space-Based Infrared System

(SBIRS) payload, the Highly Elliptical Orbit-2 (HEO-2), was delivered for hostsatellite integration. 

The GPS Joint Program Office launched the thirteenth replacement GPSII satellite (IIR-13) in November 2004 and the first modernized replacement

GPS-II satellite (IIRM-1) in September 2005. Contract options with Boeing were

exercised to procure GPS-II Follow-on (IIF) satellites 7–9 and long-lead parts for

IIF satellites 10-12. The Modernized User Equipment (MUE) program continued

with the concept phase and prepared to release a Request for Proposal for the

development phase in early FY 2006. Following White House approval of the

National Security Presidential Directive on Space-Based Position, Navigation,

Fiscal Year 2005 Activities

23
and Timing (PNT) in December 2004, the DOD worked with other U.S.

Government agencies to implement the National PNT Coordination Office,

including providing USAF staff. Technical consultations with the European

Commission continued to ensure that GPS and Galileo are compatible with each

other within the radio-frequency spectrum. Consultations were also conducted

with Japan and Russia to maximize cooperation and to increase support for GPS. 

The operational DOD Military Satellite Communications (MILSATCOM)

constellations—Defense Satellite Communications System, Global Broadcast

Service, and Milstar—continued to support U.S. and allied operations throughout

the world, and also assisted with relief effort operations in the aftermath of the

December 2004 South Asia tsunami and Hurricane Katrina of August 2005. The

DOD continued to develop of the Wideband Gapfiller Satellite system, the

Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellites, the Mobile User Objective

System, the Transformational Satellite Communications System constellation,

and the programs forming the foundation of the Transformational

Communications Architecture (TCA). 

NPOESS is a tri-agency program of NASA, DOD, and DOC that converges

the DOD and DOC/NOAA polar-orbiting weather satellite programs. NPOESS

completed its System Preliminary Design Review in FY 2005. Additionally, the

program’s Svalbard ground station off the coast of Norway provided data recovery

and routing services for NASA’s Earth Observing System (EOS) missions and the

U.S. Navy’s Windsat/Coriolis mission. 

The USAF achieved success with several legacy launch vehicle systems.

Delta II successfully launched two GPS II satellites. Titan IVB (launch vehicle

B30) launched the National Reconnaissance Office Launch (NROL)-16 satellite

on April 29, 2005. Preparations for the final Titan IV launch on October 19, 2005,

were conducted, followed by closeout activities that acknowledged the end to fifty

years of launch operations. Atlas III AC-206 launched February 3, 2005, placing a

NRO satellite in orbit. Closeout activities neared completion for the Atlas heritage launch vehicle program. 

For the EELV program—the newest USAF launch vehicles—the major FY

2005 accomplishment was the launch of the Delta IV Heavy Lift Vehicle

Demonstration. Three successful Atlas V launches also occurred in FY 2005—two

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

24
Fiscal Year 2005 Activities

25 commercial payloads and the NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Finally, the

USAF revised the acquisition approach for EELV based on decreased commercial

launch demand. This revised strategy, which assures access to space for our critical

national security payloads, was developed to serve as the basis for subsequent

launch service awards.
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

26
Fiscal Year 2005 Activities

27

To enhance and improve the safety of the national aerospace system, the

FAA conducts and sponsors short-range research and development, as well as

long-range planning for emerging technologies and changing circumstances.

FAA researchers and scientists had another successful year in FY 2005

developing and testing new products and procedures that will improve safety, efficiency, and environmental compatibility of aviation for years to come. The FAA’s

Office of Aviation Research and Development continued its successful partnership

with government agencies, industry, and academic institutions. 

Research in FY 2005 focused on assuring the continued safety of commercial aircraft. At the FAA Full-Scale Aircraft Structural Test Evaluation and

Research (FASTER) facility, specialists conducted strength tests of rivets in aircraft and analyzed data to predict and detect cracks in fuselage skins. FAA

engineers experimented with new means to inspect aircraft properly and quickly

without needing to disassemble them. Also, because manufacturers now construct

aircraft with more composite materials than in the past, the FAA Airworthiness

Assurance Center of Excellence worked with Iowa State University to develop a

new nondestructive ultrasonic inspection technique. Having tested this technology successfully, the developers began licensing and transferring it to the

commercial sector.

The FAA supported similar projects to improve helicopter technology.

Researchers at the FAA Airworthiness Assurance Nondestructive Inspection

Validation Center at Sandia National Laboratories collaborated with rotorcraft

manufacturers to find innovative ways to discover small cracks hidden under fasFEDERAL AVIATION

ADMINISTRATION

FAA
teners. Researchers began their effort to transfer these inspection methods to

industry for routine use in rotorcraft maintenance depots.

The FAA is committed to improving the quality and readability of aviation technical manuals. Along with aircraft manufacturers and specialists from

the Wichita State University National Institute for Aviation Research, FAA

researchers developed the online Evaluation Toolbox for Aviation Technical

Writers. This toolbox contains concepts, evaluation methods, tools, templates,

and references to educate and assist technical writers in developing easy to

understand documents. The Agency also initiated a formal program to train

technical writers. 

The FAA continued to lead government-industry efforts to collect, analyze,

and publish standardized information on aircraft and aerospace material and fastener properties. Under FAA auspices, the Battelle Memorial Institute issued the

first commercial version of Metallic Materials and Elements for Aerospace Vehicle

Structure, a text that has worldwide recognition for its contributions to the design

and maintenance of aircraft, missiles, and space vehicles.

The increased use of composites in aircraft manufacturing has inspired FAA

researchers to consider new fire resistance or flammability requirements for airplanes. Because polymer composite structures may be flammable, FAA scientists

began searching for new environmentally-friendly strategies for reducing potential

fire hazards. Working with NASA, FAA researchers synthesized and tested epoxy

resins cured with agents containing phosphorus as a possible alternative to halogen flame retardants.

FAA engineers worked to increase the time available for passengers to

escape from an airplane cabin in the unlikely event of a fire. They developed a

flammability tester that needs only a tiny sample of a given substance to determine

the contribution it would make to the growth rate of a fire. Last year, the FAA

received a patent and licensed two companies to make and sell these microscale

combustion calorimeters. In addition, FAA experts developed a new fire test

method for thermal acoustic insulation and studied alternative ways to meet the

mandate to replace flammable insulation blankets.

Research suggests that aircraft electrical wire that is bundled and then subjected to a severe ignition source may not meet flammability test requirements

established in 1972. The FAA expanded its research to upgrade the fire test criteAeronautics and Space Report of the President 

28
ria for electrical wiring and for materials used in hidden areas of an aircraft, such

as the attic above the cabin ceiling, areas beneath the floor, and areas in or around

the lavatories.

The FAA tested a new technology developed to reduce the risk of fuel tank

explosions aboard aircraft. In this experimental fuel tank inerting system, nitrogen-enriched air is generated onboard to displace the air above the tank’s level of

jet fuel. In conjunction with NASA, FAA researchers tested this system on the

Boeing 747 SCA that is used to transport the Space Shuttle Orbiter. 

In 2005, researchers acquired a new vehicle to increase their ability to conduct more sophisticated Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) research. The

new, larger ARFF research vehicle will help with extensive live fire testing needed

to determine fire protection standards for new large aircraft, such as the Airbus

A380. To enhance airport safety, FAA researchers also continued to evaluate the

use of new technologies and existing products in new configurations. For example,

they tested the experimental Tarsier Foreign Object Debris (FOD) Detection

Radar under a wide range of weather conditions. 

Lighting experts experimented with new uses for the arrays of red bulbs at

taxiway entrances, known as runway status lights. These arrays have been used to

warn pilots and vehicle operators that a runway is unsafe to enter. Evaluations at

Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport indicated that it might be possible to

create a standard procedure using runway status lights to alert pilots as to which

aircraft have been granted clearance to depart. Researchers demonstrated a

redesigned Runway Obstruction Warning System that monitors ground movements from the control tower through a network of sensors embedded in runways

and taxiways. They also found that reversing the configuration for centerline lights

of taxiway approaches to runway is a cost-effective way to inform pilots that they

are moving from runways to taxiways. 

FAA engineers at the FAA National Airport Pavement Test Facility evaluated the impact of the next generation of heavy aircraft on airport surfaces. They

updated thickness design standards for concrete pavements and tested how different paving options might better reveal cracks and other wear. These experts also

evaluated whether or not to allow thinner concrete overlay slabs to rehabilitate

pavements at three general aviation airports. 

Fiscal Year 2005 Activities

29
The FAA made strides to increase airport capacity. At the Memphis

International Airport, FAA researchers, collaborating with NASA colleagues,

successfully demonstrated a tool to help controllers, traffic managers, and national

airspace system users manage aircraft movements at busy airports. This surface traffic management system increases airport capacity, efficiency, and flexibility. It

shows a real-time computer map of the airport layout, aircraft, taxiways, runways,

and gates. A mouse click can target individual aircraft and display pertinent information regarding its scheduled flight. The technology predicts arrival time,

touchdown, and taxi time to the gate. The FAA installed a system for use by

United Parcel Service controllers monitoring the unloading, loading, and refueling of cargo jets.

The Traffic Management Advisory-Multi-Center (TMA-MC) system, created to reduce widespread flight delays, grew out of the Single-Center TMA

Decision Support Tool used currently at more than half of the FAA Air Route

Traffic Control Centers. Researchers used statistics from Philadelphia

International Airport to prove that controllers assisted by TMA-MC could cut

delays in comparison with other unassisted professionals operating under similar

weather and demand conditions.

Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B)—the FAA’s

leading technology opportunity—is a two-way data link system that provides

an aircraft’s identification, position, velocity, and other information via

radio messages issued at one-second intervals. Work continued on development of the ground infrastructure needed to integrate ADS-B. ADS-B is in

use at the lower two-thirds of the East Coast and parts of Ohio, North

Dakota, and Arizona.

Capstone, a similar program in Alaska, works at lower altitudes and has

resulted in safer skies. The accident rate for Capstone-equipped aircraft was nearly

50 percent lower than for non-equipped aircraft over the past three years.

Combining Global Positioning System technology with Wide Area Augmentation

System technology, Capstone helps pilots in areas that lack radar coverage. Given

its ability to improve safety while reducing operational costs, Capstone holds the

potential to replace existing navigational aids.

Human factors researchers developed a Web-based tool to assist planners

and construction engineers in making informed decisions on the construction of

30Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 
Fiscal Year 2005 Activities

31 airport traffic control towers. Until recently, the FAA based its height and location determinations for the siting of towers on criteria issued in 1972. To create a

more efficient tower cab design, human factors researchers studied controller work

patterns and tower cab layouts, resulting in the development of an innovative

modular design criteria. A new, draft siting policy mandates use of revised visibility performance measures. The new criteria promises to resolve potential costly

problems before the start of tower construction. 

Human factors experts contributed to the design of the future en route

workstation to increase productivity of air traffic controllers. One of their most

complex person-in-the-loop simulation studies exposed controllers to various

workstation concepts operating with increasing levels of aircraft traffic. The FAA

also assessed prototype en route information display systems at the Boston,

Jacksonville, and Salt Lake City Air Route Traffic Control Centers. 

The FAA made improvements over the past year to the Human Factors

Analysis and Classification System. This tool is now integrated with other traditional situational and demographic variables listed by the National Transportation

Safety Board into a single Web-based database to examine possible human error in

accidents. In 2005, FAA-funded researchers at the American Institutes for

Research helped develop, test, and validate the method that details seven highlevel contributors to human error in aviation. Another study investigated factors

underlying a pilot’s ability to recognize and react to various flight abnormalities,

including upset recovery.

The FAA collaborated with NASA, Boeing, FedEx, passenger carriers, airline labor unions, and St. Louis University to develop the Operator’s Manual for

Human Factors in Aviation Maintenance. This publication provides concise listings of six key elements that help ensure appropriate human factors input into any

aviation maintenance and repair organization. FAA-funded researchers at

Clemson University developed a prototype computer-based training tool, the

General Aviation Inspection Training System, which improves the ability of

inspectors to detect defects. 

Forensic toxicologists in the Aerospace Medical Research Division of the

FAA Civil Aerospace Medical Institute made significant advances in analyzing

fluids and tissues following fatal aircraft accidents. For example, they are now

easily and quickly able to detect the difference between individuals who used
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

32 codeine and those who had merely eaten food with poppy seeds. Researchers also

worked to identify human genes associated with alcohol impairment and evaluated

heart conditions to validate current health certification procedures for pilots.

The FAA Aviation Weather Research Program continued to fund scientists, meteorologists, and engineers from the National Center for Atmospheric

Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory, the

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Global Systems Division,

National Severe Storms Laboratory, and Aviation Weather Center to develop

more accurate and timely forecasts of meteorological conditions. FY 2005 saw an

upgrade to the Weather Support to Decision Making System in use at Denver

International Airport. Researchers completed development of a product that

detects freezing drizzle. FAA-funded researchers worked toward finding solutions

to poor visibility conditions and low cloud ceilings. They began receiving feedback on National Ceiling and Visibility Analysis Tools used in the continental

United States and Alaska. FAA research into convective weather included a

demonstration near Chicago that led to new methods of detecting surface effects

and predicting thunderstorms sooner.

Researchers continued to develop a Real-Time Verification System to

verify and assess the quality of weather forecasts. The National Weather Service

installed the system last summer as a prototype. Users of the Web-based interface include aviation researchers, the National Weather Service’s Aviation

Weather Center, the FAA Air Traffic Control System Command Center, the

FAA/National Weather Service Aviation Weather Technology Transfer Board,

and several airline dispatch centers. Researchers updated the Rapid Update

Cycle model to increase forecast accuracy with higher resolution graphics and

additional weather information.

FAA and NASA researchers joined together to educate the public about

the effects of aviation noise and emissions. They worked toward creating an integrated suite of analytical tools, the Environmental Design Space (EDS), Aviation

Environmental Design Tool (AEDT), and the Aviation environmental Portfolio

Management Tool (APMT). Universities in the Partnership for Air

Transportation Noise and Emissions Reduction (PARTNER) began developing

the EDS and APMT modules. In addition, Volpe National Transportation
Fiscal Year 2005 Activities

33 Systems Center led a team of industry partners that completed a prototype of the

AEDT module’s components. 

In FY 2005, two new universities joined the PARTNER Center of

Excellence, a highly regarded research facility sponsored by the FAA, NASA, and

Transport Canada and administered by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The additional participants are York University of Toronto and the Georgia

Institute of Technology. One PARTNER team, led by Purdue University and

Florida International University, began researching issues of airport encroachment

and land use. Another team studied the sources and impact of low frequency noise.

This work may have implications for airport operations and future aircraft design

and regulations.

The FAA continued to support research to mitigate the environmental

impact of aviation technologies. To reduce aircraft noise, FAA, NASA, and aerospace industry partners flight-tested new noise reduction technologies. These

included two improved chevron designs on the engine housing and a cover that

fits on the landing gear. In 2005, the FAA, NASA, and private businesses developed accurate profiles to focus on the particulate matter emitted by aircraft

engines. The FAA also cooperated with Federal agencies, engine and aircraft manufacturers, airports and airlines, and other stakeholders to collect data for a

“Particulate Roadmap.” This research is intended to improve understanding of the

effects of particulates on air quality and the earth’s climate to guide future aviation

technology development. 

During FY 2005, the FAA monitored the Ansari X Prize-winning flight of

SpaceShipOne, which received a FAA launch license in FY 2004. The suborbital

flight on October 4, 2005, set the stage for future commercial suborbital development and private passenger launches. With the $10 million prize, the total value

of FY 2005 FAA-licensed launches was about $395 million.

Five FAA-licensed orbital space launches occurred in FY 2005, including

two Atlas 5 vehicles from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, and three Zenit 3SL

launches conducted by the multinational Sea Launch service provider. The orbital

launch count is lower than for the previous fiscal year, in which there were nine,

but matches the number of launches licensed in FY 2001 and FY 2002. Up to 10

FAA-licensed launches are expected in FY 2006.
The Office of Commercial Space Transportation released a number of

important regulatory documents during FY 2005, including: Guidelines for

Experimental Permits for Reusable Suborbital Rockets; Draft Guidelines for

Commercial Suborbital Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) Operations with Flight

Crew; Draft Guidelines for Commercial Suborbital RLV Operations with Space

Flight Participants; the Guide to Commercial Reusable Launch Vehicle

Operations and Maintenance; and the Guide to Reusable Launch and Reentry

Vehicle Reliability Analysis.

In support of the NASA Shuttle Return to Flight operations, the FAA

established a plan to mitigate the risks to the uninvolved public in the event of

an accident. This plan included defining requirements for airspace restrictions

and the establishment of real-time communication links between NASA and

FAA facilities.

Three new research initiatives commenced in FY 2005 and work continued

on two other projects, one initiated in FY 2003 and the other in FY 2004. These

projects were: validation of computer models used for debris risk analysis; reconfigurable control allocations for next generation reusable launch vehicles;

identification of communications frequencies that are less susceptible to radio frequency blackout during reusable launch vehicle reentry; evaluation of an

autonomous launch vehicle flight safety system; and evaluation of expendable

launch vehicle weather delays.

The FAA released several informative research reports of interest to the

space industry, the U.S. Government, and the public. These include: Suborbital

Reusable Launch Vehicles and Emerging Markets; the 2005 U.S. Commercial

Space Transportation Developments and Concepts: Vehicles, Technologies, and

Spaceports report; a summary of Office of the Associate Administrator for

Commercial Space Transportation (AST) Research and Development accomplishments; and the 2005 Commercial Space Transportation Forecasts. The

forecasts, prepared by the FAA and its Commercial Space Transportation

Advisory Committee, projected an average worldwide demand of 16.4 launches

per year to geosynchronous orbit and 6.4 launches per year to non-geosynchronous

orbits between 2005 and 2014.

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

34
Fiscal Year 2005 Activities

35

In FY 2005, the Department of Commerce (DOC) engaged in a wide variety of activities that furthered U.S. interests in aeronautics and space, including

national policy development, satellite operations, technology development, measurement and calibration, international cooperation, trade promotion, and

spectrum management.

At the departmental level, DOC continued its active role on the National

Security Council’s Space Policy Coordinating Committee (Space PCC) through

the direct participation of the Deputy Secretary of Commerce and staff from the

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the International

Trade Administration (ITA), the Office of Space Commercialization (OSC), and

the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).

Among the Space PCC’s accomplishments was the release of new U.S. policies on

space-based PNT in December 2004 and on space transportation in January 2005.

In order to ensure that commercial interests were adequately addressed, ITA kept

U.S. industry briefed while these policies were developed.

In February 2005, Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez led the U.S. delegation at the Third Earth Observation Summit in Belgium during which

ministers from 58 countries and the European Commission established the intergovernmental Group on Earth Observations (GEO) as a body to implement a

Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). Ministers also endorsed

and stated their intent to execute the 10-Year Implementation Plan, which outlines collective targeted actions for establishing a GEOSS. At the first meeting of

the GEO in May 2005, the United States, European Commission, China, and

South Africa were selected as GEO co-chairs, and an Executive Committee was

DEPARTMENT OF

COMMERCE

DOC
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

created to facilitate and implement decisions of the GEO Plenary. The GEO also

addressed mechanisms for obtaining scientific and technical advice, interfacing

with the user community, and taking action to support tsunami warning, response,

and recovery.

Also at the departmental level, DOC continued to play a key role on the

Interagency GPS Executive Board (IGEB) and its successor organization, the

National Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Executive

Committee. DOC continued to host the offices and meetings of the IGEB, providing both personnel and resources, and worked towards the establishment of

the National Space-Based PNT Coordination Office inside the DOC building.

DOC participated in the completion of the Charters for the Executive

Committee, Coordination Office, and National Space-Based PNT Advisory

Board. OSC staff participated in bilateral consultations with South Korea, India,

Japan, and Russia to promote global interoperability between GPS and other

satellite navigation systems. OSC also organized meetings with U.S. industry to

discuss trade concerns under the auspices of the U.S.-European agreement on

cooperation in satellite navigation.

DOC participated in an interagency initiative to develop an Integrated

Plan for the Next Generation Air Transportation System issued on December 12,

2004. ITA contributed to the formation of the interagency Joint Planning and

Development Office and to related technical working groups. NOAA led the

interagency integrated product team (IPT) in developing a national aviation

weather strategy, in addition to participating on the Global Harmonization IPT.

ITA participated in a joint government-industry initiative designed to identify

aerospace workforce and education concerns in order to create a coordinated

industry-government workforce action plan. ITA also contributed to the

Administration’s review of the U.S. export control regime.

DOC continued to represent commercial remote sensing interests within

the Remote Sensing Interagency Working Group (RSIWG). RSIWG coordinates

policy for the export of remote sensing satellite systems and negotiates government-to-government agreements that cover the safeguarding of those systems’

technology. The group held consultations with several countries on remote-sensing satellite cooperation.

36
Fiscal Year 2005 Activities

37 Within NOAA, space-related activities occurred across the entire organization. During the record-breaking 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, NOAA’s

Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite system provided a continuous flow of imagery that contributed significantly to the development of storm

forecasts. These forecasts helped minimize loss of life in the United States from

three tropical storms and five hurricanes, four of which—Dennis, Katrina, Rita,

and Wilma—were considered major hurricanes. GOES satellites also continued

to provide space weather monitoring that protected spacecraft and power grids.

NOAA’s Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite (POES)

system provided an uninterrupted flow of global environmental information to

support weather, oceanic, and space environmental modeling, as well as tropical

storm analysis and forecasting, local weather forecasting, and ecosystem and climate monitoring. The global data from these satellites were used extensively in

NOAA’s weather and climate prediction numerical models. The NOAA-N spacecraft was launched in May 2005 and began operations in August 2005. Renamed

NOAA-18, it replaced NOAA-16 and continued the series of POES spacecraft

with improved imaging and sounding capabilities. NOAA-18 started a new era of

cooperation between NOAA and the European Organization for the Exploitation

of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT). NOAA-18 and its follow-on,

NOAA-N Prime, will carry a EUMETSAT instrument on an afternoon orbit,

while three European Metop satellites will be launched into morning orbits carrying key NOAA instruments. 

NOAA solidified its presence on the Internet in 2005 when a record

number of users visited its Web sites to find information ranging from the status of

current satellites to real time imagery from those satellites. The highlight of the

year was the record number of hits on NOAA’s Web sites due to Hurricane

Katrina. Users from around the world logged on to view updates on the storm position, satellite imagery, and rainfall potential gleaned from sensors on board

NOAA’s Polar Operational Environmental Satellites. The week prior to Katrina’s

landfall, NOAA’s Office of Satellite Data Processing and Distribution received a

total of 206,814,261 Web site hits and pushed out 6.03 Terabytes of data.

NOAA provided backup satellite data to the U.S. Navy after Hurricane

Katrina’s eye moved across Stennis Space Center (SSC), home to the Navy
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

Oceanographic Center. Through the efforts of a joint NOAA/DOD team, the

Committee for Operational Processing Centers & the Working Group for

Cooperative Support and Back-up, NOAA provided routine environmental sea

surface temperature and some telemetry data to the Navy’s Fleet Numerical

Oceanographic Center for a two-week period following Katrina.

NOAA leveraged its nighttime lights program to provide national hurricane damage assessments and support tsunami relief efforts. The nighttime lights

program uses space-based Earth imagery from the Defense Meteorological Satellite

Program to create global and regional assessments following natural catastrophic

events. For example, detailed images following Hurricanes Katrina and Wilma

indicated the extent of and recovery from widespread power outages along the

Louisiana coast and in Florida. In addition, the international community used

nighttime imagery to determine the extent of damage following the December

2004 tsunami. These efforts dovetailed well with NOAA’s responsibility for

recording the societal impacts of natural hazards, which remains an important element in the planning of hazard response and mitigation.

The NOAA/DOD/NASA Integrated Program Office (IPO) continued

development of NPOESS. Significant accomplishments included integration of

the engineering model of the Cross Track Infrared Sounder onto the NPOESS

Preparatory Project (NPP) spacecraft and installation of the NPP/NPOESS

Command, Control, and Communication Equipment at facilities in Maryland,

New Mexico, and Norway. The NPOESS Airborne Sounder Testbed was deployed

in campaigns designed to better understand and measure atmospheric conditions.

This information can be used to create weather forecast models and to provide risk

reduction for temperature and humidity measuring sensors. Windsat/Coriolis, a

joint satellite mission among the IPO, U.S. Navy, and DOD Space Test Program

to test new methods for characterizing winds over the ocean surface, continued to

supply valuable data that measured, among other things, wind fields around hurricanes. The IPO continued its outreach efforts to the science, operational, defense,

and climate communities through special sessions at meetings of the American

Meteorological Society, International Geosciences and Remote Sensing

Symposium, American Institute of Astronautics and Aeronautics, Society of

Photo-optical Instrument Engineers, American Geophysical Union, and National

Space Symposium.

38
Fiscal Year 2005 Activities

39 In FY 2005, NOAA’s National Ice Center (NIC) responded to high resolution imagery requests in support of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and other national

activities. Using RADARSAT data, during Hurricane Rita the NIC provided

emergency support to NOAA, the Office of Hazardous Materials Safety

(HAZMAT), NOAA Fisheries, Federal Emergency Management Agency

(FEMA), and U.S. Geological Survey Earth Resources Observation Systems Data

Center. The NIC also provided the Niagara River Control Group with tailored,

annotated imagery in support of the Ice Boom Project. The NIC provided

RADARSAT data to the National Science Foundation’s River Influences on Shelf

Ecosystems Research Project, which studies fronts and regions where river water

and ocean water mix.

In February 2005, NOAA signed an agreement with the Japan

Meteorological Agency (JMA) to provide long-term, mutual geostationary satellite backup. This will help NOAA and JMA mitigate the costs and risks

associated with operating satellites while ensuring that the continental United

States has continuous access to geostationary satellites critical to monitoring

weather monitoring.

In June 2005, NOAA participated in the U.S.-India Joint Working Group

on Civil Space Cooperation. The two countries established the working group in

March 2005 to expand their cooperation in civilian space programs and to build on

the pioneering work of the 2004 India-U.S. Conference on Space Science,

Applications and Commerce. Accomplishments included an agreement in principle to establish an NPOESS Earth reception station in India, commitment by the

Indian Space Research Organization to work with the Indian Meteorological

Department to ensure that INSAT (Indian National Satellite) and Kalpana data

transmitted to the United States is geo-located, and agreement to collaborate on

several Earth observation projects while establishing a process for reviewing new

proposals. The group also encouraged active participation in the GEO, discussed

the critical nature of timely data access, and acknowledged that the development

of a multiple hazards early warning and response system would serve the national

objectives of both countries.

NOAA participated in the 20th anniversary commemoration and 18th

Plenary of the international Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS)

in Beijing, China. The 18th Plenary established a high-level CEOS Task Force
40 that worked throughout FY 2005 to focus on CEOS’s future role and contributions

to the GEOSS Implementation Plan. NOAA also participated in similar discussions related to the future inputs that the Integrated Global Observing Strategy

will make to GEOSS implementation.

In FY 2005, NOAA used products from NASA’s Aqua and Terra satellites

in conjunction with GOES products to improve analysis and forecasting of heavy

precipitation events. High spatial resolution products derived from instruments on

those satellites were used to provide measurements of the amount of precipitable

water in the atmosphere, produce rain rate estimates, and determine whether the

atmosphere is conducive to thunderstorm or convective activity. 

In FY 2005, NOAA’s Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking

(SARSAT) program contributed to the rescue of 244 people. The user base for the

new, digital 406 MHz emergency beacons increased 16 percent to 139,347. The

SARSAT program helped facilitate the relocation from London to Montreal of the

Secretariat for the International Cospas-Sarsat Program, a cooperative search-andrescue effort established in 1988 among the United States, Canada, France, and

the former Soviet Union. The move ensured that the organization is afforded the

same privileges and immunities as other international organizations while reducing operating costs approximately 15 percent and improving operating reserves.

The SARSAT program implemented several new communication paths to reduce

the cost of domestic and international communications while retaining security

and reliability.

The Argos Data Collection and Location System grew to meet the needs of

the climate observation community. Administered under a joint agreement

between NOAA and the French space agency CNES, Argos supports NOAA’s

goals to understand climate variability and change and serve society’s needs for

weather and water information. The system provides a means to collect environmental data from remote locations such as the polar ice caps, African savannah,

and the South Pacific Ocean. From April 2004 to April 2005, the number of Argos

data collection platforms increased 23 percent to a total of 14,320. Applications of

the data include weather forecasting, weather modeling, climate prediction, pollution monitoring, polar research, and ocean circulation research.

In 2005, NOAA’s Coral Reef Watch Program launched a Satellite

Bleaching Alert system that provides coral reef managers and researchers with

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 
Fiscal Year 2005 Activities

41 automated alerts of potential coral bleaching outbreaks at 24 reefs around the

world, up to three weeks before they occur. The system utilizes global satellite data

to track sustained high water temperatures, which can cause bleaching to occur.

The alerts proved invaluable in late 2005 when a long-lasting warm anomaly

across the tropical Atlantic led to the greatest thermal stress and coral bleaching

event ever observed in the Caribbean.

NOAA developed the 2005-2010 World Magnetic Model, released in collaboration with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and the British

Geological Survey. The World Magnetic Model became the standard navigation

magnetic field reference for NOAA, DOD, the U.K. Ministry of Defense, North

Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and the World Meteorological

Organization. Ground-based observations from over 200 stations in more than 80

countries, augmented by global magnetic field measurements obtained from two

satellites, created the most accurate model available of the terrestrial magnetic

field. Also modeled were changes in the global magnetic field topology, including

the drifting of the north and south magnetic poles in relation to epochal changes

(reversals) in the field orientation.

The global archives within NOAA’s Space Physics Interactive Data

Resource (SPIDR) system were updated in China, Australia, and South Africa to

improve Web access to international space environmental data sets. Originally

developed within NOAA, SPIDR is now hosted at eight locations worldwide. FY

2005 saw the completion of efforts to standardize formats for archived geomagnetic and ionospheric data. Improved search engines for historical data sets were

also developed and incorporated throughout the global network, substantially

enhancing the ability of researchers to access and manage historical space physics

data for integration with environment models and space weather forecasts.

NOAA licensed the operation of U.S. commercial remote sensing satellites,

bringing the total number of licensees to over 30, along with over 40 license

amendments, and more than 30 foreign agreements. NOAA continued to oversee

technical Analysis and support efforts to better characterize the remote sensing

market and foreign commercial availability of these sensitive technologies. In

addition, the Federal Advisory Committee on Commercial Remote Sensing

remained under NOAA’s management.
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

During FY 2005, DOC transferred the Office of Space Commercialization

to NOAA from the Technology Administration. While retaining its basic mission

to represent commercial space interests within the government, the office was

reorganized and moved to NOAA’s Satellite and Information Service.

Outside of NOAA, the National Institute of Standards and Technology

(NIST) performed a broad range of aeronautics and space-related measurements,

technology development, and industry support activities in FY 2005. In support of

NASA’s human space flight program, NIST evaluated the electromagnetic shielding properties of the Space Shuttle Endeavour. The radar power levels required for

detecting foam debris held the potential to interfere with critical Shuttle electronic systems, such as engine and flight controllers. With NIST data, NASA

gained the ability to assess the risk associated with the use of high-power radar for

imaging an orbiter during launch, particularly during critical night launches. The

NIST Space Shuttle measurements were part of a broader effort to support the

aerospace industry through the development of efficient techniques to measure the

shielding of aircraft to electromagnetic radiation.

NIST continued to collaborate with NASA to develop cryogenic transition-edge-sensor microcalorimeter x-ray detectors for future Constellation-X and

other x-ray satellite missions. New results on NIST detector arrays demonstrated

greatly improved energy-resolving power (the key performance characteristic), and

NIST achieved a record-breaking result of 2.4 electron volts energy resolution at

an x-ray energy of 5.9 kilo-electron volts. NIST expects to further improve sensor

performance to reach the 2 electron volt resolution goal set by NASA, which will

enable future x-ray satellite missions to better determine the temperature and

motion of matter in space.

NIST developed new Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) apertures for NASA’s Terrestrial Planet Finder mission, a program that requires the

development of novel optical systems for the detection of planets around other

stars. Working with researchers at Princeton, NIST fabricated complex silicon

structures using deep reactive ion etching and incorporated them in a shaped pupil

coronagraph to produce the highest contrast results ever achieved in a laboratory

setting. NIST also characterized the magnetic behavior of magnetic micro-shutters

for space-based telescope arrays.

42
Fiscal Year 2005 Activities

43 NIST studied problems of calibration and validation of microwave radiometers used to remotely sense the Earth’s surface and atmosphere. Work in FY 2005

focused on developing methods to measure the characteristics of blackbody calibration targets used in microwave remote sensing. 

In support of NASA’s Next Generation Launch Technology Program, NIST

provided improved thermodynamic data for a kerosene-based fuel, RP-1, that will

be combusted in advanced rocket engines. NIST researchers conducted measurements of chemical composition, boiling temperature, density, heat capacity,

viscosity, and thermal conductivity in a range of temperatures up to 700 K and

pressures to 60 MPa. The NIST data removed a key source of uncertainty in RP-1

propulsion system design.

NIST, NASA, and Rowan University began a collaborative effort to

explore the use of smart sensor technology and sensors for diagnosing spacecraft

health. Smart sensors may play a key role in Integrated Health Monitoring

Systems that monitor and predict spacecraft performance. NASA plans to

include smart sensors in the design of the next generation of space exploration

vehicles.

NIST continued efforts to improve acoustic emission techniques for the

nondestructive evaluation (NDE) and inspection of aircraft and spacecraft structures. Researchers achieved increases in sensitivity and bandwidth. This effort

supports NASA’s general NDE program, which has among its overall goals improving sensitivity, reducing uncertainty, and ensure reliable use of NDE in the field.

NIST participated in the internally-funded NASA Peer-to-Peer project for

Assembly in Space in FY 2005. The goal of the project is to develop a HumanRobot Interaction operating system that facilitates cooperation between

astronauts and robots in assembling structures in space. NIST developed humanrobot interaction metrics for assessing this work. In November 2005, researchers

conducted an experiment in the Moonscape at NASA Ames that involved using

two robots to place, weld, and inspect panels in a structure.

The NIST Center for Neutron Research (NCNR) continued to support

NASA on the Neutron/Gamma-ray Geologic Tomography (NUGGET) project.

The NUGGET team intends to use neutrons from a space-rated nuclear reactor to

perform precise chemical Analysis of asteroids, Kuiper Belt objects, and small
moons like Phobos and Demos of Mars using Prompt Gamma-ray Activation

Analysis. NUGGET could also provide a powerful tool for use on a Mars rover

astrobiology mission, allowing scientists to image fossils embedded in rock or

beneath soil.

NIST’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) supported the aerospace industry by increasing understanding of the future needs of original

equipment manufacturers and by conveying these market needs to suppliers. For

example, MEP expanded its partnership with the Boeing Company by increasing

the number of states involved in the Boeing/MEP State Supplier Training Program

to eight by the end of 2005. Since the program’s inception in 2002, over 250

Boeing suppliers, primarily small manufacturers, have received support on integration of Lean Manufacturing techniques, Quality Systems, and Strategic

Management to improve business operations.

NIST’s Synchrotron Ultraviolet Radiation Facility (SURF III) served as a

source of soft x-rays and vacuum ultraviolet light. As such, SURF III technology

calibrated the mirrors, detectors, and spectrometers used aboard NASA spacecraft

to study solar flares and astronomical bodies. The Extreme-ultraviolet Variability

Experiment, which is part of NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory mission, is representative of these studies. The facility also calibrated the NOAA-supported

Avalanche-photodiode X-ray Spectrometer. SURF III continued to provide the

calibration standard for experimental determination of atomic radiation intensities required for interpretation of Hubble Space Telescope data.

In addition to the calibration work cited above, NIST worked with other

agencies on a variety of calibration methods and standards for satellite and spacecraft sensors. With funding from the European Space Agency, a NASA partner,

NIST developed better calibration standards for the Space Telescope Imaging

Spectrograph on the Hubble Space Telescope. NIST partnered with the Air Force

Research Laboratory to improve the accuracy of infrared signature measurements

on aerospace vehicles. NIST collaborated with NOAA and NASA on the GOESR satellite program to aid the future calibration and validation of the satellite

optical sensors, participated in the review of calibration-validation plans, and

developed technology to ensure that GOES-R measurements comply with international standards. In partnership with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and

NASA, NIST improved the optical characterization and calibration of the

44Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 
Fiscal Year 2005 Activities

45 Robotic Lunar Observatory, which is used to investigate the spectral reflectance of

the lunar surface for the calibration of satellite sensors important in climate

research. Finally, NIST sponsored a workshop with NASA’s Earth Observing

System to address discrepancies in satellite measurements of the top-of-the-atmosphere solar irradiance. In collaboration with workshop participants, NIST

developed a plan to test various aspects of the calibration of these satellite sensors. 

Vital to NASA’s goal of space-based precision interferometry for gravitywave detection and enhanced extragalactic imaging, NIST continued to provide

state-of-the-art laser stabilization technologies to NASA in order to precisely

determine the orbital position of spacecraft and the distances between them. NIST

performed pre-flight, ground-based research to explore emerging new techniques

in optical frequency measurement, stabilization, and transfer; precise and highly

sensitive atomic and molecular spectroscopy; solid-state laser development; and

time keeping and distance ranging. NIST’s development of compact ultra-fast

lasers with robust phase stabilization is expected to have a strong impact on the

on-board time keeping, distance ranging, and other LIght Detection and Ranging

(LIDAR) applications in space.

DOC’s International Trade Administration 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 and remote sensing satellites, commercial space

projects, and air traffic management projects.

ITA was involved in preparations for the Organization for Economic

Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) February 2005 formal opening of negotiations aimed at revising the Aircraft Sector Understanding. The governments of

almost all countries with major aircraft manufacturers are signatories to the OECD

Arrangement of Officially Supported Export Credits, which establishes rules for

export credit agencies and the way they finance civil aircraft sales. The

Arrangement, along with an annexed Aircraft Sector Understanding, is aimed at

ensuring that government-provided export financing is not a competitive factor in

civil aircraft sales competitions. ITA supported the U.S. delegation’s successful

efforts to engage Brazil as a full negotiating partner in these talks given the emer-
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

gence of Brazilian-based Embraer as a leading exporter of aircraft that will soon

compete directly with U.S. firms. Leading up to the negotiations, DOC hosted six

meetings to consult with industry in this area.

In March 2005, ITA delivered to Congress the report “The U.S. Jet

Transport Industry: Competition, Regulation, and Global Market Factors

Affecting U.S. Producers.” This report to Congress, mandated under section 819

of the “Vision 100-Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act” (P.L. 108-176), presents a study of the airline and jet transport aircraft manufacturing industries over

the last 25 years and the impact of U.S. and European government policies and

regulations on the global competitive position of U.S. aerospace manufacturers.

The report offers several conclusions as to which policies are likely to have the

most significant future impact on open and fair trade in the civil aircraft manufacturing sector. ITA developed the study in consultation with the Department of

Transportation (DOT) and other federal agencies.

In May 2005, ITA co-sponsored the “Space at the Crossroads” conference

along with several industry associations, including the Space Foundation and the

Satellite Industry Association, to address the balance between commercial and

military space. The event drew an international audience of over 200 participants

and included speakers from the Departments of Defense, Commerce, and

Homeland Security, NASA, industry, and foreign governments.

In June 2005, ITA organized and supported the Commerce Department’s

participation in the Paris Air Show and arranged senior-level meetings for DOC

leadership with foreign government and industry officials as well as U.S. industry

executives. ITA also sponsored Aerospace Products Literature Centers at the Paris

Air Show and the Australian Air Show in March, offering low-cost, efficient

venues for U.S. small-to-medium-sized aerospace companies to explore international and niche aerospace markets. These events provided hundreds of trade leads

for participating companies, allowing them to enter or expand their exports to

international markets.

In August 2005, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Manufacturing Joseph

Bogosian co-chaired the 2005 meeting of the Russian-American Commercial

Aerospace Working Group as part of Secretary Gutierrez’s initiative for increased

cooperation with Russia in trade and investment. The 2005 meeting was the most

substantive in the four-year history of the Working Group. Issues addressed by the

46
Fiscal Year 2005 Activities

47 United States included improving cooperation between nations, the ratification

by Russia of the Cape Town Convention in partnership with the Aviation

Working group, and removing aerospace trade barriers. In addition, the U.S.

advocated for the Draft Law on Investment in Strategic Enterprises. 

In October 2005, ITA and the American Association of Airport

Executives co-sponsored an International Airport and Infrastructure Conference

and Trade Show in Miami, Florida, which focused on Latin America, Caribbean,

and the United States. Spurred on by the signing of the Central American Free

Trade Agreement (CAFTA), this event attracted more than 65 U.S. airport businessmen and 10 foreign delegations. Tim Thompson, Executive Director of the

U.S. & Foreign Commercial Service’s Global Trade Programs, delivered a

keynote address highlighting the benefits CAFTA is expected to bring to the aviation communities in Central America. The event demonstrated a variety of U.S.

airport products and services to the emerging markets in Latin American and

Central and Eastern Europe.

ITA played an instrumental role in the U.S. signature and ratification

process for the Cape Town Convention, an international treaty designed to facilitate asset-based financing and leasing by reducing risks to the seller, lender, and/or

leaser. Having signed the treaty in May 2003, the United States ratified it on

October 28, 2004.

ITA participated in the review of Administration policies on aeronautical

research and development through the National Science and Technology

Council’s Aeronautics Science and Technology Subcommittee. ITA participated

in subcommittee assessments of federal science and technology priorities, infrastructure, policies, and related activities across relevant federal agencies.

As the lead advisory agency for Federal government telecommunications

issues, DOC’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration

undertook a number of policy initiatives regarding satellites and other space-based

communications systems. NTIA provided policy guidance on issues concerning

the International Telecommunications Satellite Organization and the

International Mobile Satellite Organization. NTIA also continued to manage the

Federal government’s assignments, nationally and internationally, for use of the

radio spectrum for NOAA, NASA, DOD, and other government agencies with

satellite programs.
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

NTIA worked closely with Federal agencies, the Federal Communications

Commission, and non-federal entities to implement the decisions reached at the

International Telecommunication Union World Radiocommunication

Conference in 2003. The results included updating satellite regulations and protecting existing and new spectrum allocations for GPS.

48
Fiscal Year 2005 Activities

49

In the aftermath of the South Asia tsunami that resulted from the December

2004 earthquake in the eastern Indian Ocean, the U.S. Office of Foreign Disaster

Assistance (OFDA) immediately needed to identify areas damaged by the event.

Within hours of the disaster, staff of the USGS began providing pre- and posttsunami satellite images to relief organizations worldwide. USGS scientists used

these images to delineate damage zones in Indian Ocean coastal areas based on

manual interpretation of Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+)

scenes. Scientists compared more than 50 pre- and post-tsunami Landsat scenes to

assess areas impacted by the natural disaster. 

Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS NET) scientists at the

USGS have been assessing crop-growing conditions, climate, and water supplies in

Afghanistan since early 2002. Irrigated agriculture is crucial to food security

throughout the region, and the ability to irrigate crops can be directly related to the

availability of water from snowmelt. USGS scientists used data from the Moderate

Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) to monitor the extent of snow

cover as well as the timing of snow accumulation and depletion for the 2004-05

snow season. By monitoring of snow conditions, FEWS NET scientists provided

critical information to decision makers on both the positive and negative impacts

of a good snow season.

USGS scientists used satellite images acquired before and after Hurricane

Katrina to measure the extent of flooding and to estimate the volume of water for

defined areas of New Orleans. Results from the data analysis showed that the maximum volume of water inundating the city on September 2, 2005, was nearly a half

billion cubic meters, but that by September 15, 2005, more than half of the water

DEPARTMENT OF THE

INTERIOR

DOI
had been drained, or pumped, from New Orleans. The RADARSAT analysis identified several possible oil slicks in both the September 2 and September 5 images.

Furthermore, the September 5 image also showed a large plume in Lake

Pontchartrain and a spectral signal indicative of a debris flow. 

The Commercial Remote Sensing Space Policy implementation activity

leverages many of the USGS core competencies in ways specific to commercial

high-resolution data. In FY 2005, the USGS focused on the design, development,

and implementation of an infrastructure capable of managing the ingest, storage,

and distribution of commercial data. This work involved heavy re-use of USGS

system and software assets for storage, discovery, and delivery of data. Commercial

assets from vendors such as Space Imaging, DigitalGlobe, and ORBIMAGE may

now be collected, stored, and redistributed to any Federal user. 

In support of the Administration’s 2003 Commercial Remote Sensing Space

Policy, the USGS led an interagency study, involving over 20 Federal agencies, of

commercial land remote sensing data requirements. The USGS developed a Webbased tool to aid in gathering and synthesizing these requirements in order to

identify data purchase partnerships and to provide market information to industry.

The USGS modified its data management infrastructure to allow customers to

search and order commercial satellite imagery from USGS archive holdings.

The USGS and NASA successfully extended Earth Observing-1 (EO-1)

satellite operations through FY 2005, allowing the collection, archiving, and distribution of multispectral and hyperspectral data to continue. A broad range of

Federal and public scientists, researchers, and land managers use EO-1 data products. Launched by NASA in November 2000 as a one-year technology

demonstration mission to capture some 2,000 images, the NASA/USGS extended

mission has resulted in the acquisition of 45,000 EO-1 scenes, which are housed in

the USGS-managed National satellite data archive. 

Since its launch from California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base on March 1,

1984, Landsat 5 has been in operation seven times longer than its original threeyear design life. Now in year 21, the satellite has orbited the earth over 112,420

times and traveled over three times the distance from Earth to the Sun. 

On June 21, 2005, Landsat 5 captured a scene of the Sheenjek River fire near

Fort Yukon, Alaska. An agreement between the USGS, NOAA’s National

Environmental Science, Data, and Information System (NESDIS) Fairbanks

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

50
Fiscal Year 2005 Activities

Command and Data Acquisition Station (FCDAS), and the University of Alaska,

Geographic Information Network of Alaska (GINA) made collection of this satellite image possible. Data were received by FCDAS—located at Gilmore Creek just

outside Fairbanks—and transmitted by GINA via high-speed network to USGS

Earth Resources Observation Systems (EROS) for processing. In less than 24

hours, the Sheenjek River fire scene was captured, processed, and provided to

wildfire managers in the Alaska Fire Service. 

Landsat 7 turned off one of its three gyroscopes on May 5, 2004, due to

anomalous indications of the gyroscopes behavior. Two gyroscopes must remain

operational at any time to maintain attitude control. A study team from USGS,

NASA, Honeywell, Hammers, and Lockheed Martin was assembled to provide

options that allow for the longest possible mission-life, thereby reducing the risk of

potential data gaps, in order to mitigate the risks associated with future gyroscope

failures. No indications of any problems with Landsat 7’s remaining gyroscopes

were evident; therefore, the team deemed that the risk of an additional gyroscope

failure is low. 

As a precaution, the team investigated a solution to use other sensors to

provide attitude rate information to the flight control system. These alternate

sensors provide the same information as a gyro but use different principles, creating a ‘virtual gyro’ or V-gyro. The Landsat team tested the V-Gyro in the

performance of orbit maneuvers and the safe hold mode, and then as Landsat 7’s

contingency gyroscope. 

Landsat is the backbone of the global moderate resolution remote sensing

community. The continuity of its data delivery allows scientists and policymakers

to understand land cover and land use changes on global, regional, and continental scales. In anticipation of a possible Landsat data gap, the Federal agencies

responsible for Landsat program management—NASA and DOI’s USGS—convened a Landsat Data Gap Study Team (LDGST). The LDGST recognized that,

while no current or near-future satellite system could fully replace the Landsat

satellites, archiving data from comparable systems into the National Satellite

Land Remote Sensing Data Archive (NSLRSDA) could reduce the impact of a

Landsat data gap. 

The USGS developed a new Landsat 7 scan line corrector (SLC-off) gapfilled product to interpolate missing data resulting from the SLC anomaly. Part of

51
the sensor package on Landsat 7, the scan line corrector compensates for the forward

motion of the satellite during data collection periods. The failure of the SLC led to

gaps in the lines of data collected. Engineers developed systems to extract the best

imagery from the partially degraded imagery. This product uses a multi-scale segment

model based on historical landscape structure to guide the interpolation of spectral

data across the gaps in the SLC-off imagery. Feedback on the product ensured that

the highest quality product was developed for Landsat customers. 

Under an agreement with NASA and the National Geospatial-Intelligence

Agency (NGA), the USGS distributes elevation data from the Shuttle Radar

Topography Mission (SRTM). In October 2004, USGS achieved the capability to

digitize aerial film archives, creating browse and medium resolution images files

through high performance digital cameras.

The Landsat archive maintained at the USGS previously contained over

60,000 High Density Tapes (HDTs), more than 21,000 Wide-band Video Tapes

(WBVTs), and over 16,000 9-track tapes. During FY 2005, the Landsat Program

continued converting these aging tapes to new media. This conversion enhances

accessibility and assures that the valuable archive of Landsat data remains available for scientists. When finished, the Landsat 1-5 archive is expected to contain

approximately 2500 digital tapes in a near-line automated retrieval tape silo. 

Scientists from the USGS, the National Drought Mitigation Center, and the

High Plains Regional Climate Center completed their fourth year of analysis of

drought in the northern Great Plains States. The project team produced models

capturing drought patterns over the landscape at a relatively high spatial resolution

by using data mining techniques to combine large volumes of remotely sensed information with climate data and other environmental data, such as soils and land

cover types.

Satellite interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) images of historically-active Aniakchak Volcano, Alaska, revealed that its 10 km wide caldera

subsided about 13 mm/yr since 1992. 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) scientists use GPS technology and

remotely sensed data in several ways to support their mission activities. Some of

these are ongoing actions, while others are new applications of the technology. The

FWS has been using GPS and remote sensing data for many years to conduct a

trend analysis that monitors changes to vegetation and habitat in order to create

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

52
Fiscal Year 2005 Activities

53 new maps of their locations. These changes may be a result of management actions

or unplanned events, such as fires and hurricanes. In some cases, the data are used

to monitor invasive species as well. Recent applications include:

• In coordination with the Gulf of Maine Rivers Ecoteam, FWS staff in the

Gulf of Maine Program identified, mapped, and ranked important fish and

wildlife habitat for priority species throughout the Gulf of Maine watershed. The team used Landsat 7 and National Wetlands Inventory data as

a basis for the habitat mapping. 

• Biologists and GIS support personnel from the South Florida Ecological

Services Field Office in Vero Beach, Florida, with assistance from state

and county agencies, developed a detailed vegetation map of the Biscayne

Bay Coastal Wetlands Project area using 2004 high-resolution natural

color aerial photographs. 

• Personnel at Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in Minnesota

used GPS units to acquire location data for habitat transects that were

used to develop the vegetation monitoring program. 

• Both GPS technology and satellite data were used to protect the newly rediscovered Ivory-Billed Woodpecker. Satellite imagery identified areas in

the southeastern U.S. that have large blocks of bottomland hardwood

forest that may harbor remnant populations of Ivory-Billed Woodpeckers.

In addition, the FWS Migratory Bird Program continues to use GPS technology and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data to conduct

waterfowl surveys, particularly in the roadless areas of northern Canada. 

FWS biologists acquired the collection of QuickBird satellite imagery of

Round Island, Alaska, to evaluate the suitability of commercial satellite imagery to

monitor Pacific walrus haulouts. 

The Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) mapped topography and bathymetry of

portions of the Naches and Yakima Rivers in Washington using both water-penetrating LIDAR and digital multispectral imagery. This information is intended

to complement water storage and irrigation demand data, allowing BOR dam

operators to develop water release scenarios that minimize conflicts between

competing interests.

The BOR continued to use Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) imagery, Indian

Remote Sensing satellite imagery, USGS Digital Orthophoto Quadrangles
(DOQs), and Farm Service Agency National Agricultural Imagery Program (FSA

NAIP) imagery to map agricultural crops in the Colorado River basin, as well as in

the Southeastern and Central Valley regions of California.

BOR scientists used Landsat TM imagery to map areas where land cover

changed in California’s Central Valley. BOR personnel used this information

during negotiations with irrigation districts and FWS. 

A study that evaluated the utility of Landsat 5 TM and Landsat 7 ETM+,

Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER),

Hyperion, Advanced Land Imager (ALI), IKONOS, and DigitalGlobe satellite

data—in conjunction with high-resolution DOQs for discriminating and mapping

percent imperviousness at the sub-pixel level—was completed for several environs:

Tampa Bay, Florida; Las Vegas, Nevada; Seattle, Washington; and Minneapolis,

Minnesota. These urban areas present unique challenges for identifying impervious

land cover because they are experiencing significant growth and development. 

The USGS is integrating information about animal behavior and physiology

with information on landscape characteristics and landscape change. These interdisciplinary efforts originated with support from the USGS Amphibian Research

and Monitoring Initiative (ARMI). In FY 2005, activities included broad assessments of the effects of landscape change on amphibians at local and global scales,

and fine-scale modeling in which field- and laboratory-based measurements of

amphibian biophysical responses to environmental conditions were mapped back to

the landscape in order to determine landscape suitability for individual species 

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has used an array of remote sensing technologies to inventory, monitor, and address concerns about resource

conditions, as well as energy and mineral resource extraction on public lands.

During FY 2005, GPS and GIS supplemented data from multispectral and aerial

cameras to support management activities associated with minerals, fire, oil and

gas, cadastral, wildlife habitat, forestry, wilderness, land exchanges, recreation,

rangeland and hazardous materials. These projects provided appropriate information for the Federal and state agencies to make the best possible decisions on

management of natural resources in the area. In January 2005, the USGS hosted

a two-day DOI Land Cover Summit with the goal of promoting the integration of

land cover mapping and monitoring activities across the Department. Land cover

mapping, characterization, monitoring and forecasting are critical elements of

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

54
Fiscal Year 2005 Activities

55 many environmental monitoring programs in Federal, state, and local governments, as well as industry, academia, and other non governmental sectors. Land

cover data provide a direct, objective indication of land use effects on natural

resources, ecosystem conditions, environmental and human health, and water

quality and quantity. 

The National Land Cover Database 2001 (NLCD 2001) is a project sponsored by a consortium of federal agencies to map the land cover of the United States

Partners in the Multi Resolution Land Characteristics (MRLC) Consortium—

USGS, the EPA, NASA, U.S. Forest Service (USFS), NOAA, BLM, NPS, U.S.

FWS, Office of Surface Mining (OSM)—provide funding and personnel to map the

land cover at a spatial resolution of 30 meters, using 2001-era Landsat satellite

imagery and supporting data. Federal agencies use the database to examine and

evaluate land cover, calculate canopy density, and analyze impervious surface over

a series of test sites. 

The Land Cover Trends study uses Landsat imagery to study the rates,

causes, and consequences of land cover changes over the past 30 years. In 2005,

the U.S. Geological Survey completed the assessment of land use and land cover

change for 10 U.S. ecoregions and initiated analysis on six new ecoregions.

Progress on the national assessment begun in 2002 now stands at 31 out of 84

ecoregions completed (i.e. 37% of the conterminous U.S. done). The results portray a quilt of variability across the country with significant differences in the rates

of change among ecoregions. 

The USGS completed an analysis of statewide status and trends of Alaska’s

land cover in 2005. This study found that anthropogenic changes to the Alaskan

landscape are concentrated in the south central portion of the state with land

development limited to specific localities, such as areas surrounding population

centers, mining sites, and oil production facilities. 

Forecasting land cover changes throughout the U.S. is an essential element

of the USGS science strategy for geographic research. It is also a critical element

of land use planning, watershed management, and environmental restoration

activities. State and Federal natural resource agencies and land conservation

organizations relied on a variety of approaches to forecast future land cover

changes at regional scales. 
56 Monitoring fire danger, and thus the potential for wildfire, is a national effort

of Federal, state, and local fire managers. At the National level, daily satellite observations are compiled to monitor vegetation conditions. These satellite observations

allow direct analysis of vegetation conditions and changes, both temporally and

spatially. The USGS’s focus on landscape monitoring and fire science has fostered

an interagency approach that integrates remote sensing-based monitoring of the

vegetation condition with weather information and other model results to predict

fire danger conditions. 

In FY 2005, scientists from the USGS, working with an interagency team

of researchers, refined the 16-year time series of satellite observations using

advanced processing techniques to improve the sensitivity of vegetation condition

information to changes affecting fire potential.

The Minerals Management Service (MMS) continued to support research

by University of Colorado scientists on applications of satellite altimetry, aimed at

improving estimates of sea surface height and ocean currents, particularly for the

large Loop Current eddies in the Gulf of Mexico. Accurate measurement of ocean

currents is important for monitoring offshore oil and gas operations and estimating

oil-spill trajectories.

USGS scientists evaluated land cover classifications derived from fused airborne, high resolution Inter-Ferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (IFSAR) with

Landsat ETM+ data and IFSAR derived digital elevation models and DOQs. The

objective was to evaluate the IFSAR/Landsat fusion and DOQ products for generating land cover maps using digital image processing techniques. 

Land cover information is one of the highest priority information layers

requested by land management agencies, but no consistent medium-scale land

cover information exists for Alaska. National Land Cover Dataset (NLCD) 2001,

established through the Multi-Resolution Land Cover (MRLC) consortium, is a

national effort to provide such data.

USGS and the BLM have used Landsat 7 and RADARSAT imagery to map

the rapid wastage of the Bering Glacier in Alaska. The Bering Glacier thinned and

retreated from its advanced position that developed due to a major glacial surge in

1993-95. The satellite observations have been combined with ground-based data to

determine a suite of glacier parameters including the surface flow velocities and calvAeronautics and Space Report of the President 
Fiscal Year 2005 Activities

57 ing rates of the glacier, as well as the expansion of Vitus Lake. This large ice marginal

lake is rapidly expanding as the glacier retreats and if current climate and glacier

wastage conditions continue, the lake will expand to the north by up to 35 km in

the next few decades. The possible result of Vitus Lake’s expansion would be a dramatic shift from a glacial ecosystem to a lacustrine ecosystem. BLM began using this

information to formulate a new land use plan for the Bering Glacier region.

USGS scientists used National Systems data to monitor glaciers in

Washington, Montana, and Alaska. The small mid-latitude mountain glaciers of

Washington and Montana are ideal subjects for monitoring because they are remote,

have an appropriate spatial scale, and require infrequent but repetitive observations.

The observations obtained from monitoring these glaciers over the past several years

served as a baseline archive for assessing recent glacier fluctuations. 

USGS scientists collaborated with scientists at the University of

Washington, Seattle, on a NASA-funded project to improve the long-term predictive capabilities of hydrologic models. The project combined a hydrologic

model, a snow pack model, and a recently developed electromagnetic scattering

model—the Quasi-Crystalline Approximation/Dense Media Radiative Transfer

model—to extract snow pack information from the passive microwave observations made by the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer – EOS (AMSR-E).

The combination of the snow pack model and the scattering model data, driven

by atmospheric conditions, provided the snow depth, density, grain size, and wetness that are key parameters for the hydrologic model. These scientists developed

data assimilation techniques to use past observations and long-term predictions of

future conditions to yield more accurate long-term runoff forecasts.

The USGS remained involved in the ongoing operations phase (2004 to

present) of the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission. Spirit and Opportunity

rovers landed on Mars in January 2004 and continued to make important discoveries that advance Mars science, especially regarding the search for water on Mars.

USGS scientists also served as team members in the ongoing NASA CassiniHuygens Mission to Saturn and its moon, Titan. 

The USGS supported the testing and calibration of the High Resolution

Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera launched toward Mars aboard the

2005 Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. This camera was designed to provide the high
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

58 resolution images of Mars from orbit (~30 cm/pixel) for analysis of sites of past fluvial and lacustrine activity, polar regions, and major channels and impact craters

on Mars.

Since 1975, the USGS has chaired the Civil Applications Committee

(CAC). This committee was chartered under the signatures of the National

Security Advisor to the President, the Director of Central Intelligence, and the

Director of the Office of Management and Budget, in order to facilitate the use of

National Systems data for applications central to civil agency missions. Examples of

these applications include mapping, charting, and geodesy; environmental monitoring, studies, and Analysis; resource management; homeland security; natural

hazards; and emergency response applications.

The CAC participated on a regular basis in 2005 with the National Security

Space Office (NSSO) to represent civil requirements related to future space remote

sensing architectures, the Department of Homeland Security to explore how civil

agencies will use National Systems data in support of homeland security activities,

and the United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) Interagency

Directorate to explore how the civil community can facilitate USNORTHCOM

access to and application of domestic imagery and geospatial data for homeland

defense activities. The Committee also worked with the National Air and Space

Intelligence Center (NASIC) to identify key issues involved in adapting advanced

data exploitation tools to civil agency missions, such as the early identification of

emergency service needs and the management of emergency response.
Fiscal Year 2005 Activities

59

The Federal Communications Commission formulates rules to facilitate the

provision of commercial satellite services in the United States. It also issues

licenses for the launch and operation of all nongovernmental U.S. satellites.

Internationally, the FCC coordinates satellite radio-frequency usage with other

countries. The FCC’s accomplishments for FY 2005 related primarily to commercial communications and Earth observation satellites.

The FCC completed several major rule-making proceedings in FY 2005.

These proceedings focused on revising the FCC’s rules to provide for technological developments related to the Earth stations that comprise the ground-based

components of satellite communications networks. In one proceeding, the FCC

adopted rules for the operation of Earth stations on vessels (ESVs). ESVs operate

on ships by using special mounting hardware that keeps the antenna stably pointed

toward a geostationary satellite. ESV technology allows operation of mobile Earth

stations in certain frequency bands previously restricted to fixed Earth stations.

The FCC initiated a proceeding to adopt rules for a similar service used in aircraft.

The FCC also streamlined and updated its Earth station licensing rules to address

newer technologies, particularly those used for provision of newer types of broadband services, such as internet access. 

The FCC authorized a number of commercial communication satellite

launches and operations. The authorizations are as follows:

•January 10, 2005: Mobile Satellite Venture Subsidiary LLC to launch and

operate a satellite at the longitude 63.5° west orbit location. 

FEDERAL

COMMUNICATIONS

COMMISSION

FCC
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

60 •January 26, 2005: XM Radio Inc. to launch and operate two replacement

satellites, one at the longitude 85° west orbit location, one at the longitude

115° west orbit location. 

•May 23, 2005: Mobile Satellite Venture Subsidiary LLC to launch and

operate a satellite at the longitude 101° west orbit location. 

•June 23, 2005: Lockheed Martin Corporation to launch and operate a

radionavigation service payload, to be carried on PanAmSat Corporation’s

Galaxy 15 satellite, at the longitude 133° west orbit location. 

•June 28, 2005: SES Americom, Inc., to modify the operations of the

Satcom SN-4 satellite, at the longitude 172°east orbit location, to reorient the satellite’s coverage area so as to provide improved coverage for

service to transoceanic aircraft flights.

•July 18, 2005: Skybridge LLC to launch and operate a constellation of

eighty low-Earth orbit satellites (Skybridge LLC subsequently surrendered

that authorization on the due date of the performance bond required by

the terms of the license). 

•September 8, 2005: Lockheed Martin Corporation to launch and operate,

at the longitude 107.3° west orbit location, a radionavigation service payload to be carried on Telesat Canada’s Anik-F1R satellite, a satellite

licensed by Canada. 

•September 30, 2005: DigitalGlobe, Inc., to launch and operate three

imaging satellites in low-Earth orbit. 

The FCC granted a number of Special Temporary Authorizations (STAs)

for satellite networks. Many involved routine testing or redeployment of satellites within a multiple-satellite system. Several actions, however, warrant

particular mention.

•June 30, 2005: Intelsat North America, LLC was granted authority to

move the Intelsat 602 satellite from the longitude 50.5° east orbit location

to the longitude 150.5° east orbit location, pursuant to an agreement

between Intelsat and the Indonesian satellite operator Indosat. 

•June 30, 2005: Echostar Satellite LLC was granted authority to move the

Echostar 5 satellite from the longitude 119° west orbit location to the longitude 129° west orbit location. At the new location, the satellite would

operate pursuant to a Canadian authorization. The FCC also authorized
Fiscal Year 2005 Activities

reception of signals from Echostar 5 in the United States in order to provide increased capacity for delivery of signals to U.S. consumers. 

•July 6, 2005: Echostar Satellite LLC was granted authority to locate the

Echostar 4 satellite at the longitude 77° west orbit location and to operate under a U.S. authorization at that location. Echostar made this request

pursuant to an agreement with Mexican satellite operator Quetzsat. 

In the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma, the FCC granted

a number of STAs for the deployment of Earth stations in the affected regions, particularly where additional capacity or special regulatory measures were required.

The STAs granted facilitated deployment of networks for data transmissions,

internet access, and information sharing for use by a wide range of entities, including emergency response providers. 

The FCC added two non-U.S.-licensed space stations to the Commission’s

permitted space station list in order to allow these space stations to provide domestic and international satellite service to U.S. Earth stations that have routine

technical parameters. Specifically, on July 21, 2005, the FCC added the Canadian

Anik F1R satellite and the Brazilian Star One C2 satellite to its permitted list for

C- and Ku-band frequencies. 

The FCC also authorized a number of non-U.S.-licensed space stations to

provide service in the United States on a non-routine basis as listed below. 

•May 23, 2005: authority granted for an Earth station to communicate with

the AMOS 2B spacecraft in certain Ku-band frequencies. 

•June 21, 2005: authority granted for an Earth station to communicate

with the JCSAT-1B satellite. On July 6, 2005, the FCC granted authority for several Earth stations to access India’s Resourcesat-1 earth

exploration satellite. 

•August 16, 2005: authority granted for Earth stations to communicate

with the Hispasat C1 in certain Ku-band frequencies. 

•August 23, 2005: authority granted for an Earth station to communicate

with the Amazonas 1 spacecraft in certain Ku-band frequencies. 

The FCC also was active in international satellite coordination. In the first

quarter of FY 2005, the FCC reached a total of two Administration-to61
62Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

Administration Coordination Agreements for U.S. networks with Brazil and the

Netherlands. In the second quarter of FY 2005, the FCC reached a total of four

Administration-to-Administration Coordination Agreements for U.S. networks

with Canada and Mexico. In the third quarter of FY 2005, the FCC reached a total

of 50 Administration-to-Administration Coordination Agreements for U.S. networks with Canada and Brazil. In the fourth quarter of FY 2005, the FCC reached

a total of 195 Administration-to-Administration Coordination Agreements for

U.S. networks with Brazil, Canada, Japan, and Russia.
Fiscal Year 2005 Activities

63

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) continued to use remote

sensing data and related technologies to support research, program, and operational activities. The wide aerial coverage and geographic detail of satellite

images and aerial photography benefited USDA by providing a comprehensive

view of the landscape not attainable through ground-based observations or sensors. USDA agencies that used such data and technologies include the

Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Animal and Plant Health Inspection

Service (APHIS), Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service

(CSREES), Economic Research Service (ERS), Farm Service Agency (FSA),

Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), the USFS, National Agricultural Statistics

Service (NASS), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and Risk

Management Agency (RMA). Significantly, although each USDA agency had

different missions and responsibilities, several of these agencies shared data and

technologies to ensure the most efficient and cost-effective use of departmental

resources.

ARS continued to investigate and develop ground-based, airborne, and

satellite-based remote sensing technologies for agricultural and natural resources

applications. These technologies facilitated the measurement and mapping of a

variety of agricultural, biological, and environmental properties, such as soil moisture, crop stress, invasive species, carbon sequestration, and range forage quality.

The research ranged from basic remote sensing science with an emphasis on understanding linkages between remotely sensed observations and characteristics of

plants and soils, to developing algorithms and decision support systems. Decision

DEPARTMENT OF

AGRICULTURE

USDA
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

support system activities targeted agricultural producers and land managers needing information for day-to-day decisions, and strategic decision-makers requiring

accurate and timely information for policy decisions. Example technologies

include the use of airborne hyperspectral imagery, microwave and radar systems,

unmanned aerial vehicles, in-field “on-the-go” sensors mounted on farm machinery, and high spatial resolution imagery from spacecraft systems such as Ikonos,

Landsat, and Earth Observer-1. Use of GPS figured prominently during the

research for all applications. ARS operated two sunphotometers as part of the

world-wide Aerosol Robotic Network. Collaborating U.S. investigators for ARS

remote sensing activities included representatives from industry, academia, state

and local governments, other USDA agencies, and other Federal agencies including NASA, EPA, USGS, and NOAA. ARS conducted remote sensing research as

part of the interagency Climate Change Science Program (CCSP), and participated in the U.S. Group on Earth Observations (USGEO). ARS also conducted

numerous colleague-to-colleague international scientific collaborations.

The APHIS Plant, Protection, and Quarantine (PPQ) division used remote

sensing analysis to study landscape features in support of their emergency, regulatory, and phytosanitary programs. The APHIS PPQ Center for Plant Health

Science and Technology (CPHST) sought to expand the understanding and application of remotely sensed data within the plant health and protection field. For

example, CPHST applied remote sensing techniques to the survey and detection

of the emerald ash borer (EAB) beetle. The project used remotely sensed hyperspectral imagery to discriminate ash trees from other deciduous trees, as well as to

identify ash trees under varying degrees of stress as a result of EAB infestation. In

a separate project, CPHST evaluated the effectiveness of using airborne collected

hyperspectral imagery to map the distribution of saltcedar, an invasive plant

species. Results from this phytosanitary program helped measure the performance

of a biocontrol effort. Finally, CPHST evaluated pattern recognition software to

perform automated feature extraction from three band aerial photographs.

Specifically, this task extracted various landscape features to support invasive weed

distribution analysis. 

CSREES, the extramural research arm of USDA, provided financial assistance in the form of grants for high priority agricultural research and education.

Numerous research projects conducted under CSREES grants utilized NASA data

64
Fiscal Year 2005 Activities

65 products to solve complex environmentally-related problems in topics such as

water quality, atmospheric science, soil science, and land-use change. For example,

CSREES supported research that used Landsat imagery to assess the change in the

quantity and quality of east Texas forests and their associated ecosystems over

time. A separate CSREES supported project in Colorado used Landsat data to

develop accurate inventory and assessment methods to evaluate current and future

emissions of greenhouse gases. CSREES also supported a Rutgers study that used

aerosol optical thickness in association with a NASA climate network at the

Goddard Institute for Space Studies to calculate downwelling radiation as part of

efforts to predict the impact of climate change on surface radiation. CSREES-supported scientists in Utah developed a unique multi-spectral carbon sequestration

index that can separate soil organic carbon from surface moisture effects via

remotely sensed platforms. CSREES also funded long-term studies in Mississippi,

Kentucky, Alabama, and Wisconsin that utilized remote sensing and geospatial

technologies to develop precision management techniques for various agricultural

production strategies and to evaluate land use practices. CSREES and the Science

Mission Directorate of NASA jointly funded several geospatial extension programs at land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant institutions. These geospatial

outreach programs trained local and regional technologists to better utilize NASA

data products and geospatial technologies.

ERS used extensively derived remote sensing products such as the

National Land Cover and the Global Land Cover datasets for agency economic

Analysis. These derived products helped ERS to quantify domestic and international agricultural efficiency and environmental responses to changes in

agricultural markets and policies. ERS also collected and tabulated information

on the usage of remote sensing and GPS technologies by farmers through the

ERS farm and field-level survey program. While the adoption of these technologies was in its infancy, there was an expectation that usage would increase partly

due to the increased reliance on geographic information systems GIS by many

domestic program agencies, such as NRCS and FSA, which have direct contact

with farmers. In addition, many Land-Grant Universities and government agencies conducted research on the use of remote sensing, GPS, and other precision

farming technologies to enhance economic opportunities and reduce the environmental risks associated with agricultural production.
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

66 FSA administers a variety of farm programs that ensure a strong and viable

agriculture sector in the United States. These programs help America’s farmers,

ranchers, and other agricultural producers cope with weather, volatile markets,

and natural disasters; conserve land and water resources; receive farm credit; and

provide humanitarian aid to hungry people in the United States and abroad.

Because nearly all programs are related to individual farms and tracts of land,

FSA uses digital imagery, boundary data, soil survey, and other data sets to

manage farm programs and respond to natural disasters. Some examples of FSA

remote sensing activities include farm and field boundary maintenance, crop

compliance and monitoring, production reporting, facility identification, and

land management. 

In 2005, FSA made significant progress in remote sensing. The Common

Land Unit, a nationally-consistent geospatial dataset that represents farm and field

boundaries and includes over 30 million polygons, was completed. The National

Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) finished its third year of large scale operation, collecting over 10.5 terabytes of one and two meter resolution imagery in 34

states for program compliance and base layer imagery replacement purposes. In

partnership with other Federal, state, and local agencies, NAIP acquired imagery

for nine of the 34 states. During the hurricane season, NAIP delivered over 6 terabytes of NAIP imagery to Federal, state, and local agencies to support disaster

recovery efforts. FSA actively supported remote sensing activities through involvement in Federal remote sensing and geodata coordination committees. The agency

devoted time and resources in support of initiatives such as Geospatial One Stop,

Federal Geographic Data Committee, the National Digital Orthophotography

Program, the USDA Remote Sensing Coordination Committee.

In addition to serving as the USDA Imagery Archive, the FAS

Production Estimates and Crop Assessment Division (PECAD) is the focal

point within FAS and USDA for assessing the global agricultural production

outlook and conditions that affect world food security. The FAS satellite

remote sensing program remained a critical element in USDA’s analysis of

global agricultural production and crop conditions by providing timely, accurate, and unbiased estimates of global area, yield, and production. Satellite

derived early warning of unusual crop conditions and production enabled more

rapid and precise determinations of global supply conditions. FAS exploited
Fiscal Year 2005 Activities

67 many global imagery datasets, including global Advanced Very High Resolution

Radiometer (AVHRR) Global Area Coverage data from NOAA. FAS also used

10-day global composites from the spot vegetation sensor. FAS had standing

orders for Landsat 5 and 7 imagery. All operational imagery had delivery

requirements within five days of acquisition. In addition, FAS and NASA

cooperated on several projects designed to exploit space technologies, including MODIS Rapid Response and global reservoir monitoring. This partnership

for Global Agriculture Monitoring expanded to include multiple universities,

commercial companies, and international organizations.

As part of the MODIS Active Fire Mapping Program, FS continued to

process data from the MODIS sensor on board NASA’s Terra and Aqua satellites. FS used these data to produce daily active wildland fire mapping products

for the continental United States, Alaska, and Canada. The program utilized

real time MODIS imagery and derived fire detection data for the western

United States. The receiving station located at the agency’s Remote Sensing

Applications Center (RSAC) in Salt Lake City, UT, collected these data. The

program also utilized additional real time MODIS fire detection data for Alaska,

western Canada, and the eastern United States. The agency posted these products on the Internet (http://activefiremaps.fs.fed.us). Nearly one million users

accessed the MODIS Active Fire Mapping Web site during 2005. In addition,

MODIS fire mapping products provided the interagency fire community with a

synoptic view of the wildland fire situation, aiding in the strategic allocation of

fire-fighting resources and assets throughout the country. A collaborative effort

with NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) and the University of

Maryland, this service has been provided on a daily basis since July 4, 2001.

Several major media entities used the maps and fire detection data, including

the Washington Post, New York Times, the Cable News Network, the

Associated Press, and the Los Angeles Times. The Forest Service also continued to work with both NASA Ames Research Center and NASA GSFC on a

number of fire-related technologies. ARC work included advanced sensor

design and image processing from airborne platforms, as well as UAV development and mission profiling for tactical wildland fire mapping. NASA GSFC

completed development and construction of an air-to-ground communications

system that will enable rapid transmission of Forest Service airborne thermal
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

68 image products to incident command personnel. Utilized extensively during the

2005 fire season, this system provided the incident commands current fire

imagery in minutes rather than hours. The Forest Service also conducted a

UAV demonstration in July 2005 of UAV capabilities to support wildfire mapping, management, and suppression activities.

The mission of NASS is to provide timely, accurate, and useful statistics

in the service of U.S. agriculture interests. These statistics cover virtually every

facet of U.S. agriculture, from production and supply of food and fiber to prices

paid and received by farmers and ranchers. Every five years NASS conducts the

Census of Agriculture, which provides a comprehensive statistical summary of

aspects of U.S. agriculture. Remote sensing data and techniques are valuable

tools used to improve the accuracy of some NASS statistics. During FY2005,

NASS used remote sensing data to construct and sample area frames for statistical surveys, estimate crop area, and create crop-specific land-cover data layers

for GIS. For example, NASS used Landsat imagery, digital orthophoto quadrangles, and other remotely sensed inputs for all 48 continental states and

Puerto Rico to select the yearly area-based samples. In addition, NASS constructed new area-based sampling frames in three states and portions of four

additional states. The remote-sensing acreage estimation project analyzed

Landsat data from the 2004 crop season and collected data for the 2005 crop

season in 9 Midwestern and Mississippi Delta States to produce crop acreage

estimates for major crops at state and county levels, and a crop-specific categorization in the form of a digital mosaic of thematic mapper scenes distributed to

users on a CD-ROM. In addition, NASS conducted pioneering research on the

use of Advanced Wide Field Sensor (AWiFS) imagery to ensure the continued

use of mid-resolution imagery for the production of crop-specific land cover

data layers. 

NASS also forged new remote sensing partnerships while maintaining

existing partnerships. These partnerships included: 1) existing and new agreements with state organizations and universities to decentralize Landsat

processing and analysis; 2) existing and new agreements with state organizations and universities to produce additional or enhanced crop-specific

categorizations on a one-time basis such as the 2002 crop year for a 10-state

mid-Atlantic region; 3) a continuing agreement with the Florida Department
Fiscal Year 2005 Activities

69 of Citrus to develop a GIS of citrus groves in Florida; and 4) a continuing partnership with the ARS to use MODIS sensor data as an input for setting

small-area yield estimates in Illinois and Iowa. 

NRCS is the primary Federal agency working with private landowners to

protect and conserve the Nation’s natural resources. For over 50 years, NRCS

has used remote sensing products to carry out conservation programs. Aerial

and satellite imagery processed in the form of digital orthoimagery was the primary remote sensing product that NRCS used to inventory, monitor, manage,

and assess our natural resources in GIS nationwide. By partnering with FSA and

other Federal and state agencies, NRCS acquired statewide one-meter or better

resolution orthoimagery for 10 states and parts of Alaska and Hawaii. NRCS

made available all of the orthoimagery it purchased to internal users and the

general public via the USDA Geospatial Data Gateway website. NRCS contracted for high-resolution aerial photography (4” ground resolving distance)

over 70,000 confidential statistical sites to collect natural resource data for the

annual National Resources Inventory (NRI) program. The use of remote sensing techniques has replaced expensive onsite visits to collect the same data.

NRCS acquired high resolution satellite imagery for conducting the NRI in

Alaska and Hawaii. NRCS continued to acquire Landsat scenes from FAS for

statewide natural resource analysis and change detection. NRCS acquired,

enhanced, and delivered one-foot resolution digital imagery to NRCS offices to

support recovery efforts in areas affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The

NRCS used the imagery to assess streams and drains clogged with debris and

contract for debris removal. NRCS began to purchase licensed IFSAR digital

elevation data at five meter posting to evaluate its use in automating soil survey

mapping in 3-dimensional form and improving the overall accuracy of digital

orthoimagery.

RMA is the primary source of risk protection for our Nation’s farmers. In

FY2005, the Agency used high tech tools, such as satellite imagery, to support

farmers’ claims and to help monitor the over $44 billion of insurance provided

to farmers and ranchers. For example, RMA used Landsat data for its crop insurance compliance program. In 2005, Landsat data played a critical role in the

conviction and sentencing of 12 individuals, which included insurance agents,

adjusters, and producers, resulting in a total of $34,442,611 in restitution, a
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

70 total of 413 months of prison, 29 years of supervised release, and six months of

home detention. RMA acquired these Landsat data from the FAS PECADoperated USDA Imagery Archive. During the past three years, RMA has used

an average of 600 Landsat scenes per year.
Fiscal Year 2005 Activities

71

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, Atmospheric Sciences, and

Physics, as well as through the Office of 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

planetary system.

The NSF supported the development of advanced technologies and

instrumentation for astronomical sciences, in addition to providing core support for optical and radio observatories with state-of-the-art instrumentation

and observing capabilities. The NSF’s national astronomical facilities

included the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), the National

Astronomy and Ionosphere Center (NAIC), 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 in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres—providing the

U.S.’s share of support for the program. In partnership with Europe, Canada,

and Japan, construction continued on the Atacama Large Millimeter Array,

an interferometer located near San Pedro de Atacama, Chile. Initial groundbreaking in Chile occurred on November 6, 2003. NRAO also initiated a

contract with Vertex Communications, Inc., for the construction of twenty-five

NATIONAL SCIENCE

FOUNDATION

NSF
antennas. The European Southern Observatory (ESO) contracted with Alcatel for

an additional twenty-five antennas. 

The NSF continued a joint activity with the U.S. Air Force Office of

Scientific Research (AFOSR) to provide the U.S. astronomical community with

access to state-of-the-art facilities at the Advanced Electro-Optical System telescope on Maui, Hawaii.

In FY 2005, the NSF’s Division of Astronomical Sciences and Office of

Multidisciplinary Activities began funding a four-year technology development

and design effort for the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST). The LSST will

be a 6.5 meter effective aperture telescope with a field of view exceeding three

degrees. In addition, the LSST will use a three gigapixel camera to repeatedly

image the entire accessible sky, producing approximately twenty terabytes of data

nightly. The science goals of the LSST project are extremely broad, spanning the

fields of cosmology, galactic structure, and solar system astronomy. The LSST will

undertake both a census of distant (trans-Neptunian) solar system objects as well

as surveys of near-Earth and potentially hazardous asteroids. Over a ten-year lifetime, the LSST is expected to provide a 90 percent complete sample of potentially

hazardous objects with diameters greater than 250 meters and 80 percent down to

140 meters.

The NSF’s Division of Astronomical Sciences, in collaboration with the

Division of Atmospheric Sciences, supported the development of the Advanced

Technology Solar Telescope (ATST), the next-generation U.S. ground-based solar

telescope. The ATST, a collaboration of twenty-two institutions representing a

broad segment of the U.S. solar physics community, had previously earned the

strong recommendation of the National Research Council of the National

Academy of Sciences. In FY 2005, the ATST advanced to the Readiness Stage in

NSF’s Major Research Equipment Facilities Construction queue. The ATST Site

Selection and Science Working Groups selected the Haleakala Observatories on

the Island of Maui as the preferred site for the telescope. Selection criteria

included atmospheric turbulence, fraction of clear skies, and sky brightness.

Project leaders also began preparing an environmental impact statement and

application for a land use permit. 

The Upper Atmospheric Research Section (UARS) in NSF’s Division of

Atmospheric Sciences supported a wide variety of research programs in space sciAeronautics and Space Report of the President 

72
Fiscal Year 2005 Activities

73 ence. These included the funding of advanced 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 UARS-funded

activities included the Upper Atmospheric Facilities (UAF), the National Space

Weather Program (NSWP), 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. In addition, a formal NSF Science and Technology Center

called the Center for Integrated Space Weather Modeling (CISM) continued to

develop and test an end-to-end computer simulation for space physics research and

applications. CISM’s coupled models simulated the processes by which energy

from the Sun and solar wind propagates to Earth, as well as the resulting effects on

Earth’s magnetosphere, ionosphere, and thermosphere. CISM researchers integrated these results with education and outreach activities. An effective

knowledge transfer program also ensured that CISM models were transferred for

use in operational space weather forecasting centers.

Research facilities have long been a key component of UARS’s efforts. The

major goal of the UAF program in FY 2005 remained the promotion of basic

research on the structure and dynamics of Earth’s upper atmosphere. Research

efforts utilizing these facilities were linked strongly to the CEDAR and GEM programs. The recent addition of the Advanced Modular Incoherent-Scatter Radar

(AMISR) as a UAF asset, which was under construction in 2004 and saw first

light in 2005, has been a true success story. AMISR is deployable to any geographic location on the globe for ionospheric research. In 2005, small prototype

AMISR systems were successfully deployed for testing at Jicamarca, Peru, and at

Gakona, Alaska.

In response to several recent community surveys of the health and vitality of

solar and space sciences within university teaching faculties, UARS made awards

to create new tenure-track faculty positions under the Faculty Development in the

Space Sciences (FDSS) program. FDSS awards were targeted to facilitate the integration of solar and space physics research into university programs in basic physics,

astronomy, electrical engineering, geoscience, meteorology, computer science, and

applied mathematics. In so doing, space physics graduate programs would be devel-
74 oped that are capable of training the next generation of scientific leadership. Eight

FDSS awardee institutions began their faculty selection process in 2005, and four

employment offers have been tendered to date.

The NSWP is a multi-agency Federal program whose goal is to mitigate the

adverse effects of space weather on the Nation’s technological infrastructure by

providing timely, accurate, and reliable space environment observations, specifications, and forecasts. Information about the NSWP can be obtained from the

NSWP Strategic Plan and Implementation Plan, available online through the

Office of the Federal Coordinator for Meteorology (OFCM). In 2005, OFCM,

under its broad mandate to coordinate U.S, environmental research, initiated a

formal yearlong assessment of the accomplishments and progress of the NSWP

over the last decade. OFCM commissioned a panel of eight scientists, including

Dr. Louis Lanzerotti, a member of the National Science Board, to perform this

function and to solicit input from the space weather community. In order to

accomplish NSWP objectives, in FY 2005, space physicists implemented and validated eight new space physics computer models at the multi-agency Community

Coordinated Modeling Center (CCMC) located at NASA’s Goddard Space

Flight Center. 

The Division of Atmospheric Science’s high-altitude aircraft project

HIAPER (High-performance Instrumented Airborne Platform for Environmental

Research) centers on a highly modified Gulfstream V mid-size jet aircraft certified

to operate at 51,000 feet. The jet is certified to fly at the highest altitude of any

civilian aircraft, and its long duration (over 12 hours), range (over 6,000 nm), and

scientific payload (6,000 pounds) is expected to enable scientific research heretofore not possible. The aircraft represents the most advanced airborne research

platform in the U.S. civilian fleet, if not the world. In FY05, the construction project proceeded on schedule and under budget ($81.5 million). The aircraft’s

expected lifetime is 10–25 years, during which time new instrumentation innovations will be integrated onto the airframe as appropriate. The National Center for

Atmospheric Research (NCAR), a NSF Federally funded research and development center, manages the HIAPER project. 

In the first quarter of FY 2005, Lockheed Martin completed the aircraft’s

structural modifications, and the aircraft was ferried to Gulfstream Aerospace in

Savannah, Georgia. Gulfstream completed the interior outfitting and research

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 
Fiscal Year 2005 Activities

75 power wiring during the second quarter of FY05. The aircraft was delivered to

NCAR, Boulder, Colorado, after a ferry flight in March. During the third and

fourth quarters of FY 2005, NCAR completed the outfitting of the science stations, installation of SATCOM, and the data display system.

In FY 2005, NSF continued its participation in the Constellation Observing

System for Meteorology, Ionosphere and Climate and Taiwan’s Formosa Satellite

Mission #3 (COSMIC/FORMOSAT-3), a joint Taiwan-U.S. project. The scientific foundation for COSMIC/FORMOSAT-3 is the radio occultation (limb

sounding) technique, which the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and Stanford

University developed in the late 1960s to study planetary atmospheres.

COSMIC/FORMOSAT-3 is a follow on project designed to use GPS beacons for

Earth weather and space weather prediction, climate change detection, and general atmospheric research.

The COSMIC/FORMOSAT-3 satellite constellation was in its final

stages of testing and launch preparation during FY 2005. The COSMIC/FORMOSAT-3 consists of: 1) six low-Earth orbit spacecraft, each with three

instruments that include GPS radio occultation receivers, tiny ionospheric photometers, and tri-band beacons; 2) a satellite operations control center at the

National Space Organization (NSPO) in Hsin-Chu, Taiwan; 3) a COSMIC

Data Analysis and Archive Center in Boulder, Colorado; and 4) a global ground

fiducial network. The total mission cost for COSMIC/FORMOSAT-3 is

approximately $100 million, with approximately 80 percent contributed by

NSPO in Taiwan. U.S. agencies, including NSF, NASA, NOAA, US Air Force,

US Navy, and STP, provided the remaining 20 percent.

COSMIC/FORMOSAT-3 not only has great value for weather, climate, and

space weather research and forecasting, but also for geodesy and gravity research

and other applications. Development of data assimilation schemes was begun to

integrate the COSMIC data into existing weather forecasting models.

COSMIC/FORMOSAT-3 will also complement a variety of related GPS missions,

including the Challenging Minisatellite Payload (CHAMP), Satelite de

Aplicaciones Cientificas-C (SAC-C), and Gravity Recovery and Climate

Experiment (GRACE). During FY 2005, the CHAMP, SAC-C, and the Global

Positioning System/Meteorology (GPS/MET) missions were completely

reprocessed with new software. Also completed were improvements to low-Earth
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

76 orbit computation, enhancements so that post-processing can be spread to all

nodes of a cluster, improved statistical optimization and error characterization in

atmospheric inversions, automatic Ionosonde comparisons, and a new 1D variational assimilation for moisture computation. In the early summer of 2005, the

ROCSAT-3 (now FORMOSAT-3)/COSMIC Science Summer Camp took place

in Taipei, Taiwan. 
The Department of State (DOS) supports U.S. space activities through the

negotiation of bilateral and multilateral agreements of scientific and technical

cooperation with partner countries. DOS also maintains outreach programs to

advance U.S. foreign and space policy objectives.

FY 2005 saw extensive integration of space issues into Presidential diplomacy. As part of the Presidential initiative to transform the U.S. relationship with

India into a “strategic partnership,” DOS developed and began implementation of

an ambitious plan to foster space cooperation between the two countries. One

example of this extensive effort was the Joint Statement of President Bush and

India’s Prime Minister Singh during the latter’s state visit to the U.S. in July. As a

result, DOS negotiated with India various space cooperation agreements and cooperative projects, including a Technology Security Agreement and a Commercial

Space Launch Agreement. DOS also provided support to the President during the

Bratislava Summit in February on space initiatives, especially in regard to the sensitive and intricate issues concerning the International Space Station partnership

with Russia, the E.U., Japan, and Canada.

DOS began working extensively with foreign governments to coordinate

the use of the communications spectrum in support of various Presidential

Initiatives. As part of the Vision for Space Exploration, DOS established the Lunar

and Planetary Spectrum Initiative to ensure international cooperation on communications bandwidth. DOS also embarked on an initiative to integrate foreign

communication management efforts with the Global Positioning System—a major

commercial and security asset of the United States.

Fiscal Year 2005 Activities

77

DEPARTMENT OF

STATE

DOS
DOS led consultations with Japan in November 2004 to review and discuss

ongoing cooperation on the civilian use of GPS. Among the topics discussed were

Japan’s plans to construct a regional satellite positioning system, known as the

Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), that would be supplementary and interoperable with GPS. QZSS is also expected to strengthen cooperative relations

between the United States and Japan, provide new economic and public transportation safety benefits to Japan and its neighbors, and contribute to the peaceful

development of the Asia-Pacific region.

DOS set up working group meetings under the 2004 U.S.-European Union

Agreement on cooperation between the U.S. Global Positioning System and

Europe’s planned Galileo satellite navigation system to ensure the radio frequency

compatibility and interoperability of these systems. In addition, DOS launched

negotiations with Russia on cooperation between GPS and its Russian counterpart, Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS). 

In cooperation with the Government of Colombia and the United Nations

Office of Outer Space Affairs, DOS co-sponsored a South American regional workshop to promote the use of GPS and its applications. DOS provided financial

support and the keynote speaker for the workshop.

Exploiting similar U.S. advantages in another area, DOS worked extensively

with foreign governments and private industry to promote U.S. satellite imagery

exports. For example, DOS negotiated within the Administration and then with

Latin American countries to redeploy a GOES meteorological satellite to cover the

Caribbean. DOS joined the Geographic Information for Sustainable Development

(GISD) program—an international effort to meld maps, remote sensing data from

satellites, and cutting edge software. The space imagery export efforts made by DOS

were not only of commercial advantage to the U.S., they also enhanced foreign

capabilities to pursue other U.S. interests in natural resources management, disaster mitigation, and economic development. DOS sponsored or co-sponsored

workshops in Africa on the distribution and use of Landsat data. Another effort supported by DOS produced a cooperative telemedicine project that involved the use

of space and communications technologies with the Indian Space Research

Organization (ISRO) at the Indira Gandhi Hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan.

DOS continued to represent the U.S. on the United Nations Committee

on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS), and worked with the UN

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

78
Fiscal Year 2005 Activities

79 International Committee on GNSS (the Global Navigation Satellite System) to

develop and exploit GNSS applications. DOS provided funding for regional

GNSS workshops and experts meetings held under the auspices of the U.N. and

the United States, bringing together regional experts and decision makers in

order to advance awareness and support for the use of GNSS applications for sustained growth, transportation safety, and environmental management.

With so many countries now engaged in space activities, promoting the safe

use of space has become an important DOS goal. In FY 2005, DOS promoted an

international strategy for mitigating orbital debris, modernized the U.S. Registry of

Objects Launched into Outer Space, and placed this registry online. In September

2005, the USG offered to provide China with advance warning if its Shenzhen VI

manned spacecraft was in danger of colliding with space objects. China agreed,

although ultimately Shenzhen VI returned safely to Earth without having triggered

such a warning. At UNCOPUOS, DOS led U.S. efforts on the problem of orbital

space debris, meteorology, astronomy and astrophysics, space transportation,

nuclear power sources in space, and legal issues related to international liability and

responsibility of launching nations.
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

80
Fiscal Year 2005 Activities

81

In FY 2005, the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science (SC)

cooperated with NASA in a wide variety of activities, such as developing experimental techniques of fundamental physics for use in outer space, using plasma

science to devise new propulsion systems, engaging in joint efforts to understand

atmospheric and environmental phenomena, and entering into a working partnership in advanced computing research. These activities were carried out under

a memorandum of understanding between NASA and DOE signed by NASA

Administrator Daniel Goldin and DOE Secretary James Watkins in 1992. NASA

and DOE revitalized their joint space nuclear efforts in FY 2004, including new

work in the space nuclear technology area and commencement of a civilian space

nuclear reactor engineering design and development effort for Prometheus-1, the

Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter mission. In September 2005, NASA and DOE (Naval

Reactors) mutually agreed to bring to orderly closure all activities associated with

this space reactor engineering development work. This decision was made in view

of NASA’s need to properly support near-term space exploration goals, such as

developing and launching the Crew Exploration Vehicle. 

Through an Implementing Arrangement with NASA signed in 1995, the

SC continued to work on the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) for use on the

International Space Station. In FY 2005, this work focused on the integration of

the instrument at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in

Geneva, Switzerland. The AMS is an international experiment designed to use

the unique environment of space to search for and measure, with a much greater

sensitivity than heretofore possible, various unusual types of matter. The AMS will

DEPARTMENT OF

ENERGY

DOE
study the properties and origin of cosmic particles and nuclei, including antimatter and dark matter. Discovering the presence of either material will increase

scientists’ understanding of the early universe and could lead to a clearer understanding of the actual origin of the universe. DOE provided funding in FY 2005 to

support the research group at MIT that is leading the AMS program. 

The SC and NASA’s Science Mission Directorate have collaborated since

FY 2000 on the Large Area Telescope (LAT), the primary instrument for NASA’s

Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope mission scheduled for launch in

September 2007. This device, using the techniques of experimental particlephysics research, is designed to detect gamma rays emitted by the most energetic

objects and phenomena in the universe. The Stanford Linear Accelerator Center,

a DOE facility at Stanford University, is responsible for the overall management of

the LAT project. Fabrication of the LAT was completed in FY 2005. DOE provided funding in FY 2005 in conjunction with NASA and international partners.

A high priority science objective for both DOE and NASA is to determine

the nature of dark energy, which is causing the acceleration of the expansion of the

universe. The Joint Dark Energy Mission (JDEM) is a plan for a space-based mission endorsed by both DOE and NASA for the study of dark energy. In FY 2005,

DOE supported R&D activities for the Supernova Acceleration Probe (SNAP)

collaboration, led by LBNL. The SNAP concept is expected to be part of the

JDEM mission. 

The Office of Nuclear Physics, within SC, continued to make available the

Alternating Gradient Synchrotron (AGS), an essential component of the Relativistic

Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) complex at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL). The

AGS is the only accelerator in the United States capable of providing heavy ion beams

at energies (up to 1 GeV/nucleon) of interest to the space radiobiology community.

This capability has been in place since 1995 with radiobiology experiments, funded by

NASA, performed with silicon, iron, and even gold beams. In FY 2003, a NASAfunded facility, named the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory or NSRL, was

commissioned at BNL. This facility continued to operate as an efficient and effective

radiation simulation facility for human space exploration. The SC and NASA continued to work on a range of technical resources that can be mutually beneficial for

experimentation and data analysis at BNL. For example, DOE and NASA initiated

support for the construction of the Electron Beam Ion Source (EBIS) at BNL in FY

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

82
Fiscal Year 2005 Activities

83 2005. This joint DOE/NASA project will enhance the range and intensities of heavy

ion beams available to the RHIC complex, including the NSRL. 

In FY 2005, the DOE Nuclear Physics Program continued to support astrophysicists who used greater than a million processor hours at the National Energy

Research Scientific-computing Center (NERSC), funded by DOE’s Office of

Advanced Scientific Computing Research, for simulations of supernovae explosions, such as those observed by the Hubble Space Telescope. The total

computational hours to support astrophysics for the Offices of High Energy Physics

and Nuclear Physics is close to 12.5 million processor hours.

Other space-related aspects of the Nuclear Physics Program have relevance

to NASA, other Federal agencies (e.g., National Reconnaissance Office and the

U.S. Air Force), and the private sector. In the area of radiation effects, the Nuclear

Physics Program regularly provided beams from accelerator facilities (BNL Tandem,

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s 88-Inch Cyclotron, Texas A&M

Superconducting Cyclotron) to NASA, DOE applied laboratories, European and

Japanese space agencies, and private companies for testing of electronic components used in high-radiation space environments and investigation of radiation

effects on biological systems.

Through the use of plasma and fusion propulsion, NASA-funded research

activities have the potential of revolutionizing interplanetary space travel.

Transfer of knowledge to NASA and the Agency’s use of research capabilities

developed in the SC’s fusion energy program continued in FY 2005. 

NASA studied fusion propulsion concepts for advanced interplanetary missions based upon the spherical torus and plasma-jet-driven magneto-inertial

fusion. The DOE’s Office of Science investigated the physics of the spherical torus

in its National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) at the Princeton Plasma

Physics Laboratory (PPPL) as part of its fusion energy program. The DOE’s SC

investigated plasma-jet-driven magneto-inertial fusion for magnetic fusion energy

applications at General Atomics, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and

the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Using a computer code developed in the

inertial fusion energy program of the SC, researchers at the University of

Wisconsin completed a preliminary computational study for Marshall SFC on the

feasibility of plasma-jet-driven magneto-inertial fusion for space propulsion. The

two fusion rocket concepts based upon the spherical torus and the magneto-inertial
84 fusion approach have the potential of reducing traveling times to the planets by

more than a factor of 10. 

PPPL researchers also worked on a high-power Hall thruster, a form of electric thruster. The high-power Hall thruster has the potential to achieve

performance levels required to send advanced NASA science missions to the

outer planets.

DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), PPPL, the Institute of

Fusion Studies at the University of Texas in Austin, and NASA Johnson Space

Center continued to collaborate on the development of an advanced plasma

rocket technology called the Variable Specific Impulse Magneto-plasma Rocket

that has the potential of cutting in half the time required to reach Mars. A key to

the technology is the capability to vary the plasma exhaust to maintain optimal

propulsive efficiency. 

PPPL worked on several other, basic plasma science projects that complement and enhance the science activities at NASA. These projects focused

on magnetic reconnection and other work on ionosphere and space-related

plasma physics topics. They are partially funded under the DOE/NSF Plasma

Science Partnership. The Magnetic Reconnection Experiment investigates the

coupling between microscale reconnection layers and global forcing and plasma

topology evolution.

The SC and NASA worked together to calculate the daily primary productivity of terrestrial ecosystems at diverse sites in Northern and Central States. Research

initiated in FY 2002 continued in FY 2005 with the SC’s AmeriFlux program. The

program provided real-time meteorological, solar radiation, and CO2 flux data that

was combined with NASA/MODIS data to calculate annual net and gross primary

productivity. Researchers involved in this joint work continued to investigate continental-scale seasonal and geographic patterns of carbon-cycle processes related to the

North American carbon program. The AmeriFlux program produced unique groundbased measurements of net ecosystem production and atmospheric CO2

concentration from some 30 locations across the United States. These results provided baseline data for calibrating planned carbon and CO2 observations from the

NASA 2008 Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) satellite platform.

SC’s Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) contributed ground validation support for NASA’s Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument.

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 
Fiscal Year 2005 Activities

85 The AIRS is a high spectral resolution infrared sounder on the EOS Aqua platform. Additional measurements were conducted to coincide with overpasses of the

Aqua satellite carrying the AIRS sensor at the Tropical Western Pacific (TWP)

and North Slope of Alaska sites. The ARM data are used to improve the water

vapor and temperature profiles retrieved from the AIRS sensor. Water vapor and

temperature data are important for the development and validation of climate

models. In 2005, NASA deployed a solar-viewing Bruker 125 HR Fourier transform spectrometer (FTS) at the TWP facility to validate space-based column CO2

retrievals. The installation and validation of the FTS are planned to coincide with

both aircraft and satellite overflights in 2006. Long term operations would extend

through the end of the OCO mission (December 2009).

The first of a series of proposed workshops jointly sponsored by NASA,

NOAA, and DOE was held during 2004 on the use of UAVs for making critical

measurements needed for climate change research. These workshops continued in

FY 2005 and brought together distinguished scientists from the agencies, universities, and private industry. The focus of the workshops was to identify the key

scientific questions that could be addressed using the unique capabilities of UAVs

and to identify aircraft or instrument technology gaps that would require future

investment in the development of UAV capabilities and their applications in

research on climate change and other environmental systems. One goal of the proposed collaboration is to define how to efficiently use the resources of the three

agencies to extend climate-relevant measurements using UAVs over regions of

Earth that are currently undersampled. 

The SC, NSF, and NASA continued a three-way collaboration on the

development and implementation of climate models. All three agencies supported a variety of collaborative activities associated with the Community

Climate System Model. SC’s Scientific Discovery through Advanced Scientific

Computing project continued to develop and increase the level of sophistication

in complex climate models. NASA, DOE, NOAA, and NSF participated in the

interagency Climate Model Evaluation Project to support the evaluation of U.S.

coupled-climate model simulations. The aim of this effort is to increase community-wide diagnostic research on the quality of model simulations to improve

evaluations of model predictions and quantification of uncertainty in projections

of future climate.
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

86 DOE and NASA principal investigators coordinated an effort that uses

computing resources at the National Leadership Computing Facility (NLCF) at

ORNL to incorporate biogeochemistry in coupled-climate models. A carbon data

assimilation activity was initiated to couple the Global Earth Observation System

of Systems to various ocean models as well as an ecosystem model in development

at NASA. With the launch of the OCO, the carbon data assimilation activity will

utilize the data towards improved characterization of carbon sources and sinks.

The SC’s Low Dose Radiation Research Program continued to interact with

the Space Radiation Health Program in NASA’s Office of Biological and Physical

Research. The focus of research supported by the DOE Low Dose Radiation

Research Program is on doses of radiation that are at or below current workplace

exposure limits. The primary area of emphasis of the NASA Space Radiation

Health Program is to understand the biological effects of space radiation that

account for radiation risks. In FY 2001, NASA and DOE developed a

Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to better coordinate their common interests.

This close collaboration between NASA and DOE was intended to enhance

progress in understanding and predicting the effects and health risks resulting from

low-dose radiation. DOE and NASA also issued joint Requests for Applications in

FY 2002, 2003, and 2004 for research that addressed both DOE and NASA needs

to understand the human health effects and risks of exposures to low doses of radiation. Ten jointly funded projects were in existence in FY 2005, and these include

two new NSCOR (NASA Specialized Center of Research) projects.

DOE’s Energy Sciences Network (ESnet) and NASA’s Research and

Education Network (NREN) continued their close working relationship. For a

number of years, ESnet has used its contracts to procure the long-haul telecommunications circuits and some of the associated equipment that NREN uses to build

its network. One of ESnet’s major peering points (where it connects to other networks) is located at NASA ARC.

NASA and DOE also collaborated on the deployment and testing of

advanced networking technologies, such as high-speed transport protocols, highspeed data transfer services, and end-to-end network monitoring toolkits

developed by SC researchers at Los Alamos and Argonne National Laboratories,

and the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center.
Fiscal Year 2005 Activities

87 DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy, Science, and Technology continued to support NASA’s space exploration program by pursuing development of specific

technologies for future space missions and by maintaining the necessary program

and nuclear facilities infrastructure to provide radioisotope power systems and

heater units. In FY 2005, DOE continued to develop two new radioisotope power

systems for future use in multiple mission environments, including planetary surfaces and deep space.

These two systems, a Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric

Generator and a Stirling Radioisotope Generator, will each provide greater than

100 Watts-electric for over 10 years. DOE also supported fabrication of the

Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator for the New Horizons mission to Pluto,

launched in January 2006. As part of maintaining the required infrastructure, DOE

initiated operation of the Space and Security Power Systems Facility at its Idaho

National Laboratory site. This facility serves as the fueling and test facility for multiple types of radioisotope power systems and is expected to support a variety of

future missions. This facility was used in FY 2005 to fuel and test the generator for

the New Horizons mission. In FY 2005, DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy, Science,

and Technology focused its long-term space reactor science and technology development on surface fission power concept studies and support for NASA’s strategic

road mapping and planning efforts. 

Many of the NASA-funded activities listed above enter the DOE system

through the Work for Others program. This program allows non-DOE sponsors

access to SC laboratories’ unique and specialized facilities and expertise. Other scientific and technological efforts NASA supported through this program include

research in the space radiation environment and its implications for human presence in space, aerogel-based materials, combustion under microgravity conditions,

the biological impact of solar and galactic cosmic radiation exposure on astronaut

health, and the genetic and epigenetic effects produced by high-energy heavy ions.
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

88
Fiscal Year 2005 Activities

89

The Smithsonian Institution continued to contribute to national aerospace

goals through the activities of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO),

which is joined with the Harvard College Observatory in Cambridge, Massachusetts,

to form the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Through this organization,

more than 300 scientists engage in a broad program of research in astronomy, astrophysics, and science education. The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in

Washington, DC, also contributed to national aerospace goals through its research and

education activities.

This year, SAO and the University of Arizona appointed a new director of the

Multiple Mirror Telescope (MMT) Observatory, a joint facility south of Tucson,

Arizona. Dr. Faith Vilas took up her new responsibilities at the Observatory at the end

of the year. FY 2005 also saw the achievement of an important milestone with the casting of the first mirror for the Giant Magellan Telescope. This telescope, whose

completion is anticipated in about a decade, will unite seven large mirrors into one

powerful telescope—the first in a new generation of ground-based observatories.

FY 2005 marked the second year of operations for NASA’s Spitzer Space

Telescope, whose Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) was developed at SAO. Spitzer studies the Universe at infrared wavelengths of light, enabling it to spot distant, highly

redshifted galaxies and peer into nearby dust-obscured regions. This year, Spitzer

achieved an important astronomical milestone by becoming the first telescope to

directly detect light from a planet orbiting a distant star. Using Spitzer, researchers now

can directly measure and compare planetary characteristics such as color, reflectivity,

and temperature. Spitzer also spotted dusty disks around a number of young, low-mass

objects known as brown dwarfs, including one brown dwarf that is only 15 times the

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

90 mass of Jupiter. Such disks eventually may form miniature solar systems. Furthermore,

in the distant universe, Spitzer observed a collection of galaxies more than 10 billion

light-years from Earth, revealing a surprising diversity of properties and showing that

the early universe was wildly complex, not the simple universe that theories had once

postulated. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory operates NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope

In FY 2005, SAO astronomers teamed with amateur observers using backyard

telescopes to discover a new planet circling a distant star. Indeed, the first Earth-sized

planet may be found by a similar collaboration. Researchers also predicted that asteroid-sized objects from another star might have been captured by our Sun billions of

years ago, offering the possibility of finding extrasolar planets at the outskirts of our

solar system. SAO scientists examined our own solar system by awakening a hibernating spacecraft in order to watch NASA’s Deep Impact probe plunge into a passing

comet and blast off surface material. Their research showed that the comet emitted

little extra water vapor, indicating that theories about cometary surfaces may have to

be revised.

SAO scientists using the Ultraviolet Coronagraph Spectrometer (UVCS) on

the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory spacecraft have made new discoveries about

the explosive ejections of matter and magnetic fields from the Sun. Such eruptions,

called flare/coronal mass ejection (CME) events, are believed to be the source regions

of high-energy particles—a known radiation hazard to astronauts and their equipment.

Detailed descriptions of the source regions by a UVCS-like instrument combined with

theoretical studies could ultimately lead to the capability of predicting such hazardous

events. In one such study, UVCS scientists investigated how rising magnetic fields in

the Sun’s corona become unstable in the process of creating a flare/CME event. They

found that the critical height for this instability is much lower than was previously

believed. In another study, UVCS observations were used to measure the rate at which

opposite polarities of the magnetic field behind a CME meet and annihilate, resulting

in the release of enormous quantities of energy. This reconnection rate is a key parameter for specifying the energy release and the strength of the electric field that may

accelerate many of the energetic particle hazards. SAO scientists also studied the production of energetic particles by CME-associated shock waves. Most energetic particle

hazards are believed to be produced by these shocks. Initial results from a promising

new UVCS diagnostic technique provided the first measurements of suprathermal pro-
Fiscal Year 2005 Activities

91 tons in the solar corona prior to the CME arrival—a condition that is believed to be

required for shock acceleration of the particle hazards.

In FY 2005, SAO’s operation of NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory continued to produce impressive science results. The discoveries made spanned distances

ranging from Jupiter and Saturn to the far reaches of the universe, where evidence for

a cosmic web of hot gas was found.

In addition, a team of astronomers discovered evidence that a rapidly growing,

supermassive black hole at the center of a distant galaxy had generated one of the most

powerful eruptions in the universe. Other findings from this past year include new

insight into how supermassive black holes limit their own growth, the detection of a

swarm of stellar black holes near the center of the Milky Way, and further support for

the existence of mid-sized black holes.

Chandra also advanced the understanding of many other important astronomical phenomena in FY 2005. For example, studies of Sun-like stars may solve a mystery

of how much neon exists in our own Sun. Another study of young stars suggested that

X-ray superflares could have aided the formation of the solar system. Chandra’s images

of supernova remnants—the debris of exploded stars—provided vital information to

scientists in their quest to better understand how stars end their lives.

FY 2005 marked the second year of operation of SAO’s Submillimeter Array

(SMA). The SMA consists of eight movable antennas that together combine to make

uniquely detailed images in the submillimeter part of the spectrum, through atmospheric “windows” that open up on the high, dry summit of Mauna Kea, Hawaii. The

SMA currently is the forefront telescope for high-resolution studies of cold material in

the universe, which is unseen or unknown to radio, optical, and X-ray telescopes. This

cold gas and dust has a rich chemistry and provides the raw material to form stars and

planetary systems. SAO scientists submitted more than 150 SMA observing proposals

this year as either lead authors or co-authors.

SAO scientists used the SMA to investigate many topics in astrophysics.

Highlights included the observation that many young stars in the Orion Nebula stellar nursery are surrounded by enough orbiting material to form new solar systems like

our own, despite the presence of harsh winds and radiation in the nebula environment.

The SMA also observed complex organic molecules on solar system scales around

newly formed stars for the first time. This observation increased our understanding of
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

92 how organic material is modified and incorporated into protostellar disks, as well as

how it may survive through planet formation and beyond. By focusing the SMA on a

faint object within a dust cloud, scientists found that the object hidden within had a

weak outflow as predicted by star formation theories, and discerned it to be a baby star

only 10,000 to 100,000 years old and with only twenty-five times the mass of Jupiter.

The SMA also made the first direct temperature measurements of Pluto and its moon,

Charon, which showed clearly that Pluto is the colder object due to the presence of

nitrogen ices on its surface. In another study, the SMA looked far back in time by

observing galaxies at the most distant reaches of the universe, including one forming

stars at a fantastic rate that had been nearly invisible to the Hubble Space Telescope.

Such galaxies are the likely progenitors of the largest galaxies we see today.

During FY 2005, the Cosmic Questions traveling museum exhibition developed

by SAO’s Science Education Department (SED) staff spent time in the Flandrau

Science Center in Tucson, Arizona, and the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman,

Montana. Cosmic Questions is a 5,000 square-foot exhibition for science centers and

museums, which invites audiences to examine fundamental questions and recent discoveries about the origin, evolution, and structure of the universe. Over 100,000

visitors explored the exhibition this year, and over one million visitors have seen the

exhibition to date.

A team of SAO scientists and educators, through the NASA-funded Universe

Education Forum, collaborated to develop a DVD-based teaching and learning tool for

Earth science, physical science, physics, and chemistry teachers of grades 8-12. The

DVD contains resources for teaching about the structure and evolution of the universe

(SEU), including the evidence and explanations for the Big Bang and for the expansion of the universe. 

The SEU Forum supports a network of online robotic telescopes called

MicroObservatory that allows students and teachers in middle and high schools

nationwide to investigate the night sky from the convenience of their classrooms.

Users control the telescopes by means of an intuitive Web interface. MicroObservatory

telescopes are also accessible to museum visitors through the Cosmic Questions exhibition. In FY 2005, SED expanded its audience to after-school programs that target

teens from urban districts with large populations of underserved youth. In 2005, the

MicroObservatory telescopes delivered over 30,000 images to classroom users, 20,000
Fiscal Year 2005 Activities

93 images to museum visitors, and over 3,000 images to participants from community

after-school organizations.

Inside Einstein’s Universe (IEU) is an education outreach program for museums, planetariums, and other venues across the country. Associated with the World

Year of Physics, IEU is a celebration of the Einstein Centennial and the astronomical

implications of his 1905 "miracle year." Over 100 participating organizations received

educational and content support surrounding the topics of cosmology, black holes, general astronomy, and space science explorations.

This year, SAO maintained its productive collaboration with the Boston

Museum of Science by cosponsoring a series of Lowell Lectures on astronomy. In honor

of the World Year of Physics, these lectures focused on the interdependence of physics

and astronomy, and how the basic laws of nature can teach us why stars shine, how

planets form, and where we fit into the vastness of the universe. SAO also continued

to offer its popular Observatory Night lectures and telescope observing to the public on

a monthly basis, as well as its Kids’ Night programs for younger audiences and Sci-fi

Movie Nights that explored the theme, “Everything I learned about science, I learned

at the movies.” Observatory Night programs in particular were frequently so well

attended that lectures were standing-room-only.

In FY 2005, the National Air and Space Museum (NASM) made a spectacular

addition to its companion facility, the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, with the opening

of the James S. McDonnell Space Hangar. The space hangar is home to 141 large space

artifacts, including its centerpiece, the Space Shuttle Enterprise, and scores of missiles,

satellites, and space telescopes. 

Staff members in NASM’s Center for Earth & Planetary Studies (CEPS) continued to participate on the science teams of several spacecraft missions in FY 2005.

Dr. John Grant served as a Participating Scientist for the Mars Exploration Rover mission that is currently operating on Mars. As a Chair of the MER Science Operations

Working Group, Dr. Grant directed the science team to consensus on targets and operations for the rovers. He conducted real-time mission planning from a control station

installed on site at the Center for Planetary and Earth Studies (CEPS). CEPS staff also

served on the science teams for the Messenger mission to Mercury, the Mars Advanced

Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding (MARSIS) radar instrument on Mars

Express, and both the HiRISE and Shallow Subsurface Radar (SHARAD) instruments

on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter launched this year. 
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

94 CEPS continued its active research program in planetary and terrestrial geology

and geophysics using remote-sensing data from Earth-orbiting satellites, as well as both

piloted and unpiloted space missions. The scope of research activities included work

on Mercury, Venus, Earth, Moon, and Mars, resulting in 15 peer-reviewed publications.

Research topics included MER results, Martian aeolian processes, properties of lunar

regolith, paleolakes on Earth and Mars, ground-penetrating radar at Martian analog

sites in the Arctic and Argentina, Martian valley networks, and Mercury structural

geology. In addition, the Smithsonian developed, in cooperation with colleagues at

Cornell University, the capability to produce Earth-based radar images of the Moon at

20-meter resolution, often exceeding the resolution of available space-based optical

photographs. This work has implications for future exploration of the lunar poles.

As a NASA Regional Planetary Image Facility (RPIF), CEPS continued to

house a collection of over 300,000 images of the planets and their satellites. CEPS

serves as a reference library for science researchers and the public in the mid-Atlantic

and southeastern U.S. The CEPS RPIF holds the most complete collection of lunar

images of any RPIF in the world.
Fiscal Year 2005 Activities

95

APPENDICES
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

96

APPENDIX A-1

U.S. Government Spacecraft Record

(Includes spacecraft from cooperating countries launched by U.S. launch vehicles.) 

Calendar Earth Orbita Earth Escapea

Year 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 1 b

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

1989 24 0 2 0

1990 40 0 1 0

1991 32 c 0 0 0

1992 26 c 0 1 0

1993 28 c 1 1 0

1994 31 c 1 1 0

1995 24 c, d 2 1 0

1996 30 1 3 0

1997 22 e 0 1 0

1998 23 0 2 0

1999 35 4 2 0

2000 31 f 0 0 0

2001 23 0 3 0

2002 18 0 0 1 b

2003 28 c, g 0 2 0

2004 8 c 0 1 0

2005 (through September 30, 2005) 8 0 2 0

TOTAL 1,568 153 102 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 the five orbital debris radar calibration spheres that were launched from STS-63 as one set of spacecraft.

e. This includes the SSTI Lewis spacecraft that began spinning out of control shortly after it achieved Earth orbit.

f. Counts OCS, OPAL, FALCONSAT, and ASUSAT microsatellites as one set, and the Picosats 4–8 as another set.

g. This includes American spacecraft not launched in the U.S.
Fiscal Year 2005 Activities

97

APPENDIX A-2

World Record of Space Launches Successful

in Attaining Earth Orbit or Beyond

(Enumerates launches rather than spacecraft; some launches orbited multiple spacecraft).a

People’s European

Calendar United USSR/ Republic United Space

Year Statesb CIS Francec Italyc Japan of China Australia Kingdomc Agency India Israel

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 812111

1971 30 831221 1

1972 30 74 1 1

1973 23 86

1974 22 81 2 1

1975 27 893123

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 14 18 2 4 2 1

(through September 30, 2005)

TOTAL 1,316 2,744 10 8 62 87 1 1 159 18 4

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.
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

98

APPENDIX B

Successful Launches to Orbit on U.S. Launch Vehicles

October 1, 2004–September 30, 2005

Launch Date Apogee and

Spacecraft Name Perigee (km),

COSPAR* Designation Period (min),

Launch Vehicle Mission Objectives Inclination to Equator (°) Remarks

Nov. 6, 2004 GPS/Navigational 20412 km Also known as USA 180

Navastar 56 satellite 19,810 km and GPS 2R-13

2004-045A 715.1 min

Delta 2 54.8°

Nov. 20, 2004 Scientific satellite 604 km NASA gamma-ray

Swift 585 km burst detector

2004-047A 96.6 min

Delta 2 20.6°

Dec. 17, 2004 Communications satellite Geosynchronous

AMC 16

2004-048A

Atlas 5

Dec. 21, 2004 Dummy satellite 36,420 km Mockup carrying two smaller

Demosat 19,041 km university-made satellites

2004-050A 1,045 min

Delta 4 (heavy) 13.5°

Jan. 12, 2005 Cometary probe

Deep Impact

2005-001A

Delta 2

Feb. 3, 2005 Military reconnaissance NRO satellite

USA 181 satellite

2005-004A

Atlas 3B/Centaur B

Mar. 1, 2005 Communications satellite Geosynchronous

XM Radio 3

2005-008A

Zenit-3SL

Mar. 11, 2005 Communications satellite Geosynchronous

Inmarsat 4 F-1

2005-009A

Atlas 4 (431)

Apr. 11, 2005 Military satellite 875 km

XSS-11 839 km

2005-011A 102.1 min

Minotaur (OS) 98.8°

Apr. 15, 2005 Technology test satellite 747 km

DART 395 km

2005-014A 96.1 min

Pegasus XL/HAPS 96.6°
Fiscal Year 2005 Activities

99

APPENDIX B

(Continued)

Successful Launches to Orbit on U.S. Launch Vehicles

October 1, 2004–September 30, 2005

Launch Date Apogee and

Spacecraft Name Perigee (km),

COSPAR* Designation Period (min),

Launch Vehicle Mission Objectives Inclination to Equator (°) Remarks

Apr. 26, 2005 Communications satellite Geosynchronous DirecTV satellite

Spaceway 1

2005-015A

Zenit-3SL

Apr. 30, 2005 Military reconnaisance satellite Geosynchronous National Reconnaisance

USA 182 Office

2005-016A

Titan 4B

May 20, 2005 Weather satellite 866 km

NOAA 18 847 km

2005-018A 102 min

Delta 2 98.74°

June 23, 2005 Communications satellite Geosynchronous Also known as IA 8

Intelsat Americas 8

2005-002A

Zenit-3SL

July 26, 2005 ISS docking 287 km

STS-114/Discovery 273 km

2005-026A 90.12 min

Space Shuttle 51.65°

Aug. 12, 2005 Interplanetary probe

Mars Reconnaisance

2005-025A

Atlas 5 (401)

Sept. 23, 2005 Technology test satellite 321 km Also known as USA 185

STP-R1 296 km

2005-037A 90.69 min

OSC Minotaur 96.3°

Sept. 26, 2005 GPS/Navigation 20,328 km Also known as USA 183

Navstar 57 satellite 266 km and GPS 2R-M1

2005-038A 357 min

Delta 2 39.62°

* U.N. Committee on Space Research
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

100

APPENDIX C

Human Space Flights

October 1, 2004–September 30, 2005

Spacecraft Launch Date Crew Flight Time Highlights

(d:h:min)

Soyuz TMA 5 Oct. 13, 2004 Leroy Chiao 12:15:39 The crew continued construction of the

(Expedition 10) Salizhan Sharipov station and conducted scientific experiments.

Yuri Shargin

Soyuz TMA 6 Apr. 15, 2005 Sergei Krikalev 11:00:23 Carried crew to ISS. During the mission,

(Expedition 10) John Phillips Krikalev broke the record for total time in space.

Roberto Vittori

Space Shuttle July 26, 2005 Eileen M. Collins 13:21:33 First Space Shuttle flight since the destruction

Discovery James M. Kelly of Columbia during re-entry of STS-107 in 

Charles Camarda February 2003. Resupplied ISS and evaluated 

Wendy Lawrence new safety evaluation techniques.

Soichi Noguchi

Stephen Robinson

Andrew Thomas
Fiscal Year 2005 Activities

101

APPENDIX D-1A

Space Activities of the U.S. Government

HISTORICAL TABLE OF BUDGET AUTHORITY

(in millions of real-year dollars)

NASA NASA Total

FY Total Space DOD Othera DOEb DOC DOI USDA NSFc DOT 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 1,196 169 644 74 31 266 12 30,807

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 15,244 19,842 1,549 229 807 70 71 360 12 36,635

a. Other column is the total of the non-NASA, non-DOD budget authority figures that appear in 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 in space. For the years 1989–1997, this Other column also includes small

figures for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Includes $2.1 billion for replacement of Space Shuttle Challenger in 1987.

b. DOE has recalculated its space expenditures since 1998.

c. NSF has recalculated its space expenditures since 1980, making them significantly higher than reported in previous years.

SOURCE: Office of Management and Budget

* Transition Quarter
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

102

APPENDIX D-1B

Space Activities of the U.S. Government

HISTORICAL TABLE OF BUDGET AUTHORITY

(in millions of equivalent FY 2005 dollars)

Inflation NASA NASA Total

FY Factors Total Space DOD Othera DOEb DOC DOI USDA NSFc DOT Space

1959 5.3319 1,765 1,392 2,613 181 181 4,186

1960 5.2496 2,751 2,425 2,945 226 226 5,596

1961 5.1871 5,000 4,803 4,222 353 353 9,378

1962 5.1141 9,333 9,190 6,638 1,018 757 261 16,846

1963 5.0571 18,575 18,337 7,839 1,300 1,082 217 27,475

1964 4.9945 25,472 25,052 7,986 1,064 1,049 15 34,102

1965 4.9357 25,912 25,359 7,769 1,189 1,130 59 34,318

1966 4.8521 25,110 24,576 8,195 1,038 907 131 33,810

1967 4.7505 23,591 22,945 7,905 1,012 874 138 31,862

1968 4.6020 21,110 20,387 8,845 802 667 129 0.9 5 30,034

1969 4.4443 17,737 16,986 8,946 757 524 89 0.9 4 139 26,690

1970 4.2501 15,921 15,075 7,132 599 438 34 4 4 119 22,806

1971 4.0300 13,343 12,497 6,093 653 383 109 8 4 149 19,243

1972 3.8383 12,693 11,787 5,400 512 211 119 23 8 151 17,700

1973 3.6652 12,484 11,336 5,949 540 198 147 37 7 152 17,825

1974 3.5105 10,661 9,685 6,199 555 147 211 32 11 155 16,440

1975 3.2741 10,572 9,544 6,195 517 98 210 26 7 176 16,255

1976 2.9657 10,528 9,564 5,881 499 68 214 30 12 176 15,944

TQ* 2.7661 2,578 2,348 1,272 119 14 61 8 3 33 3,740

1977 2.6810 10,236 9,223 6,467 519 59 244 27 16 173 16,208

1978 2.5734 10,448 9,323 7,046 582 87 265 26 21 183 16,951

1979 2.4110 11,081 9,716 7,320 598 142 236 24 19 176 17,634

1980 2.2313 11,692 10,442 8,586 516 89 208 27 31 161 19,544

1981 2.0514 11,320 10,241 9,904 481 84 178 25 33 161 20,625

1982 1.8684 11,293 10,329 12,479 584 114 271 22 28 149 23,392

1983 1.7488 12,023 11,066 15,772 572 68 311 9 35 149 27,410

1984 1.6748 12,491 11,486 17,075 661 57 395 5 32 172 29,222

1985 1.6152 12,232 11,185 20,623 943 55 683 3 24 177 32,751

1986 1.5644 12,213 11,209 22,099 746 55 483 3 36 169 34,054

1987 1.5288 16,700 14,996 24,900 712 73 425 12 29 171 2 40,609

1988 1.4899 13,502 12,399 26,341 1,104 359 524 21 27 171 1 39,844

1989 1.4445 15,845 14,585 25,865 809 140 435 25 30 175 4 41,259

1990 1.3905 17,136 15,935 21,714 703 110 338 43 35 172 6 38,352

1991 1.3407 18,791 17,490 19,012 1,035 337 337 39 35 283 5 37,538

1992 1.2922 18,500 17,055 19,412 1,031 288 423 44 37 233 5 37,498

1993 1.2605 18,037 16,467 17,780 921 208 408 42 32 227 5 35,168

1994 1.2325 17,958 16,050 16,227 779 91 385 38 38 221 6 33,057

1995 1.2066 16,716 15,134 12,843 915 72 425 37 39 335 7 28,892

1996 1.1817 16,407 14,853 13,606 978 54 558 43 44 273 7 29,437

1997 1.1594 15,895 14,443 13,597 915 41 519 49 45 254 7 28,955

1998 1.1396 15,553 14,040 14,084 957 117 496 49 44 243 7 29,081

1999 1.1259 15,372 14,027 14,865 1,106 118 647 66 42 225 7 29,998

2000 1.1113 15,115 13,915 14,381 1,173 182 639 67 49 230 7 29,469

2001 1.0893 15,501 14,492 15,605 1,157 158 629 65 39 253 13 31,254

2002 1.0624 15,822 14,761 16,750 1,273 180 685 79 33 283 13 32,784

2003 1.0442 16,043 14,995 20,245 1,363 199 678 77 44 352 13 36,602

2004 1.0240 15,748 14,665 19,573 1,499 214 763 73 62 375 12 35,738

2005 1.0000 16,198 15,244 19,842 1,549 229 807 70 71 360 12 36,635

a. Other column is the total of the non-NASA, non-DOD budget authority figures that appear in 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 in space. For the years 1989–1997, this Other column also includes small figures for

the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

b. DOE has recalculated its space expenditures since 1998.

c. NSF has recalculated its space expenditures since 1980, making them significantly higher than reported in previous years.

SOURCE: Office of Management and Budget

* Transition Quarter
Fiscal Year 2005 Activities

103

APPENDIX D-2

Federal Space Activities Budget

(in millions of dollars by fiscal year)

Federal Agencies Budget Authority Budget Outlays

2004 2005 2006 2007 2004 2005

actual actual est. est. actual actual

NASA1 14,322 15,244 15,739 16,071 14,270 14,747

Defense 19,115 19,842 21,256 22,855 17,776 17,858

Energy 209 229 240 230 202 223

Commerce 745 807 860 965 670 727

Interior2 71 70 82 86 72 70

Agriculture2, 3 61 71 80 84 56 67

Transportation 12 12 12 12 12 12

NSF 366 360 362 375 313 329

1. 2006 Budget Authority from initial NASA Operating Plan, February 6, 2007. 

2. Includes aerial remote sensing activity. 

3. In 2004, the Department of Agriculture began to report the National Agriculture Imagery Program within its totals. 
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

104 APPENDIX D-3

Federal Aeronautics Budget

(in millions of dollars by fiscal year)

Federal Agencies Budget Authority Budget Outlays

2004 2005 2006 2007 2004 2005

actual actual est. est. actual actual

NASA1 2 1,057 954 884 723 919 866

Defense 10,301 9,327 9,671 9,279 9,687 9,586

Transportation 2,981 2,638 2,636 2,617 2,873 2,643

1. Total does not include the Inspector General budget. 

2. 2006 Budget Authority from initial NASA Operating Plan, February 6, 2007.
Fiscal Year 2005 Activities

105

A

AAW Active Aeroelastic Wing

ADS-B Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast 

AEDT aviation environmental design tool

AFOSR Air Force Office of Scientific Research

AFRL Air Force Research Laboratory

AGS Alternating Gradient Synchrotron

AIRS Atmospheric Infrared Sounder

ALI Advanced Land Imager

AMISR Advanced Modular Incoherent-Scatter Radar

AMS Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer

AMSR-E Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer - EOS

APFO Aerial Photography Field Office

APHIS Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

APMT Aviation environmental Portfolio Management Tool

ARC Ames Research Center 

ARFF Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting

ARM Atmospheric Radiation Measurement

ARMD Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate

ARMI Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative

ARS Agricultural Research Service

AST FAA Office of the Associate Administrator for Commercial Space 

Transportation

ASTER Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer

ATST Advanced Technology Solar Telescope

AVHRR Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer

AWiFS Advanced Wide Field Sensor

B

BLM Bureau of Land Management

BNL Brookhaven National Laboratory

BOR Bureau of Reclamation 

C

CAFTA Central American Free Trade Agreement

CAIB Columbia Accident Investigation Board

CCMC Community Coordinated Modeling Center

CCSP Climate Change Science Program

CEDAR Coupling, Energetics, and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions

CEOS Committee on Earth Observation Satellites

CEPS Center for Earth & Planetary Studies

CEV Crew Exploration Vehicle

CISM Center for Integrated Space Weather Modeling

CHAMP Challenging Minisatellite Payload

ACRONYMS
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

106 CLV Crew Launch Vehicle

CME coronal mass ejection

COSMIC/FORMOSAT-3 Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere and

Climate and Taiwan’s Formosa Satellite Mission #3

CPHST APHIS PPQ Center for Plant Health Science and Technology

CSREES Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service

D

DARPA Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

DART Demonstration of Autonomous Rendezvous Technology

DFRC Dryden Flight Research Center

DHS Department of Homeland Security

DOC Department of Commerce

DOD Department of Defense

DOE Department of Energy

DOI Department of the Interior

DOQs digital orthophoto quadrangles

DOS Department of State

DOT Department of Transportation

E

EAB emerald ash borer beetle

EBIS Electronic Beam Ion Source

EDS Environmental Design Space

EELV Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle

EO-1 Earth Observing-1

EOS Earth Observing System

EPA Environmental Protection Agency

EROS Earth Resources Observation Systems

ERS Economic Research Service 

ESA European Space Agency

ESAS Exploration Systems Architecture Study

ESMD Exploration Systems Mission Directorate

ESnet Energy Sciences Network

ESP European Southern Observatory

ETM+ Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus

EUMETSAT European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological 

Satellites

F

FAA Federal Aviation Administration

FAS Foreign Agricultural Service

FASTER Full-Scale Aircraft Structural Test Evaluation and Research

FCC Federal Communications Commission

FCDAS Fairbanks Command and Data Acquisition Station

FCF Federal Combustion Facility
Fiscal Year 2005 Activities

107 FDSS Faculty Development in the Space Sciences

FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency

FEWS NET Famine Early Warning System Network

FOD Foreign Object Debris

FSA Farm Service Agency

FSANAIP Farm Service Agency National Agricultural Imagery Program

FTS Fourier transform spectrometer

FWS U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

FY fiscal year

G

GEM Geospace Environment Modeling

GEO Group on Earth Observations 

GEOSS Global Earth Observation System of Systems

GINA Geographic Information Network of Alaska

GIS geographic information systems

GISD Global Information for Sustainable Development

GLAS Geoscience Laser Altimeter System

GLONASS Global Navigation Satellite System

GNSS Global Navigation Satellite System

GOES Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites

GPS Global Positioning System

GPS/MET Global Positioning System/Meteorology 

GRACE Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment

GRC Glenn Research Center

GRB Gamma-Ray Burst

GSFC Goddard Space Flight Center

H

HAZMAT Office of Hazardous Materials Safety

HDTs High Density Tapes

HEO-2 Highly Elliptical Orbit-2

HIAPER High performance Instrumented Airborne Platform for

Environmental Research

HiRISE High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment

HHLV Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle

HQ Headquarters

HRF-2 Human Research Facility-2

I

ICESAT Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite

IEU Inside Einstein’s Universe

IFSAR Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar

IGEB Interagency GPS Executive Board

IHPRPT Integrated High Payoff Rocket Propulsion Technology

InSAR interferometric synthetic aperture radar 
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

108 INSAT Indian National Satellite

IPO Integrated Program Office

IPT integrated product team

IRAC Infrared Array Camera

ISRO Indian Space Research Organization

ISS International Space Station

ITA International Trade Administration

J

JDEM Joint Dark Energy Mission

JIMO Jupiter Icy Moon Orbiter

JMA Japan Meteorological Agency

JPDO Joint Planning and Development Office

JPL Jet Propulsion Laboratory

JSC Johnson Space Center

K

KSC Kennedy Space Center

L

LaRC Langley Research Center

LAT Large Area Telescope

LDGST Landsat Data Gap Study Team

LEO low-Earth orbit

LIDAR Light Detection and Ranging

LSST Large Synoptic Survey Telescope

M

McTMA Multi-Center Traffic Management Advisor

MEMS Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems

MEP Manufacturing Extension Program

MER Mars Exploration Rover

MILSATCOM Military Satellite Communications System

MISSE Materials on International Space Station Experiment

MMS Minerals Management Service

MMT Multiple Mirror Telescope

MOA Memorandum of Agreement

MODIS Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer

MRO Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

MRLC Multi-Resolution Land Cover

MSFC Marshall Spaceflight Center

N

NAIC National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center

NAIP National Agriculture Imagery Program

NASM National Air and Space Museum

NASS National Agricultural Statistics Service
Fiscal Year 2005 Activities

109 NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization

NCAR National Center for Atmospheric Research

NCNR NIST Center for Neutron Research

NDE nondestructive evaluation

NERSC National Energy Research Scientific-computing Center

NESDIS National Environmental Science, Data, and Information System

NGA National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency

NIC National Ice Center

NIST National Institute of Standards and Technology

NLCD National Land Cover Dataset

NLCF National Leadership Computing Facility

NMD National Missile Defense

NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

NOAO National Optical Astronomy Observatory

NPOESS National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental

Satellite System

NPP NPOESS Preparatory Project

NRAO National Radio Astronomy Observatory

NRCS Natural Resources Conservation Service

NREN NASA’s Research and Education Network

NRI National Resources Inventory

NROL National Reconnaissance Office Launch 

NSF National Science Foundation

NSLRSDA National Satellite Land Remote Sensing Data Archive

NSO National Solar Observatory

NSPO National Space Organization

NSTX National Spherical Torus Experiment

NSWP National Space Weather Program

NTIA National Telecommunications and Information Administration 

NUGGET Neutron-Gamma-ray Geologic Tomography

NWR National Wildlife Refuge

O

OCO Orbiting Carbon Observatory

OECD Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

OFCM Office of the Federal Coordinator for Meteorology

OFDA U.S. Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance 

ORNL Oak Ridge National Laboratory

OSC Office of Space Commercialization

OSM Office of Surface Mining

P

PARTNER Partnership for Air Transportation Noise and Emissions Reduction

PECAD Production Estimates and Crop Assessment Division

POES Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellites

PNST Prometheus Nuclear Systems and Technology
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

110 PNT Position, Navigation, and Timing

PPPL Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory

PPQ APHIS Plant, Protection and Quarantine

Q

QZSS Quasi-Zenith Satellite System

R

RDSMD Research and Development Space and Missile Operations

RHIC Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider

RLEP Robotic Lunar Exploration Program

RLV reusable launch vehicle

RMA Risk Management Agency

RPIF Regional Planetary Imagery Facility

RSAC Remote Sensing Applications Center

RSIWG Remote Sensing Interagency Working Group 

RSLP Rocket Systems Launch Program

S

S&T Science and Technology

SAC-C Satelite de Aplicaciones Cientificas-C

SAO Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory

SARSAT Search and Rescue Satellite-Aided Tracking

SATS Small Aircraft Transportation System

SBIRS Space-Based Infrared System

SC DOE’s Office of Science

SCAWG Space Communication Architecture Working Group

SDSU South Dakota State University

SeaWiFS Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor

SED Science Education Department

SE&I Systems Engineering and Integration

SHARAD Shallow Subsurface Radar

SHINE Solar, Heliosphere, and INterplanetary Environment

SIRS Security Incidents Reporting System

SLC Scan Line Corrector

SMA Submillimeter Array; safety and mission assurance 

SMD Science Mission Directorate

SNAP Supernova Acceleration Probe

SOHO Solar and Heliospheric Observatory

SOMD Space Operations Mission Directorate

Space PCC Space Policy Coordinating Committee

SRR Systems Requirement Review

SRTM Shuttle Radar Topography Mission

SSC Stennis Space Center

STA Special Temporary Authorization

STIS Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph
STP Space Test Program

SURF Synchrotron Ultraviolet Radiation Facility

SVS Synthetic Vision Systems T

TAMDAR Tropospheric Airborne Meteorological Data Report

TAPS Turbulence Auto-PIREP System

TCA Transformational Communications Architecture

TDRSS Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System

TM Thematic Mapper

TMA Traffic Management Advisory

TMA-MC Traffic Management Advisory-Multi-Center

TRMM Tropical Rainfall Monitoring Mission

TWP Tropical Western Pacific U

UAF Upper Atmospheric Facilities

UARS Upper Atmospheric Research Section

UAV Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle

U.N. United Nations

UNCOPUOS United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses

of Outer Space

U.S. United States

USAF U.S. Air Force

USAID U.S. Agency for International Development

USDA U.S. Department of Agriculture

USFS U.S. Forest Service

USFWS U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

USGEO U.S. Group on Earth Observations

USGS U.S. Geological Survey

USNORTHCOM United States Northern Command

UVCS UltraViolet Coronagraph Spectrometer V

VSE Vision for Space Exploration W

WBVTs Wide-band Video Tapes

Fiscal Year 2005 Activities

111

cs and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2005 Activities Aeronautics and Space Report of the President Fiscal Year 2005 Activities